11/08/2021
What happens when your senior patient (or pet) becomes “super senior?”
This is the term I use for pets who are living beyond typical life expectancy or who are showing obvious signs that Essence is declining. For Coors, my own cat, the third and final phase of renal insufficiency (IRIS stage 4) was characterized by these signs, which indicate that multiple substances and functions are reduced. *To review his symptoms and treatment for phases 1 and 2, see the 2 previous FB posts.
Essence is the juice that is needed to fill each of the substance batteries - Yin, Yang, Blood, Qi. As Essence declines with age and the body becomes less efficient and proficient at turning food into usable nutrients, each substance “battery” starts running low. So, it is not common to have a super senior patient who is literally Yang, Qi, Yin and Blood deficient. My approach is to figure out which of the batteries needs the most charging or which deficiency is most urgent. In addition, I make sure to choose points to keep Blood and Qi (gently) moving and to relieve any Channel Stagnation and Pain that is causing the pet discomfort. At this stage, comfort becomes the priority.
Coors symptoms in this phase were more pronounced - thirst increased, urination increased, muscle loss became apparent, energy level declined. (However, he was still bright enough to pick on our little dog Vinnie whenever he got the chance!) His appetite became highly variable, enough to drive a person crazy….I think this is one of the most difficult parts about caring for an aging pet. Another stressful change for Coors and for us was that he was starting to have mentation changes due to the Kidney Heart disconnect that happens with escalation prolonged Kidney Deficiency.
TCM Diagnosis:
Global Yin Deficiency (+Blood Def) and Wei Syndrome
Kidney Qi and Yin Deficiency Bony Bi
Spleen Qi/Yang Deficiency
Shen disturbance due to reduction of Kidney - Heart Connection.
Acupuncture points:
*Coors was becoming delicate so I pared down the number of points during this phase.
GV 20 - calming and he likes it!
BL 23, GV 4, Lumbar BH - tonify Kidneys and relieve hind end soreness.
BL 17 - mid back soreness and nourish Blood
PC 6 - calm Spirit, nausea (he did not always tolerate this point).
Chong Mai - Sea of Blood, Connects Kid/SP+ ST/Heart as well as Essence, Qi and Blood. SP 4 with PC 6.
During this phase, with his fluctuating appetite, I rarely attempted herbs or oral supplements.
Food therapy consisted of getting him to eat…as well as some healthy fatty foods like Eggs and Salmon to nourish Essence.
We administered subcutaneous fluids every other day to daily.
TCM teaches us that all beings will become deficient in substances, Qi won't flow as smoothy, and additional patterns of imbalance will pop up as the body ages. This WILL happen, but we can do a lot with TCM to ease the aging process and make it as graceful as possible. Coors maintained a relatively happy quality of life for the 4 hours he was awake each day :) When the integrative plan was no longer able to provide him with physical and mental comfort, we chose to help him let go peacefully.
The BIG win is that Coors, and many other renal deficient patients, have ENJOYED their senior and super senior years thanks to the integration of acupuncture and other holistic options.
This post is created by Nell Ostermeier, DVM, CVA, FAAVA and is intended for informational use, not to replace veterinary medical advice. You can learn more about the author on her website. www.peopleandpet.com
