I’ll be away on vacation the next couple weeks, returning the week of August 23rd. While I am away comments will not get approved and I will not be checking email.
I’ll catch up as soon as I can after I return. Thanks for visiting!
Over the years of practicing holistic medicine I was gone from thinking I could help control the symptoms of Cushings disease in dogs to now having dogs in my care who are completely controlled with diet, herbs and acupuncture.
What do you do if your dog has Cushings disease?
I have found that changing diet alone can make a huge difference in these dogs so if you can only work with diet you can still help your animal friend.
Ginkgo is also a great herb for helping with dementia, high blood pressure, and protecting against heart disease and stroke. Because of this I often recommend it in my older animals. One of my favorite ginkgo product is made my Animal Apawthecary and also contains hawthorn. It is called Animals’ Apawthecary Hawthorn Plus
. I also make a powder version of this formula called Heart and Brain Support through my etsy shop.
I have had a number of dogs who we have gotten completely off of Trilostane (the main drug to treat Cushings disease) or significantly reduced the dosage. If I can catch it early many dogs never need to use the western drugs.
One of my favorite dogs with Cushings disease is a cute little Cairn Terrier I treat named Clancy. He’s a fun little guy with a lot of spunk. We were able to catch his Cushings disease very early about a year and a half ago, just after he was diagnosed. His main symptoms were increase in weight, panting and that he was much more jumpy when touched and startled easily. He also drunk a lot of water and was always hungry. Through acupuncture, herbs and diet we have been able to keep Clancy happy and symptom free. Occasionally he will have a little flare up of symptoms but so far we have been able to treat those flare ups with acupuncture and some herbal and dietary changes. I’m hopeful that Clancy will never need Trilostane or other western drugs.
So what is Cushings disease?
If you have found this article you may already know about Cushings. For those of you that don’t here is a short explanation.
Cushings disease is caused by an overactive adrenal gland which produces too much adrenal hormone. Most of the time this is caused by a benign pituitary tumor in the brain which signals the adrenal to produce more hormone than it needs. Occasionally this is caused by an adrenal tumor in the actual gland. Usually with an adrenal tumor, removal is recommended. However with pituitary tumors removal is too difficult and the treatment of choice is to use a drug such as Lysodren or Trilostane which stop the production of adrenal hormone through destroying the cells that make it or blocking its release. This can be risky because if too much gland is destroyed or if too much hormone is blocked the animal can die, become seriously ill, or develop Addison’s disease (not enough adrenal hormone) which is much more dangerous. Both these drugs can permanently damage the adrenal glands.
The main symptoms of Cushings disease are a pot bellied appearance, excess hunger and water consumption, and hair loss on the sides. Many dogs have a tragic look to them. In addition Cushings disease can cause weakness and panting. These dogs have a weakened immune system and are prone to infections and cancers. People will often times describe their dogs with Cushings as more agitated and some dogs will have issues with sleeping through the night.
Here are a couple other good articles about Cushings disease and it’s treatment
Cushing disease
FDA cushings disease and Trilostane
An amazing things I recently learned about Cushings disease is that it appears to be closely related to type 2 diabetes. In fact there are those that believe that both diseases are the same syndrome, just manifesting differently. When brain scans were done of cats with insulin resistant type 2 diabetes, it was found that in those cats with insulin resistance had pituitary tumors characteristic of Cushings disease. Wow!
Prevelant of pituitary tumors among diabetic cats with insulin resistance
Both diseases seem to be induced by an overload of nutrients of the carbohydrate variety. Animals with Cushings disease and diabetes develop what is called metabolic syndrome. There body can not handle the amount of carbohydrates and high glycemic index ingredients in many of the processed diets we feed them. These high glycemic index diets cause high levels of inflammation in their bodies, which lead to problems in the endocrine system. This can lead to insulin resistance, development of pituitary tumors, or other inflammatory diseases.
You can pull up a great lecture on the subject of inflammation, diet and the endocrine system by one of my herbal teachers, Dr. Steve Marsden by following this link (brings up a PDF).
Management of inflammation using chinese herbs and diet
While I have not been able to get all dogs controlled without western drugs, usually we are at least able to significantly reduce clinical signs and/or reduce the dose of drugs needed to regulate this illness. In a disease with not many good safe options for treatment, I love having effective natural options to offer the animals I work with.
As with all advice offered on this website please check with your animal’s veterinarian before changing your animal’s medications or adding any herbals.
Si Miao San or Four Marvels Powder is truly one of the workhorses of Chinese medicine. It is probably the most common formula I use. You see, Si Miao San is very good at treating inflammation and our animal companions have a lot of inflammatory disorders. This is my top formula for inflammatory bowel disease, allergic dermatitis, Cushings disease, and diabetes.
Please follow this link to buy Si Miao San from my etsy store Kingdom of Basil Si Miao San powder.
For more information on Cushings disease see my article Managing Cushings Disease in Dogs Holistically.
In Chinese medicine it treats damp heat and is a simple yet powerful little formula of four ingredients.
These ingredients are highly anti-inflammatory and often this formula can take the place of prednisone for inflammatory disorders but without the side effects.
So how does this formula work for cancer?
It’s two main ingredients, Huang Bai and Yi Yi Ren, both have anticancer actions. Huang Bai contains berberine, which has been shown in a number of studies to slow down tumor growth and induce apoptosis or cell death. If you search pub med you will find a large list of studies on berberine and its anti-cancer activities.
Here is a good one – Apoptosis of human leukemia cells and murine leukemia cells induced by berberine through activation of caspase
Coix seed also inhibits growth of cancer cells and can induce apoptosis. Here is a great article on coix seed and its cancer actions –
Healthy Doses Job’s tears
This formula can enhance the action of chemotherapy drugs and anti-microbials in a good way. So it can safely be used with chemotherapy. However often times I focus more on the herbals that have strong immune stimulant effects for animals who are receiving chemo.
The main cancer I use Si Miao San for is lymphoma and some of the leukemias. I also often use this formula if animals can not handle Hoxsey-like formula. Animals needing this formula will run hot and often times have a history of past inflammatory diseases.
The Cang Zhu in this formula helps to support good digestion, which can often be a large issue in animals with cancer. While most of this formula is very cold in nature, the atractylodes is warm and makes sure this formula is well tolerated by most animals. It also does not cool them down too much.
For the animals I treat I make my own Si Miao San from whole dried herbs and dose at 1/8 twice a day for cats and small dogs, ¼ teaspoon twice a day for dogs 15-25 lbs, ½ twice a day for dogs 25-50 lbs, 1 teaspoon twice a day for dogs 50-90lb and 1 ½ teaspoons twice a day for dogs greater than 90lbs.
With tinctures I use .2 ml per 5 lbs of animal twice a day. For tea pills and granules, use the human dose for dogs greater than 50lbs and dose down by weight for smaller animals.
If you are working with a holistic vet or Chinese herbalist, get this formula from them. I am now selling powdered Si Miao San out of my herbal shop Kingdom of Basil on etsy. Amazon does sell the Kan Herbs – Four Marvels pills
As with all supplements and herbals, please check with your animal’s regular vet before using this herbal.
Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs
As gunshots rang out, he fell from his horse bleeding from where the bullet had entered his chest. As blood ran from the wound, he could feel his life slowly slipping away. Images of his small daughter and wife, who were both far away, ran through his mind.
Quickly he reached for the vial, opening it to swallow the small red pill within and then taking the powder beneath it he quickly poured it in to the fresh wound. His breathing started to return to normal and he felt like he would be able to make it off the battlefield to find help. There was still some bleeding from the wound but no longer enough to take his life.
Sound like something from a fantasy movie? Surprisingly it isn’t.
Yunnan Baiyao, also known as Yunnan Paiyao, is a special formula know to every Chinese herbalist. It was developed in 1902 in China and has been an important remedy ever since. The formula is owned by the Chinese government and the secret of what exactly is in the magic red pill is highly guarded. It is rumored that it is made from gallstones cultivated in very special cows among other things but even the workers in the factories do not know exactly what is in it. We do know that pseudoginseng is probably the most important component of it. When pseudoginseng has been studied alone it has been shown to reduce bleeding times in half.
I use Yunnan Paiyao often in my patients and have been highly impressed with how well it works.
When my husband first moved in with me his cat, Sabutai, was suffering from horrible mouth cancer. One day which he was eating, the tumor in his mouth began to hemorrhage. In a matter of seconds there was blood all over the bathroom and he was just a small cat. Not knowing exactly what to do, I rushed to the medicine cabinet and grabbed one of the little red pills and pushed it down his throat. Within 60 seconds the bleeding had almost completely stopped and he did not hemorrhage again for the rest of his illness.
Another time I was at the vet clinic I used to work at and saw one of my old clients in the waiting room with their older dog, Alki. They quickly explained that they had just found out that Alki had a large tumor on her spleen that was bleeding into her abdomen and that she needed emergency surgery and most likely a blood transfusion. I quickly ran home and grabbed a vial of Yunnan Baiyao and brought it back. We administered the small red pill before she went into surgery and not only did she get through the surgery well and not need a blood transfusion but the surgeon was surprised at how little bleeding there was considering what was happening.
Also see Cosmo – star dog who was a wonderful dog I worked with who lived an extra year because of this herbal.
So why don’t we all have a vial of Yunnan Paiyao sitting around for emergencies? I’m not sure. I know I do! And the western vets I work with do as well.
In our family we often use the powder for any kind of cut or wound. It is not only good at stopping the bleeding but helps keep wounds from getting infected and is not painful to apply like many of the wound cleaning agents. It is safe and can be licked and eaten by cats and dogs without worry.
But isn’t it expensive you ask? Guarded by the Chinese government and that effective!
No! Usually you can buy Yunnan Baiyao for about $10 for a vial or a package of 16 pills of powder. You can even buy this on Amazon.com often.
Currently it has been a little harder to find Yunnan Baiyao. I recommend The Modern Herb Shop .
When are the best times to use it?
If an animal is going into surgery, especially if there is concern about excessive bleeding, I recommend giving the powder or capsules of powder for three days before and after the surgery. The little red pill can be given right before surgery but while the animal is still awake. Dosage depends on the size of your animal (except the red pill). Cats usually do better with the powder mixed with a little water in a syringe because the capsules are too larger for them to swallow where dogs usually do better with the capsules unless they are very small.
Nasal bleeding can be a very hard problem to control especially if there is a tumor or chronic condition which causes it. Yunnan Paiyao can be used to control nasal bleeding.
Yunnan Baiyao can also be used in many of the end stage diseases where surgery is not an option but there is bleeding in the body which can not be controlled. This is a great herbal to use with hemangiosarcoma and any other bleeding cancer or tumor. The powder capsules can be used daily for this and the red pill once again only for emergency.
There are also many reports of it clearing up existing infections and can be safely poured directly into wounds. Although if a wound is infected I usually reach for the antibiotics.
Yunnan Paiyao can safely be used in any cut or wound although deep wounds should be evaluated to see if sutures are needed. Yunnan Paiyao will actually promote healing and help a wound to close faster.
In addition pseudoginseng helps sensitive tumor cells to radiation treatments and can be used in animals with cancer that are undergoing radiation to make these therapies more effective.
With Yunnan Bai Yao in most dogs I dose at one pill twice a day unless they are very large and then I double that. In cats and very small dogs the pills can be opened and half the powder can be used. In hard to medicate animals the powder can also be mixed with water and syringed into the mouth.
Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs
Lymphoma is one of the fastest moving cancers out there. Because it is so fast moving, it is also the most responsive cancer to chemotherapy.
The prognosis with this disease can be very bad, especially if no treatment is used.
However the good news is, with chemotherapy and holistic medicine we can often get 18-24 months and occasionally ongoing remission. Integrative medicine clearly is the best way to go with this disease.
With no treatment I have seen animals die within one week of diagnosis. The average is 4 weeks with no treatment. With using natural medicine, I have found usually I can move that out to 2-4 months. Chemotherapy alone pushes that even further with average survival at around a year.
When a dog or cat comes to me with lymphoma, I highly recommend they consult with an oncologist or a vet who does a lot of chemotherapy work. If you want remission with this cancer you need to do chemotherapy.
The most widely used chemotherapy protocol for this cancer consisted of a multiple drug approach and is given over approximately six months for dogs. In cats the protocol is shorter and the main vet I work with believes that one to three chemo treatments can significantly slow down this disease in felines.
Full chemotherapy for dogs can also be quite expensive, around $4000. Shorter durations can be given for this cancer as well if cost or tolerance of chemotherapy is a concern.
Because so many people choice to do chemotherapy for this cancer I divided this article into four sections.
So first what do I recommend for all cats and dogs with lymphoma? (Follow the links for more information on the supplements and dosing information.)
In addition to this protocol if no chemo is used I often recommend –
If chemotherapy is given I add to my main protocol:
– there is a great study out there at shows this herbal improves outcomes and reduces side effects during chemotherapy.In cats
Cats have a hard time with multiple drugs and supplements. With cats I start them on my main protocol and then wait a week. If they are still eating well I will then add in one Chinese herbal formula in addition to my main protocol.
How do I decide which one?
The best I can tell you is usually this will either be Xiao Chai Hu Tang if this cancer is intestinal or centered in the spleen or liver, Hoxsey-like formula if the cancer is in the nodes, or Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang
If at all possible find a good holistic practitioner to work with your cat. Cats generally do really well with acupuncture so if at all possible find someone who also does acupuncture.
Cats can get a disease called small cell lymphoma which is very slow moving. I treat this differently and will try to put up another article on it.
As with all advice offered on this website please check in with your animal’s primary veterinarian before using any of these herbals and supplements.
Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs
As I write this, my cat Raven is zipping around the living room playing and talking to himself. I know cats often do that, but Raven hasn’t been lately. This is made even more remarkable when you consider that he had a major surgery to remove all his molars and premolars and the connecting periodontal ligaments a little over a week ago. Raven feels good, better than he has felt in over a year. It warms my heart to see him happy again.
Feline stomatitis is the most painful disease in cats. Cats with stomatitis have severe inflammation in their mouths and sometimes back into their throats, far beyond normal dental disease. What makes it even worse is that because it effects the mouth, many cats with stomatitis don’t want to eat.
There are three main types of stomatitis.
Here is a link to an article with some great photos of stomatitis (warning – somewhat graphic)
Feline Stomatitis
So how do you treat caudal feline stomatitis?
I tried to treat this disease just holistically in Raven and while I feel like I bought some time I do believe that this disease needs to be treated with extraction. By the time I scheduled Raven to have his teeth pulled, he would often scream while eating if he was not on pain meds. He did better once I started making my own cat food for him but clearly he needed something that would permanently remove the pain. The best prognosis is in pulling the teeth early in the disease process.
Why does this disease occur?
We don’t know. It is more common in certain breeds of cats like the Siamese and Abbyssinians. It is more common in cats who had rough starts to life as kittens.
There may be viral factors involved but we don’t know for sure. Cats with FIV and FeLV have more problems with it. Cats with stomatitis are more likely to test positive to herpes and calici viruses then normal cats.
It does seem to have an autoimmune component. The immune system is overreacting to the plaque and bacteria or fighting against the teeth or ligaments holding the teeth themselves. Is there an allergy component to it? Maybe. I found Raven’s inflammation would flare up with any grain in his diet.
Someday we may have the answers and in finding them a better way to treat this disease. In the meantime, pulling the teeth is the best we have and well worth it for our cat companions’ comfort.
Update 11/16/13 – A reader recently asked me how Raven was doing and I realized it would be good to add an update. Raven is now five years old – it has been about 2 1/2 years since his teeth were pulled. His mouth looks great and he has shown no symptoms of any pain ever. He is a happy, energetic boy! We are lucky.
My friends Jenn and Jeff made this awesome feeding box for their new cat Pascal. He is 15 years old and needs to eat in the middle of the night but they have another cat who would eat all the food if they left it out.
Jeff bought a large rubbermaid box and a cat door with a magnetic collar and put them together. I think this is genius and I wish he would start marketing these. I know so many households with one very large hungry cat and one very small cat. Jeff has some great photos on his blog of the resulting box and more about Pascal. Here is Pascal’s story.
Pascal also recently became a patient of mine and gets acupuncture and herbs for his recently diagnosed renal failure and for night time yowling. Jenn and Jeff have reported back that Pascal’s yowling is much less and he is playing more and seems happier.
Yowling can be a problem in older cats. In Chinese medicine we say it is often from the water of the kidneys being deficient and not controlling the fire of the heart. Because of this, yowling is common in cats with renal disease. Acupuncture and herbs can be a great tool for treating this in many cats. Although unfortunately I had another cat I treated recently where the acupuncture did not help.
Night time yowling can also be a sign of thyroid issues which needs to be treated with western medicine. So if your cat is yowling at night the first step is to get blood work run to rule out a thyroid issue. There is a great western treatment for thyroid disorder which involves injecting radioactive iodine which destroys the benign thyroid tumor that causes this disorder. Sounds strange but it is a safe and effective treatment. I have been through it with two of my cats and a number of the animals I work with have had this treatment including Pascal.
This afternoon I whipped up a batch of my homemade cat food for our four kitties. I serve it raw so it is pretty easy to throw together and a lot of fun to make. It feels like making cookies, only these kids like meat cookies and are much happier eating it as raw cookie dough.
Here’s my recipe if you want to try it at home
3g (if the meat is cooked or if using fish)
Make sure the meat has been frozen for at least 48 hours at some point. I buy my meat frozen.
Also see Making Crazy Awesome Homemade Cat Food Part Two for a higher protein and egg free recipe.
Raven knows I'm making food for him
Can we have some too?
Eight pounds of free range ground turkey
A dozen free range eggs
Yum! Sweet Potato
All set for the freezer and fridge. This will last our kitties about a week. I freeze half of it and refrigerator the other half.
The best part - licking the cookie bowl!
Mom, the girls are hogging the bowl!
When I was studying with my acupuncture teacher, Richard Panzer, I met an incredible great dane with osteosarcoma. She was fairly young and her prognosis was not good. However she would bounce into the clinic twice a week for acupuncture treatments, full of life. Her tumor slowly became larger but the cancer did not spread to her lungs, which is typical of this disease. Eventually when she became extremely painful they made the decision to amputate her effected leg. I heard that she later died of a disease unrelated to her bone cancer.
The first dog I treated with osteosarcoma, Maggie, had a similar story. She went a year before her bone was so weakened from the cancer that it broke and her leg had to be amputated in an emergency surgery. She is still alive over five years later. Here is her full story, Maggie’s story – Sometimes three legs are better than four.
Osteosarcoma or bone cancer is one of the most painful cancers out there but it is also the one I have had the most success with using integrative and alternative treatments.
In all the dogs I have treated, I have only once lost a dog directly to this cancer if there is not detectable lung metastasis at diagnosis. Most dogs die of something else. However, if amputation is not an option, pain becomes the factor that causes their human companions to put them to sleep. Even the strongest pain medications can not control the pain of osteosarcoma.
With no treatment, most dogs with osteosarcoma will live three months after diagnosis and die from lung metastases, the cancer spreading to the lungs. However herbal medicine has some amazing tools to keep cancer out of the lungs and make it so dogs can live with osteosarcoma and sometimes go into complete remissions if we can amputate the primary tumor.
So what is my protocol for osteosarcoma?
In addition I sometimes use the following
If there is radiographic evidence of lung metastasis please also see the article Breathing through cancer – holistic therapies to control lung metastasis in cancer
I have known quite a few very happy three legged dogs. Dogs are great at just taking life one day at a time. I believe that this is a treatable cancer. Every dog will follow their own path, however I have been amazed at how well this herbal and acupuncture protocol can work.
Even though I have had a lot of success in treating this cancer, I recommend that you consult with an oncologist to make sure you know all your options. If possible find a good holistic vet in your area to help create a herbal program for your dog and do acupuncture treatments. If they are trained in acupuncture but not herbal medicine bring them this article.
As with all articles on this blog, please consult with your animal’s primary veterinarian about coming up with a protocol for your dog or cat and before using these products. Every dog is individual and there may be a better protocol for your dog then what I suggest based on their personal medical history and constitution.
Some cancers are more aggressive than others and even though I have had a lot of success with treating osteosarcoma, this protocol may not work for everyone.
Very rarely this cancer occurs in cats. While this article is written for dogs, I have used these herbals in cats as well.
Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs
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