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Bella - 4 years old mix breed canine MMVD stage B1, acid reflux, low energy and possible mild depression

AlenooshM

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Jan 31, 2023
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10
@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff @Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. Sara

my apologies for the long post/lengthy details.
  1. Bella
  2. 4 years and 2 months old
  3. Female
  4. early spayed at 6 months age
  5. mix breed Rescue
  6. 18.7 kg
  7. BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood) As a poppy Bella was rather normally active and happy pupp, as she grows older we have noticed that her activity level has decreased. She seems rather quiet, and We think that Bella might have some mild depression (not sure though), she might also some self-confidence issues, she is a very smart dog and very sensitive. When correcting Daisy her canine older sister she seems to take it personal as she starts to think she has done something wrong. In another word she takes everything very personal. Her ears drops back and her body posture changes and comes and asks for forgiveness for something that its not even her issue. She is very good with people at the dog park but we have noticed that she doesn’t like very busy and active dogs and gets easily agitated and growls to keep the dog away (NOT aggressive though) She seems to be edgy. She plays mainly with Daisy at the dog park and mainly ignores other dogs unless they come to her and most of the times she pushes them away (most of the times but there are couple of other dogs that she likes). She is more into sniffing around and scavenging. she also gets board easily hence needs to be exposed to new places, smells, people, dogs etc. better with people than dogs. during the day she loves to rest, goes to the garden baks at the passing by crowds, in the evening after dinner she becomes more active and playful. demands to go for long walks. pretty good with her canine older sister and feline brother but submissive to her sister. Sometimes we see some jealousy when we give attention to Daisy and Benji (feline). when she gets excited she turn back to bite her tail (she doesn't bit it but the action of turning back and going for the tail is there).
  8. she is raw fed from 12 months of age
  9. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication (files attached) no exposure to vaccines, flea and tick since 2019.
  10. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time - occaisonal acid reflux, low energy in general when compared with her older sister, gets worse in summer, I suspect mild depression and low confidence as well as she is submissive to people and her sister. She does lick her self specially legs, Its either due to feeling uncomfortable because of reflux or maybe she has mild joint pain. not skin related, she has soft and healthy coat with no bad smell, she actually smells clean and fresh even after 4 months of not being washed. she had couple of cysts last summer on the skin which bursts and loads of gunky liquid came out but nothing since.
  11. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? we have pretty hot and humid summer in Dubai so she becomes less energetic during summer. also less active during the day and more active in the evenings. doesn't do well with high fat.
  12. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them) blood test last year (file attached, also attached blood test from 2021 for comparison purposes) parasite test (attached), then did a cardiac ultra sound last November and the vet said she is stage B1 but said no meds are required and no action plans are needed (sigh)
  13. Current and previous treatment. we don't have any holistic vets in Dubai, so I have to make sure I am doing loads of research and educating myself so I immediately put her on ubiquinol 200mg twice a day (one in the morning and one in the evening with food) and hawthorn berry glycerite twice a day (one in the morning and one in the evening with food). for her acid reflux back in November last year I fasted her for a day then bland diet for 10 days, adding Dr. Mercola digestive enzyme with each food. after 10 days went back to feeding her gently cooked low fat raw (seared in a bit of water for less than a minute), on 20th jan 2023 I switched to low fat raw (less than 9%) again but made sure that the food is served room temperature continuing adding digestive enzymes also since 26th jan 2023 she is on gut guard from 4 leaf rover twice a day and planning to continue for a month or two. she seems to be doing way better compare to November last year and the episodes are less frequent. I monitor it and as soon as I feel like she is going to have an episode I offer either raw honey, piece of banana, camomile tea or marshmallow tea etc. worth to mention that she is a very smart girl and she keeps her head elevated which helps her with her issue (pic attached). as for joints health, she is getting fresh sardines couple of times a week, green eggs from four leave rover once or twice a week, bone broth couple of times a week. she also gets variety of probiotics in rotation from adored beast love bugs, Protect from four leave rover, homemade fermented veggies, raw goat milk kefir, coconut kefir, ION Biome in addition to medicinal mushrooms from real mushrooms and glandular from Dr. Mercola. please note that I try to keep supplements at minimum and not put many together in the bowl specially after the acid reflux issue. so she gets everything in rotation and not constantly.
  14. Other health concerns - not that I know of
additional info: back in December 2021 I did a consult with a homeopath in USA with the chief complaint being low activity level and mild depression. she was prescribed
Anarcardium 30C 2x daily for 2 weeks. we saw she opened up more to people greeting them in the park but not major changes in her mood and activity levels.

my questions:
1- is the protocol I put in place for heart issue is good and is it sufficient to reverse or stop heart disease progression? do I need to do anything differently?
2- is adding digestive enzymes on daily basis going to cause any issues in the long run? it seems that its helping with her reflux issue so is it ok to continue without having any break in between?
3- since I suspect minor joint pain or mild depression, do you recommend adding SAMe 200 mg to support joints, mood and liver? if yes would you pls let me know the dosage and duration pls.
4- could you pls advise whether do you suspect any issues with her Thyroid (hypo) by reviewing the blood tests from 2021 and 2022. unfortunately as part of the blood test they only do Total T4 as they don't do thyroid full panel In Dubai. I might be able to run for total T3 but free T3 and T4 and TSH are not available.
5- do you advise if I need to do Cortisol and progesterone tests as well? obviously I don't want to spend unnecessary money but if it is required to have a clear picture as why might be causing low energy and mood then I will arrange to do it.
6- one of the ingredients in the gut Guard is licorice extract Gut Guard - For Dogs With Irritated Guts, is this safe for Bella given her heart condition? is it safe with Ubiqounal or hawthorn berry?
7- pls advise if I need to run any other tests, give any other supplement or avoid giving anything that can be harmful.

thank you so much

You can download the picture or document for future reference.

complete Blood Test.jpg

Titer Test ICH, CPV, CDV.jpg

Vitamin D.png

Bella1.jpg

IMG_0970.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Bella vaccination.pdf
    198.6 KB · Views: 2
  • Bella Mirzakhanian Faecal Sample Report_CVRL.pdf
    242 KB · Views: 3
  • CID 39677 PID 78264 CARDIAC ULTRASOUND 14-11-2022.pdf
    672.8 KB · Views: 5
  • BELLA_Mirzakhanian2Hair_Results__11-09-2021.pdf
    439.4 KB · Views: 2
  • bella.pdf
    905.6 KB · Views: 2

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Alenoosh, and thanks for making your first post with all of this great information!

I'm sorry to hear about Bella's health challenges. She's adorable!

There's a lot going on and you may want to set up a 15 min. HMDM call if you haven't already done so.

From what I've read from the test data, Bella looks biochemically great.

I've got to run now for appointments but will re-read your post and test results as soon as I can. In the meantime you may want to start watching the 2018 Vitality and Balance and homeopathy seminar. Also, watching the Describing Symptoms seminars may also be useful.

Have a great day!
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hi again Alenoosh-
Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time - occaisonal acid reflux, low energy
It would be awe-some if you could describe the reflux symptom. What exactly happens (does she spit up, lick her lips, make a noise like something is coming up in her mouth, swallowing, etc.)?

Also, in what way exactly is her energy down? Not getting up to interact, tiring easily on walks, etc.

Thanks so much for posting the resources Kim!
 

AlenooshM

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Jan 31, 2023
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Hi again Alenoosh-
thank you Dr. Jeff
It would be awe-some if you could describe the reflux symptom. What exactly happens (does she spit up, lick her lips, make a noise like something is coming up in her mouth, swallowing, etc.)?
it's a combination of a bit of lip smacking, yawning, swallowing and panting.
Also, in what way exactly is her energy down? Not getting up to interact, tiring easily on walks, etc.
she is not the type to get excited and interact in the house unless there is treats, in the morning she is the last of two to get off the bed to go out. in the dog park she mostly walk slow and on her own sniffing around and sometimes she just sits down. when a new dog enters the park then she takes off towards the entrance. also runs towards people she likes but then goes back to that slow moving dog. on the walks she likes to sniff alot and if she cannot find interesting smells she kind of walks slow , walking behind as if she gets easily bored from repeated places etc. we do our best to walk her different paths but where we live its kind of limited so we do the best we can.
Thanks so much for posting the resources Kim!
 

AlenooshM

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Jan 31, 2023
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10
Hi again Alenoosh-

It would be awe-some if you could describe the reflux symptom. What exactly happens (does she spit up, lick her lips, make a noise like something is coming up in her mouth, swallowing, etc.)?

Also, in what way exactly is her energy down? Not getting up to interact, tiring easily on walks, etc.

Thanks so much for posting the resources Kim!
here is a video from April 2022. back then I didn't know what this was and it happened less frequent until later back in November when it was more frequent and I came to conclusion that this should be reflux.
 

Attachments

  • WhatsApp Video 2023-02-02 at 14.48.18.mp4
    4.2 MB

Dr. Jeff

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Ah yes, thanks for sharing this video.

It looks like she gets what my clients and I call the gulps.

Unlike some dogs tho, they don't seem to stress her out.

Do the Mercola enzymes seem to help?

Are you able to get Rx Zyme in Dubai:

 

Dr. Christina

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Alenoosh,
This may be the time to begin to work with a great holistic veterinarian in addition to the other great things you can do at home, especially since the blood work looks good.

go to holisticactions.com/select to read a great article about finding and working with one.

You may also want to download the Healthy Dog Journal (type in search) to help track what things help the most.


Dr. Chambreau
 

AlenooshM

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Ah yes, thanks for sharing this video.
Welcome :)
It looks like she gets what my clients and I call the gulps.
is gulping a sign of acid reflux?
Unlike some dogs tho, they don't seem to stress her out.
it does to an extend that's why she begins panting. its not shown in the Video I shared but she usually starts to pant and yawn.
Do the Mercola enzymes seem to help? it seems its helping

Are you able to get Rx Zyme in Dubai: no unfortunately we don't have this available to us
I initially had few questions that i was hoping to get some answers?

1- is the protocol I put in place for heart issue is good and is it sufficient to reverse or stop heart disease progression? do I need to do anything differently?
2- is adding digestive enzymes on daily basis going to cause any issues in the long run? it seems that its helping with her reflux issue so is it ok to continue without having any break in between?
3- since I suspect minor joint pain or mild depression, do you recommend adding SAMe 200 mg to support joints, mood and liver? if yes would you pls let me know the dosage and duration pls.
4- could you pls advise whether do you suspect any issues with her Thyroid (hypo) by reviewing the blood tests from 2021 and 2022. unfortunately as part of the blood test they only do Total T4 as they don't do thyroid full panel In Dubai. I might be able to run for total T3 but free T3 and T4 and TSH are not available.
5- do you advise if I need to do Cortisol and progesterone tests as well? obviously I don't want to spend unnecessary money but if it is required to have a clear picture as why might be causing low energy and mood then I will arrange to do it.
6- one of the ingredients in the gut Guard is licorice extract Gut Guard - For Dogs With Irritated Guts, is this safe for Bella given her heart condition? is it safe with Ubiqounal or hawthorn berry?
7- pls advise if I need to run any other tests, give any other supplement or avoid giving anything that can be harmful.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Welcome :)

is gulping a sign of acid reflux?
Yes.
I initially had few questions that i was hoping to get some answers?

1- is the protocol I put in place for heart issue is good and is it sufficient to reverse or stop heart disease progression? do I need to do anything differently?
Probably not. Ideally you'd also address the putative underlying energetic imbalance.
2- is adding digestive enzymes on daily basis going to cause any issues in the long run?
Probably not. However the daily need for supplements (or a special diet) to keep symptoms under control usually indicates that the underlying imbalance still needs to be treated.

3- since I suspect minor joint pain or mild depression, do you recommend adding SAMe 200 mg to support joints, mood and liver? if yes would you pls let me know the dosage and duration pls.
Sure, SAMe can help with liver and joint support and the dose depends on the specific product. Here's one that is designed for animals:

4- could you pls advise whether do you suspect any issues with her Thyroid (hypo) by reviewing the blood tests from 2021 and 2022. u
The 2021 tt4 is fine. I don't see a 2022 result.
5- do you advise if I need to do Cortisol and progesterone tests as well? obviously I don't want to spend unnecessary money but if it is required to have a clear picture as why might be causing low energy and mood then I will arrange to do it.
I don't think further testing is nearly as important as energetic treatment.
6- one of the ingredients in the gut Guard is licorice extract Gut Guard - For DogWith Irritated Guts, is this safe for Bella given her heart condition? is it safe with Ubiqounal or hawthorn berry?
IMHO, yes. However, @Dr. Sara may have a different answer (search the forum for her recent excellent description of Hawthorn).

7- pls advise if I need to run any other tests, give any other supplement or avoid giving anything that can be harmful.
Energy and consciousness building through happiness, love and homeopathy are where you may want to focus.
 

AlenooshM

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Jan 31, 2023
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10
Yes.

Probably not. Ideally you'd also address the putative underlying energetic imbalance.
Thank you
Probably not. However the daily need for supplements (or a special diet) to keep symptoms under control usually indicates that the underlying imbalance still needs to be treated.
Make sense thx
Sure, SAMe can help with liver and joint support and the dose depends on the specific product. Here's one that is designed for animals:

I only have access to SAMe from NOW brand. Since Dr Judy has this product on her web store I reckon it’s a safe one for pets?

The 2021 tt4 is fine. I don't see a 2022 result
Pls see attached 2022 report for TT4. Awaiting your advice.
I don't think further testing is nearly as important as energetic treatment.
Understood thank you
IMHO, yes. However, @Dr. Sara may have a different answer (search the forum for her recent excellent description of Hawthorn).

Would love to hear from Dr Sara thx
Energy and consciousness building through happiness, love and homeopathy are where you may want to focus.
I’ll look into having a consult with a homeopath any specific homeopath you would recommend that does online consult?

2D669D7E-0F89-4BE9-B5C5-74C46F5D88DA.jpeg
 

Dr. Jeff

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SAMe from NOW brand. Since Dr Judy has this product on her web store I reckon it’s a safe one for pets?
Correct. This is actually the same brand I used to carry in my practice.

Thyroid is still low normal and has trended down a bit from last year. With energetic treatment I would expect this to stabilize or even improve.

In lieu of that, your vet may opt to try 2 weeks of a low replacement dose of thyroid hormone to see if that improves her energy and quality of life.

However, in a young dog with all of her issues energetic treatment with a trained vet homeopath may be your best bet. If there isn't a Hahnemannian vet homeopath in Dubai, no worries. Many of us will work virtually.



BTW-Dr. Sara's post about Hawthorn is in this thread:

 

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