My 13 yr old just diagnosed

[Tamara]

Terri, I have a recipe for slippery elm cocktail and I’ve talked to our holistic vet about it and it will not interfere with medication absorption, which is a concern with slippery elm. It is

-1 t. slippery elm powder (for me this is the contents of 5 capsules)
-dissolve in 1/2 c. boiling water

After that cools completely, add
-1/4 c. aloe vera juice (inner filet only)
-10 drops cholorphyll
-1 capsule acidopholus
Whisk to combine well. Give 2 t. 15 – 30 minutes before a meal or snack, 4 or 5x daily. I use 10ml baby medicine syringes, I got them at CVS. You can insert the syringe behind the canine and give very slowly. For Ashki it actually works better to start it behing the canine and then move it to the front of his mouth. He’s not crazy about it, but given that I know someone who takes this for her ulcer and says it really helps, I give this in between the sucralfate to him, about 3x daily.

I had to change vets too, it was the best thing I did. Let me know if I can help or if you have any questions about that process.
big hugs,
tamara and ashki

[Terri]

I would love to find a more responsive vet but I have no idea how to go about it. Any help would be great.
I used the SEB with honey recipe only because I don’t have aloe or chloryphil.
I have seen that recipe. I can’t give 4 times a day due to working 12 hrs nights and trying to get sleep. I have to set my alarm twice to wake up to give meds during day. I will do it on my days of though. I have horses so I have syringes. I’m using a 20 ml syringe at the moment.
I heard that the SEB isn’t so much a protector as it is a soother and healer. That the Pepcid acts more as the protector. I think I read that from ” Calliecritturs” on another aiha discussion. I’m not sure how true that is but I know that SEB is awesome for the tummy and even has nutritional value. I have a large bottle of the powder form.
Koda is doing well. Still a little weak. Can’t wait til Monday to see where his numbers are. I’m kindof nervous about it.

[admin]

Hiya Terry

Oh pooh! I really thought the rimadyl was the problem – it might have made him worse though & it clearly has warnings on the FDA manufacturer’s leaflet. Who knows as we don’t have the pre-rimadyl tests.

I am a huge fan of sucralfate – I cannot tell you what a big difference it made to Worzel. The slippery elm is good too. The pepcid didn’t do the job on it’s own for him. He had to take high dose doxycycline for about 5 – 6 weeks & he was clearly in a lot of discomfort – it’s a horrible antibiotic for the tummy, but it was a lifesaver for him.

Anyway, I hope you can find a good new vet – I am getting on the case right now & will post on here what I find for you. Please ask Tamara for help with this too – she has had a very similar experience & can help you with the transition.

Love Sheena x

[Terri]

I put a plea out to facebook for anyone with personal experience with the vets in my area. Patrice listed the specialist that sounds awesome. Now just need a good reliable reg vet with a take charge attitude. I may not need to get referred.
I’m wondering now if his severe anemia wasn’t due to his kidney disease.
How does a consult with Dr. Dodds work?

Thanks
Terri and Koda

[Tamara]

Hi Terri, you can do a consult with Dr. Dodds via email or phone, I’ve always done it by email. I paid the fee on her website, $100, and that is all you will have to pay and she gets back to you very very quickly, always. It’s wonderful. I have been worried or distressed about a pathology report and had questions and she has gotten back to me very quickly and put me at ease. I just send her all the labs and reports and tell her about Ashki’s diet and supplements so she has all the information. I also told her about his history, including vaccination history and other health problems.

Re slippery elm: I was concerned because I had read a couple articles written by vets that slippery elm can interfere with medication absorption so I asked our holistic vet and she said that the recipe I was using was ok, the amount of slippery elm given at a time was low enough it wouldn’t interfere.

Have you looked on yelp for reviews about local vets? Just a thought, trying to think of other resources where you could get information.

What is the extent of Koda’s kidney disease? The kidneys are definitely important in the whole regenerative process, and I can’t remember if he’s regenerative.

hugs,
tamara and ashki

[admin]

Just checking to see how you & Koda are doing – I know you have been working hard to get the best help for him
Sending love & hugs
Sheena & the boyz xxxxx

[Terri]

Ugh, I just posted a long message and it didn’t go through for some reason.
Koda’s bloodwork today was slightly worse than 4 days ago.
WBC are up to 35.8
PVC is 24.3 was 24.9
HGB 9.3

Platelets are now 257 from 161.
Blood got sent out to the lab so I hope I know more tomorrow.
His kidneys aren’t as bad as I thought and she says that it was probably due to his dehydration. crea 1.7
I didn’t get the results from the renal test today.
She said she will probably up the pred to BID but I’m going to talk to her tomorrow after the lab results come in.
I feel like just giving him a pred tonight as I feel like he needs it.
His appetite is very good. He’s just weak and pale.
I’ve ordered chlorophyll and aloe juice and am going to add some blood building foods to his stew meals.
I think I’ll be putting a message in to Dr. Dodds soon.
My care credit is about maxed. I need to work some OT to stay up on these vet bills.
The vet told me that he’s regenerative.
I sent in a free catch urine this morning. his sp gravity is 1.015.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things.
thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to send me a message of encouragement.
It helps so much.

Terri

[admin]

Hi Terri. I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal with Koda. Everyone is giving you great advice here.

I wanted to pipe in about the costs. I would ask if your vet will give you a discount. It’s worth asking. My vet actually accepted Pet Assure (http://www.petassure.com/home.html) where I got a 25% discount for all visits, medications, procedures, etc., everything. Although they discontinued it recently, I got a letter saying they would honor my discount for my AIHA cocker spaniel, Sadie. I also have my vet (they were not thrilled about this at first, but realized they were off the wall on some of the medications) write prescriptions and have them filled at Costco (if you have one near…), which also has a pet plan (for humans too, if no insurance) for uninsured animals. Both have helped tremendously. At first, I felt awkward asking – but as you well know, the costs can be astronomical – so help is needed.

I am so sorry Koda is going through this, but stay with us and you will most assuredly not be alone AND get the necessary advice so needed to promote Koda’s wellness. I was literally a dear in the head lights – questions swirling each and every visit to the vet. Stand your ground – your paying for these services and you have a right to have all the information. All tests can either be e-mailed to you or printed and handed to you then and there. This forum is great about working with your vet – so here’s hoping the vet will not feel intimidated by this forum. Shouldn’t.

The slippery elm cocktail that Tamara told you about is wonderful. Although, my dog, Sadie, has a horrible tummy and it made it worse (diarrhea). I had to tweak it and that did help. To this day, I will put a bit of plain slippery elm powder in a tiny piece of food and that seems to settle her tummy, almost like Cerenia (a great drug for tummy issues). But also, Sheena is right about the Sucralfate – it is what is needed when on these high doses of immune suppressants. The SEC soothes the tummy while the Sucralfate protects the tummy. When Sadie lies on her back with legs dangling in the air – tummy wise – she’s good. :)

I sure hope you stay with us and keep us posted. This is your forum to help Koda.

We are so thinking about you and sending love and huge hugs, Linda and Sadie