Milestones (Aug to Sep 2013)

Pea had a rather uncomfortable acupuncture session last Saturday. He yelped in pain at a new spot - his right "chicken thigh" as I call it. It broke my heart but I know it is for the best. He had acupuncture done on the upper eyelids too as I mentioned to Dr Oh that he has a lot more discharge recently.

On Sunday, he hit a new milestone by spreading his hind legs for the first time after the IVDD episode on 12th July. I don't allow him to do it now as it is bad for the spine. 

Recapping recent milestones since acupuncture treatment commenced 27 July:

15th August : Able to curl in sleeping position.

1 September: Able to spread hind legs out.

Notably, his legs are stronger and take him fas when I take him out for potty runs.

Temporary change of acupuncturist

Pea had a bad start to the day this morning. We went downstairs for our usual potty run and within minutes, he started pawing on me to carry him (he does this when he gets bitten by insects) and I searched frantically for any sign of ants. We found 4 on him and most were on the paw that knuckled. Poor boy. He was trembling in pain. Fire ants really sting!

Being moody after being bitten.

In other news, tomorrow is our last acupuncture session with Dr. Oh before he comes back to us in about 3 to 4 weeks. He will be operating from another veterinary clinic instead of Mount Pleasant East Coast.

Meanwhile we will go to Dr. Sayaka. I hope she uses electrodes on Pea next week.

Oh, by the way, his eyes seem to clear out without abnormal discharge so we didn't check into Dr. Sayaka's last evening.

A different kind of problem.

Noticed yesterday evening that Pea's eyes had a lot of discharge and the hair above the eyelids had become crusty. Cleaned them with cotton pads dipped in warm water and called the clinic at 11.40pm for an appointment today. His eyes looked normal this morning without discharge, thank God, but I am monitoring closely because I don't like the change of colour in his bottom eyelids. They are white-pink now.

Silver ions - Have you heard of it?

Last Sunday, we consulted Dr. Sayaka for a bit of skin and grooming issue. Pea's always losing some fur due to severe itch and scratching. We've conducted skin tests over the years and we are positive it is not a mite problem. His ears are pretty clean so it shouldn't be a food allergy either. As he is aging now, warts have started to appear and they bother him. The recent itch could be due to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). But I know which battles I have to fight. If TCM bothers him, so be it. TCM helps his legs get stronger and that is a priority over and above skin problems.

Dr. Sayaka recommended Natural Pet Silvergiene spray on areas that bother him. I was skeptical. I used to clock hours at a pet store when I was studying so I am pretty familiar with pet-care brands. I usually prefer Germany, Swiss, French and Australia brands (in this order). Natural Pet seems to be a pretty "okay" company but it also seems likely as an Asian brand so I don't place complete trust it. I'm sorry if this comes off as offensive. 

Another reason for the skepticism is that I avoid chemical-based products for Pea. My husband and I use natural-based products if we can help it. Pea doesn't use a shampoo that is chemical-based too. We always bring our own shampoo for Pea when he has to go to the groomer.

We purchased Silvergiene anyway. I returned home and read that it is made of 99.99% nano silver ions that are claimed to be effective against bacteria survival and fungi breeding.

Quoted:

Silver - in a new form, ionic silver - is emerging as the new antimicrobial wonder in dealing with viral, as well as bacterial and fungal conditions, in both medicine and industry.

Ionic silver is proving to be a remarkably effective health defense, not only against an enormous range of infectious diseases that are a very real part of our world today, but also against the increasing number of dangerous superbugs like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with its growing number of strains) and newly emerging pandemic threats, such as Influenza A (H1N1), bird flu (H5N1 virus) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). 

Today, ionic silver is increasingly being recognized for its broad spectrum antimicrobial qualities and the fact that it presents virtually none of the side-effects related to antibiotics.

More:

- A take by American Society for Microbiology
- a project partly funded by U.S federal government states that understanding nano silver is still a challenge and that nano silver, while not being particularly toxic, "increase the effectiveness of delivering toxic silver ions to locations where they can cause toxicity,".

After seven sessions of acupuncture..

Last month I mentioned that the holistic veterinary centre Pea goes to offers acupuncture treatment. Instead I brought him to a well-known acupuncture specialist who treated on animals at the Singapore Zoo. Dr Oh practises at a veterinary centre located very far from home, the treatment fees are high and the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) he dispenses don't come cheap.

I felt Pea deserves the best.

Pea has been through tremendous pain, more so than any other IVDD dog whose owners I have spoken with. He deserves to be pain-free. He deserves to be happy and well.

Moreover, my beliefs regarding medical treatment is, I always consult the best that I can afford. At this moment, I can, so I should.

We've been through seven sessions of acupuncture thus far. Twice weekly, except for two weeks where we have only one session each, because one, the centre is closed for a long public holiday weekend and another which we have to cancel because Dr. Oh has double booked himself.

Pea has done very well. Dr. Oh has performed tremendous work on my little boy.

Getting frisky and back to the scratching business.

• Pea has wobbly hind legs since 8 or 9 years old. After the fifth session, both of his hind legs no longer wobble. Pea has become frisky and impatient in his crate, he has more expandable energy and when he lifts one leg up for the pee business, the legs appear sure-footed.
  

Finally curling to sleep!

• Pea leaks ever since a major surgery where he had bladder stones (struvites) removed. Now, Pea hasn't been leaking much during bedtime. However he leaks when he is excited.

• Since 25th July, there has been no pain attack and no knuckling of the right paw.

• I brought Pea to Dr. Sayaka (who practises at the holistic centre we go to) for grooming and a skin issue last Sunday evening. While we were there, she performed acupuncture on Pea too. She mentioned that Pea is doing very well on the lumbar and thoracic regions.

There is much literature and white papers on acupuncture treatment for animals and this is especially more common and acceptable in the US. Pea is one such testimony.

I hope more dog owners come forward to give acupuncture and TCM a chance. They are a great alternative to surgery and western medication.