Chance's Alternative/Complimentary Treatments And Therapies

Chance’s holistic vet put her on and recommended quite a few things for her DLE.

Probiotic: She wants Chance on probiotics for the rest of her life.  Chance was already on a probiotic due to being on the Doxycycline antibiotic.  
Probiotics seem to be a standard recommendation for lupus.

Standard Process Canine Immune System Support: Chance’s vet was the 2nd vet to recommend this product.  The 1st vet didn’t stand to make any money off the recommendation.  
Chance currently gets 3/4 tsp. twice a day.

Vetri-Science Antiox-50: An antioxidant was added to protect against cell damage caused by free radicals.  The initial dose was 1 capsule twice a day for 10 days. 
Chance currently gets 1 capsule once a day.

Vitamin E: An antioxidant that has anti-histamine and immunostimulant properties and it helps to stabilize cell membranes.  
Natural Vitamin E is considered to be more effective than synthetic Vitamin E.  Natural tocopherols are labeled “d” and synthetics are labeled “dl.”  
Example: d-alpha tocopherol is a natural tocopherol; dl-alpha tocopherol is a synthetic tocopherol.
Natural mixed tocopherols are considered to be more effective than a single type of natural tocopherol. 
Vitamin E was recommended for topical use on Chance’s nose to aid in healing as well as for internal use by her vet.  The Vitamin E I found is sourced from non-GMO sunflower oil and not from soy.  Most are soy-based.  We have not used it topically because it has a sweet taste and we know Chance would lick her nose until there was no skin left on it.
Chance currently gets 400 IU of Vitamin E twice a day. 

Jing Tang’s Blood Heat Formula: The vet said the DLE is a sign of “too much heat in the blood” so she put Chance on a Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formula.  They didn’t have any at the vet clinic so we picked this up a week later.  
I don’t quite understand the whole TCM heat stuff but it has seemed to help.  The initial dose was 0.75 grams twice a day for 2 weeks.
Chance currently gets 1.5 grams twice a day.

Aloe Vera: Topical use on the nose as needed to help soothe and heal the skin was recommended.  
It is safe to be licked off.  
From a plant is best.
We have not used any yet but we did buy an Aloe plant the next day.

Sunscreen: Because lupus and sun exposure don’t mix, sunscreen use on the nose is recommended.  
It must be something zinc free and non-toxic/no harmful ingredients as it will be licked.

Raw Diet Change: Chance's vet wants all dogs on a raw diet.  Because of the TCM/too much heat in the blood thing, the vet recommended we switch Chance’s raw diet from red meat proteins to raw turkey, duck, rabbit, fish, and occasional chicken if possible.
Since Chance doesn’t really like raw fish or rabbit, I started doing some research on TCM hot/neutral/cool foods.  And came away more confused than before I started.  Very few sites were in agreement on what is a cooling food, a neutral food, etc.  
Chance’s diet has not changed at this time.

Essential Oils: I had printed out information on all the essential oils I have or had been using and faxed them to the vet office prior to the visit.  The vet liked everything and said to make sure we kept using them.

Acupuncture: The vet said acupuncture focusing on immune system points would be beneficial if it doesn’t stress Chance out.

Next post: The essential oils I have been using on Chance.