Fireworks, thunderstorms, and homeopathy.
In our recent special edition newsletter about the 4th of July we briefly touched on the use of homeopathy in our patients who have extreme fears or issues with loud noises such as fireworks and thunderstorms. While Addressing these fears in the midst of the fireworks would be difficult, the week after is perfect. While their fears and symptoms are fresh in your mind, now is the time to work though your dog’s history together with us to find the right homeopathic remedy to help you BOTH through their fears.
We use small, particular details that you share with us to help find the RIGHT remedy. Does your dog like to sleep on the cold tile, or curl up in front of the wood stove. Does your cat refuse to drink water from a bowl or prefer running water from a sink or fountain? All these things paint a unique picture for us that adds up to one single remedy to treat the whole patient. The hard part is finding the remedy. From then on, we have a hands off approach to allow the remedy to reach its fullest potential in our patients. Remedy effectiveness does however, require some work on your end. If we have prescribed an LM remedy, or the every day remedy, we will need to hear from you daily. Sometimes we will tell you to skip a day, watch for something new, or tell you to repeat your dose. Often a one or two sentence update is important even if the change that occurred is small. Sometimes something that you say in passing helps us unlock the whole case!
There is also a "c" potency for remedies. We give you one, two, or three doses and then tell you to wait. If you notice a big change, call us right away. However, what normally happens is a change within 2-3 weeks time when we call for an update. Small changes happen daily that are almost too small to notice until we call and rehash the symptoms. There is no way to know in advance which treatment plan we will pick from the start, we let the case and patient dictate their treatment.
Example: Shanon
Shanon was rescued from RAWL in August 2, 2017 after an extended stay. While she is a wonderful hound, she had major issues with thunderstorms and that was what her first visit with us hoped to address. It doesn't always happen like this but we were able to find her remedy without a big work up and relatively quickly thanks to mom's great observations. As soon as a storm starts to come, Shanon would whine, pace, and pant. She could find some comfort from being in a kennel but it was just very heartbreaking to watch her hide and have such fear. She was prescribed 1 dose of Phosphorus 200c, and told to update us in 2 weeks time. That was september 2017.
As a result, and the reason we do not recommend giving multiple remedies, Shanon's eating habits changed and her weight began to drop September 2017. It was also noted that there was undigested food in her stool. This is a big flag for us. An unhealthy gut can lead to MANY health issues down the road for animals and people alike. We then changed her remedy to Phosphorus LM1. While your "c" potencies are a strong push, our LM remedies give our patients a gentle push in the right direction. Often when we have a weak patient or a patient that has a strong counteraction we switch to the LM's gentle approach instead.
One month later the stools were normal, and she was up 4 pounds. She had found her voice, for better or for worse (if you have ever had the pleasure of a hound dog bray!) and was also playing more with her brother! It seemed the LM was the right choice for Shanon. She started looking for trouble and exploring the kitchen more. She was wagging her tail less whining and more talking with her family. Her anxiousness and pacing has subsided 80% at this point! It seemed she had settled in and was happy now with no reoccurring thunderstorm issues.
From August, the time of the first remedy, through May 2018 Shanon continued to improve. She only had to fill her remedy 4 total times. Mom was a trooper. For remedies to work correctly, we need daily updates until things level out. A quick phone call or email is often enough to allow us to help you through a treatment. December of 2017 we left our last conversation knowing that Shanon no longer needed daily treatment and mom would update us as needed. One of the beautiful things about homeopathy is the flexibility in the treatments. No one treatment fits every patient. While Shanon needed 4 treatments, others have needed 20 and others still only needed one. The remedy works to the best of each patient’s potential. When we give the remedies the time to treat, they work wonders...sometimes months after being administered. However, there may be a time where things start to back slide. Where we have reoccurring issues we hadn't noticed in months, or fears that show up again one evening.
May of 2018, Just shy of the 1 year mark for Shanon we have a reoccurrence of thunderstorm issues. Again Mom was able to reach out right away. The doctor quickly went over her symptoms, and recommended repeating her remedy at that time. We checked in later that day with mom but were happy to hear that while it took an hour for her to settle down, she did settle BEFORE the storm was over! Mom even sent us these videos to help us see her upset and settled after her remedy.
The best part of the story? Shanon did great for the 4th! No issues at all. She didn't even need her remedy! She followed many steps we outlined in our newsletter and "Fireworks ALL around noise/flashes extra traffic-you name it. She came through like a champ! Princess Champ". It's updates like this that make homeopathy treatment our go to treatment for fears and phobias.
Shanon's only other alternative would have been pharmaceuticals such as Prozac. These medications often alter a dog so much its like they are existing in a fog. Shanon can still be Shanon, and live in a work with fireworks and thunderstorms. She blossomed with her first remedy and has continued to do so with each passing month.