First a little background so my review makes sense: My 13 year old Siberian Husky mix was diagnosed with stomach cancer in Feb of 2023 after a liver biopsy turned into a partial stomach resection and the lab work came back with the beginnings of adeno carcinoma.
Fast forward 3/4 of a year later, after a hospice vet had told me to keep him on post-op levels of Gabapentin and Sucralfate to manage the spread of the cancer, when I noticed him having problems with coordination and was going downhill fast in terms of energy and happiness.
Turns out two things were happening: 1) He was suffering from Serotonin syndrome from a combo on Gabapentin and Denamarin (which he had taken his whole life to support a weak liver) and 2) he was suffering aluminum poisoning from high levels of Sucralfate, being given to manage what they thought was a stomach that would be ravaged by cancer over time. Turns out, not so much. I noticed he always felt worse after the meds so I stopped them, took him off his GI prescription dog food, and put him on a homemade diet which included fresh ginger, lean ground beef, chicken breast, barley, eggs, blueberries, carrots, peas, zuchhini with a little spinach, and switched to Slippery Elm to coat his stomach before meals in the morning, and before going to bed at night. I was skeptical it would work, but I figured if he were going to die anyway, I'd want him to go out enjoying life and eating the best things (eating is his FAVORITE thing in the world, the second being his walks).
Fast forward until today, and he's still with me, in large part due to Herbsmith's Slippery Elm and how it has worked to salve irritation in his stomach and keep his GI working well. He LOVES the taste of it, and looks forward to his doses, morning and night, which he laps out of a little bowl I use specially for his Slippery Elm concoction (I put a wee bit of Better than Beef bouillon in it for his salt requirements and water).
While I was skeptical at first that it would work as well as sucralfate, which did wonders for him in the beginning (he's always had a sensitive stomach), the Slippery Elm has proven to be nearly as effective, without giving him heavy metal poisoning over time like the sulcralfate. =P
I will add this disclaimer, to be completely transparent: I am not sure he even *has* cancer anymore. I think they may have gotten it after his surgery and only assumed it would be spreading based on a single CAT scan they did afterwards where they saw "suspect" tissue in his liver, but I suspect was just scar tissue from a previous liver poisoning episode he had when he was younger (as a stray before I adopted him). Normally, a dog with adenosarcoma of the stomach is dead within 12 months, and here he is at 19 months past his diagnosis.
Regardless, Herbsmith's Slippery Helm really has made a marked difference in his comfort level post-eating, and helps keep him regular, which is super important for a pup of his age, especially given what he's gone through in the last two years (stomach ulcer, stomach cancer, seretonin poisoning from over medicating him, and aluminum poisoning from over medicating him).
I am so thankful he is still with me, and still enjoying ever meal (4x a day, small amounts) and every walk (3x a day: morning, afternoon and night), and I have this wonderful product to thank for that, in part.
