A SARDS Pet Owner’s Thoughts About the Difference Between Dr. Plechner’s Protocol and Levin’s Protocol
Posted on August 27th, 2015I recently read an exchange at SARDS Dogs Adrenal Exhaustion (a Yahoo group) and would like to share it here. Paula’s SARDS dog was treated with my protocol, which resulted in eyesight return for Butter P.
To achieve the best results using Plechner's syndrome the following must be taken into consideration:
- How well the SARDS canine hides the vision loss.
- How quickly the SARDS canine owner realizes the canine is blind.
- How quickly the veterinarian responds with proper treatment.
Please realize that your dog’s SARDS may not be the first autoimmune syndrome to develop, and if not, correcting SARDS may not be the final answer.
It is important to identify this endocrine immune imbalance as soon as possible, because once a patient has developed autoimmune diseases, such as SARDS or cancer, the Plechner Protocol may not help.
The faster you realize your pet is blind and your veterinarian helps treat your pet correctly, the better the odds are that your pet will have a chance for eyesight return.
In any event, the best you can do for your SARDS pet is to immediately have the endocrine immune test done at National Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories and let me help you, at no cost.
Here’s the exchange from the SARDS support group:
Post: My dog has very recently been diagnosed with SARDS. I would like to hear feedback from differences between Levin and Plechner protocols, and their potential side effects? I have read on a few forums of people being skeptical of both and some mention it could cause more harm than good for the dogs.
Reply: There is a definite difference between Dr. Plechner's protocol and Caroline Levin's protocol. When Dr. Plechner's protocol is followed exactly, it does work. He has experienced a very high rate of eyesight return, but the dog has to be treated very soon after blindness (before there is permanent eye damage). Unfortunately, many have difficulty finding Dr. Plechner quickly enough and finding a veterinarian that will administer his protocol.
The other downside is that many veterinarians say they will administer his protocol, but they adjust his dosage recommendations and get bad results and then blame it on Dr. Plechner's protocol. Also, there is a lot of confusion online that Caroline Levin's protocol is Dr. Plechner's protocol....and it is not.
As far as treatment, Dr. Plechner explains it on his website. When treated very quickly and when his recommendations are followed exactly, Dr. Plechner is getting 70-80% eyesight return. I think Caroline Levin states on her website that she is getting about a 25% return of eyesight, but I haven't looked at her information in quite a while, so this could have changed. She suggests added supplements, whereas Dr. Plechner does not.
Dr. Plechner's treatment is very simple. Since the dog is not making enough cortisol, he suggests cortisol replacement. And to keep any lingering cortisol from building up, he suggests a thyroid medication, which breaks down the cortisol. Many doctors have been conditioned to be afraid of cortisol, but they also don't know how to break down any lingering cortisol. This is why most veterinarians are afraid of the Plechner Protocol.
When there is adrenal damage and not enough cortisol is being made, it has to be replaced. A doctor wouldn't dream of withholding insulin from a diabetes patient, and the cortisol replacement is a similar comparison.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best. I know that watching your dog go blind can be devastating and I'm sorry he is going through this.
Paula Cook
