My experience taking Ritz to a holistic vet

Ritz is due for a wellness check, and has persistent vomiting, about two times a week. Seems to be related to how many hours she goes without eating. She also seems to be hungry all of the time, and has some FHS symptoms. The vet I've been taking Ritz to (lovely bedside manner) does not support raw feeding.
So I took Ritz to a holistic vet; she is part of a 'regular' practice, has limited hours. The practice has one door for cats, and one for dogs. She took me on time, took a thorough oral history of Ritz, took about 45 minutes. Asked everything from what is Ritz scared of, does she like music, what are her litter box habits. Impressed. She suggested homeopathic remedies, but I told her that I've been down that road (Dr. Wessner, in Florida) and it didn't work. We’re going to try Slippery Elm Bark (tea) for a few weeks and see if that decreases Ritz’ vomiting. She is a little concerned that Ritz has an immuno-suppresant condition and mentioned Irritable Bowel Disease. That is why she recommended against vaccinating Ritz (she is due for distemper/cold). Her anal glands did need expressed. Total bill was over $400, which I expected and some of which will be covered by pet insurance. She said to call back in three weeks with a status update and to continue with Jackson Galaxy's Stress Buster.

Remind me, what kind of raw are you feeding?  Commercial? Homemade? Frankeprey?...

Do you add supplements or extra treats?

I've found that feeding a bit of egg yolk a few times a week has really helped with our cat's hairballs, maybe it would also help for Ritz? 

As in any field, there are good vets and better vets.  It seems like this one was pretty thorough.  Keep us posted on how her suggestions work out for ya.

I feed prey model raw, also known as Frankenprey. She's been on raw for about three years.
She eats fast, wants more food including treats, then throws up. She wants to eat immediately after she eats (she would eat what she threw up if I let her), and keeps that food down. Because I feed prey model raw, I can clearly see what she threw up, i.e., if it is light, it is pork; if it is dark, beef. She rarely throws up a hairball, though interestingly enough I just started adding back 1/2 egg yolk (cooked) to her food a couple of times a week.
The only other supplement I gave her every day is a digestive enzyme (and Stress Buster).
She's been on Stress Buster since early January. While she seems slightly more affectionate, she is still jumpy, skittish. And now she (and I) is dealing with a new cat I removed from the colony due to weather. (In my second bedroom, very affectionate.)

It almost seems like the feline version of acid reflux.  Have you tried splitting her meals in half and giving each half about 30 mins apart?  Sometimes a smaller portion will stay down better.  Also, I know someone who had to deal with similar circumstances...  She would give a small dose of Pepcid 15 mins before meals.  After a while, she slowly weaned her cat off the Pepcid.  I don't remember if she used slippery elm as well (though I understand others have, with some success).

Is there a reason for cooking the egg yolk?  I tend to give it raw... well, frozen/thawed, but raw.  Since I've been using egg whites to lower Belle's phosphorus consumption, I end up with a pile of yolks.  I stir in a little water, pour them into ice cube trays, and freeze.  When they thaw, they are thick and gelatinous... kinda like pudding.  One yolk cube spreads about a teaspoon for 4 cats, and a slightly larger bit for the dog.  I've been amazed at how much of a difference it's made.  Hairballs have become rare, and the dogs coat is noticeably improved; she has Addison's and low thyroid, which had made her coat dull and dry in the past.

Sorry just getting back to this.
Re: cooked egg yolk. Laziness. I eat a fair amount of egg whites for protein so gave Ritz 1/2 a cooked egg yolk when she was particularly hungry. I'll start giving her raw egg.
I too have always assumed it was an acid ingestion issue. I have given her freeze dried/dehyradated treats, waited five minutes, and then feed her dinner. Sometimes that works, sometimes not.
Interestingly enough, the blood work that the holisitc vet did showed a slight abnormality for her T-4 level It was 2.9, should be around 2.0; a year ago her T-4 was 2.2. Anything between 2.5 and 4.0 needs watching. The primary sympton of hyperthroidism is being hungry all the time (yes for Ritz) and losing weight (stable) AND vomiting.
I've been off work for the past five days; today she will go without food for 12 hours. I did leave a frozen commercial raw food product in her bowl; she was trying to eat it when I left for work.
I'm going to wait to see if the Slippery Elm Bark works before doing any further testing.

Further update. For the past two weeks, I've been leaving out a nugget of frozen commercial raw (0% veg/carb, around .75 oz) before I leave for work. Ritz has not thrown up except the one day I forgot to leave out a nugget. It alas has not made her any less hungry, and I will be taking her back to the vets for further testing on her thyroid.
Also I have pet insurance (Petplan) and I was a little concerned that they would not cover the cost of a "specialist" (holistic consult). Well, they reimbursed me for everything except deductible ($50) and nail trimming/anal gland expression ($41).

Yay for progress.    I bet her throat is feeling better and, since she is keeping things down, her body is getting more nutrition.  I wouldn't be surprised if her overall readings improve.

Still a good idea to get the thyroid checked, if she is still not satiated with her food.

Glad to hear the insurance covered the costs, too. 

That's great that the insurance covered most of it!

Yes, this animal practice is known for being expensive and I was somewhat afraid that the charge would be in excess of "reasonable and customary".