SAMe
★★★★★
(Clearwater, FL)
06/26/2009
★☆☆☆☆
(La,ca)
05/16/2013
SAMe and Milk Thistle
★★★★☆
Hi there! My dog Buster (12 years old mixed breed Chiweenie) was diagnosed with elevated liver enzymes and gallbladder mucocele. Does anyone have suggestions for this? I am using small amounts of chlorophyll and ACV and am preparing fresh food, chicken, rice, broccoli, zucchini and he's on antibiotics (ugh), pain meds (which isn't this harming his liver?), and Demarin (milk thistle, Sam-e) and was on anti-nausea meds but he's off those now.
He's eating well for the past few days, but had some pain this morning. I was told surgery is the cure for this but it's very high risk and he has had two other procedures (assessed anal gland and tooth infection which was extracted) in the past 2 months and I don't feel like this is an option for him. Leading up to this he was fine, really have not taken him to the vet for years. I've always made homemade food for him but I have realized that I did not probably prepare it as I should have, but he did eat kibble as well. Now I am boiling his food and following the guidelines for a low-fat, pancreatic/liver diet.
Any advice would be so much appreciated. I'm struggling with the vet stuff, they all are pushing meds and surgery and the bills I have already are insane. I would do anything for my dog but I'm not going to put him through the trauma of this surgery that has about a 50-60% success rate at this stage of his life.
(Calgary)
05/21/2021
Hi - fellow breed owner here, although we call Sally a Daschihuahua. They are the best dogs.
Please try to give her about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp DMSO mixed with 1 tsp Colloidal Silver. Mix them together and use an eye dropper to get it into the back of her mouth. On a cellular level, DMSO is said to correct the DNA in the body back to what it's supposed to be doing.
Most important would be the use of Castor Oil Packs (directions on this site). A Study showed that this calls a body's own T11 Leukocyte healing cells to the area. Put this over the liver. Tell her it's her "warm relax time" and to stay still for 30 mins with the hot water bottle on. Do this a.m. and p.m. for a few days.
Take good care of your baby. Mine is "queen of my world", little barky-barkeson that she is! :)
PS - Info about colloidal silver and how to make the Castor Oil Packs are here in this wonderful site. Castor Oil Packs were one of Edgar Cayce's favourite "healing ingredients ". Been using it for 10+ yrs, usually as a last resort as it is my "best club in the bag", my "big gun" as the saying goes. It has never ever failed me.
Oh, and 3 belly rubs per day won't hurt either.
(South Africa)
04/26/2022
My Dachshund has been diagnosed with very high liver enzymes. ALP 1123, CGG gone up which is new and bile acids three times the normal range. My heart is shattered because he is my heart. Regarding the oral DMSO. Please help the info I have read says it should be used with caution in liver disease?
I am giving him NAC, Vit E, Milk Thistle, SAMe and starting with the burdock. He is nauseous because of the high bile acids. I have him at a Allopathic vet and a Naturopath. Please help.
(Calgary)
05/21/2021
Forgot to say that Castor Oil really stains, so put towels down wherever your dog lays.
It can also be hard to get off the dog's fur, so I simply put the shampoo on straight (no water), rub the area with a hand cloth to try and get suds up, and rinse. This is what people do after the coconut oil hair treatment too - it really helps to get oil off!
SAMe and Milk Thistle
★★★★★
(Aurora, Il)
07/29/2013
(Hope, Bc, Canada)
07/30/2013
Supplements
My cat has been on 50mg's of itraconazole for her sporotrichosis which is toxic to the liver. She does take a liver supplements as well as immune booster supplements. I also do topical treatment on her using turmeric and extra virgin coconut oil, and I alternate it with a safe plant based gel. I am feeding my cat home cooked food which is a balanced diet together with leafy vegetables, turmeric and extra virgin coconut oil.
Recently, I suspect due to her last visit to the clinic, she has shown signs of upper respiratory infection and her lungs sounds very congested. She is on a course of antibiotics and anti-phlegm medication. I want to minimize the number of supplements she is taking because I think her body is worked up.
My question is, is it okay for me to continue giving her bovine colostrum while she has a mucus build-up? The other thing I need to know is, lets face it..we are what we eat. Is it necessary for me to continue giving her a liver supplement when her liver enzymes are all fine and her diet should be able to protect her body naturally? Money isn't the issue, I am just sick and tired of feeling her body up with all of these 'pill formed natural supplements' which does, like it or not, contain chemicals no matter how much they would market it to be safe. Part of me wants to just quit giving her the liver supplement and focus on nourishing her body with the necessary nutrients, but the other part is also afraid since I don't know how much is needed for cats to protect them from toxins from medications. Any suggestions would be appreciated but please, if you have a conventional outlook, don't respond back. Thanks.
(Mpls., Mn)
11/27/2014
Hey Yasmin!
I will check my conventional outlook at the door, and give your question a stab.
The fungal infection you are treating your cat for, requiring the itraconazole, requires about 8 weeks of treatment. It sounds as if your cat has a skin infection, rather than a lung infection. In your shoes, given the nature of the disease, I would check with the vet to be sure the infection is not also in the lungs.
And, if no infection in the lungs, and you stop treatment with the itraconazole, it would make sense to wean her off the liver supplements. And if your gut feeling is that liver support is needed on *some* level, since you feed a home made diet you can simply incorporate beef liver [or whatever liver you can buy] into the home made diet you prepare; feeding liver will help the liver.
Supplements
★★★★☆
I have been up many nights to help our precious dog. It is not a burden, but a blessing to care for him.
(Utah, USA)
02/06/2010
I hope your dog is better. We've recently been dealing with our Yorkshire terrier (age 7) in the same way as you have with your dog. The vet didn't even run any tests - just felt his bloated stomach and wanted to put him down.
I hope you have put your dog on the low-protein diet as well, because our Yorkie has really responded to that. His stomach was bloated (water retention) so much that he couldn't even lie down one night. Now, ten days later, he seems his old self and the bloating is barely there. He improves every day.
We are feeding him hard-boiled eggs (mostly the whites, sometimes also the yolk), plain yogurt, cottage cheese, canned pumpkin (NOT the stuff for pies, just the vegetable itself), yams, low-sodium canned (home canned) green beans,
oatmeal, etc. There are several websites that specify low-purine foods that are good for liver disease in dogs.
Thanks to several people above, we are also going to be putting him on milk thistle - we didn't know how much.
(Johannesburg, South Africa)
02/23/2010
My little Jessie was diagnosed with liver problems only a week ago, at only 8 years old. As soon as she was discharged I had already done some research and bought the foods that are advised and the herbal things I had seen on other sites. I did not even have a chance to really start giving her any of it as she passed away this morning. I only came across your site today and found it so informative and am only sad that I cannot try out some of the suggestions and have another chance to get her back to complete health.
(Bemidji, Minnesota)
01/06/2011
(Sayreville, Nj)
04/04/2011
Reading all these stories brings tears to my eyes as I know exactly what you all are going through. My dog Hendrix is a 13yo Elkhound mix and has liver disease. Its frustrating that our Vet doesn't believe anything can be done and that we should just make him comfortable until his time comes. I can not accept this!
I have been searching the internet for an alternative treatment and answers. I have discovered Milk Thistle. I have read that for severe liver disease 200mg per 10lbs should be given. I have started this yesterday. I am opening the capsules and mixing with very little water and using a syringe to give it to him. He is at the point where he stopped eating and all he wants is water. I am limiting his intake of water and am force feeding him baby food. I read I should be mixing the Milk Thistle with baby food. Does it make a difference if I mix it with baby food or water? Also being he has liver disease what kind of baby food should I be giving him? Now I am giving him chicken and vegetables. Any input would be helpful and greatly appreciated.
(Houston, Tx)
04/04/2011
Go get some Dandelion Root or Dandelion Root Tea. Make the tea and let it steep covered for 15-20 mins after you turn the stove off. This is for maximum benefit. You can give this to your dog 2 times per day. 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 later. This is great as it helps the liver detox and become stronger. Good luck!
(Panama)
12/19/2011
Milk thistle Dosage
The usual recommended extract of milk thistle contains 70 to 80 percent silymarin. Each extract should be labeled with the silymarin percent. Recommended dosage for dogs with liver damage is approximately 20 to 50 mg per day per each kg of body weight. A kg is equal to 2.20462262 pounds. The daily dosage should be taken in two equally divided doses. For example: 200 to 500mg daily for a dog weighing 10 kg or 22 pounds; 452 to 1130mg daily for a dog weighing 22.6 kg or 50 pounds.
