From:
Glenn Johnson
Date: 2001-04-09 09:29:00 UTC
Subject: Devil's Claw
Friends of the Ferret,
Jackie DeCarlo wrote
"This is probably what we need to hear on this list also the
good
successes and bad successes of these herbal formula's...I know
that I
have had great success with the essiac and know many people
that also
have and then again some animals do not respond as well..just
like
the Devil's club, I know several people who have used it with
great
success and there will be others that have not..........."
I am the one that Mike Janke spoke of, in the same thread. My
Chuki got one dose of devil's claw and I spent the rest of the
day watching him constantly, with the Karo syrup out and
ready. That's how badly it affected him. He was fine the
following day. Even the first dose was with some reluctance,
because it contains alcohol, known to lower the blood/sugar
level. Searching the internet turned up the following:
Devil's Claw produces a hypoglycemic effect in rats and mice.
Devil's Claw is listed on herbal/diabetic sites as being
effective in lowering the B/S level.
But what of the "success" stories? I don't know. Well
documented instances of being able to eliminate, or even
reduce the need for pred, with established pred-dependent
insulinomic ferrets ( along with a record of routine B/S
tests), would be a start, and I' haven't seen one, so far.
I can't help but remember that, for many years yeast was
considered beneficial for ferrets with insulinoma and there
are still insulinoma "duck soup" recipes on the internet that
contain yeast. Now, the professional concensus is that it's
more apt to harm than help.
"Then why did I even try it?" Easy! Like many others here, I
have a terminally-ill and very precious little buddy that
could never survive surgery, and it's hard to ignore the magic
lure of "just a little more time".
Glenn and Chuki