Thursday, April 17, 2008

Parker's regimen


My sweet baby doggy, Parker, just got surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. I've been giving him all the antibiotics/pain meds that the vet prescribed but i have also been doing my own healing extravaganza for him.
I've been going heavy on the homeopathics-arnica for inflammation and bruising, staphysagria to promote the healing of his incision. When he first got home, i was giving him arnica every 1/2 hour. Now I have reduced the dosage to 3-5 times/day. I can already tell it's helping since they incision area looks much better than before. It's healing nicely!
Also I have been giving him concentrated aloe juice to help reduce the risk of tumor regrowth and it also aids digestion, allergies, skin, etc...
Probiotics are a must when anyone takes antibiotics. I am trying to separate the doses of antibiotics and probiotics so the good stuff won't get killed off immediately. I am giving him New Chapter (my fave suppy company) All-Flora powder-about 10 billion/day. Once he's off antibiotics, I will probably give him about 12 billion/day to replenish.
He's getting his regular dosing of Flax and Fish Oil to keep him happy & healthy.
Dogs do really well with most of the same supplements that people take. Cats are definitely a different story. They are much more sensitive to supplements and *fun fact* do not break down essential oils well so if you burn incense or use a diffuser with eo's then don't do it every day. give them some time to recover.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Herbal Fun Day

I just made slippery elm lozenges. Here's the recipe:
1 t licorice root, cut/sifted
1/2 cup slippery elm powder
1-2 T honey
1/2 cup water

Put the water and licorice root in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes (called a decoction- used for bark, roots, etc... of plants).
Put the slippery elm powder in a bowl and create a well in the middle.
Put the honey in a 1/4 cup measuring cup (different amounts of honey depending on how sweet you want the lozenges) and add enough of the decoction to fill the measuring cup.
Add to slippery elm well and mix until a smooth dough is formed. I make a little extra decoction just in case it needs more liquid (you can also add water if too dry).
Either roll the dough out and make into little circles (you can use the top of a vanilla extract bottle) or you can roll the dough in your hands to make little balls.
Leave out 1-2 days to dry.
Package in a dark glass bottle or a tin.
Let these dissolve in your mouth-great for sore throats, coughs, and digestion!

I also made a nettle/apple cider vinegar hair rinse, a toner, and a valerian tincture. Let me know if you need these recipes because they are bad ass!
I love doing all this herbal shit- it gives me a purpose in life (at least for now).
At the coop, we are just starting to bring in medicinal herbs in the bulk section. We just got our first shipment from a local company-Love & Tea. The calendula flowers are fucking gorgeous. Even though the section is not up and running yet, we have all the ingredients for the lozenges already in the bulk spice/tea section.