anyone tried natural remedies along with phenoxybenzamine?

[Anna]

Hi,
My dog is on phenoxybenzamine to help him pee. Since this medication is so expensive, and I'd like to help my dog's bladder heal naturally, I've looked into natural remedies online. I found a few that say they help with bladder strength (one by Vetri-Science). I asked my vet about whether it would be worth it to try the natural remedy, but he had no opinion. Has anyone here tried something similar and had any luck? I'd be interested in finding out if something can substitute for the phenoxybenzamine, or if the natural remedy still needs to be given with it... Thanks! Anna

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

no, but there are holistic vets, so I guess it would pay to do a holistic online vet search ... hang on
okay aspenbloomwellpet no too much searching... checking Merck
Phenoxybenzamine, an irreversible antagonist, has been used with some success. The dosage for dogs or cats is 0.25 mg/kg, PO, bid.
Diazepam is a benzodiazepine anxiolytic that is also a central muscle relaxant. Dosages sufficient to allow for urethral relaxation may also cause sedation. The dosage in dogs is 0.2 mg/kg, PO, tid, and in cats is 0.5 mg/kg, IV. Diazepam given PO may cause idiosyncratic acute hepatic necrosis in cats.
In animals with detrusor hyporeflexia or bladder atony, bethanechol chloride may be of some benefit. This cholinergic agonist stimulates the initiation of the detrusor muscle contraction. The dosage for dogs is 5-25 mg/kg, PO, tid, and for cats is 2.5-7.5 mg/cat, PO, tid.

so would it be a muscle relaxant? There are relaxors out there?

[Cindidoxiemom]

Oscar is on Phenoxybenzamine, and I have found no substitute. As Critters said...Phenoxy is to help RELAX the bladder not strengthen it hon. It is not designed to help the bladder heal.

If you will tell me what it is you mean by "healing" the bladder, I will do my best to help you find the right supplement.

Hugs,
Cindi

[Anna]

Hi, Karen.
Thanks for helping with the research! What you found confirms what I was worried about--that the natural remedies that advertise that they help "strengthen" the bladder would do the opposite of what my dog Dylan needs--something to relax his bladder so that he can actually pee or let me express him more easily... so is phenoxybenzamine supposed to be the best thing, then? or is diazepam a possible alternative? I'll try to do some research on natural remedies for helping to RELAX the bladder and see if I find anything... and I will also look to see if there are any holistic vets in my area.
Thanks again, Anna

[Anna]

Hi, Cindi.
thanks for your reply and also confirming that I need something that would help relax the bladder instead of strengthen it... In terms of "healing", I meant something that would allow the bladder to become healthy and function more normally again (instead of having such a hard time with the contractions and resisting me so much when I try to express the bladder). I don't know if there is such a "cure" but that's what I would hope for... Thanks again, Anna

[moo]

I don't know if this will help but I have posted a few times on this website about my "partially paralysed cat - coping" and after he was hit they gave him a 10% chance of ever walking, toileting etc again. My mum is a big believer in homeopathy so she spoke to one of her friends about remedies and she gave me a whole bunch of stuff to heal nerves, tissues etc. The accident was only 2 and a half weeks ago. But now after 2 and a half weeks he is pooing and weeing on his own and no bladder infection. He also was resisting me when I tried to express him but now he drags himself outside and digs his hole and wees. So I would give it a go. Its not going to hurt him and won't effect the other medication he is on.
Search online for the holistic vets ( i live in australia so I can't help you there ) There are ones that you can order and get consultations online.
If you just type in Holistic vets it comes up with a whole heap of stuff and most of it has listings of vets. Hope this helped slightly. Good luck