Page 5 - Winter 12/13

Sonny – a nice demonstration... by Wendy Dixon, UK
This case is such a nice demonstration of the power of homeopathy to create rapid gentle and lasting healing of a condition which other- wise may have needed life long treatment. Such a reward and a gift for Sonny, his owner and for me!
Sonny, a cross breed MN GSD dog, first came to see me after he was diagnosed at 11months of age with sudden onset of diabetes insipidus. His symptoms were of drinking large amounts of water mainly just before bedtime (emptying the bowl completely) and then cycli- cal urinating and drinking during the night. He had also started having accidents in his bed at night time but only since he had been left at the vets for the day to have an ultrasound scan of his kidneys.
He was on Desmopressin 0.1mg tablets three times per day which had helped reduce his water intake from 1600ml to 850ml but he still drunk a large amount before bed and need- ed to urinate in the night.
His early life was not straight forward, being from a litter of puppies which came down with Parvovirus at 6 weeks. He was the only one that survived and was re-homed at 7 weeks through the dogs trust. Despite this rough start he seemed a well and lively puppy. However he was prone to some mucus coating on his stools and had a very poor appetite, rarely eating more than 1⁄2 of the kibble dry food offered. He was neutered at 6 months and Sonny’s people felt that the neutering experience had been a very stressful experience for him.
First impressions of Sonny were of quiet nervous small brown dog with a rough wiry coat. He explored the consult room a little but was wary and kept to the walls and behind or under the owners’ chair. He did not engage with me at all. He was reluctant to he examined and shrunk away from being touched or looked at though was not aggressive.
Sonny had 2 walks a day and was active at these times but spent most of the rest of the time at home sleeping. This seemed a little out of character for an 11month old puppy. He was
also stiff on first movement and quite weak, unable to jump onto the bed. Sonny preferred to be outside if possible and lies on the bare floor in preference to the soft bed supplied.
He was very clingy and loyal to Mrs R only going to people, he knew for a stroke. He was not keen on cuddles but did want some body contact but only from Mrs R. People he didn’t know, he ignored even if they call him and offer him treat. He was sensitive and sympathetic to Mrs R’s moods and to reprimand. On walks he was often in guard mode and acted as if on ‘patrol’, especially if he was first in the field. He initially was quite a bully with smaller dogs wanting complete control and dominance, until he got a nip one day. He really took this to heart and was a little withdrawn but did then learn his lesson. He is a fast learner. Sonny’s other prob- lem was car travel, which he endured reluc- tantly whilst salivating heavily.
Case analysis in Radar using the rubrics below came up with the top 7 remedies of: nat-mur, phos, rhus-tox, sulph, bell, lach, lyc.
STOMACH - APPETITE - wanting - children; in STOMACH - THIRST - unquenchable STOMACH - THIRST - night
STOMACH - APPETITE - relish, without
STOOL - MUCOUS - covered with mucus GENERALS - AIR - indoor air - agg. EXTREMITIES - STIFFNESS - Lower limbs - morning
BLADDER - URINATION - involuntary - children; in
BLADDER - URINATION - involuntary - night - fright; after
MIND - HARD for inferiors and kind for superiors
His first prescription was for Lycopodium 200c one dose every 12 hours for 3 doses followed by low potency Nat mur 6x twice per day.
I felt that his failure to thrive physically but great mental strength, plus sometimes domi- neering attitude towards other dogs fitted the Lycopodium state but there were also strong features of Nat mur there with lack of confi- dence, strong attachment to one person, aloof- ness with strangers and on a physical level the extreme thirst and urination problems. I wanted to use this as a support remedy for fluid inbal- ance. I also recommended changing to a natu- ral raw diet.
At follow up 3 weeks later Mrs R reported
that Sonny LOVED his new diet and now licked his plate clean, had put on weight and generally looked a lot healthier. His energy levels had totally changed and he had started adopting some more adolescent behaviour, which I felt was more appropriate for his age. During the days he took the Lycopodium he was restless at night but did not ask to go to the toilet and since taking the Nat mur no longer wanted to drink before going to bed or had any accidents in the house. He had vomited brown froth on 5-6 occasions mainly in the morning before break- fast and at times had borborygmi and desire to eat grass. He was still stiff on getting up in the morning and remained nervous of car travel. At this stage we started weaning him off his desmopressin tablets and continued to take the Nat mur 6x twice daily.
A further 3 weeks later and the stiffness was starting to improve and he could now jump onto the bed. There was no further vomiting or mucus in the stool. He was still very clingy but would go and play on his own for a bit at times. The car travel was still a problem and perhaps more pronounced with his overall increase in vitality.
His urine SG was now 1.030 and all the symptoms of PUPD resolved. We stopped the conventional treatment advised just to repeat the Nat mur if any symptoms of the PUPD returned.
A further 2 weeks later Sonny started with some vomiting in the mornings before break- fast and had a green purulent ocular discharge. In himself he was well and physical exam was unremarkable. Checking the repertory and material medica, again the symptoms still fitted the Nat mur state with morning aggravation (9- 11am).
This time he had Nat mur 200c two doses only at 12 hours interval with rapid improve- ment seen.
It has been over a year now since resolution of the diabetes insipidus with no relapse. Sonny’s stomach complaints do return occasionally but quickly respond to Nat mur and the odd dose of Triticans repens 30c for the gurgling and desire to eat grass. The car travel remained an issue until he received timely a dose of Argent Nit (from my colleague Brendan) for fearful behav- iour after sustaining a minor injury (used in combination with some behaviour counter-con- ditioning).
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