Thanks in advance for any help.
Laurie
Question Details
Seizuring Dachshund
by
drmc@tops-vet-rehab.
-
March 2, 2010
Thanks in advance for any help.
Laurie
Replies
by
DWT
March 2, 2010
Hi Laurie. I am always suspicious with very young dogs having food hypersensitivities. Lamb and rice is not a hypoallergenic diet. I would switch him to either z/d diet or a novel diet such as duck/potato or venison/potato. Both of these diets are warming diets. If you are confused with the TCVM pattern then you can always use DiTanTang from JinTan Herbals (dr. Xie). I think of it as a natural phenobarbital as it acts to elevate the seizure threshold. Don't take him off the regular meds but add the herbals in conjunction. Once the seizures are controlled you can slowly start backing off the allopathic meds. Acupuncture would really benefit this fellow. Food switch, to me, is imperative. Good luck.
by
naturevet
March 2, 2010
Hi Laurie,
I personally have had zero luck with Di Tan Tang (as theoretically appealing as it sounds). I agree, though, that a diet change is essential. I wouldn't stop at Z/D, though, and feel that complete avoidance of grains is essential. So a home-cooked or even raw diet is a good option. Wheat and simple carbohydrate sensitivities are most often associated with epilepsy, according to available research. So processed carbohydrate based foods are not helpful.
If the pulse truly is slippery, I would even just look at Si Miao San, despite the lack of Damp Heat signs. It's worked well as an anticonvulsant in these cases where diet may be a concern.
That being said, most Dachshunds are Yin or Blood deficient. So if the pulse felt feeble to you, rather than overtly easy to find but toneless, I would start with basic Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin, arguably most veterinarians' knee jerk choice for seizures, especially given its low risk of adverse effects.
Finally, what really clinches the diagnosis for me in these vague cases are the acupuncture points that fix or improve the pulse. Next time you see him, needle the points one at a time, and see which ones really make it a pulse 'you would want to own'. That way, if the dog is still not improving, I'll have a better idea what to do next.
Good luck with these ideas.
Steve
I personally have had zero luck with Di Tan Tang (as theoretically appealing as it sounds). I agree, though, that a diet change is essential. I wouldn't stop at Z/D, though, and feel that complete avoidance of grains is essential. So a home-cooked or even raw diet is a good option. Wheat and simple carbohydrate sensitivities are most often associated with epilepsy, according to available research. So processed carbohydrate based foods are not helpful.
If the pulse truly is slippery, I would even just look at Si Miao San, despite the lack of Damp Heat signs. It's worked well as an anticonvulsant in these cases where diet may be a concern.
That being said, most Dachshunds are Yin or Blood deficient. So if the pulse felt feeble to you, rather than overtly easy to find but toneless, I would start with basic Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin, arguably most veterinarians' knee jerk choice for seizures, especially given its low risk of adverse effects.
Finally, what really clinches the diagnosis for me in these vague cases are the acupuncture points that fix or improve the pulse. Next time you see him, needle the points one at a time, and see which ones really make it a pulse 'you would want to own'. That way, if the dog is still not improving, I'll have a better idea what to do next.
Good luck with these ideas.
Steve
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