B12 levels low, but good news!

[GatorBytes]

Originally Posted by 3dognite

Gaah! I'm going to yank all my hair out.

Now he has fairly serious middle ear infection/abscess. The right side of his face is paralyzed (no more cute eyebrow motion on that side) due to the infection.

So he's going on a month's worth of some antibiotic that works on abscesses and such.

What antibiotic....do your research first...did he have the ear problem along with the diarrhea?

Did you start the tylan powder as suggested, just wondering if ear problem was allergic reaction to this?

In TCM, ears are related to the kidneys. dandelion, parsley, nettle are kidney herbs

Have you heard of colostrum? This is indicated as am immune modulator, bacteria fighter, repairs gasto tract, ant-inflamm....and safe to use with other treatments AND was used prior to the advent of man-made abx. w/more benefits

[3dognite]

No I was waiting to determine what this was before I started Tylan.

The facial paralysis has been going on since about the time the bloodwork results came back, but before his first b12 shot. I think it's a separate item...or perhaps pushed him into the diarrhea. Or maybe the downgrade in his health with the b12 deficiency pushed him into an infection--sort of a chicken/egg discussion at this point I think. There were some grass seeds removed today, perhaps it was all a result of deep grass seeds from the summer that we didn't see in December. But the facial paralysis is most commonly not diagnosed, and 2nd most commonly a result of ear infection of the middle ear.

I don't remember what he said about which abx it is, except that it started with a c or an s, and that it was particularly good at closed site infections. If this doesn't work, the next step--and one I won't take due to the risk--is a very risky surgery where they'd drill a hole at the base of the skull to drain the infection.

I have heard of colostrum, but not as a treatment for dogs. I guess at this point, I trust the vet pretty well and I'm going to go with his recommendation for now. The abx are for a month, though I'm doing 2 week refills in case they don't agree with him. 3 pills, twice a day.

In the meantime, I'll be giving him probiotics apart from his abx, since they'll likely interfere at least a bit with each other.

[GatorBytes]

I wasn't suggesting anything in place of the abx. in addition to, to help boost the immune system and assist the abx....especially at 10 yrs old and with the digestive issues...abx. is not the bellies best friend.

Here is a link on the colostrum

Colostrum Article in the American Journal of Natural Medicine | SynertekColostrum.com

[3dognite]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

I wasn't suggesting anything in place of the abx. in addition to, to help boost the immune system and assist the abx....especially at 10 yrs old and with the digestive issues...abx. is not the bellies best friend.

Here is a link on the colostrum

Colostrum Article in the American Journal of Natural Medicine | SynertekColostrum.com

Thanks! I'll definitely look into it.

[3dognite]

The medication is Cleocin (clindamycin), which sounds like it can have some pretty severe side effects, but is also the most commonly prescribed medication for dogs. The vet said that he's concerned enough about the infection in his head at this point that we're treating that before any small intestine disorder. If this doesn't work, I'll likely have to put Rebel to sleep, the surgical "remedy" doesn't sound like something I want to deal with.

[msvette2u]

Amazingly, clinda isn't that bad on dogs. I think humans have it much worse with that med.
I've used it on a number of dogs here post-dental surgery and they've done fine.

[3dognite]

Oh good, thanks for the reassurance!