Anyone use herbs and alternative remedies?

I've been thrown into this all of a sudden, and want to learn more about what the heck I am doing!

Sugar and Lacey have both been sick, different issues, over the past 2 weeks; and neither was responding well to the pharmaceuticals.

Lacey is now doing lots better, she is on chamomile tea and slippery elm, I syringe these in her mouth to help with pain and swelling from a major dental. Allows her to eat right after. This is a short term thing; she will be fine in a few weeks.

Sugar was due to have her nasal polyp removed (yes again, this would be the 4th time in 5 years), and the blood work pre anesthesia found all 3 liver enzymes were very high. The vet put her on antibiotic and denamarin, and started talking about liver disease and possible cancer. This came out of nowhere, and she has NO symptoms of any problem. She is now on milk thistle tincture, milk thistle powder, and SAM-e in addition to what the vet prescribed. I am told to have her blood work done again in 2 to 3 weeks, and we should see a big change. Unfortunately she won't test out "fine" until after the polyp procedure, because she has to be on prednisone to breathe just now, and this is for sure elevating those readings; whether or not it is the only thing, we don't know.

All this happened very quickly on Sunday; I found someone knowledgable, referred to her by several different people, spent 2 hours on the phone with her on Sunday and immediately went out and have done what she advised. Yes, Lacey is doing lots better. For Sugar, won't know for a time. Now I have time to breathe again, I want to get a better foundation in what I am doing.

Any guidance appreciated!

Sandie, maybe this is something you could discuss with Dr. Carol, the vet who does "Ask a Vet" for the radio show I am on. Would you be able to call in on Thursday late morning? PM me for specifics ...

I know I - as someone who is highly allergic to ragweed pollen - have been told to avoid chamomile tea, as they are close relatives. But that's the extent of my knowledge, and of course Miss Hoppy preferred eating her herbs, just certain ones though!

Well, Vets are trained in Western medicine. They frequently are not even open to TCM - traditional Chinese medicine. I'm not sure discussing this with her would be a good idea -- she "could" even consider it a "set up."

From her website:

Dr. Carol combines high quality Western Veterinary Medicine (as in surgery, antibiotics, advanced medical therapeutics, etc) with Eastern and Alternative Veterinary Medicine (such as Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bach Flowers, Nutritional Supplements and Diet, etc) offering the best of both worlds to optimize pet health, wellness and longevity for dogs and cats.

Sandie,

I have two cats that are seeing a Homeopathic vet.

Maya Linn and Bartie go to Manchester Veterinary Hospital and see Dr. Alexis Soutter. She is AWESOME!!!!

Maya has had issues with sneezing for years. Every vet I took her to put her on every conceiveable antiobiotic on the market to no avail.

Dr. Soutter diagnosed her with a vaccination carcinoma and said after reading up on sneezing and stuff, put her on Phosphorus. Her sneezing subsided. She's also on Lysine gel and an animal immune supplement. After a while, the phosphorus started not doing it's job, so she then put her on Silicea. These things are all natural and are working great.

Bartie, as you know, has high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism. Because he's so advanced in the hyperthyroidism, he's on Methimazole, and Altenlol for b/p. He's doing well also.

Bartie also has MAJOR dental issues. I asked Dr. Soutter if he's in any pain and she said probably. I got BellaDonna and gave him some which seems to help him, as he looks like he's in pain chewing. Dr. Soutter wants to get his B/P under control before she puts him under for dental.

Good luck, Sandie!!

Our RB dachshund Max quit responding to traditional veterinary medicine too. All the years he had taken prednisone killed his immune system. After his almost dying with a bout of hemorrhagic gastritis and staff skin infections, I took him to a Holistic vet who practiced acupuncture and chinese herbs. It made a world of difference. With the combination of the practices we were able to get him to a point where he was healthier than he had been in years and we had three more years than we thought we would have.

Thank you Donna and Robin!

I'm always open to learning new ways to treat illnesses. Where do you buy the herbs, etc?
I wouldn't trust just any website for info, unless it was recomended by someone I trust. So
any ways to check out trusted methods?

Lizbud, that is one reason my initial phone call was 2 hours! Callie was explaining which companies to use and which to avoid. It is NOT easy to learn, it is NOT a matter of reading a label - most of the stuff she was telling isn't on the label!

Things like (just an example) this company will harvest milk thistle from a big field. The harvest will include grasses, hay, various plants. You may get 3 milk thistle seeds in an ounce. That company uses greenhouses, so they know the only thing in their harvest is milk thistle. So you get an ounce of milk thistle seeds.

It was quite confusing, but I took copious notes. We both went online to the same website and she dictated exactly which things I should buy. I wrote it all down, and went to the store with my "shopping list." I went straight up to a clerk and asked for help so I wasn't roaming all around the store (I got there at 5:30 PM on a Sunday - they close at 6 on Sundays!) I had name brand, item name, number of capsules or bottle size, and website price.

Since Lacey in particular was in a crises, I couldn't wait to order online, had to go to a store; we had to search and find a store near me. What I bought is enough for about 10 days. THEN Callie gave me the list of websites where the products are available for the best price INCLUDING SHIPPING. Later on Sunday, after I had been to the store, returned, and dosed both dogs, I sat down and put in my orders. That will be for more long term especially for Sugar; Lacey is all set and just about ready to be off everything now.

I just don't know how I will know what to do on my own. You have to figure out what item, how much (usually based on pet's weight), how often (twice a day? once a day? with food? On its own?) and for how long (a week? 2 weeks? till pet is better?). Geesh! It was quite overwhelming.

Callie gave me the names of 3 books to use as starters (she said she has close to 50 books, some she bought but didn't like, and some she used a lot at the beginning and doesn't use much at all now.) All 3 are available on Amazon with free shipping for prime members (I am a prime member) so I have ordered those.

I raised all this at Willy's Agility class on Tuesday night. 3 folks there also are very involved in this. They immediately wanted specifics as to what I had been told, and they all agreed with what I was doing, which was another helpful support. Two of them use a homeopathic vet (we only have ONE in our state!) and the third has learned it on her own over time, talking with folks on line and such. One of them has also suggested a book for me, and I will get that via Amazon w/ free shipping as well. Wish I had known about it; free shipping for Prime members requires a $20 order, and the book is $15, so I need to find something else to buy now, ha haaa. (Finding something to buy is NOT a problem my poor wallet!)

And this area uses different terminology: "Standardized" means time released, which means other stuff has been added. If you are a purist, you want the plain herb in its simplest form, and you will use it 2 or 3 times a day, rather than use one time released dose.

I figure I will get in to it. For one thing, I have 15 pets! For another, I have been on the edges of this, with my herb garden in the back yard, knowing which were edible leave, leave and root, leave root and flower, and so forth. Took Dad some getting used to when I'd put geranium blossoms in our food! (Only certain ones). It's a whole new world.