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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Atopic/Cyclo
| I have a 9 year old Golden/Chow, Caleb that has an allergic reaction every year from mid September usually through October. This year it is still going on, you know the endless scratching, chewing,and hair loss. I know that this seems to be the drug of choice but whether it is just bad memories of using this on my AIHA dog I am really hesitant to do it. |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| I suspect the dosage required for allergies is lower than for immune suppression. Been dealing with canine allergies a long time. Had been administering routine allergy shots until now that were very effective. In any case, our visit with a veterinary dermatologist specialist was a life saver for us. There are very few in the US, if you can find one near you to visit consider yourself very lucky. Short term you can use Benadryl very safely (as advised by the vet dermatologist). Check with your vet. I would use the lowest possible dose I could get away with and administer it in more frequent doses to avoid the groggy dog syndrome. Patrice |
| Patrice New York State |
| I tried the Benadryl initially and it seemed to have no affect. I was reading a website last night that said to use the benadryl for 2 weeks then switch to three other antihistamines using those every two weeks. I also hate that the site said each year it will get worse. He is also one of those manic terrified dog when he is away home so Vet visits are usually my last resort. Thanks |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Penny, If you are still using prednisone as part of your treatment I can recommend the use of Temaril-P for relief then. We used it when Chance was first diagnosed and we were waiting for the allergy shots to become effective (can take as long as a year). We would have these short drug holidays of about 2 weeks every so often when we would put him on it. Gave him time to heal his skin and relief from scratching. Gave us a holiday from stress. Long term use of prednisone is discouraged so we didn't use it continuously. http://www.pfizerah.com/product_overview.asp?drug=TM&country=US&lang=EN&species=CN Termaril-P "Combines antipruritic, antitussive activity of trimeprazine with anti-inflammatory effect of prednisolone." Your vet could determine if you could utilize this med to be part of the prednisone dosage you are on now since it contains prednisolone. My dermatologist gave me a complete list of antihistamines, in the order of preference to try, and appropriate doses for our dog. Many otc are usable, but be cautious not to use any that have a d (decongestive) in the ingredients. I tried several but benadryl was the cheapest source for us and it worked well if I carefully dosed him. Patrice |
| Patrice New York State |
| Penny, Before Chewie got sick, my moms dog Clifford (Tibetan Spaniel) who is about 13 years old was having such bad skin allergies we didn't think he was going to be with us much longer. Almost all his hair had been scratched off, he had sores all over and he was losing a lot of weight. My moms vet put him on (according to my mom) a mircle drug. After a couple of months Clifford looked wonderful and was feeling good again. Anyway, after Chewie got sick and was started on Atopica my mom recognized it was the same drug Clifford was on for his allegies. I guess it can work very well for certain dogs with skin allergies. The dosage was lower than for treatment of IMHA. Clifford weighed approx 22-25 lbs and was on 50mg once a day. I think now, over a year later he is on 50mg eod. Good luck with Caleb... Stephanie |
| Stephanie Seattle |
This thread was discussed between 09/11/2007 and 10/11/2007
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