Question Details
Seizures Getting Worse
by DWT - November 15, 2017
Hi Steve. This is a follow-up question about a dog I posted here a while back. She is a very nice 5.5 yr old Great Pyrenees, s/f who is having intermittent seizures that have gotten worse recently. She has a history of damp and heat symptoms with recurring otitis, one-time vaginitis, etc. She did have one histiocytoma removed. Her hair coat is damp, her tongue is pale-pink with a clear coat and her pulse is pretty normal. She is very nice and friendly but will get food aggressive and has bitten her owner once when food was involved. I started acupuncture, changed to a raw, balanced, fresh diet and sent home Tian Ma Gu herbal support.

She continues to have seizures 1-2 per month but getting longer and more dramatic. They are now giving her valium rectally after each seizure. She started having periods of harsh coughing with expectorating mucous and frank blood. They took her to the emergency clinic recently because of the large amount of blood. A full work-up was done and nothing found on films or blood work. I changed the herbs to Snake and Dragon and Di Tan Tang in hopes of countering the damp and heat but it is not working as she is still getting worse. She had a violent seizure at 1am this morning and coughed a large amount of blood.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, I tried some xiao yao wan for a period due to the food aggression but did not seem to help. thanks.
Replies
by naturevet
November 15, 2017
Hi Dennis,

Since we are approaching the winter solstice, we're entering the time of year when we experience Jue Yin excess, as well as the consequences of very low Liver Blood and Yin. Any of these could produce seizures.

You mention coughing of blood, not vomiting, but if you meant vomiting, then the formula to try is Qing Ying Tang, coupled with Wu Mei Wan (100g) to which 20g of Tian Ma, and 15g of Yi Mu Cao have been added. Give full doses of each twice daily. It should stop the vomiting and help the seizures subside. This combination should also help the skin a bit

To track progress, count the number of days in the seizure-free interval, and divide by the number of seizures seen when the interval breaks. If you see a decline in that number, you're getting somewhere.

If the dog truly has a respiratory condition, then you need to start with Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang, which descends Blood and Qi downward, as well as decongests the lungs. You may want to add 20g of Dan Shen (Salvia) per 100g of XFZYT for extra calming effect. Continue use of the TMGTY

The TMGTY is fine as it is, but Di Tan Tang is drying and could make the three pathologies noted above worse. LDXGT (Snake and Dragon) is probably okay to use with the above, given that it has some Rehmannia and Dang Gui in it. Natural Path and Kan versions are a little safer when addressing Yin and Blood deficiency than other brands, as they have proportionately more tonics and so are less drying

Lastly, check your dosing. You need to give, on average at least twice the volume of tablets and teapills as you would granular extracts to get anything approaching to a similar effect. Many human herb companies have doses that are too low for small animal use

Hope that helps!

Steve
by DWT
November 15, 2017
Thanks Steve. It is definitely coughing with blood.
by naturevet
November 16, 2017
How very odd! Well continue with TMGTY and add in XFZYT with Dan Shen added. I'd stop the Di Tan Tang and maybe even the LDXGT in that instance, unless you feel they are helping

Steve
by DWT
November 16, 2017
Steve. I went to order the herbs in a granular form but I don't see that Kan Herbs offers them in anything but tincture or tablets. Any suggestions as to where to get the granules?
by naturevet
November 16, 2017
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