Dry Cough

[novasimpson]

Hi! Tater Tot has had a cough for a while that is worse with this really cold weather we are having in Connecticut. Does anyone have advice on supplements or exercises to help relieve the coughing fits? She also is more snorty (nose inflammation?)

I added manuka honey 1/2 tsp daily (12lb pup), allergy support, dia-assist...to help with inflammation.

I bought a humidifier and it increases humidity % from 28-30 to 35-40. Dr Jeff advises 40-50% is optimal. Does anyone have advice on which humidifier to buy? I keep looking on amazon but a lot with poor reviews. I may just buy a duplicate of the one I have and put another one in the room.

Currently adding simmering water in pot on stovetop.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Also anything else to help relieve dry cough (?non-infectious bronchitis). Is it best to keep her calm as possible?

Thank you!!
Nova

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Nova. I'm glad we got to talk and choose an individualized homeopathic medicine for Tater.

Yes, try to keep her warm, snuggly and a bit quieter than usual. Does using the snuffle mat bring on her cough?

Please hold the ionbox a few inches from her nose if the nasal massage and acupressure we discussed is not helping during a coughing jag.

Liquid Immuno from Rx Vitamins is great for these coughs and general immune boosting. Also, the Hawaii Pharm Respiratory Relief and the Pet Health and Nutrition Center herbal respiratory drops (10% discount code = resp10).

Respiratory Tonic for Dogs and Cats

We provide the finest respiratory tonic for canines and felines. Enjoy more organic, whole food supplements and herbal remedies by visiting The Pet Health and Nutrition Center - a leader in the natural pet marketplace!

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[ChristineL]

I had a Maltese with collapsed trachea which would bring on coughing fits. I used to give him slippery elm with honey. Have you tried Open Air by AnimalEO? GI Goe is good for diffusion to my surprise. I've always loved Warmth...it calmed us down a bit Hope this helps!

 

[novasimpson]

Thank you so much for all your advice and input. I will look into the supplements and order this weekend!

I do have the EO and love the smell...I stopped using it because I read that sometimes strong smells can interfere on homeopathic remedies....any thoughts on that?

I continue with Manuka honey ~1tsp/day -I googled dosing and that seemed to be ok?!

I spoke with Dr Jeff on Wednesday She got her pulsatilla q1 10/1 qtip dose on Wednesday and much improved on Thursday and Friday. She had less coughing overnights and walked even better! Happy camper. Dr Jeff advised to give her another dose on Friday if no change....there was change -much better but still having coughing fits so I did dose her again on Friday. I always find it hard to know when to redose because she had improved but still not back to her regular coughing baseline. I kind of figured to dose unless she wasn't coughing at all or her other BEAM had a dramatic change.

She is supposed to get daily dosing if not continuing to improve. And then we have a follow up appointment with Dr Jeff this upcoming Wednesday.

I ordered a "stronger" humidifier and have been steaming shower and boiling water on stove until humidifier arrives.

Thank you again for all the info!!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Wonderful news Nova that Tater responded to the Puls.

If her coughing is not improving day by day, and if her energy is not great, then you may want to go ahead and redose daily.

 

[novasimpson]

Hi! I gave remedy dose again last night because she had a few bouts of coughing in the evening. She slept okay with a few coughs. This morning she was okay but when I took her for very short walk (she didn't want to walk very much) she was coughing the whole time. We came in and she had a slow inverted sneeze.

Today she has had a few coughing fits but not bad and didn't go for any more walks because snowing all day! I left her for about an hour and when I got home she was excited and playful. I gave her a sweet potato chew and a few treats.

She then went out back to "plow" which is when she licks up snow for a few minutes....she then came in excited and jumped on couch -she regurged some foam and water/snow then was a bit wobbly and vomited all the treats she had and wobbled to the side...I grabbed her and put in floor bc was going to fall off sofa. She had a few coughs and is now resting and seems ok.

I guess #1 don't let her eat snow anymore! But not sure if this was a mixture of coughing and too much cold snow and numb throat? Like she couldn't breath while vomiting? Why get wobbly?

She hates walks in snow. She doesn't seem to mind the cold but it sometimes bring on coughing.

I guess wondering if I should dose her tonight? She seems worse today but I think it might be secondary to the weather.

And if anyone has an idea what the wobbliness was from?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Nova-

You might want to hold off on dosing and keep a close eye for other modalities (like her cough < cold air today) and for new symptom clues.

 

[novasimpson]

Sounds like a plan!! Thanks Dr Jeff for such a fast response! We will hold off and see how she does.

She was more then wobbly...she stumbled to the side and partially collapsed but recovered quickly and has been making a bed and energetic the last hour!

Thank you again!

 

[novasimpson]

Update on Tater!

We had an awesome office visit with Dr Jeff and Archie today. Taters lungs and heart are great! She needs to lose some weight which should help the cough, start supplements (mentioned earlier in this thread), ionbox and assisi loop treatments, limit cold time and humidify air.

We are going to continue with Pulsatilla q1 with increase to 15/1 daily as needed.

Tater also had a bump that popped/scratched at. I was using helichrysum essential oil and calendula ointment.

Dr Jeff recommended: Pau D'Arco is great for topical treatment of the skin eruptions when they look raw or irritated.

Thank you

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Wow, thanks for sharing Nova!

I loved how perky she was and how she tried to play with Archie when you weren't looking...

You're welcome. Thank you for the privilege of being with you and Tater. ?

 

[novasimpson]

Hi!

Tater has been taking Pulsatilla q1 15/1 qtip daily for about 13 days now.

Coughs: overall better. She continues to have them daily but less most days. Still seems worse on cold/snowy days. A couple of mornings she was having hmph/wheezy coughing fits that went away after she drank some warm water, honey and goat milk.

Her snorting and snoring are much less.

She seems to sneeze more often then before we started the pulsatilla 15/1.

Poops: overall her poops have been in the really good range....up to great at times. She did have 1.5 days of soft formed into pudding poop with some straining and drops of clear liquid mucus.
Just this morning, she had some more soft formed -pudding poo with straining and drops of mucus.

---diet: thinking about decreasing sweet potato chews for a few days to see if makes a difference.

Sleep/Social:

Most night she is still getting up 1-2x night.

in the past Dr Jeff has asked if her waking is at specific times or specific amount of time after going to bed. It always seemed ~3 hours after bedtime. But I noticed she seems to sleep better on days I work evenings...so she pees ~1am and then we go to bed and she will sleep until I get up at 9am--usually with no wakings.

The last 3 nights she has been getting up more-- moving around to different beds, carpet floor and hardwood floor (going to bed 9-10pm for early shift).

Over the weekend, I was home most of the time- both days she whined for "permission" to go upstairs and she went up there and took a nap by herself. Asking permission for things is not a new thing (she makes these rules up herself!) And even going to bedroom isn't that strange but she hasn't done that in a while. She does like taking naps upstairs on windowsill.

Her walking/stroller walks are the same. She is still barky. A few days she has gone outside looking in watching. I think waiting for treat offers. And she has been sleeping on the back of the cushions on the sofa since starting Pulsatilla.

Supplements:

I stopped daily honey and now just give it if she has a coughing fits that only have very small breaks in between. Her poops had gotten softer with start if honey so thinking it may have been an attributing factor.

Started Liquid Immuno, Respiratory Tonic and adding in hawaii pharm respiratory relief.

Continuing on Allergy Relief, krill oil, vitD and calcium supplement (for home cooked meals) and MVI.

Energy Work:

Doing figure 8s and spinning crystal near her throat chakra. Catie said energetically the large intestine and lung meridians are closely related. Interesting since her history of "ibd".

Humidity has been ~45% and I have had the ionbox near her but havent been doing to close up treatments....I will see how she handles this today. And definitely looking into light therapy.

Plan:

I was thinking bc of the recent napping upstairs and increased wakings overnight, to decrease dosing to Every other day? And perhaps increase dose? So pulsatilla q1 20/1 qtip qOd?

Any thoughts or advice are super welcome!

Thank you ?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Exactly Nova! Time to increase dosing to Puls. Q1 20/2, Q-tip, once daily.

Are you seeing any BEAM or other shifts after a dose?

 

[novasimpson]

Thank you! Increased Taters dose to Pulsatilla q1 20/1 qtip last night. I haven't noticed any BEAM changes except mentioned above. I will keep an eye on how she responds to increase in dose.

@Dr. Jeff once before you mentioned Taters increased jumpiness directed us to decrease her frequency of dosing. Was that because a newer symptom vs her activation overnight and going into other rooms to take naps?

Thank you!!

 

[novasimpson]

Hello! Just wanted to check in about Tater Tot.

We increased Tater's remedy to Pulsatilla q1 20/2 qtip qd for a few days then up to Pulsatilla q2 10/1 qtip daily on March 8th.

B:

-cough is much improved but she still has 1-2 small coughing fits/day or overnight but shorter and less extreme.
-snoring/snorting has improved
-poop has improved and closer to really good-great on average. Some just "goods" but few. no mucus or straining/rushed
-vomit, for about 7 days (3/15-3/21) she was spitting up or vomiting daily. I didn't see most of them but instead found spots. Some had small amounts of food in them and some were just yellow liquid. I saw two. one was in the morning first thing (still in bed) she was retching and taking small steps with each retch and a little bit of yellow foam liquid was coming out with each retch and then at the end she vomited more liquid. Laid down after. I let her rest a few minutes then got up and started our day as normal and she was fine. Second time, middle of the night, sleeping on her belly. She retched a few times (nothing came out) then hacked at the end and small amount of yellow liquid came out. She laid her head down and went back to sleep. Really, I am not sure if she even really woke up b/c she was laying on her stomach the entire time and only raised her head slightly.
-continues to ask for permission to go upstairs and to get up on sofa or bed (her rules; not mine!)
-HUGE deal--she has been sleeping through the night 90% of the nights!!! woohooo!

E:

-good energy! She often is running ahead for the start of thewalks.
-still prefers to walk to Pepes but I can now (with a teeny bit of pushing) get her to go around the block the long way to get to Pepes. And she is happy to go on drive walks. Yesterday we were dropped off downtown and she walked great back ~1 mile with lots of sniffing and some marking.
-playful with kids around and will come outside with us happily.

A:

-appetite is always good her weight is 12.1 lbs (down from 12.5lbs) probably another 0.5 lbs would be helpful!

M:

-playful, calmer at times (less barking --I have been spraying her with water but I think we are figuring it out together.
-no new fears or jumpiness (just appropriate with kiddos running around!)


QUESTION:

I was wondering about the Pulsatilla -I think we would keep with it but maybe increase to 15/1 qday to help with remaining cough. Wasn't sure if increase in vomit would point toward a different remedy? It has stopped the since 3/22.

Thank you and everyone for any and all input and advice!!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Wow, awe-some update Nova, thanks!

Yes, now's a good time to increase to Puls Q2 15/Q-tip once daily.

The persistent vomiting may indeed be a clue to a new remedy. But in the context of improving BEAM, it's more likely to be a sign of her internal balance shifting into a better state and not the need for a new remedy.

 

[novasimpson]

Hi Dr. Jeff! That makes perfect sense about the vomiting and remedy. Thank you for the explanation!! We will increase remedy and keep everyone posted!

 

[novasimpson]

Hello again!

We increased TT remedy to pulsatilla q2 15/1 qtip on 3/24.

She has continued to vomit most days. Typically it is in the morning before she gets out of bed. Brownish liquid with some bits of treats in it. Or yellow liquid with no treats. Sometimes it happens overnight or during day...either dog walker lets me know (happens on walk) or I find it when I get home.

I think it may be related to blood sugar? So adding some coconut oil and going to increase food on days I am not home. It doesn't usually happen when I am home...probably bc I give lotsa treats!

Everything else is about the same: good energy, good to great poops!

She has been sleeping through the night every night except last night -bed at 9pm (with treats) woke up at 1130pm -drank water, peed out back, treats (gobbled them like desperate), alarm at 510am, she vomited a few mins after then 3 mins later vomited again. Picture attached

Also of note last couple of days, she has been more jumpy...loud tv turned on, loud noise outside and when I turned on the hair dryer (not for her) she ran to next room.

One time she heard our neighbors door open and she ran upstairs to look out the window ? nosy!

She continues to like to nap either on the sofa or upstairs in the bed (even when I am downstairs...this has been increasing over last couple of months).

Oh and we were outside hanging out and she purposely moved into the shade.

Any supplement ideas? Or diet changes? Should I make a follow up appt with Dr Jeff?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Nova.

Has she vomited every morning since the last dose?

Is she waking up and then vomiting or getting woken up by the vomiting?

Does she vomit at a specific time?

 

[novasimpson]

Hi DrJeff!

Remedy: gave 3/24--3/26.
None 3/27 (forgot)
Gave 3/28
None 3/29
Gave 3/30
None 3/31
I decreased the dosing frequency bc she became jumpy and thought it might help....sorry that definitely wasn't clear in the above post! She was less jumpy today.

She vomited:
3/25: x2 on walk with dog walker ~11am
3/26: 6am -I woke up and she woke up, raised her head then vomited
3/27: found vomit (so sometime during day)
3/28: found vomit on windowsill where she naps during day. (also -she barked to have permission to get on bed, I gave it and then went downstairs. After a minute, she jumped down for water then barked to get back up. I was downstairs and just figure I would let her "bark it out" so after ~8mins she stopped barking and jumped on bed...a few mins later I went up and found she had peed on the bed -never does that! I think she was upset about my letting her bark it out?!....learned my lesson!)
3/29: woke up overnight at 330am...barely lifted her head and just vomited and went back to sleep.
3/30: woke up at 630am and vomited
3/31: no vomit! We went to bed at 11pm and got up at 7am (so same amount of time but later bedtime then usual)
4/1: bed at 9pm, water and pee outside at 1130pm, alarm at 510am, still sleeping then vomited at 520am...laid back down then vomited again a few mins later. Second vomit was more intense retching.

It seems to wake her up AND and sometimes I wake her up by getting up then she vomits soon after (before she even stands up)...she lifts her head, looks at me for a minute or 2 then vomits.

She had some coughing today after I got home, when she greeted me excitedly but overall her cough is almost gone! Should rename this thread to vomiting!

Also, her vomit doesn't usually smell but she has a sour smell bc she vomits then it gets in her hair and sours...need to give more neck/face baths!

Thank you again and again!!