Eye supplement comparison chart

10/16/11 - Many people out there give their SARDS dog some sort of supplement to help protect the dog's retinal cells from further damage.  I was trying to figure out what would be the best to give Reo, so I made a simple table to compare some of the more common supplements.  The cost basis and dosages were based on the "small dog" side of things, so ingredient analysis and cost will be different for larger dogs.

Please note the abbreviations mg (milligrams), mcg (micrograms), and IU (international units). NA means not available/not listed as an ingredient.

Apologies for the rendering in this blog - I couldn't quite get the whole table to fit, and didn't want the text to be too small!  I do have this in an Excel spreadsheet.  If anyone would like a copy, just post a comment with your email, and I will send it on over!

	Cell Advance 440	Ocu-Glo RX (small dog)	Nutri-Vet Healthy Vision Chewables	Source Naturals Lutein 6 mg capsules	Ocuvite Lutein Eye	Ocuvite Eye	Icaps Lutein and Omega3
Vitamin C	250 mg	50 mg	75 mg	NA	60 mg	200 mg	45 mg
Vitamin E	37.5 IU	25 IU	20 IU	NA	30 IU	60 IU	10 IU
Vitamin B6	6.25 mg	0.1 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	1.3 mg
Zinc	3.75 mg	3 mg	5 mg	NA	15 mg	40 mg	7 mg
Coenzyme Q10	1.25 mg	13 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Biotin	NA	10 mcg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Panthothenic Acid	NA	1 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Vitamin B1	NA	0.1 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	1.2 mg
Vitamin B3	NA	1.2 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	16 mg
Alpha Lipoic Acid	NA	35 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Lycopene	NA	1 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Green Tea Extract	NA	20 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Folate/Folic Acid	NA	20 mcg	NA	NA	NA	NA	240 mcg
Vitamin B12	NA	2.5 mcg	3 mcg	NA	NA	NA	2.4 mcg
Beta carotene	1,875 IU	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Vitamin A	1,250 IU	NA	1,000 IU	NA	NA	1,000 IU	600 mcg
Methionine	12.5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
L-cysteine	12.5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
L-glutathione	12.5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Magnesium	9.8 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
L-lysine	6.25 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Hesperidin	5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Rutin	5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Catalase	10 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Super Oxide Dismutase	2.75 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Quercetin	2.5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Manganese	0.25 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	2.3 mg
Copper	62.5 mcg	NA	4 mcg	NA	2 mg	2 mg	0.9 mcg
Selenium	125 mcg	NA	3 mcg	NA	NA	55 mcg	34 mcg
Molybdenum	6.3 mcg	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Vitamin B2	NA	NA	4 mg	NA	NA	NA	1.3 mg
Grapeseed Extract	NA	yes	5 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA
Lutein	NA	yes	5 mg	6 mg	6 mg	2 mg	10 mg
Bilberry Extract	NA	NA	4 mg	NA	NA	NA	NA
Zeaxanthan	NA	NA	80 mcg	300 mcg	NA	NA	2 mg
Other Ingredients	Gelatin exterior capsule	Gelatin, Glycerin, Beeswax, Lecithin, Soybean Oil and Liver Extract	Beef Liver, Magnesium Silicate, Magnesium Stearate, Natural Pork Flavor, Plant Cellulose, Pork Liver, Silicon Dioxide, Stearic Acid, Sucralose	FloraGLO Marigold flower extract, red beet root, gelatin (capsule), maltodextrin, magnesium sterate, and silica	Lactose monohydrate, Crospovidone, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon dioxide		Calcium, Omega-3 fatty acids, others not listed
Approx. cost/day	$0.24	$0.78	$0.21	$0.12	$0.31	$0.12	$0.29

Based on my research, for Reo, I am going to keep her on the Cell Advance 440, but also supplement the Source Naturals 6 mg Lutein and zeaxanthan. I like all of the powerful antioxidants that are in the Cell Advance, as it will not only help protect Reo's retinal cells, but also with her immune system support. On

the other hand, I think it's valuable to have some lutein and zeaxanthan in the mix, too, because there is quite a bit of published research on the positive effect of both compounds in the eye.  Since this is lacking in Cell Advance, I'm going to try supplementing the Source Naturals Lutein and see if I notice any changes.

The Ocu-GLO looks good, but it seems fairly expensive relative to the other supplements/ingredients, which is why I decided to mix and match.

So, at the very least, it was a useful exercise for me! :)  Hopefully someone else will find it useful as well!  

Weird day for Reo

10/14/11 - Today was kind of abnormal for Reo.  First, her poop was kind of loose at the end of her movements, with a fair amount of mucous.  It's been a while (about 2 weeks) since she's had any pumpkin in her meals, so I added it back in to her meal tonight.

The second weird thing was this evening, after dinner, Reo was sort of grooming Leigh as she normally does.  Then, out of nowhere, Reo began to hump Leigh!  This is completely abnormal behavior for her!  I have never once seen either Reo or Leigh hump any dog or object at all.  EVER.  So this was a big surprise to me.  It didn't really seem like she was trying to be dominant, and Leigh was rather oblivious (sleeping).  I corrected her, but she repeated this a few times over the course of an hour.  It was really strange!  I don't know if this could be due to hormones...but definitely quite strange.  :-/

I also think her vision was a little bit off today - she seemed to be moving slower than normal for her, which makes me think she's less confident and seeing less.  However, she is still doing excellently with a high-contrast item (white, or light-colored) like cotton or a tissue.  She can follow it up, down, left, right, all around (we had this exercise when I had to blow my nose and she watched with interest!).

As I said previously, I've been pulsing Reo's Medrol dose since last week's ophthalmologist visit.  I had only planned to pulse until Sunday (tomorrow), as Caroline had suggested two week intervals.  So we'll see how she does next week on her normal "constant" dose.

If she continues to decline in terms of mood/behavior/vision, we may choose to get another NVDS panel at the end of this month, to see how she is doing (last test was August).  If her estrogen is still quite high, we could consider to do another injection of DepoMedrol to help get her through the fall.  I wish there were an at-home testing kit from NVDS - can you imagine how much easier this would be?  :)