Is alternative or 'new age' medicine Hokum?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Ok, long story but I'm going to try to make it short. Basically there's this man who brings his dog to the dog park who has recently been trying to give me (unsolicited) advice about Winston's allergies. I usually try to change the subject because he's one of these new age spiritual types, the kind I used to worship back when I was younger but have since become far more skeptical of. Talk of balancing energy fields through positive vibrations and what not usually makes me uncomfortable.

 

He says he's cured allergies and 'hot spots' and other such conditions in other dogs using his quantum rejuvination techniques. He did cure his own dog's hot spot as I saw the transition. He said he cured four different cancers in himself, and that this is the same science that Lance Armstrong used to cure his cancer (I googled around for Lance A. and alternative or new age medicine and didn't find much). From what I hear from the rumour mill this guy has a background in science and medicine and is also filthy rich. He has a website that I checked out and it seems rather bizarre, but if you're curious send me a message I'll give the address to you.

 

Anyway, after asking me a few times for a hair sample from Winston so that he can analyse it using his special technology or something, I finally gave in to morbid curiosity and said ok. I figure, what do I have to lose at this point since nothing else seems to work.

 

So he called me with the results of his analysis last night, and below are the notes I took on my computer as we were talking (keeping in mind that I was writing the notes down I was distracted by a pulsating pain in my head cause by a vicious cupboard door attack) - colour comment is mine.

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Worms – get deworming powder at the pet store - this will help with itchy butt. (hhhmmmmm... Winston had a negative fecal done very recently)

Grains &  Gluten intolerance (good thing Winston is now on grain free food)

Sprain or muscle spasms (his back leg has seemed quite stiff...)

Depression, rejection and some anxiety (no kidding)

Meridian system is over inflated (WTD???)

Spinal issues-compressed nerves (not sure about this but possible)

Dermatitis from allergies (I already knew this...)

Weak thyroid – medicine creating a dependency.  inconsistently give it to him. Break the cycle by stopping, then give it to him inconsistently so his body doesn’t get dependant on it. (I have a hard time understanding how stopping his thryroid pills will help him... but it is interesting that he noted the condition and he didn't know he was already diagnosed with it)

 

Allergies:(some of these foods are in his current kibble (orijen adult) or were in his past kibble (nutro lamb and rice and I have been giving him cookies that have some the ingrediants, like wheat, in them)

 

Acute:                                  

Bakers Yeast

Vegetables - only give him steamed as it is easier on his system (no wonder he doesn't eat his broccoli)

Chicken (this is the base protein of his kibble)

Wasps and mosquitoes

Tomatoes

Wheat

Grass

Chicken

Nuts

Broccoli

rapeseed (canola oil)

lamb

 

Chronic:

Shellfish

Whey (in a lot of dog food)

Bakers yeast

Mold

Animal hair such as cats - (Oh no! Penelope!!)

MSG (who isn't allergice to MSG and why would anyone give this to their dog anyway?)

Sweet Potatoes (interesting because he rejects these)

Aduki beans (funny, I had these for dinner the other night and had never heard of them before then)

Fish – particularly trout and cod (he did not do well on six fish orijen)

Coconut

Salmon

Egg whites (he rejects boiled eggs)

Peas that are raw

 

Iodine deficiency - feed him kelp or seaweed as it will help build the thyroid. (I should look into this, if this is true it couldn't hurt right?)

For his itchy Paws, use betadine (a diluted iodine). 2 minutes per paw. Half a capful of betadine in water. Dogs sweat through paws so betadine will absorb in his system – doing this on a daily basis will help. (I asked pharmacist about this and she thought it was nuts but admitted there could be something she doesn't know about it as she's not a dog expert)

 

Rhustox. 2 or 3 pellets – don’t touch, crush with spoon. Have Winston lick them. Sugar tablet. Stops itching. (this is some sort of a homeopathic substance)

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Ok, recognizing this guy might be completely out to lunch, I'm pretty skeptical. However, I'm wondering how much harm there is in testing some of his theories out given that nothing else I've tried works, including several different types of antihistimines, including the steroids and seasonal allergies are no longer the problem now that the weather is cold. He still knaws on his paws, and his leg-pits, as well as scratches his chin obssessively (I actually found scabs from where he must have broke the skin). I would never mess with his thyroid meds but is there any harm in trying out the homeopathic stuff and trying the de-worming powder and maybe making some dietary changes and trying out some sort of beef based diet?

 

On the other hand, I could make the two hour drive to Montreal and fork out the $300 to get a full blood work up for allergies as my vet had suggested as an option, which would be followed by $100 shots every 10 days which have only proved successful in about a quarter to half of her clients who have done this. I am not rich so I'm not sure this is an option right now...

 

So basically, Complete and total HOKUM, or is it worth a shot? I'm leaning towards Hokum, I'd bet my doodles that Karen and F will think so, but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Karen, you are so great. Thank you so much.

 

I haven't read through all the info posted here but will do so today. I am now convinced about the betadine so won't be trying it. I will give him a good bath today and maybe try some epsom salts for his paws. I'm still waiting to hear from my vet, but I'm popping out now to get the cortisone spray, and will give it a try.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Ok, the pet store I go to no longer carries the cortisone spray they used to have because it came from the US and the US FDA changed some rules and something or other about getting it to Canada bla bla bla they no longer carry it. Her suggestion was to use the hydrocortisone cream I have at home and just put some booties on him so he doesn't lick it off. That's sounds reasonable to me as a short term fix. Otherwise, I found this on amazon and am wondering what you think? http://www.amazon.com/8in1-Corti-Care-Hydrocortisone-Spray-4-Ounce/...

 

The woman who works at my favourite pet store is super interesting. I have had more than one conversation with her where I could have sworn she was channeling Karen, except once in while she'll slip something in about apple cider vinegar or something else and then I remember there is only one Karen. But for the most part, she is pretty knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to pet nutrition and sometimes sounds like an encyclopedia on the history of pet food.

This afternoon she assured me that all my suspicions about the hair analysis guy are correct, and that he is a total and complete loon. In fact, she said he "prey's" on people like me who are desperate to help their pets and she had some stories that sounded pretty scary (something about a diabetic cat). She didn't even get into the betadine issue but I could tell she was holding back some strong emotions when I told her about it.

She said that the epsom salts would be a great thing for a dog like him except that the potassium and sodium will screw up Winston's results in his next blood test, which I need to get done soon. She said the chamomile soak is a good idea so long as Winston doesn't want to drink all the water if he likes the taste. I doubt that because there is nothing Winnie hates more than being in a bathtub and he refuses treats because he is so put-off by the indignity of it all. She also said I could try apple cider vinnegar heavily diluted in water (I'm not going to do this, but I do have a big bottle in my fridge in case DK gives me the go ahead).

She knew all about most dog allergies being environmental, but told me that while orijen is a great food for a dog like Sophie, she doesn't recommend it for dogs with serious allergies AND hypothyroidism because of the multiple protein and fat content being hard on the system. She said I should consider trying something fish based such as the Taste of the Wild fishy formula since it's easier on his system to process (got into something about the liver that I can't quite remember) ... but, she said, before I do anything I should find a new vet... one that specializes in allergies and does skin scraping (which she said is the first and most important thing I should be doing) and one that doesn't charge exhorbitant prices for basic care or try to upsell every procedure under the sun like my vet clinic does... (basically, she didn't actually say that, but I deduced it from our conversation, she really didn't seem to like my clinic). She told me my clinic lied to me about the skin scraping not being available in Ottawa and began to provide me with names of vets/clinics who do it.

So, I told her I had been thinking of switching and had booked a consult for a second opinion on Winston with another vet who has a special interest in allergies. When I told her the name of the clinic she was pleased and said she had been very impressed with their care of some of her rescues (did I mention she's been working with three different rescue groups for 16 years)... do you love her as much as I do yet?? I was planning on going there next week for a second opinion but am going to call them in the morning to see if they can squeeze me in right away.

When I described how Winston's itching had transferred and seems to be focussing on his chin in the past few days she said that is actually a normal reaction at this stage in his thyroid treatment and she's seen it happen before and it is almost like a good thing because it means the treatment is progressing. She thinks the obssessive chin scratching causing scabs might actually start to decline as the treatment continues.

Finally, an extra tidbit I got from her was that chewable vitamin C tablets might help him a bit and that it wouldn't hurt to include it in his daily cocktail. She nodded vigorously when I meantioned I'm already giving him EPO.

 

Basically, after spending at least 30 minutes discussing Winston and Sophie I left after only paying for four cans of wellness, which is what i use to hide winston's medicine in (i.e. she didn't sell me a thing). As I was leaving she called me back in and handed me a bag full of $2000 worth of medication from a previous rescue who didn't survive and asked me to donate it to the new vet clinic for clients who can't afford the medication.

 

I think it was a fairly fruitful discussion. So anyways, after all of this, I still need a hydrocortisone spray. Any suggestions other than the Amazone one above?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, the Relief spray I use for JD is apparently back-ordered from the manufacturer, but they gave some alternate choices:

http://www.entirelypets.com/relspraybydv.html

There is no way that soaking feet in epsom salts would cause any change in the  blood levels of sodium or potassium (or any other mineral.) The body just doesn't work that way. I am sure F will confirm this. Do not worry that using it will affect his blood test in any way.

Without knowing exactly what the thinking is behind recommending TOTW over Orijen for Winnie, I can't comment except to say that TOTW does not have a very good Omega 6:3 ratio- it's about 8:1, as opposed to Orijen, which is less than 3:1. The EFA balance is one of the reasons JD's specialist recommended it.

But I'm glad you got some good advice about vets, etc. :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

True, true. Levels of electrolytes, potassium and sodium among them are carefully controlled. Even when we retain salt it's in the form of retaining extra fluid and sodium in our interstitial tissues. When a dog or person cannot control electrolyte levels they are very sick or will be. As to the cortisone, I couldn't see the strength or anything but it should be fine, I think. OTC preps are usually 0.5 to 1%. It's best to not do too many things at once to avoid confusing the picture of what's helping, side effects etc. As to skin scrapings, why did you want them? Mites, a fungus? The most well informed pet store person can be very helpful but they are not vets or even health care folks of any kind.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wonder if the store lady is confusing skin scraping with skin scratch testing.

JD's specialist does always do a scraping to make sure of what she's dealing with (fungal infection, etc) before treating JD's skin infections.

 The bill always says something like Tzanzyk Prep, maybe you will know what that is?

[F, Calla & Luca]

No clue but skin scrapings are used to check for fungi, parasites, etc. Maybe it is skin testing she meant.

OK here is Wikipedia, the Tzanck is used to look for herpes. Weird to have low #s of epithelial cells since that is what you are scraping. I guess not a great specimen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe not used for herpes in vet med?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Nope, it is but also used for a few other things like pemphigus, a skin disorder as well. After all, as we say about people, and I now say about people and dogs, we are all more alike than not alike.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

it's possible that I'm the one who was mixing up skin scrapings. She definitely meant for allergy testing.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Then it would be allergy skin testing, where antigen is used to test for skin allergies, not a skin scraping.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Then that's the scratch testing. Scraping is when they scrape a few cells onto a slide to see if there's an infection, mites or whatever.

THIS is skin testing:

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

wow. So karen, is each spot where they tested a different substance and are the spots that have red rashes around them the indication of an allergy adn the ones that don't are ok?