Diseases of modern medicine: irritable bowel syndrome

C O L D R I V E R V E T E R I N A R Y C E N T E R

CONCEPTS OF NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE

Many dogs and cats are referred to Cold River Veterinary Center after a long history of illness. Do veterinarians create these problems by over-vaccinating puppies or kittens, endorsing monotonous diets of dry pet food, and suppressing the signs of disease with drugs? While their treatment plan is medicine, the outcome is not health! True health begins with a varied diet of fresh, whole foods; avoiding redundant vaccinations and persistent pesticides; promoting repair with natural therapies that help restore normal function. Below is the summary of 60 pages of medical records from a 4-1/2 year old spayed female German Shepherd who has never been well, despite dozens of visits to the veterinarians.

Date	Condition	Treatment
12/4/97	Birthdate
2/15/98	DHPPC vaccine #1
2/26/98	DHPPC vaccine #2
3/25/98	DHPPC vaccine #3, Bordatella vaccine #1
4/1/98	Vomiting 2 days	Rx: Hill’s i/d (prescription dog food)
4/2/98	Vomited roundworms
4/4/98	Vaginitis	Rx: Panalog, Metoclopramide x 10 days
4/15/98	Recheck	Rx: Heartguard Plus
4/22/98	DHPPC vaccine #4
4/24/98	Diarrhea, blood in stool	Rx: Metronidazole x 5 days
4/25/98	Licking and scratching ventral abdomen	Rx: Cephalexin x 3 weeks, Pyoben gel
5/19/98	Occasional colitis, mucus in stool
5/20/98	Eating grass, stop antibiotic	Fecal test for parasite eggs (negative)
5/21/98	Ovariohysterectomy (spay surgery)
5/26/98	Rash around mouth and belly	Rx: Cephalexin x 3weeks, Panalog
6/12/98	Still itching mouth, vagina. Rabies vaccine#1	Rx: Advantage, Heartguard
7/1/98	Skin much better. Nasal discharge
9/18/98	Eye discharge, conjunctivitis	Rx: Mycitracin x 5 days
1/22/99	Conjunctivitis, ears itchy, licking vaginal area. DHPPC vaccine #5, Bordatella #2, Rabies vaccine #2
4/22/99	Conjunctivitis, roundworms	Rx: Pyratabs, Mycitracin x 5 d.
5/22/99	Biting under tail, vaginal area red	Rx: Heartguard, Panalog, Hydroxyzine
6/1/99	Itching tail again
7/16/99	Ticks	Rx: Preventic collar
8/21/99	Conjunctivitis, purulent discharge	Rx: Gentocin x 5-7 days
9/2/99	Eyes cleared up, then conjunctivitis returned
9/21/99	Conjunctivitis. Thin; picky eater.	Rx: Gentocin, Hydroxyzine x 2 weeks
9/28/99	Likes Science Diet, eye improving
10/19/99	Eye infection again, KCS (dry eye)	Rx: Gentocin, 3V caps, Optimmune
2/4/00	refill medications	Rx: Heartguard Plus, 3V liquid
2/23/00	Vaginitis	Rx: Panalog x 1 week
2/24/00	Right eye swollen and red	Rx: Gentocin
3/4/00	Rash	Rx: Cephalexin
3/30/00	DHPPC #6; T= 102, P= 130. Itchy
4/19/00	Bordatella #3 (intranasal)
4/26/00	Low energy, decreased appetite 2-3 weeks, thin, ear inflammation	Thyroid test, T4 = 0.8 (LOW)
7/13/00	Hair loss around muzzle	Rx: Goodwinol, Pyoben
7/21/00	Crusty around nostrils	Rx: Cephalexin x 3 weeks
8/15/00	Itchy bottom, check anal glands
12/20/00	Green eye discharge 4 days	Rx: Gentocin x 5-7 days
1/9/01	Vomited 4x, bile, flecks of blood	Rx: Cimetidine, Sucralfate, i/d food
1/12/01	Vomited again	Rx: Cimetidine, Metronidazole, i/d food
1/22/01	Vomiting with blood	Rx: Pepcid, Carafate, Metronidazole
2/27/01	Blood in stool	Fecal: no Clostridium
4/6/01	Owner wishes to wait on DHPPC vaccine
4/13/01	Vomited blood	Rx: Carafate, penicillin
4/18/01	Biopsy- eosinophilic lymphocytic enteritis	Rx: Prednisone, Panacur, Pepcid
4/27/01	Significant weight loss	May need Imuran
5/15/01	Weight 5/5/02 56-57 lbs.	Rx: Prednisone 30 mg sid
5/25/01	Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)	Rx: Prednisone refill x 30 days
7/11/01	Shaking ears	On Prednisone, 10 mg EOD
9/16/01	Vomiting	Rx: Eukanuba Fish and Potato
2/1/02	Not eating
2/5/02	Had diarrhea
2/8/02	Inflammatory bowel disease	Rx: Prednisone, Flagyl, Fish & Potato
2/26/02	Neurologic consult	Consider trial of antihistamines
3/5/02	Inflammatory bowel disease	Rx: Prednisone 10 mg bid x 30 days
4/3/02	Bacterial cystitis	Rx: Clavamox bid x 2 weeks
5/11/02	Painful	Rx: Prednisone 10 mg EOD
6/1/02	Diarrhea, roundworms	Rx: Pyratab
6/20/02	More frequent urination
7/3/02	Diarrhea	Rx: Amoxitabs 400 mg bid x 7 days
7/31/02	recheck	Fecal test (negative)
8/3/02	Looks great, 81 lbs.
8/7/02	Coughing and retching, licking rectum	Rx: Panalog
8/9/02	Gagging while exercising	Rx: Robitussin 30 mg x 2 days
8/17/02	Bald spot on nose
10/19/02	Vomited	Rx: Zantac 75 mg bid
11/27/02	Vomited, soft stools	Fecal test (negative)
12/3/02	Vomited, soft stool, not doing well
12/24/02	Surgery, gastric foreign body	Rx: Prednisone, Cephalexin
2/27/03	Relapse of IBD after surgery	Rx: Prednisone 10 mg bid
3/28/03	Fax records to CRVC

Here's the problem

This patient never had a chance to grow up without itchy skin, vaginitis, cystitis, ear inflammation, diarrhea, impacted anal glands, hypothyroidism, pain, a boring diet, and ultimately invasive procedures to tell us what was clinically obvious: the dog has inflammatory bowel disease. While we cannot prove the cause of every chronic disease, we can ask the right questions...

Where is the research that shows 4 distemper vaccinations are more effective than 2 vaccinations in puppies and kittens?
If a dog or cat already has signs of allergies, why would more antigen (from a vaccination) be given?
Given that inflammatory bowel disease is associated with adverse reactions to pet food, why continue to feed the same diet?
Can 3 vaccine products administered on the same day present an overwhelming amount of antigen (foreign protein) to the immune system?
Are vaccines associated with the production of anti-thyroid antibodies and ultimately hypothyroidism?
Is hypothyroidism one of the causes of "dry eye" (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)?
Who benefits from prescription pet foods?

What to do

At Cold River Veterinary Center, we're proud of the puppies and kittens that have started life with a wholesome diet, conservative vaccination schedule, and natural alternatives to persistent flea and heartworm medications. The goals are fewer health problems, fewer trips to the veterinarian, and lower health costs. To learn more about the natural approach to inflammatory bowel disease, read the proceedings from our seminar, "Concepts of Nutritional Medicine".

William K. Kruesi, D.V.M., C.V.A., C.A.C. 4/2/03, 1/9/06