1. What should you do if the chia seeds are not helping restore normal bowel movement?
I think this is where we need to kind of fall back and kind of revisit what’s going on in the food because I’m fairly certain that you went through a fecal test and a fecal PCR to look at organisms like campylobacter, C diff and things of that nature so this makes me think that something is still not right in the gut. I think that it’s time to dig down into food a little bit more. If you have somebody that can do a sway test for you or if you know how to sway test for food, then I would go through it and try that. The other thing would be the glacier peaks holistic test. And then finally, a new kind of technique that I’m bringing on board is tissue mineral analysis. What that is, is looking at hair to look at mineral balance. I think they also look at some toxicities, but I think you want to look specifically at what is going on with the food and make sure there’s not something in there that’s a consistent issue. Also, if you come up negative with the food, go through a gut rebuilding program and that would be using not only FidoSpore or probably more appropriately MegaSporeBiotic because it does not contain beef or pork as far as a flavoring agent. Using their MegaMune and probably a saccharomyces boulardii and do that kind of in stepwise fashion to rebuild the gut.
Now, for the test that I mentioned such as the fecal test, any veterinarian can do that same as well with the fecal PCR test. You do want to make sure that they should be able to submit that through both IDEXX and Antech which are the two most common commercial labs. The fecal PCR test is going to look for C diff, campylobacter and E coli that produces an enterotoxin in 8 or 6 other ones. Regarding glacier peaks, what it helps me with more than anything else is food allergies or food sensitivities. I’ve tried Dr. Dodd’s test, I’ve tried the allergy test through Heska and thing of that nature for food which are blood – based, and I find this to be as effective in about a third of the cost.
2. When will you start introducing mineral test officially?
I’m going to start working with the tissue mineral analysis for myself, May Jo and Hiyo, and see kind of where that takes us but it’s another approach to helping the body balance itself by making sure the mineral ratios are an in proper ratio. Hair is more effective than blood because it gives a better clearer picture about what’s going on. You can have a normal magnesium at the blood level. I think they also include some level of information about various toxins and also some food sensitivities. They use the minerals to kind of tell you what foods are going to work better for you. It’s really cool since you just have to get about a tablespoon of hair and send that into the lab. Dr. Frick has been using this for some number of years and I think it’s been very effective in her hands and so she’s kind of helping me learn a little bit more about it.
3. Is adding moringa in the food safe?
I think it’s worth the try because it does offer all of these minerals and some vitamins which will be in low sort of food-based quantities. Iron is a little bit tricky as far as getting into toxicities but the fiber is a good idea. Hanna said she uses it for her pups. The tree is indigenous to the Philippines so it’s always a good plan. Also, there are tons of antioxidants in it and it seems to help you modify your insulin sensitivity or reduce your blood sugar count and then reducing inflammation. I think it’s worth trying. Now, I’m not sure what products are good in the U.S. I can’t remember the name of that stuff. It was like a multi – level marketing thing that was supposed to be the best things since sliced bread. To me, it tasted like vomit and it’s something that started with an M. That went off like wildfire but at the end of the day it didn’t really help that much.
4. Do you necessarily need to have surgery for bulging disc or lumbar spine?
I still have four bulging discs in my neck and four in my lumbar spine but I don’t think that you need to have a surgery. There’s a lot of other things that can be done including stem cell injections which is what I ended up having last year. It wasn’t surgical but it still had debilitating pain. However, the stem cell injections actually stopped the pain so I hope that makes sense. Neurologist tend to tell you that surgery is the way to go but, in many cases, it can actually end up destabilizing the discs. There’s a couple of things I would do for this guy. Definitely increasing the barbiturate 6 – fold is going to make him more goopy. As far as conventional therapies, if they’re not using Keppra, this would be some place to start just to reduce the amount of sedation he’s having from the drug. Potassium bromide can also be used. Again, those two drugs are going to be stabilizing as far as the seizure with fewer effects with the phenobarbital because that will cost his liver some issues.
The other big thing is CBD. For this guy, I would use the CBD Dog Heal product at that super high dose. Again, he may have some sedation so start slow and work your way up. The top dose will be somewhere about 50 milligrams so start with about 9 to 10 and work your way up to what his dose will be. And anything that reduces inflammation especially in the brain, is going to help reduce seizures so that’s another good option.
5. What is the best diet in reducing inflammation?
Diet wise, this is where things like keto diet can be very helpful. The goal of keto is to turn the brain into a fat burning machine instead of sugar burning machine. This helps to reduce inflammation in the brain and also reduce the seizure focus. Because at 4 years old, the dog is really young to have ongoing seizures. The other thing I would double check on and make sure is not part of the problem is the thyroid issues. For these young dogs, we can miss that but this is one of those things that is easy to work on. So, that’s where I would start conventionally.
6. How many doses of CBD is appropriate for pain management? And what are the other medications for pain relief?
So, 0.25 ml with the ease and that’s a pretty hefty dose. That’s going to be about two and a half milligrams for 14 and a half pound dogs which is not bad. Now, as far as pain relief, meloxicam is going to provide the most direct pain relief because it is a non – steroidal anti – inflammatory pain, and then the gabapentin is used in conjunction with meloxicam to do a couple of things. You can also use it in conjunction with CBD, but it helps to reduce pain wind up. I don’t think it reduces pain outright, but it helps to reduce the nervous system response to pain. If 0.25 ml a day is all you can get to the CBD and I’m presuming that more than that your pup gets super dopey, it can take a while to acclimate. Now, if you combine that with gabapentin, you may see more dopiness. The meloxicam is going to provide the most pain relief but it has the most potential effects as far as affecting the kidney and the liver, so with a heart murmur and a large heart, that should not be a problem but I would go thread cautiously.
The other thing I would really encourage you to look into would be things like a handheld laser or k – laser, I think. There are several handheld lasers that you can use. Also, Assissi loops are great. So, if you need to use meloxicam to give her some relief until some of these other things kick in, do it. The thing that really sucks is that we want to do things as naturally as possible but at the end of the day sometimes it’s just not enough for some patients. Every once and a while Hiyo will walk a little too far and then we will give her a dose of meloxicam because otherwise she will limp for 3 to 4 days. And then certainly, you would want to use joint supplements.
Ladies, I think that is what I have for you today. So, until next week. Have a wonderful week. Give everybody a big hug. Hopefully, everybody stays safe. You have a happy and safe 4th of July and I hope your dogs don’t get too freaked out. Take good care. Thanks!
