Epilepsy, chronic stomatitis, interstitial cystitis
Veterinary Alternatives February 2013 Newsletter
This month I decided you might like to know some differences in how I treat certain medical problems in pets, compared to the conventional way of treatment. I have chosen three health problems that conventional veterinary medicine frequently runs out of options for or fails to completely control.
EPILEPSY: Occurring in both dogs and cats, but much more common in dogs, this is often called “idiopathic epilepsy”. Idiopathic is a fancy word for “we don’t know why”, meaning science has yet to determine the cause. In cats, seizures are more often caused by brain tumors. In dogs, occasionally a tumor is the source, especially in dogs over 8 years of age, but usually it is not clear why seizures start. Regular treatment involves various medications that act as sedatives on the nervous system to suppress seizures. In some dogs, “break-through” seizures still occur despite maximum safe levels of medication. My standard treatment for epilepsy is acupuncture, using points for “releasing wind”, “calming the shen”, and blood tonic points. One of my favorite patients is a German Shepherd who had clusters of multiple seizures every 10 days while on two medications. She has received acupuncture treatments every 2 weeks for the last 6 years, and is currently completing a duration of 18 months of no seizures for the second time since beginning. We saw an immediate response to the acupuncture in the form of reduced seizure severity, and intervals between seizures has increased steadily through the years. I would now also add food therapy in the form of tonic foods to further treat this problem, and do chiropractic exams at least twice a year.
CHRONIC STOMATITIS IN CATS: This condition is one of severely inflamed and swollen gums and upper throat in cats. No one is quite sure what causes it although it is thought that an immune system attack on the enamel of the teeth may be a contributing factor. In some cats, having all their teeth pulled can improve their condition. I would also not be surprised if a contributing factor is chemicals in the environment or commercial cat foods. Cats with this diagnosis have significant oral pain, difficulty swallowing, and problems eating. They may drool excessively and their quality of life can be dramatically reduced. Besides tooth pulling, most cats under conventional care are on steroids or chemotherapy drugs to suppress the immune system, and often need other medications to control infections that then can occur. Treatments I often use are food therapy to offer a cooling diet that supports the immune system, supplements to balance the immune system and support the liver in its efforts to detoxify the strong medications; and acupuncture to release Heat and Wind, control pain, and balance the immune system. I can also use acupuncture and food therapy to stimulate the appetite. Chiropractic evaluation at least twice a year can make sure the nervous system function for the immune system is working as it should. Finally, I would use cold laser therapy on the mouth itself (which luckily can be done from outside the mouth) to reduce inflammation.
INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS IN CATS: This disorder is a relatively new one in the field of veterinary medicine. It presents initially like a bladder infection with frequent urination, painful urination, and blood in the urine. But tests show that there is no real infection—the urine has no bacteria or white blood cells in it that would indicate an infectious cause. This is another one of those “idiopathic” diseases. The lining of the bladder is inflamed, thickened, and painful but no cause has been discovered. Again, I suspect chemical exposure and diet to be contributing factors. Conventional medicine has very little to offer for this disease at this time. Steroids, antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, and anti-inflammatories have all been tried and all fall short of significant control. I treat these very similarly to chronic stomatitis—acupuncture for pain, to support the bladder and balance the immune system, and to remove Heat. Supplements for the immune system and cranberry to acidify the urine and help prevent secondary bacterial infections may be helpful. Finally, cold laser of the bladder itself can diminish the inflammation and reduce symptoms. Certainly I would also recommend at least twice yearly chiropractic evaluation to make sure nothing is interfering with the nervous system function to the bladder and immune system.
In closing, there are many health problems in cats and dogs that often fail to be completely controlled by conventional medicine. Sometimes the medications don’t work, sometimes they work but the problem comes back, sometimes they only work partially and quality of life is still adversely affected by the disease. If you know anyone with pets that have complaints of this nature, encourage them to give holistic medicine a try. It may take time and some trial and error to discover the best combination of treatments for each pet, but I can guarantee if we find it, the pet will have a longer and happier life. My goal is always to give my patients the best quality of life we possibly can, despite their medical issues.
Don’t forget! Veterinary Alternatives not only offers house-calls, but is willing to perform acupuncture, chiropractic, and cold laser therapy at your local veterinarian’s office on a regular basis, allowing them to offer these services without investing in the training and equipment themselves. If you’d like to see these services at YOUR veterinarian’s office, please mention this to them and ask them to contact me for more information. I also will do lunch-and-learn’s or veterinary staff education lectures at their clinics if they would like to find out more about my services. I am now lecturing regularly at a local veterinary technology school about holistic therapies so they may be hearing more about what I can do from their staff.
