[Dailydrool] Auto-immune disease and Beauford

[Val lbrewerzwick]

Hi Jen,
  Me again (Val).
  I wrote before that the malamute of my young adulthood, forty five years ago had SLE. Nothing  much was known about it in dogs back then.  Ivan’s first noticeable symptom was nosebleeds, but by that time he was already in internal organ failure.  My understanding is that lupus is  notoriously unpredictable in which, if any, organs it targets.  I have a human acquaintance who has lived many years with lupus.  What I remember about Ivan ( the malamute) was that he was always less energetic than you would have anticipated for his breed, which should have been a clue a long time before he started having nosebleeds at age three.  Ivan was never really treated effectively or even diagnosed correctly until late in the game. but that was back in the  day, alas.  He was never in noticeable pain, just tired.  what a wonderful dog he was.  I loved him so much and am tearing up as I write.  He was one of those dogs that a brief boyfriend purchased and then abandoned at my house, but he was always my dog at heart even before he was my dog on record.
  But that was then.  This is now.  Commander Bo suffered from an autoimmune disorder—ulcerative colitis.  He survived well past his expiration date on a combination of diet—nothing but organic boiled chicken breast pureed with brown rice and a touch of tumeric—plus the medicines Budesinide (used for human ulcerative colitis sufferers, only compounded down to dog strength), a prednisone alternative which dissolves in the intestines rather than the stomach, and Metronidazole.  Now, these medicines I think target intestinal issues mostly.  I know Beauford doesn’t do chicken—substitute salmon maybe?)  So that may be irrelevant entirely.
  I, human, also have an autoimmune illness, multiple sclerosis (though not severe), for which I take Gabapentin and Venlafaxine, and I do well, though once again this is a different autoimmune illness.  My main symptoms are right hand numbness, poor balance, and fatigue.
  The autoimmune diseases are tricky and unpredictable.  With luck, Beauford may do well.  A little tumeric wouldn’t hurt.  Val