Vets v Doctors
Have you got a chronic health problem that your doctor doesn't understand? It sounds like a crazy suggestion, but would you be better off consulting a veterinarian than a physician?
Both conventional medical and veterinary practice claim to be based upon - buzzword of the moment - 'evidence based medicine'. And yet, curiously, they seem to have reached radically different conclusions about the causes of ill health and the appropriate treatment(s) for their respective clients.
It seems a shame that there is so little cross-fertilisation both between the different specialities within medicine and, more broadly, across the different disciplines. Medics, I think, could learn a lot from their veterinary colleagues.
Putting aside concerns about ethics and the likelihood of you doing so, here are 6 reasons why you might be better off consulting a vet about your 'mysterious' chronic illness!
1. Vets recognise the key role of nutrition to health
Whereas doctors have no training in nutrition and therefore do not even consider it as a possible cause of disease except in rare cases of extreme malnutrition or deficiency, vets consider the diet as a primary cause of ill health.
For farmers with herd animals such as dairy cows, nutrition is very important to maintaining the health of the herd, reproductive efficiency and yields of milk. In particular, vets recognise the important role of macrominerals such as calcium and phosphate and trace minerals such as selenium, iodine and chromium to health.
For example, they recognise that cereal grains are much higher in phosphates so that calcium must be added to the grain feed to balance calcium and phosphate ratios.
They also understand that the subtle signs of mineral deficiency may take some time to appear but can impair herd performance and ultimately result in broken bones, convulsions and death.
Vets also recognise the complex interactions between minerals so that high levels of one mineral will decrease utilisation of another and so consider the interactions between copper and molybdenum, sulphur and selenium, calcium and manganese, and so on.
They understand too that the body is able to take what it needs from the diet so that absorption of the mineral decreases as their amount in the diet increases and that older animals typically have compromised mineral absorption rates and therefore higher dietary requirements.
Whilst recognising that chelated organic minerals are absorbed in the intestine by a different mechanism that increases their bioavailability and improves absorption, they have to consider costs and are pragmatic using a mix of organic and cheaper inorganic mineral sources.
2. Vets consider toxicity as a cause of ill health
Vets always consider the possibility that symptoms of ill health could be caused of acute or chronic toxicity as a result of exposure to a wide variety of poisons. These may include snake and insect bites, household chemicals, pesticides, agricultural chemicals, poisonous plants, either their own or their owner's pharmaceutical drugs and foods such as chocolate that are toxic to dogs.
They also look for Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome which often starts with a cough, progresses to a fever and massive immune response including low blood pressure and often ends with liver or kidney failure. The infection appears to be acquired via the throat and lungs and progresses quickly and is often fatal. The symptoms though will be familiar to sufferers of fatigue syndromes who may be experiencing a low grade chronic form of toxic stress.
3. Vets recognise the role of parasitic infections in ill health
Vets recognise that their patients are constantly subject to parasitic infections from the environment and consider the possibility that pathological changes could have a parasite as their cause.
Parasites are an extremely varied group and range from blood sucking insects which can slowly debilitate the animal and, if infected, can transmit parasitic infections such as heartworm to dogs and liver flukes to cattle and sheep to the tiny protozoa, Giardia, which may cause digestive symptoms such as diarrhoea in cattle and dogs.
In order to maintain health in the animals in their charge they advise a regular antiparasitic programme of deworming and anti-flea preparations.
4. Vets recognise adrenal insufficiency
Vets also actively consider the possibility of endocrine disorders such as adrenal and thyroid insufficiency as a first line of enquiry.
Although the cause(s) of the adrenal fatigue often remains unidentified, they consider that an immune defect may affect production of normal levels of steroids by the adrenal cortex. Adrenal insufficiency can also be secondary to an injury or tumour of the hypothalamus or pituitary gland or the administration of steroid medications.
For reasons that aren't known, but are widely recognised in veterinary circles, adrenal insufficiency is more common in female dogs between the ages of 4 and 6. Symptoms include weakness and lethargy, changes in appetite and in weight, digestive problems, difficulty breathing, more frequent urination and heart problems.
This catalogue of symptoms will sound painfully familiar to chronic fatigue sufferers and translates in human years to be 28-42 years of age - precisely the peak incidence of fatigue related disorders in women.
It is thought that adrenal fatigue in female animals may be due to the toll of reproductive cycles and possibly reproduction or the complex interactions or sex and adrenal hormones. Vets also recognise the impact of stress such as travelling long distances, being re-homed or having an owner die on the health of the animal.
Blood tests to determine adrenal function and whether it is primary or secondary are performed and therapy consists of intravenous fluids that contain glucocorticoids and/or mineralocorticoids, depending on what the animal lacks. This treatment is maintained for a few days until oral medication can take effect, and tablets are maintained for a few weeks or months until they can be slowly withdrawn.
5. Vets recognise the damaging effects of vaccination
Vets recognise what they call vaccinosis, which is the damaging effects of overvaccinating animals. They too are witnessing a rise in chronic diseases never before seen in animals and some suspect that for every acute illness they are eliminating using vaccination such as feline distemper, for example, another chronic disease emerges such as feline leukaemia.
Animals with vaccinosis may never appear to be the same after a particular vaccination and have severely depressed immune systems. They also often display symptoms of the disease they were vaccinated against.
Some vets regard the majority of skin problems and degenerative musculoskeletal problems such as arthritis and spinal diseases that appear later in life to be the result of vaccinations. Vaccinations against rabies in dogs and cats is recognised to cause personality changes, skin changes and damage to the endocrine and immune systems.
"The more I learn about the nature of the immune system, the more concerned I am about the increasing number of vaccine viruses we are giving animals and possible repercussions that may result."
Richard Pitcairn, DVM, Prevention Magazine 1985
These animals may quite literally be the canaries in the mine, because their life spans are generally shorter than ours and the effects of our current allopathic medical practices can be witnessed much more rapidly.
6. Vets don't tell their patients their illness is psychosomatic
Because the animal's owner has requested veterinary help for their pet or farm animal that they have objectively observed to be suffering in some way or to be experiencing some behavioural or physical symptom, the vet cannot dismiss their patient's concerns as all 'being in their head'. The wastebasket solution of antidepressants often deployed in humans is not an option - a real cause has to be found and treated.
In addition, the owner is concerned about their animal and wants to see results and is usually paying out of their own pocket for treatment. For the vet to stay in business they have to produce real health outcomes.
Last, but not least the results of veterinary therapy cannot be attributed to the placebo effect or to having a good bed-side manner. The vet's patients either get better or they don't.
Some vets use homeopathic remedies because both they and the animal's owners have found that they produce measurable results. Organic dairy farmers in particular find that adding homeopathic remedies to the herd's water supply dramatically reduces cases of mastitis and the consequent loss of income. Both the veterinary bills and the cost of homeopathic treatment are offset by the improved milk yields.
Further resources
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