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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Pet Tinic and Milk Thistle
| Can someone point me to a link that will tell me how much Pet Tinic and Milk Thistle to give a dog with IMHA? Also, is there anywhere you can buy Pet Tinic in larger than a 4 oz. bottle? Riley is a 90 lb. dog and we will be going through tons of this stuff if we follow the dosing instructions I am seeing online. I am hoping we can afford to give him these supplements. Do any of you get your meds filled at Walmart under their $4 prescription program? I notice they have prednisone on the list. Do they accept prescriptions for pets? |
| Jennifer |
| Jennifer, I'm not quite sure where or if you can get the pet tinic in bigger bottles. I've always had the 4oz bottles and I ordered it online because here in Canada it was not available. I think the website was ALLIVET. And I think it was $10 for a 4oz bottle...pretty cheap. I usually buy 2 bottles at a time and by the time the second bottle is half gone I order more. Tessy is 36lbs and I started her off with a half teaspoon in the morning and then half teaspoon in the evening (with her food). I read on a website that the dosing amounts are 1/2 teaspoon/25lbs of body weight so for Riley you could give a teaspoon in the morning and then another in the evening. Do so for a week and then it might be wise to get the iron levels checked out. I dropped back for Tessy from 1 teaspoon daily to half daily after a couple of weeks....on Dr. Dodds request. Milk Thistle. I got mine through http://www.leavesandroots.com/ based in Florida but I'd assume you could get it at most health stores. You probably would want to use the seed powder type (Silybum Marianum)...would be best I think. For dosage...myself I give Tessy TWO full teaspoons a day (1 teaspoon morning/one teaspoon evening...same time she gets her pet tinic). NOW, if you choose to give this much you have to gradually work up to it. Start out with a little each day and add more every few days or whatever. I started out with a half teaspoon and worked my way up. It's been shown to help protect the kidneys to a degree when used at higher doses. Most holistic vets are alright with the higher doses. By starting at a lower dose you can then watch for any adverse reactions. Yeah, the body can react to just about anything so better safe than sorry. Here's another link that shows dosages... http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/liver_diet.htm The liver diet here is great also if you were thinking of doing a proper diet for this disease. Several of us here use it with very good results. Good luck. Johnny & Tessy |
| Johnny |
| Jennifer, I buy the milk thistle raw seed in the health food store, it is a lot cheaper that way and pure. I then grind in up to powder form in a coffee grinder and put in a seal tight container. I usually give Holly who is about 16lbs like a 3/4 teaspoon at lunch time. As far as the pet tinic, I am the same as Johnny. I buy it online and have never seen it larger then 4oz. I purchase from amazon.com for $9.00 a bottle and usually order 2 bottles. Again, I give a small teaspoon to holly in her lunch with the milk thistle mixed with just a little water. Linda |
| Linda Sapphire |
| Hello! I just found this thread and am lost as far as the milk thistle and pet tinic for this disease. My beloved Brinnie was diagnosed this past Thursday and I want to do everything I can to help her. If someone could please update me on the benefits of this and what sites to go to for diet, I would appreciate it! Thanks! Christina |
| Christina Nashville |
| Hi Jennifer, Johny, Christina, I consulted early on with a holistic vet for my Kent,30 lbs, schnauzer extraordinaire. I credit his surviving all that he did for as long as he did to our vet, to early diet changes, and to a combination of herbs and supplements. I can share what I know about a few of them, and maybe it will help some folks here. The prednisone every dog seems to get is very very hard on their system, especially the liver. The liver can regenerate from insults though, and this is why there is so much discussion about milk thistle. Milk Thistle (i gave Kent 175mg a day) is especially effective with sAME - Kent got a 200 mg pill aday of this. Both benefit greatly and work even better with the addition of B vitamins, which is where the Pet-tinic comes in - its a multi b with iron etc which these dogs usually do require extra of. Pet tinic only comes in those 4 oz bottles i think, and is usually around 10 a bottle. Dogs usually like the taste, and when i tried to substitute with a stronger version of pet tinic that was less expensive, forget it. Kent would get 3 ml of this twice a day - about two teaspons. The pet tinic comes with a syringe, you can also get syringes at any pharmacy but you have to ask. Also your vet can probably give you some. They are easy to clean, just pull apart and clean dry and put back together. Kent would lick the syringe and enjoyed his pet tinic. The liver cleansing diet is also a good idea for a while - not forever though, because it may not be a good fit nutritionally for the long term. I used it to kickstart the liver healing along with the supplements above. I can say that we had very good progress over time and that his liver did recover from the effects of the drugs he was on, though at one point before the supplements it had swollen to the size of a football. :( One of the best things about the liver diet is the use of sweet potato and whitefish, and once kent was better (i continued to home cook for him) I always included these two 'staples'. I also gave him one adult dose of fish oil every day, and have since learned that there are alot of benefits to this all around (for people too). The holistic vet suggested pulsing the herbs - the first 2 or 3 days double doses, then a few weeks of normal dose, then every two or three months a week or two off so that the body wouldnt get used to it. I pulsed initially, then just gave it to him daily. I hope this is useful for someone, Best, Christine and Kent, who now has his wings and soars.. |
| Christine Florida |
| I forgot to mention about prescriptions. Yes, dogs are eligible for the walmart 4$ generics - this is very helpful. Also, costco carries some of the medications that are more expensive for less than anyone else that i could find. I also had a 'free drug card usa' drug discount card for Kent - yes, the company says its for pets and people - and this allowed me to save about 40 percent off of Kents Imuran and other drugs at costco - these were significant savings. Costco will also special order things if they dont have, i had a great pharmacist who helped us and who cried with us when Kent passed away. Best, Christine and Winged Kent |
| Christine Florida |
This thread was discussed between 13/03/2010 and 17/03/2010
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