I read with interest your nicely detailed account of how you repaired = the conditions experienced by your young kids with selenium injections. = I know that had to be tremendously rewarding for as you, as well as = highly educational for the list members. Thank you for taking the time = to share the experience! But it worries me a bit that you've singled out selenium as the sole = hero of your story (ie: ".5 mg selenium injection to each of the three", = and "gave the dams 5 mg selenium" and "plan to call vet as soon as they = are open this AM to see how much more selenium I can give safely") even = though in fact you used BoSe. You even went so far as to say that = selenium is the generic name for BoSe! (..."I just find it safer and = more accurate to use the generic name for the drug.") This is a bit = misleading to the reader, Jenny.=20 Selenium, far from being merely a generic name for the drug, is the name = identifying one of the two equally important active ingredients in the = product. Vitamin E is the name of the other ingredient. For many years = we've been calling this combo 'selenium-tocopherol'. In the current VPB = it is identified as 'selenium-Vitamin E'. For those who are interested = in achieving the same level of success in repairing their own goats that = you did with yours, I believe it's vital to let them know that you = didn't do it with just selenium injections as you indicated when = recounting the experience, but that in fact the selenium and Vitamin E = work as a team to bring about this rapid improvement in debilitated = mammals. And BTW, that's ALL mammals, not just goats. And, it's used for = that purpose in all parts of the country, not just in 'selenium = deficient' areas. Using BoSe as a part of the adjunct therapy, for years = now I have been routinely repairing cats and dogs, and helping other = people in all parts of the country to do the same thing for their own = animals, achieving the same level of success on them with it that you = talk about in your post. In fact, I myself take a 200mcg tablet of = selenium along with a 1000 unit capsule of Vitamin E daily (my own = version of BoSe!), and have done this for many years. And trust me, I'm = one very healthy ol' broad! <grin>=20 So... No matter what your veterinarian may tell you (and what he says is = frankly merely a 'guesstimate' on his part anyway), BoSe should not be = relegated simply to use in so-called 'selenium deficient' areas! In my = view it should be incorporated into the treatment of debilitated animals = whenever and wherever there is a need for immune system stimulus. This = 'selenium deficiency', after all, cannot be readily determined, = excepting in individual animals, and through blood testing. Even using = that approach, an accurate selenium level in a living animal is hard to = pin down... And frankly, the most reliable way to measure it is by = checking a sample of liver tissue at necropsy. Those maps defining = selenium-deficient areas of the USA that we see occasionally are not = absolute... They are generally produced by, say, doctoral candidates, to = fulfill requirements for their advanced degrees, and I guarantee you = that those Doctorial students are not actually out there testing soils = in the different areas, but only regurgitating for the most part the = work of previous doctoral candidates that used that same approach. Thus, = there is no actual way for the herd owner, or for the veterinarian, to = positively determine that what those maps indicate has any validity at = all. =20 And that 1mg of selenium combined with 50mg of Vitamin E in the BoSe = product is designed essentially to boost the effectiveness of the = Vitamin E in stimulating the immune system, and is not really sufficient = to replace selenium in an actually selenium-deficient mammal. So if I = had a positively ID'd selenium-deficient animal, one that was deficient = enough to be showing classic symptoms of same, I would certainly be = dosing it with a product that contained more selenium than BoSe does!=20 For those who are interested in learning more about the levels of = selenium present in the popular selenium/Vitamin E products on the = market today, here is a list of them.=20 BoSe: 1mg selenium, 50mg Vitamin E, in each ml of the product. MuSe: 5mg selenium, 50mg Vitamin E, in each ml of the product. Myosel B: 1mg selenium, 50mg Vitamin E, in each ml of the product. Myosel E: 2.5mg selenium, 50mg Vitamin E, in each ml of the product. Myosel M: 5mg selenium, 50mg Vitamin E, in each ml of the product. BTW: If anyone reading this doesn't have a veterinary source available = to provide BoSe for you, please contact me, suereith@msn.com, and I can = probably direct you to one.=20 Below is an article I wrote some time ago explaining just how the BoSe = works to stimulate the animal's immune system, enabling it to help in = its own repair from within, while we humans work on it from the outside. = As I've sent this post to the list previously, for those who are in a = rush and/or don't want to wade thru the pertinent details again, I'll = sum it up right here as briefly as I can: BoSe works so well to improve the health of mammals because of the = teamwork involved. In each ml of the product there is 1mg of Selenium, = combined with 50mg of Vitamin E (an already well-known immune system = stimulant in its own right), with the result that the selenium causes = the Vitamin E to work 6 times better than it could by itself, and at the = same time the Vitamin E renders the selenium in the combo non-toxic!=20 The details backing up that statement are found below... For those that = are inclined to seek further input on this... Happy reading! (smile) = BTW At the very bottom of the article, for those who are interested in = reading about it, I have provided an overview of my own routine approach = to treating a sick animal, including the adjunct therapy. Sue Reith Carmelita Toggs Bainbridge Island WA=20 suereith@msn.com=20 _________________________________________________________________________= ________ =20 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue Reith" suereith@msn.com Sent: Monday, May 24, 1999 11:52 AM Subject: BoSe; Selenium/tocopherol: How/why it works to stimulate the = immune system (Dwight Cochran DVM) A list member asks: >>Where did you get the info on the reasons behind combining selenium = and Vit E?<< Sue Reith responds: Here's my article on BoSe and how it works... BoSe; Selenium/tocopherol: =20 How/why it works to stimulate the immune system=20 (including the research done by Dwight Cochran DVM) The means by which BoSe works is essentially that the presence of that 1 = mg of Selenium with the 50 mg of Vitamin E in each ml of BoSe makes the = Vitamin E work 6 times more efficiently, while the presence of the Vitamin E makes that 1 mg of Selenium in the product = non-toxic. You might want to present this to a vet you have a working = relationship with, and tell him it is important to you to keep your = goats' internal defenses strong. It would be helpful if vets would = realize that the owner has a right to maintain a strong immune system in = his/her animals as a management tool. Vets should not be afraid of BoSe, which I believe is what we are = dealing with here, and further I suspect it is simply because of their = own lack of understanding regarding the subject. They hear that = Selenium is toxic, and by itself in large amounts it certainly would be, = and as a consequence they fear that by providing a client with BoSe they = might be decreeing the death of the client's animal, which is not good = for business. But in fact the issue has nothing to do with whether or = not the area in which they live is sufficient/deficient in selenium, but rather it is the presence of that = 1mg of selenium in combination with the 50mg of Vitamin E in the = injection that is so critical to the strengthening of the animal's = immune system. The vet meds reference book, called the VPB (Veterinary Pharmaceuticals = and Biologicals) does not address the detrimental effect on livestock of = too much available environmental selenium that worries vets so when they = are considering the potential use of BoSe, as it isn't really a relevant = issue in discussion of the BoSe product. However, they do discuss the = synergistic effect of selenium in combination with Vitamin E. This = synergistic effect may be a basic concept simply understood and taken = for granted by chemists and pharmacologists today, although it appears, = from the reticence of Vets to prescribe BoSe, that may be an = unproductive approach... I really don't know why you can't pick up your = average livestock management book and read about it... I guess it is one = of those things you soak up with research and experience along the = way... Who knows? But what I do know is that a well-known and highly respected Caprine Vet = by the name of Dwight Cochran, a teaching Prof at Purdue University = School of Vet Medicine, gave a talk back in 1979 (and probably at other = times as well, but I only have a copy of this one) overviewing the = research done by the AASGP (American Ass'n of Sheep and Goat Practitioners) (currently = renamed AASRP, after they included Llamas among their interests) on this = subject in which he stated (and I am only giving you a pertinent = paragraph here, as the speech was very long): To wit: FUNCTIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF = SELENIUM-TOCOPHEROL By Dwight E = Cochran DVM Selenium functions as an essential component of glutathione peroxidase, = the enzyme that breaks down peroxides, while tocopherol appears to = function as a secondary line of defense against peroxide damage. In the = absence of an adequate intake of selenium, tocopherol will act to = protect the cell membrane. Tocopherol, however, cannot replace the need for selenium. = This mechanism is the basis for describing tocopherol as an antioxidant = for Vitamin A and necessary polyunsaturated fatty acids. Selenium = compounds also function in the transport of tocopherol within the body. = Further biochemical interrelationships are beyond the scope of this = discussion, but it should be noted that various researchers have shown = that there is a close relationship in the biomedical activities of = selenium and tocopherol and that there is a definite synergistic effect = when the two are used together. Tocopherol reduces the toxicity of = selenium drastically and selenium potentiates the effects of tocopherol = as much as six times. end of paragraph. Sue Reith Carmelita Toggs Bainbridge Island WA ------Addendum------ My own approach, developed over the past few years through observation = of the results with and without the use of BoSe as adjunct therapy, = along with whatever else is being used to restore the animal to good = health, is that using BoSe to stimulate the immune system so that the = body of the debilitated animal can help itself while I treat it = therapeutically speeds up the repair time markedly. My routine approach these days when treating a sick animal is the = following: BoSe inj (at the rate of 1cc/40 lbs SQ) is given once daily for 3 = days... Then it is given once every 2nd day for 3 doses... Then once a week for = a month... However, in an animal that is older, so that his/her own immune system = functions less efficiently than it did in earlier years, and in = particular when there is some disease involved for which, in this older = animal, there is no known cure, I have found, much to my astonishment, = that continuing BoSe monthly on a permanent basis after having = introduced the initial regimen outlined above results in markedly = increased health and greater expectation of longevity in that animal. To illustrate by drawing from my own experience: A couple of years ago I discovered a large tumor about the size of a = goose egg on the front leg of my 12 year old male Australian Shepherd. = Biopsy revealed that it was a spindle-cell-sarcoma. The veterinarian = immediately suggested surgery to remove it, but I declined, having = learned from experience that once surgery is performed tumors generally = metastasize rapidly. I preferred not to put my old dog thru that = stressful process and opted instead to begin the BoSe regimen I spelled = out above. I had hoped that the stimulation of his immune system in this manner would keep the = tumor from enlarging more and/or spreading. Instead, a month later the = tumor had actually shrunk! It was all but imperceptible when palpating = the leg! About 6 months later I tried to skip the monthly BoSe = injection, and after 2 months went by I found it had started to grow again, so I = immediately went back to the month injections, which reduced the tumor = once again and kept it under control in an all-but-non-existent state = for the remainder of my dog's life. He passed away at just short of 14 = years old, of an unrelated cause. Sue Reith Carmelita Toggs Bainbridge Island WA=20 suereith@msn.com
Re: Selenium (Bo-se) Email from Sue Reith email me at a2zdairygoats@yahoo.com for more info on getting BoSE
