Someone Asked~Which Helped Most, Chiropractic Or Homecooked?

Someone on the Epil-K e-mail list asked me which I thought helped Henry more in finally being able to reach one full month of no Grand-Mals. I am sharing my answer with all of you~

The diet started first, and he started showing improvement then. The only reason he seized while on the diet was because I tried to change out the steak for chicken. I now know that chicken is a no no for Henry.

Then we started chiropractic, and he had the expected seizures that go with the first adjustment. That was a nightmare. If we did not know of the ice pack trick, I think Henry might have gone into status epileptus that night. (sp.?)

Now that Henry has had several chiropractic adjustments and is doing well with holding his adjustments, I think that is helping him stay seizure free.

Last week, he ate about 1 cup of kitty kibble, that had chicken in it. I was very worried, but, he did not have a Grand-Mal, just a few very mild flycatcher focals that evening. I am quite sure chiropractic is why Henry did not have a Grand-Mal in reaction to the chicken that day. I am continuing homecooked and no chicken regardless.

I contacted my friend who gave us the recipe we are using for Henry, and I told him everything about Henry's vomiting. He asked what Henry was vomiting,(ie., food or bile or etc.) and I explained there were big chunks of meat in the vomit. He suggested I chop the meat up finely. So I pulsed it in the food processor.
I think this will make a big difference. I will keep you all posted!

My First Homecooked Meal!

Hey everybuddy! Dis is Henry, and I's got some really exciting news!!!

My Mommy went shoppin', and she bought all dis YUMMY stuff fer ME! It's ALL organic and totally antibiotic free. Boy, my Mommy must REALLY love me! =D (The rice by the way, is gluten free)

She already has Veggie Goop part all made. So first step is to cook the yummy lean stew beef and beef bones in stock pot with just enough water to cover.
The next step after the beef is cooked, is to remove the beef, and then cook the gluten free organic rice in this yummy vitamin rich broth. Then, we will throw away the bones. We will be posting more pictures as we progress...


OK Mommy, is dinner ready yet?

Riley singing for his dinner...


Here's their dinner: (Henry's is on your left, Riley's on the right)
Henry's meal is 1/2 kibble, 1/2 homecooked. (full amount of veggie goop cause he's already used to that) If within 24 hours there is no diarrhea, then we will make the full switch. You can enlarge each picture by clicking onto them.

They really enjoyed it! =D

Starting Full Home Cooked!!!!!

Okey doke! We have tried everything under the sun except full home cooked diet. (and putting back on pheno which we *really* would like to avoid) Henry has been having some flycatcher seizures. Nothing serious, but it does indicate to me something is triggering this, and knowing his pattern, it tends to lead to a full blown grand-mal within a few days. I know for sure Flagyl antibiotics are one definite trigger of flycatchers. When Henry was on Flagyl (an antibiotic), he had flycatchers almost constantly.

On Friday, we are starting a full home cooked diet. Henry has shown sensitivity to poultry. Me and my husband were just discussing the possibility that antibiotics in meat may be what's really causing the problem. With commercial food, it's very hard to have control over what meat is in there. So, we will be doing homemade with antibiotic free meat, giving chicken a try first. I joined a food co-op list, hoping to find something in my area, hopefully accessing antibiotic free meat for a cheaper price than the grocery store.

Fall is not too far away, then we will have venison. We are going to get a deep chest freezer and fill it with as much venison as possible. My husband has a friend who will hunt us deer for a small fee.

This is the recipe we will be using:

1 to 1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 1/2 cups of boiled chicken or stew meat or venison.
1/2 cup of Veggie Goop
1/4 cup of cottage cheese in morning and 1/4 cup yogurt at evening meal.
1 teaspoon of CALL OF THE WILD.

I will post pictures and keep you all up to date of course! Riley will still be getting kibble, to help keep costs down. We'll put a small dollop of home cooked on top of his kibble so he doesn't feel too left out.

Veggiegoop

A person who is fostering a greyhound with epilepsy makes his foster grey something called 'Veggiegoop'. He prepares it in a juicer and adds the liquid and pulp back after the juicing process. Here is the veggiegoop recipe:

2 golden apples cored.
2 red apples cored.
2 pints strawberries
2 pints blueberries
2 bunches of carrots
2 heads red headed lettuce
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 head kale
1/2 buch of collard greens
1 bunch parsley
2 inches of ginger root
2 green zuchini
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 yams
1 brocolli head, but not stem so as to avoid gas

I don't have a juicer, but I do have a food processor. The idea behind the veggie goop is the vitamin B, which many epi-pups do benefit from. When I gave Henry raw fish, the thimainase in it caused his vitamin B to plummet, and resulted in a very bad grand-mal that I thought was going to kill him. I'm gonna give this veggie goop a try. I will be adding it to Henry's kibble, Wellness Core Ocean which is a grain free high protein diet. The person who shared this recipe adds it to a home cooked diet.

The vegetables are NOT cooked, they are processed raw, which leaves the vitamins more intact. I've heard veggies should always be cooked for better digestibility, but if were killing the vitamins through cooking, then that's not much good is it?