Guest guest Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Though the tetracyclines are associated with supposedly precipitating autoimmune crises of various types, they really may just be causing the occasional Herkzimer reaction when they are doing an excellent job of treating what is causing the problem. Lots of autoimmune joint disease is occult infectious disease, often tick borne diseases that have not or currently cannot be diagnosed that are leveraging the animal's immune system to make massive amounts of antibodies against anything its ever cleaned up, including injured joints and wear and tear tissue products . Doxycycline can frequently give very rapid relief to these dogs and reduce the damage done by the disease(and the pred) by preventing collagen destruction in the joints and ligaments. The tetracyclines are matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors and stop a lot of proinflammatory processes in the joints that lead to degenerative change. I frequently use doxycycline with a papaya appetizer before their food that the antibiotic is dosed with. I have great results and few side effects other than transient nausea with the first or second dose. I usually just skip a dose and start again and they do fine. As far as therapy goes, movement is essential to maintain R.O.M. but must be graded to not do any more damage that the system will again react to. That's the problem with only treating with antiinflammatories without getting the root of the problem. The damage will eventually outstrip the healing with out stopping the cause. And antiinflammatories can reduce the animal's ability to deal with the underlying disease. Their are piles of ways to modify the immune system with herbs and homeopathics that can reduce or eliminate the need for the steroids or nsaids, or even chemotherapy drugs that are often used for these cases. They are usually customized for the individual so I can't really tell what might be besrt for your case, but if there is anythingI can answer questions about for you, please don't hesitate to contact me on or offline.Judith M. Shoemaker, DVMAlways Helpful Veterinary Services305 Nottingham RoadNottingham, PA 19362ph fax info@... www.judithshoemaker.com To: VetRehab From: fallflightkennels@...Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:59:58 +0000Subject: Polyarthropathy Hello all-I have a case in hospital that has been diagosed with an immune mediated polyarthropathy. He is an 8yer old English Cocker Spaniel. He is being discharged this morning, going home on high doses of prednisone, and the owners are wondering if there is anything we can do from a rehab standpoint to help this guy. I have never dealt with a case like this. Any suggestions? Thanks- Dobson CVTAppleton, WI i’m is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a difference. Learn more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Dear , Could you also have a vet check for any abdomenal thickening of intestines/pain around pancreas/ liver enzyme changes /any abdomenal pain? Has it had any reactions after vaccination? Any exposures to toxic chemicals? We do not have Lyme's disease in Australia but still I find that auto immune disease comes often with chronic inflammatory issues too. I have found physical therapy of great help - PROM/adjustments if necessary/ massage for muscles etc However what works better is if a I find a site like the intestines where inflammation is present, to treat this by changing diet to make it easily digestable and I must say I have had the best results with fresh food mildly cooked than even z/d in a couple of cases and use products that help this such as quercetin and bromelain and other products that aid this. What to use in treating this will depend on what you find. If it has reacted after vaccinations, some homeopathic remedies can be very useful etc. Exposure to toxic chemicals ? Antioxidants often very useful. Just some other things to consider, Dr Toni Lynch BVSc Hons GDAnimal Chiro Polyarthropathy Hello all-I have a case in hospital that has been diagosed with an immune mediated polyarthropathy. He is an 8yer old English Cocker Spaniel. He is being discharged this morning, going home on high doses of prednisone, and the owners are wondering if there is anything we can do from a rehab standpoint to help this guy. I have never dealt with a case like this. Any suggestions? Thanks- Dobson CVTAppleton, WI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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