Full Diary Part 10

[Continued from Full Diary Part 9]

For dog renal and kidney disease help- Should you consider Cell Salts? Ultimately I chose not to.

When considering dog renal and kidney disease help, I’m must state I’m a pretty firm believer in tissue/cell salts and have read: Calc. fluor Function: builds elastic tissues of the skin, muscles and blood vessels; is present in teeth enamel and on the surface of bones. Uses: muscle weakness, poor circulation, dental decay, poor condition of dental enamel, cracked skin, damaged tendons, ligaments, muscles and bones, varicose veins, constipation, backache, eczema, piles, bleeding gums and chronic sinusitis. Also helps to prevent and reduce stretch marks.[107]

The same site also addresses: Mag. phos Function: anti-spasmodic, ensures smooth movement of muscles. Uses: cramps, spasms, relief from sharp pain, flatulence, hiccups, headaches with shooting pain, low energy and neuralgia. For quick results, can be dissolved in hot (but not boiling) water and sipped.

But with the new Fosfree I’ve ordered, heavy on calcium I will hold off on any cell salts – at least for now.

7/1/13 – as great as I thought Pnut was doing, she is much weaker today in ALL legs, back too so I have to ask myself, “What have I changed, and I realize I have started to give her the Marrow Plus BETWEEN meals and not mixed with food. So I will withhold it a few days to see if she returns to normal, although I start the Fosfree higher iron vitamin-mineral combo with this afternoon’s treats.

AND…I also had to cut in HALF the nettle seeds I was giving because I might have otherwise run out before I get more!

Well, she improved a great deal even before the first iron dose so have kept on giving Marrow Plus between meals and just read two reviews online that are encouraging in that the writer wrote that her cat with CRF (chronic renal failure) seemed more energetic right away after starting Marrow Plus and began eating on her own again and gave a “Pro:” comment that it is great for circulation – which is something I need with her erratic left front leg.

And now just 2 days after giving a dose a day of Fosfree she is SO MUCH BETTER.  Ate her tripe like a horse this morning, actually came to the back of the kitchen to wait with me like she used to while I dole out the food and actually ran to her placemat to eat! I am encouraged so much!! And it makes me wonder if it is the Marrow Plus improving her circulation not being masked by food so better absorbed and used by her body or is it the iron?  My guess would be more a result of the iron, but the Marrow plus might be boosting her energy a bit too. Also decided to give her the Fosfree in her cabbage before bedtime because I also add salmon oil, Vit. E and rawhoney so I know cabbage would be good [108] with it’s 56% Vit. C content to aid in the absorption of iron, and an article said salmon helped with the absorption of iron so I would guess that is beneficial too. Giving it to her with the cabbage most mimics the human instructions of taking it at bedtime (which I would assume the plan was to not have competing vitamins and minerals which would hamper absorption) because when I gave it with the veggies, it was competing with the nutrients in four foods: parsnips, pumpkin, sweet potato and banana and that is the mixed meal when I give ALL of her many other vitamins, minerals and herbs.   I also thicken the veggies with crushed Stauffer’s Animal crackers (phosphorus free and good iron) but the article said cereals can block iron so another reason to give the iron with the simpler treat of cabbage. I read: “Phytate is a compound contained in soy protein and fiber. Even low levels of phytate (about 5 percent of the amounts in cereal whole flours) have a strong inhibitory effect on iron bioavailability. Phytate is found in walnuts, almonds, sesame, dried beans, lentils and peas, and cereals and whole grains. Phytate compounds can reduce iron absorption by 50 to 65 percent.” And I went on to read: “Polyphenols are major inhibitors of iron absorption. Polyphenols or phenolic compounds include chlorogenic acid found in cocoa, coffee and some herbs. Phenolic acid found in apples, peppermint and some herbal teas, and tannins found in black teas, coffee, cocoa, spices, walnuts, fruits such as apples, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries all have the ability to inhibit iron absorption.”   Her fruit breakfast includes blackberries and blueberries so I’m glad I wasn’t giving her the Fosfree with breakfast. The cabbage bedtime treat just seems to be a more pure carrier for the iron. Right before I gave it to her, I remembered I had read that an acid environment is better for the absorption of iron and got to thinking that giving her the RenaPlus potassium right after the bedtime cabbage treat probably was going the opposite way of an acid environment as I had read that it is very alkaline and thus soothing to the stomach. Have to do more research about what I had read but waited an hour+ after the cabbage to give the RenaPlus – right before we went to the big bed from the couch around 1:30 am.

7/4 This morning I was wondering if I should remove honey from the cabbage to even further purify that which I was adding in the Fosfree iron but read online that sugar can actually enhance iron absorption as well so will continue to include honey with the cabbage. Still not sure about the salmon oil and I’ll do some more research because I could give it to her from a dropper right into her mouth like I do after her tripe meal, and I’d do this after the small amount of Brie I give her for afternoon protein. But I’m sure to give the Brie early as I have to wait 4 hours after or the calcium from the Brie would add to blocking the iron – although I just read this morning that it takes a LOT of calcium to block the iron. It is a really great article from the “Iron Disorders Institute” – so glad I found it! And in looking at the label of FosFree I see that the total calcium content is just borderline on what they wrote is an amount that would interfere with the iron but then again the iron content amount is 231% to the calcium (a 2 1/3 to 1 ratio) so I think it should be very good.   And then again, it is the first phosphorus free iron supplement I have found that I feel OK about. Found some others, claiming to have natural substances, but there were so many ingredients they made me more nervous than this. We’ll see.

Also decided this morning to start her day with her dose of Marrow Plus (I put a tiny bit in the bottom of a yellow sewing thimble and when I tilt her head back she just opens her mouth for me and I pour it in) because it is best given between meals three times a day and I walk her and get the kitchen organized before I make her fruit “breakfast” so she probably gets it an hour before any food to qualify for between meals. Now she can get a 2^nd dose an hour or so after the fruit and her 3^rd a final does 4 hours after tripe and an hour before veggies – around 4pm.

Upped the parsnips since they are a good source of folate, needed with B12 and iron to overcome anemia.

The Marmite came in which is so high in folate to help fight anemia and it is SO SALTY I only give her a TINY amount. But again, as I’ve thought before, that is not a bad thing as it encourages her to drink more water which her kidneys need. But I have to be careful to not over do it.

7-19-13 She is doing so wonderful. I just realized how wonderful it is when she responds to something I have given her. To see her perk up, walk stronger, run even. WOW.

8/4/13 Better than ever. Her appetite is great and I had started giving her raw venison blend which is venison/beef/and spareribs and NO organs. The no organs is important. But it is still very rich as the last time I gave it on Thursday, 8/1 she ate it at lunchtime, a bunch, then again at dinner and ate way more than usual. But that night she threw it up so from now on, only lunchtime on Thursdays for venison. I just like giving her something different because then when I go back to tripe she seems to like it really well all over again.

8/09 – Decided to give Nettle seeds not with food – so will give with Marrow Plus from the yellow thimble and also with the tiny pineapple/PhosFree/Marmite cocktail mid afternoon.

Also, made a major decision to puree all of her veggies together. She is having a hard time swallowing the various textures as I DON’T puree the sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin (already kind of pureed really), parsnips – which I puree somewhat but they are still a grated texture, and of course I already puree item 4, banana. So I put them all together in a Baby Bullet (Baby Food making system), added some purified water and pureed away – adding more water to make it a slippery consistency. I have to remember she eats the pureed fruit easily, and the pureed cabbage easily BUT I had been pureeing all of those to very smooth consistencies. So we’ll see how putting all of the veggies and banana together plus some water to make a nice veggie smoothie works for her. Of course I’ll mix in all of the vitamins, minerals and herbs right before serving.

8-16-13 – I’ve been so happy with her progress but I noticed today she is back to her low weight which I don’t like. I had been cutting back on fruit breakfast and afternoon veggies so she’d be hungrier for tripe/protein so now I am upping the fruit and veggies again. I think it has to do with her activity level being so much higher now that she is getting around so well. She went up and down our main couch using her long ramp 4 times last night where before she would just be napping.

I’ve still been bothered too with when I give her the salmon oil – considering food combining. I had been giving it 10 minutes or so after her tripe but today thinking of how to get more calories in her, thought to add more honey, and as honey is somewhat  inflammatory I was only giving it when she would get salmon oil at the same time since it is so high an anti-inflammatory.

So did some research and found that oil should NOT be given with protein but better with a green leafy vegetable (like I give at 11:30pm with cabbage and honey) and it indicated that NAPA cabbage is preferable so I switched to that. So I’ve decided to give her an earlier cabbage/honey/salmon oil morning dose about 45 minutes after her fruit breakfast (which should digest in 30 minutes) which is good because it spaces out her salmon oil (preferred in two doses) more like 12 hours apart, and I can add in a morning dose of iron which is good using the same ingredients as at night. Used to be she only got the Phosfree with iron the first of the day, in the afternoon with a little pineapple before the veggies and more with the veggies then and no more until 11:30 pm. I won’t have to give it with pineapple in the middle of the afternoon anymore and since it is given in the cabbage with honey, that satisfies the theory that iron is better absorbed when taken with something sweet (which was why I was giving it in pineapple.)  I’ll add the Marmite to the morning cabbage treat which is great as it is so salty that she has the rest of the day to quench the increased thirst drinking more water. She is so tiny she does not have blood pressure problems and for anyone with a larger dog that needs to be concerned with sodium intake, they would need to give careful consideration to whether or not Marmite should be given after consultation with their veterinarian.

8-17-13 I have just read a normal sized meal takes 90 minutes to leave the stomach, and pureed food digests more quickly. Just trying to time Pnut’s meals so she gets the most nutrition from them. Of course digestion continues in the intestines so more time between would be better but I have so much I like to get in over the course of a day that’s not really possible.  [Continued Full Diary Part 11]