Immune Mediate Hemolytic Anemia

'Odie the Black Dog' Photo by: Chandra Brown
Frolicking in Spring Blooms- Austin, Texas

It's tough when a family member gets sick. You worry, you wonder, you try your best to make the poor sufferer comfortable. Recently, our black mini-schnauzer came down with what we thought was her first cold.  A fleeting thought to call the vet for an appointment came and went. She had never been sick before in her life and allergy season was wreaking havoc on the human population, we thought everyone was just a little under the weather. It'll pass. A day later we knew it was a little more than just being under the weather, she wouldn't greet her favorite member of the family and just wanted to lay under our deck. She wouldn't even take her favorite treat. My daughter noticed her tongue looked very pale. We knew it was more than just a passing cold. 

We finally secured an appointment with a vet we didn't know, we had to find out what was going on and quick. The initial physical went well, maybe we were over re-acting, even the vet and tech were a little confounded at what was going on. Doctor Sheih recommended ordering an in-house blood test so a diagnosis could be reached; thank goodness we took her in because the blood test revealed what was going on with our poor Odie. The long scientific sounding words that came out of the Doc's mouth sounded like Latin, "Odie has Immune Mediate Hemolytic Anemia,  a condition that usually has unknown causes and is serious." She fit all the criteria; usually a female, spade smaller breed dog around six years of age with pale gums (in her case tongue because her gums are black), lethargic, no appetite, a heart murmur and can have a sudden onset; blood tests usually come back with red cells in the shape of spherocytes instead of discoids and an extremely low red blood count.  It was a critical care case with a dire prognosis. We were sent home with medication and a warning to watch her behavior, if she digressed she would need to go to the emergency vet hospital for a blood transfusion.  (A normal red cell blood count for an average dog is 50-60, Odie was at a 16. The need for a blood transfusion occurs at 10)

We were so grateful for the expertise and quick actions taken by Dr. Sheih but also very sad as we carried our listless friend to the car. The gloomy thoughts that it may be your last night with your best friend clung on our shoulders. If we didn't have to go to the emergency room overnight and Odie ate some food we were scheduled for a blood re-check in 2 days.  

We saw a little improvement in the time we had Odie on Prednisone before her re-check, she ate a few bites of chicken that I hand fed her, a sign of hope to keep our chins up. In the small amount of time from diagnosis to re-check, I researched all I could about this disease. The death rate was extremely high and many vets related the onset to vaccinations. Heart worm medication was also highly suspect.  I also read accounts of trauma  causing the onset. Odie didn't fit in any of these categories. I only vaccinated when she was little, stay away from other medications because she isn't around other dogs to catch those diseases and she didn't have any trauma. If I had to guess, Odie's onset was due to a genetic trigger and nutritional imbalance. (I'll expound more on this very important finding later in this post). We drove Odie to her  two day re-check, the doc (not Dr. Sheih) came back with orders to send her immediately to the emergency vet for a blood transfusion. The blood count had declined according to the results.  I wasn't ready to lose our sidekick, on the way over to the hospital I kept looking at my husband and daughter with empathy and thinking, "I never thought this year was the year we would have to put our dog down but at least we are together. " 

The hospital staff stole Odie away to the back room as we paced back and forth in the patient exam room awaiting the emergency doctor's advice. We learned a blood transfusion can run around $1000 but is only a band aid solution.  Doctor Locke strode through the door and told us Odie's blood count was at 19. We all took in a deep breathe and looked at each other exhaling sighs of relief, all three of us at the same time. 19 is better than 16. She explained that the previous vet's equipment was not as good as the hospitals and they have more accurate tools. We were relieved Odie wouldn't need a blood transfusion. Dr. Locke put her on an aggressive steroid treatment plan, and we left weary but glad to have our friend with us.

Our emotional roller coaster set me blazing on the research path.  I have known for quite some time that disease whether human borne or animal borne has a root cause in nutritional deficiency. I also felt guilty because for some time before all this happened I was wanting to research a better food program for my dog knowing she was approaching middle age and may need some tweaks to her diet.  Setting guilt aside, I got busy making changes to her diet and also fortifying her immune system with two amazing products I believe has helped her re-gain back her old self but also may be correcting the deficiency at the root (time and blood results will tell). 

I do not like conventional, 'take a pill to cover symptoms' treatment plans, although they are necessary in serious cases.       I want to cure the problem and with a disease such as IMHA, that is quick, deadly and has very little research behind it, I felt there was nothing to lose in supplementing my dog's treatment plan with a high dose whole food vitamin and mineral, found in blue-green algae. It contains over 62 vitamins and minerals, and causes the immune system to act in a balanced nature. I know, steroids suppress the immune system, and I understand that in this diseases particular case the white blood cells need to be suppressed in order to build the red cells back up, but steroids are only a temporary solution or a life-long chronic treatment plan. If I can knock-out the nutritional deficiency (cause) through a nutrient rich diet, I am going to try it. This claim about E-3 Live blue green-algae is what gave me the extra courage to try the product... "but one of the most unique benefits of AFA is its ability to reign in the immune system at the same time that it stimulates it to do its job. We always talk about how many health problems result from the inability of the immune system to stop a disease process in its initial stage. But Campbell pointed out to me that “People think in terms of stimulating the immune system, but we forget that the immune system is by far the main producer of inflammatory mediators and free radicals. Stimulating the immune system may also mean promoting inflammation and enhancing oxidation in the body.” AFA doesn’t let that happen."

I was concerned that blue-green algae was a metabolism stimulator and many humans had lost weight while taking it. My dog was on Prednisone, a drug that effects the appetite, making the dog hungry. I didn't want to mess with my dog's metabolism too much especially since she had lost four pounds and needed to gain the weight back. I decided the nutrient dense quality outweighed the metabolism factor and gave her dosages I was comfortable with. I started this treatment the following day after the initial diagnosis. Odie was also retaining water due to her vascular system being overloaded, her sides paunched out due to water retention. After 2 days on the medication and supplements she re-absorbed most of it and also wet the bed with what seemed like a gallon of the fluid. She was holding over 2 pounds of fluid on her little frame.

I also changed her dry dog food diet to 1/4 dry dog food and the rest a raw mix of food prepared from the Dino-Vite website. I did purchase their vitamin supplement for small dogs as well and follow their recommendations. I went from having to hand feed my dog meals to a ravenous beast that gets me up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning to feed her. (Some of that is the Prednisone, but I like to think the majority of it is the new tasty diet she is spoiled with)

We have had regular re-checks and her red blood count keeps rising, she has gained the weight back too. She had a 36 which is inside the low-normal range, then a 43 for her RBC count. We are on  a medication reduction schedule and she seems to be back to her old self, barking at squirrels, patrolling her territory, wanting to case the hood for places to leave her scent and begging for rides in the car.    We are glad to be on an upward path. The literature gives no promises for IMHA. We don't know if it will be a chronic situation, or if her regression is permanent. Sometimes they can relapse for no apparent reason. I write what we have experienced so others who may find themselves in this same scenario can have a glimmer of hope. I do feel strongly nutrition is a huge key in health and we plan to stick with the plan. Our next re-check is October 28, let's hope for more great news.

Note: We still do not know if Odie's case was a Primary or Secondary IMHA. I do think it may be secondary. The last article in the Helpful Reading section talks about 2 dogs who were stung by bees which lead to IMHA.  I recently was stung by a bee and was delivered a full dose of venom. I have had respiratory difficulties that only feel better when I take the E-3 Live. It's a long shot but not out of the realm of possibility for the cause in our dog.

Some Helpful Reading on IMHA:

http://www.optimumchoices.com/Immune_Mediated_Hemolytic_Anemia-IMHA.htm

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/30/vaccine-causes-autoimmune-hemolytic-anemia.aspx

http://www.optimumchoices.com/Downloads/IMHA_&_AIHA_Case_Studies.pdf

http://www.rawglow.com/bluegreen2.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10200797?dopt=Abstract

Juicing: The Fountain of Youth

Throughout history, quests for the fountain of youth have intrigued civilization. The Greek "Father of History" Herodotus gave mention to a life giving spring thought to be located in Ethiopia. Alexander the Great was mythically associated with discovering the waters after an arduous journey over the Land of Darkness. India lays their claim at the foot of a mountain in Pollombe. The tale I usually relate to the fountain of youth is Conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon's travels to the Caribbean. He ended up landing in Florida and the legend grew.

The fountain of youth is a picture of human striving to live the life of Eden. It is not only a picture of being forever young but to live forever feeling like we are young.

So how does all this talk about the Fountain of Youth have anything to do with juicing? These are two totally different liquids so what is the correlation?

First, let's talk about the typical American diet, it consists of mainly cooked and over-cooked, preservative filled, manufactured food that our body sees as a foreign substance. According to Max Planck and Francis Pottinger a human being should eat at the MINIMUM 51% of every meal RAW for health. They found that eating less than 51% triggers leukocytosis, a function the body implements when it senses an invader or imbalance.  This function stock piles white blood cells and the outcome is to attack, but in the case of improper diet the attack is on healthy tissue. This causes inflammation and if left unchanged long enough spirals into disease. This explains the degenerate diet of America and why there is a disease list a mile long in a nut shell.

When we take the time to juice, it condenses the nutrient rich vitamin, minerals and enzymes from the RAW organic vegetables into a powerful liquid that when consumed  is immediately absorbed through the stomach lining and sent through the blood stream healing, repairing and boosting the cells that support organs and systems within the body.

Juicing brings balance and restoration to hungry cells. Plant based minerals, enzymes, proteins and vitamins react beautifully within the body almost as if they were links in a chain that when attached to each other make a strong unbreakable barrier from disease. I also have to give a huge nod to properly bred and fed Animal based products and by products as well. I never advocate extremes, there is balance in all God given food sources that when utilized in moderation should produce health.

So here it comes, the correlation between the fountain of youth and juicing is this; God has given us the tools from the very beginning for health, for longevity, for energy. He even says it in Genesis 1: 29 " Behold, (this word is meant to grab your attention) I have given you every herb bearings seed, which is on the face of the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat...(verse 30) wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat." Verse 31 and God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good."

NOTE: Humans and every living animal were meant to eat PLANTS. It wasn't until the Fall of man (Genesis 3) that meat entered the diet. I believe meat and animal by products are God's provision to sustain man during this time of Grace and when the Restoration of the Earth is complete we will revert back to a full plant based diet.

My point is this, and it's a simple one. One doesn't have to search far and wide for the legendary fountain of youth, it may be as close as your back yard garden or a drive to your local organic farmer's market.

Note of Interest: I love the fact there was a literal pool of healing mentioned in the Bible. The reference is found in John 5:1-5. The Pool of Bethesda was stirred by an angel and the first person to touch the water was healed of their malady. (No legend here, just fact!) Christ also healed a lame man at this location.

What is your favorite juicing combination? How has juicing helped your health?

Pulp Fiction: The Bean Conspiracy

On my self directed journey to learn about nutrition I was way layed by an eye opening article uncovering the truth about that magical fruit we all attribute our bodily noise from the nether regions to; the fiberous bean.

Ahh, I might as well get it out of the way..

Everyone knows the well rhymed chant of childhood that causes uproarious giggles, finger-pointing and even proud admittance at the act of passing gas. The infamous Bean Song..the song that somehow became a legend through oral history and from generation to generation is unscathed by misinterpretation or incorrect wording only to live another day.

The Bean Song

by: Anonymous

(and probably wanted it that way)

Beans, beans the magical fruit

the more you eat, the more you toot,

the more you toot the better you feel,

so let's have beans for every meal.

(or this added line)

so lift your leg and let it squeal!

Let's break this conspiratorial message down line by line with what is truth and what is fiction..

Line 1: Beans, beans the magical fruit...TRUTH

It is common for most conspiracies to start out with a bit of truth, it makes it necessary for the targeted mind to succumb to the lie somewhere hidden or twisted into the plot. Beans really are quite magical, the way in which they grow is interesting in itself and their function in the human body is unique to the legume family. (more on this later) Of course, the well known English fairy tale Jack and The Beanstalk dictates the magical qualities in an entertaining fashion.

Line 2:  the more you eat, the more you toot...FALSE

This is where the conspiracy starts and I speculate the motivation behind this lie was fashioned by a parent to get their kid to eat their dinner which happened to involve beans. A parent will resort to humor in desperate attempts to get their kids to do what they want, my own humiliating experiences abound in my head as I write this. When a lie is outed, a fact must take its place. According to Karen Hurd Ph.D., Nutritionist and retired Army Captain, Beans Don't Cause Gas. The Bean Queen, as she is known amongst her colleagues and clients explains the reality of how gas is formed in our digestive system and how the bean actually is the regulator of this imbalance. (The entire article is worth the read, as she explains the process beautifully.)  She has had amazing results prescribing beans for health and has published a cookbook, suitably called The Bean Queen's Cookbook. 

Line 3: the more you toot the better you feel...TRUTH

I can't squabble on that one...when you gotta go, you better blow! Although, the lie is somewhat perpetrated further in this line.

Line 4: So let's have beans for every meal...TRUTH (with a condition)

If you have consistent flatulence problems beans up to six times a day is a curative method according to Karen Hurd's above mentioned article.

Maybe this post "spilled the beans" on a brilliant conspiracy to thwart and place blame on the innocent bean in order to get kids to eat their dinner. Ahh, when it comes down to it, this is one pulpy conspiracy I can live with...

The "conspiracy" lives on...