Thai - Autoimmune disease

Date of the Consultation : 15^th January 2014

Description of the patient:

"Thai" is a spayed mix breed female canine, born 25^th August 2011. She lives with her owner and is a very friendly bitch. Her owner describes her as a bitch with a strong headed personality but very sweet, very playful, who likes people, is very affectionate and protective with the ones she loves. The negative traits, she has some aversion to “smelly” people with which she shows her aggressive side and is very territorial.

Main complaint:

Origin of the complaint : In September 2013 she developed a scab on her face on top of her nose, the owner said it looked like she had been bitten although she had no fight or close encounter with any animal. The local vet suggested cortisone cream but with no effect, the situation got much worse and developed into a very raw sore all over her nose area, as in the picture, she lost her fur over the nose, the skin looked red and had scabs.

Possible causative factors : There is a possible genetic factor since she does look as a Collie Shepherd mix breed dog. She was very attached to the son of her owner that had to go to study elsewhere, there could be a possible emotional trauma although she does not seem particularly depressed. She had a very aggressive vaccination protocol in her first years,: during her first 20 months of age she got 10 shots (one Distemper/Parvovirus, followed by a pentavalent, then another pentavalent and a rabies, then three doses of a non core vaccine, then again a pentavalent and a rabies and finally a shot of a non core vaccine). Five months after the last vaccine she developed Canine Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (this diagnosis was made by means of a biopsy).

Modalities of the main comlaint:

Time of occurrence, aggravation or amelioration : In the morning it looks better (whittish) and it gets worse in the afternoon turning red.

Side of the body : On top of the nose and there is another similar lesion in her left arm and left lower lip.

Frequency of appearance : Constant

Extensions of the complaint to other parts : It has extended backwards and in the left lower lip and left arm.

Other complaints:

She has pruritus in the anus and has arthritic pain.

Personal medical history:

Suppressive therapies and vaccinations : In order to try to control this situation she got antibiotics and a cortisone treatment that did not solve the problem. The owner describes that she changed a lot when she got the cortisone pills, that and the null effect of the medication were the reasons to seek a different approach. When she got the cortisone she got irritable, impatient and would no longer play with other dogs.

Traumas : Could have an emotional trauma after the son of the owner left home.

Acute infectious diseases : None, the owner does not recall any acute ailments or fever.

Other : She gets worming pills every three months, an external antiparasite treatment every month with a spot on product and another antiparasitic collar every six months. 

Familiar medical history:

No information.

Physical generals:

Reactions to temperature : She likes to take sun baths, other than that she does not seem affected by any change of weather or temperature.

Sleeping habits : She has no particular sleeping habit.

Food modalities : No information.

Water consumption : Normal.

Oestrus cycle : Never had any since she was spayed before puberty.

Mental and emotional symptoms:

Thai is mentally very healthy, no emotional or mental symptoms were present at the time of the consult. Only when she got the cortisone therapy she had some disturbances at this level, but since the owner decided to drop those treatments she balanced back to normal.

Analysis:

Prognosis:

Anatomopathological analysis : The pathology is only affecting the physical sphere and the most external part of the physical sphere (the skin) although the appearance of arthritic rheumatic pain already tells us that the disturbance might be moving inwards.

Depth of the disturbance from homeopathic point of view : When the main ailment resides only in the skin we can be certain that the depth of the disturbance is superficial. 

Personal medical history : Overvaccination is a known trigger to predisposed patients to autoimmune diseases. The suppressive therapy with cortisone also affected Thai in a mental/emotional sphere meaning she is easily disturbed by this kind of medication but I would not blame her for that since cortisone is a very strong medication that affects the body in many site and very deeply.

Familiar medical history and hereditary predisposition : There is no information on her family but she does look like a collie breed and this breed is predisposed to this ailment we even call it the Collie Nose Syndrome. This genetic predisposition could be an obstacle to a cure.

Conclusion : Thai has never had any disease until now. According to her vaccination protocol she probably could be suffering from Vaccinosis and although she has developed an autoimmune disease she has been able to keep the disturbance in the skin. She is also sensitive to cortisone but as soon as the drug was taken off she stabilized quickly. She probably belongs to either group C level 7 or upper level of group A according to Vithoulkas scale of health.

Selection of symptoms:

This case has very few symptoms to grab on, besides the actual symptoms of the main ailment.

Peculiar symptoms : 
She is a stubborn (obstinate)
Lupus itself could be considered a peculiar symptom
It gets worse in the afternoon

Intense symptoms : 
The actual symptoms of the lupus can be described and considered intense. 


Repertorisation:

Differentiation of the remedies:

Prescription with potency:

Lycopodium seems to be the best remedy but due to the fact there are not so many keynotes and that there is a possibility of a vaccinosis syndrome, I decided to first try Dr Tinus Smits protocol (for more information on the subject follow the link) and only then, according to how the symptoms change, I will decide how to proceed. This will allow me to understand if it is a case of vaccinosis and if so, confirm the use of the protocol. A heavy vaccination protocol like the one Thai has undergone can be a burden to the immune system and this does not allow the patient to show us a clear picture of the remedy. She started the protocol the same day of the consult  on the 15th January 2014.


Follow up 1 : 17th February 2014

Reaction to the prescription : She is almost completely cured, she has been eating grass and vomiting since she started with the protocol, has some muscle pain instead of articular pain, before she started the protocol. Still has some pruritus in the anus.
Analysis of the reaction : This is a very good reaction. The rheumatic pain has been pushed superficially to the muscles, the new gastrointestinal symptom shows that Thai is "cleansing".      
Conclusion : The use of this protocol permits to clear the symptoms, sometimes even cure the whole ailment but only time will tell. If the predisposition needs to be dealt with in the future, at that time treating it with a classical approach might be more efficient since the immune system has been cleared of the vaccinosis and only the predisposition of the patient remains.
Prescription to the follow up : Since Thai is still vomiting, according to the protocol we will follow the last potency of the Isotherapeutic remedy (also called a Tautode).

Follow up 2 : 19th March 2014

Reaction to the prescription : She is no longer taking any medication and has developed symptoms of Lupus on the tip of the nose. It has been two weeks since she stopped the Isotherapeutic remedy because she no longer vomited.

Analysis of the reaction : The Isotherapeutic remedy has exhausted its action, it is now time to retake the case and analyse how to proceed with a Classical approach.     

Conclusion : After analyzing the case all the symptoms remained just the intensity has ameliorated, therefore I decided upon the remedy that best fitted her mental state and also included the physical ailment.

Prescription to the follow up : Lycopodium 15CH twice a week. I decided not to go higher because this is a very sensitive patient, she reacts quickly to medication (Homeopathic or Allopathic) therefore I did not want to shake excessively the immune system, there is always time to raise the potency.

Follow up 3 : 22nd April 2014

Reaction to the prescription : She is completely cured!   

Conclusion : The use of Dr Tinus Smits protocol before a classical approach to patient that might be suffering from vaccinosis autoimmune ailments is clearly helpful.

Prescription to the follow up : No more prescrition.

Follow up 4 : 25th May 2014

Thai is still doing very well, with no medication, and there has been no relapse whatsoever. Will keep you posted for the next years to come if anything changes.

Follow up 5 : 18th May 2015

Thai came in for a general check up, it had been a year since the last visit. She is doing perfectly well, I decided to do a Vaccicheck test to screen her vaccine titers and she revealed to have good titers. No medications were suggested.