Blog share: SARDS and Pet Health, part 2

02/01/12 - February already!  Where does the time go??

Below is a follow up blog post, written by Michael Goldman of The Healthy Pet Network.  His dog Rex had SARDS, so this topic is near to his heart, as it is for all owners of dogs afflicted with SARDS.  I think every SARDS dog owner out there can relate to his story and frustration!

The original blog post appears here:  http://networkedblogs.com/toCwZ, which is worth a visit to watch the video, and see a picture of Rex.


This article comes from my heart and due to my experiences, is meant as a supplement to Dr Plechners article on SARDS. Please excuse any perceived ranting, as I do feel very strongly about the subject matter and please understand, my intent is to help by providing information that you may find of value.


Several years ago, my little buddy Rex, who was like a son to me, developed a very catastrophic disease called SARDS ( Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome) and became blind. This had a number of implications for the Goldman family, not only for Rex but for all of us. Being an animal lover and caregiver, I never realized just how naïve I was when it came to animal health. We did not know what to do, scrambling around in a daze. The only thing I had going that helped tremendously was my determination and insistence for answers.


Have you ever had a veterinarian or doctor for that matter, tell you they don’t know, they don’t have any answers? Call me thick headed, thick skinned or whatever but this is unacceptable to me. This is their job. My animals are dependent on them for answers. You may think I am hard headed but that’s me. Now what did this have to do with my little guy Rex?


We noticed that Rex seemed to be losing his eye sight, bumping in to things, lack of depth perception etc. When we took him to our Vet who by the way, is highly regarded in the veterinary community, He didn’t have a clue. He decided to do exploratory surgery on Rex ruining one eye and causing a cataract. When he was pretty much blind, he finally recommended an ophthalmologist, closest one being 300 miles away. I pushed for an immediate appointment. I will never forget the day I took him to the specialist. He had just become completely blind and was scared to death. He did not know what the heck was going on. I felt and probably was pretty much worthless. He was diagnosed with SARDS, thus starting our journey to knowledge. Problem being, this enlightenment came at the expense of my little Rex.


Our Vet had heard of SARDS but didn’t know enough to send him to a specialist. The Specialist certainly knew about SARDS but said there was nothing that could be done and that was it. Me being me, I refused to accept this and sought answers. I came across several very knowledgeable, helpful people, in the subject matter, one being “How I met Dr Alfred J Plechner”


Now please bear with me for a moment as I am going to get on my soap box. I came to learn there is a defined cause, and a treatment that can provide a solution to many catastrophic diseases. Problem is, most Veterinarians are content to treat the symptoms or effects. Very few, look to the causes BEFORE they become effects. I am sad to say that I have found many Veterinarians, think they know everything. Instead of saying, I have things to learn and will move forward trying to find ways to better help my patients, many take the attitude that nothing can be done. They will say, “I have learned there IS NO ANSWER, NO SOLUTION”. They think and they say “Anybody with an idea, who has had success, is crazy and must be a quack.”


It’s important to note that every revolutionary scientific discovery has gone through the 3 phases of truth.


1) Disbelief


2) Ridicule


3) Truth becomes self evident


I am sorry to say, that I have no respect for these people, and have found that many of them are in the profession strictly to heal there wallet. On the other hand, I have the utmost respect for a doctor or person who says, I don’t have the answer, but I will look for one or I am open to ideas or suggestions and especially one who’s FIRST priority is the health of their patient and not there wallet.


OK OK, I will get off my high horse but there was a purpose to my tirade, If you haven’t already you may in the future have an extremely ill pet and more than likely you will encounter the above, unacceptable attitude. Know it but don’t accept it. I am making an assumption that your pet is a family member and incompetence won’t do. You want answers and hopefully solutions and rightly so. If your primary physician does not offer you anything, find someone who will because there is good news, There Are some very knowledgeable, caring medical professionals who can help.


Now, several years later, I have learned much. I am committed to helping animals in any way I can and providing the knowledge one can use to have healthy long lived pets. I will always be learning but I am committed to animal health.


We are caretakers for a number of pets—dogs and cats. I have Rex’s mother and (2) remaining siblings. Through my desire to learn and with the help of globally renowned Dr Alfred Plechner, we discovered his mother and siblings had a hormonal imbalance that predisposed them to certain catastrophic diseases. The have been diagnosed, put on a protocol and are doing VERY well today. Before Rex came down with his problem, his sister Millie was near death from an auto immune problem. She had numerous blood transfusions and the doctor said she probably would not make it. Since being on the protocol, she has never again had the problem and acts like a young school girl again.


So what do I have to offer when it comes to SARDS. My main points are these


To know what to look for so you will be a step ahead of the game
To know what to expect when bringing your pet to the vet
You love your pet—don’t be afraid to not only expect proper treatment but also be decisive and persistent in expecting action.
A couple of facts for a better understanding.
And a couple of resources if needed.
First AND FOREMOST, it important to know that SARDS is Extremely time sensitive. By the time you notice your pet is blind, it’s probably too late. On the other hand, if you notice them starting to lose their eyesight, there is still hope. The problem being, all this can happen in a couple of weeks—sometimes less and sometimes more. Time is of the essence when it comes to SARDS so if you remotely suspect, have your pet checked before it is too late. If you notice your pet being lethargic, out of sync and seeming to lose their eye sight whether stumbling, losing depth perception, anything that gives you this feeling, Have them checked immediately.


I should note that when I say too late, I mean in retaining their eyesight. Even when sight is lost, proper treatment can restore a high quality of life.


When seeing your health care professional, be sure to mention you are worried about SARDS. They may not understand the disease or have any solutions for you but they have probably heard of it. If they even remotely seem lost, DEMAND an immediate referral to a specialist. Remember you have weeks, maybe days so be decisive in your actions.


You can always feel free to contact me at the Healthy Pet Network and I can quickly and easily put you in touch with Dr Plechner. There is also a support group out there with similar experiences, that I can direct you to and one more very valuable reference


A lady in Oregon, Caroline Levin is extremely knowledgeable about the subject and has worked with many dogs with many successes. She is an RN. She knows her stuff but she is bad mouthed by many a vet since she is only an RN. Hog wash. She is a valuable resource who knows MUCH more than I do and more than most vets, when it comes to SARDS. REMEMBER THE KEY IS TO ACT SWIFTLY AND DECISIVELY.


http://www.petcarebooks..com/research.htm


Rex passed away a few months ago, which is why I wrote this article now. He was an unsung hero, The catastrophe he went thru prompted me to learn more, MUCH more about animal health. It literally saved his siblings and several others in our family. And one of the most important things was that through this, I met Doctor Plechner, who I truly believe is one of the Great men of our time and a future Nobel Prize Winner, in medicine.


OH, The Healthy Pet Network would never have been if it wasn’t for Rex.


Thank You Doctor Plechner for Rex’s good quality of life in his last years.


Rex, we miss you greatly and will love you always.


The Goldman’s

Blog share: SARDS and Pet Health, part 1

01/31/12 - Below is a blog post I'm sharing from The Healthy Pet Network.  Original post appears here:  http://healthypetnetwork.net/?p=1857#more-1857, which is worth visiting to watch the embedded video of the black lab, Gator, who was diagnosed with SARDS.



SARDS – Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome, appears to be an auto-immune disease that leads to blindness. It stems from a hormonal antibody imbalance that allows a deregulated immune system to lose its protective functions, thus allowing the system to also lose recognition of its own tissue and turn against the body which causes tissue destruction.


This occurs, due to either a deficiency in cortisol, or the production of a defective cortisol. When this happens, excess sex hormones are produced by the inner layer of the adrenal cortex. I personally believe that the offending hormone is total estrogen. The other sex hormone called androgen, can be transformed into more estrogen, due to an enzyme in the fatty tissue called Aromatase. This has been documented in humans but not with animals. More studies are currently being done.


The excess in total estrogen not only binds the thyroid hormone but deregulates the immune system and compromises antibody production. This is how SARDS seems to occur. Anti-antibodies are thought to be produced against the retinal tissue causing blindness.


The shame of this is, by the time the loss of sight in the pet is noticed by the owner, subsequent identification and treatment, generally cannot correct the permanent retinal damage, but there is certainly hope in stopping further auto-immune diseases from occurring, including cancer.


Michigan State and Cornell Schools of Veterinary Medicine are looking into this disease. It is also an important subject if interest for the Healthy Pet Network.


Finally, they are exploring its connection to the syndrome that I discovered 35 years ago. I call it Atypical Cortisol Imbalance Syndrome ( ACIS ), but people still refer to it, as Plechner’s syndrome.


I have been in practice for almost 50 years, trying to find a better way to help my patients. My hope is that academia with all the knowledge and tools and grants available to them, will consider my syndrome and really define it in a much more scientific manner.


After 35 years, it just might be happening. Please tell me why it has taken so long to help a patient?


Yours in Health,


Dr. AL Plechner




**My note - my personal feeling (based only on my research and opinion, as I mentioned here http://sardsdog.blogspot.com/2011/08/sards-resources.html) is that SARDS is not an auto-immune disease as stated in the top paragraph of the blog post above.  There have been two studies published in 2006 that showed that anti-retinal autoantibodies were not present in SARDS canines (one referenced here:) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16634935

Clearly further research must be done to definitively prove this, but I believe IMR is an autoimmune disease, while SARDS is not.  The line of thought to which I subscribe is Caroline Levin's stance that low cortisol and increased total estrogen leads cells (including retinal cells) to uptake too much calcium and cause cytotoxicity by destroying the mitochondria within cells.  This leads to a sort of  retinal "seizure", which prevents the retina from getting signals through to the brain.  Caroline explains this much more eloquently than I do here:  http://www.petcarebooks.com/SARDS/FAQs.htm#15

This excess retinal calcium is addressed by Levin's SARDS protocol by supplementing magnesium and adenosine (magnesium is an antagonist of calcium...which means magnesium helps to block the action of calcium in cells).

Milestone

01/29/11 - Last week, I was on a work trip and gone the entire week.  Previously, when I traveled, Reo always seemed to have some sort of setback.  Despite Sean's best efforts, there was always something that developed - maybe a little melancholy, maybe a little weight gain, maybe she got into the cat food, maybe she drank a little too much.  It was always something that I attributed to the "stress" of me being gone, because Sean follows her meal and dosing instructions to the letter (literally - because I write it all down!).  We even tried pulsing her Medrol dosage to see if it would mitigate this stress.  Because of this, I always had a lot of guilt about leaving her and stressing her out.

This past week was the first time since Reo's SARDS diagnosis that she didn't have any noticeable stress or increase in symptoms when I was gone!  Sean reported that Reo was in a great mood all week - playing and killing her toys.  Indeed, when I got home late Friday night, she looked great!  And yesterday, we went for a walk and she was displaying her show dog hackney action and feeling fine!

This is definitely a milestone for us, and I hope it is yet another indication that Reo is healthier than ever!

Fifth EI-1 panel

01/17/12 - Today I got Reo's latest blood results back from NVDS.  Results are in the last column on the right.

	Reference Range	16-Mar-11	30-Apr-11	15-Jun-11	4-Aug-11	4-Jan-12
Total Estrogen	30 - 35	35.19	35.15	35.11	35.06	35.04
Cortisol	1.0 - 2.5	8.43	7.03	0.97	0.82	0.68
T3	100 - 200	62.7	72.12	87.92	156.94	135.29
T4	2.0 - 4.5	0.87	1.15	1.6	3.99	3.21
IgA	70 - 170	50	53	57	65	67
IgG	1,000 - 2,000	722	754	883	946	973
IgM	100 - 200	74	76	87	97	97

- Her total estrogen is still slightly high, though it is lower than it has been, which is in the right direction.
- Cortisol continues to decrease, which shows that her high levels in previous tests have been an isomer of cortisol (deoxycortisol).  As previously stated, Reo's cortisol-producing capacity is extremely low, which means she is more of an atypical Addison's dog as it relates to her adrenal glands.
- T3 and T4 thyroid continue to be normal, which is great!
- Immunoglobulins are slightly low, but just barely so, and they continue to rise.

Overall, I was a bit surprised that Reo wasn't "normal", because she is doing so well these days!  However, these are steps in the right direction, and so we will continue to maintain our regimen of hormone supplementation and Levin's SARDS supplements for the foreseeable future.

Thinking about how Reo was acting just a year ago versus how she acts today is like night and day.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Caroline Levin and Dr. Plechner saved Reo's life.  Every time I look at Reo, I'm so happy we initiated their suggested protocols without delay.  Reo got her sight back, to be sure, but more importantly, she got her life back!  Gooooo Reo!  :)

Weekend in Chicago

01/16/12 - We had a great family weekend in Chicago this weekend!  We drove up on Friday and back on Sunday.  Though it was really cold, we enjoyed the time away.

Here's a picture of Leigh and Reo in their harnesses and car seat on the drive:

As you can see, Reo really makes herself comfy on long drives.  :)

Instead of a hotel, we found a doggie-friendly condo in the Wicker Park neighborhood (which was just two blocks from our friend's place!), so it was perfect.  Reo did so well - she navigated the brand new surroundings like a champ (further solidifying in my mind that her vision is quite good, as there was no way she could have gone around furniture, table legs, kitchen island, etc. if she was blind!).

Reo refused her breakfast Sunday morning, which was quite a surprise.  I ended up forcing down her Medrol and L-thyroxine, which she didn't mind too terribly much.  Typically she refuses to eat when she has stomach aliens (as I like to call them), but she had no strange belly sounds yesterday.  This made me realize that she hasn't had any stomach aliens in quite a long time (a least a couple of months?), which was a revelation.  I wonder if stomach aliens are somehow related to low IgA number - poorer digestion and water absorption?  Interesting.

All of the dogs were happy to be home last night to familiar sounds and smells and their beds.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I get Reo's EI-1 panel results back tomorrow!

Waiting for results...

01/11/12 - I thought I'd get the results of Reo's latest panel back yesterday, but I didn't.  After checking with NVDS, who said they didn't receive the sample (!), I called Dr. O.  He forgot to send it last week, so it's been sitting in the fridge since it was drawn on the 4th.  Boo.

I hope this does not negatively affect the integrity of the sample and therefore results.  Since I got Leigh's blood tested too, we're about $300 in on this one.  ugh.

Happy Birthday, Reo!

01/03/12 

Happy 11th Birthday, Reo!  :)

Today is Reo's birthday, and I'm so so happy that she is with us to see her 11th.  So many times over the past year, I thought that there was no way she'd make it to her next birthday, but here she is, thriving and happy, and on her way to lifelong health!  There is no better birthday present!

The above picture was taken in 2009 in Summit County, CO.  We hiked up to Lower Crystal Lake on a beautiful day.  It was a very long hike at relatively high altitude, and all along the way, we were complimented by hikers and other (big) dog owners, who couldn't believe Leigh and Reo hiked the whole way without being carried.  I think it's pretty obvious from the picture above that she was having a great time!

Tomorrow, we see Dr. O and get blood taken for another EI-1 panel from NVDS.  Can't wait to see her progress, as it has been about 5 months since her last blood panel.  Because she is doing so well lately, I truly hope this means she is "normal" for all analytes.  Stay tuned...