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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - itching and licking
| My Lucy goes through this every spring but I'm just tired of watching her go through it with no advice from our vet as to how to change it. So I thought I'd ask around to see if anyone else encounters this. She is very itchy and is constantly licking her paws or back legs or nibbling on her back. I hate seeing her go through this obession she almost has with it. We've asked our normal vet - not our Internist and she says to keep her on her normal drugs through the Spring rather than trying to drop her. Currently she is 15 mg of Pred every other day, then 25 mg of Imuran EOD and then 1.0 ml of Cyclo AM and PM daily and Ursodiol daily in the evening. I've also got her on B-12, Vitamin C, Fish Oil and Colostrum. None of the supplements seem to help. Any ideas? Thanks Crissy and Itchy Lucy : ) |
| Crissy Kansas |
| Crissy, Sigh, this is the same here with Chance. He's always had allergies that are related to spring (tree pollen) and fall (ragweed). Right now his eyes are gooping something awful. We used to give him regular allergy shots, but we can no longer do that after all of this. The cyclosporine, marketed by Novartis as Atopica, is now used specifically for pet allergies. I have been thinking about putting Chance back on it for a short period of time to see if it would help. Of the two, prednisone or Atopica, the Atopica has far fewer side effects. He is no longer on prednisone and I can tell you for sure, I am not going back there! I am so happy we are finally done with it. You can try some simple measures to help like washing paws and wiping down her coat with a damp cloth when you return from outside. That removes pollen. If you have ac, run it now keeping doors and windows shut. Vacuum and dust more frequently and carefully. I even treated the bed upstairs like we had an allergic person with mattress and pillow covers, washing all bedding in hot water etc. When Chance was really suffering, I would use a product called Temeril-P made especially for pet allergies. It is a combination of prednisone, (at lower doses) and an antihistamine. Used for short periods of time it is very effective at reducing the symptoms. That gave Chance time to heal his skin and us a break from watching him suffer. I would use it for about 2 weeks at a time and then carefully decrease the dosage for about a week. I would wait about a month before using it again We had a vet dermatologist and she also recommended over the counter antihistamines (do not use anything with a D, decongestant, on the label). She had quite a list of them. We occasionally used Benadryl because it was inexpensive and effective. I learned to use less for each dose, but give them more frequently so he wouldn't be zonked out all the time. Depending on Lucy's weight, you could start with a 1/2 or 1/4 pink tab if she is above 30 lbs. If she is less than that, ask your vet for help with dosing. I would give Chance a 1/2 tab about every 4-6 hours, he is 100lbs. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Crissy, My other Golden, Archie, has terrible allergies but only in the late fall & winter time. He is allergic to dust mites and mold spores which is probably the worst 2 combinations. We have tried everything and anything and have a rigorous routine to help keep him comfortable. Have you had Lucy allergy tested to see what she might be allergic to? Jeanne in NJ Goldens, Angelo & Archie |
| Jeanne New Jersey |
| Crissy, Jeanne did bring up a good point. I have all this information about Chance and his allergies because we did extensive testing on him with a vet dermatologist when he was about 2.5 years old. It is very expensive, but the results were spectacular. They made up a serum of the items that he showed most sensitivity to and I gave him routine shots for a number of years. The testing was around $700. and each vial of serum (lasting about 2-3 months) was about $225. This is what I was talking about when I mentioned we can no longer give them to him. Both our specialist and Dr. Dodds advised us it would not be a good idea to give him allergy shots again. All that said, many dogs have allergies to certain foods and by eliminating them from the diet, you can reduce the symptoms significantly. The top items dogs can have allergies to are grains of any kind, chicken and beef etc. Eliminating grains from the diet can often be a positive change. There are several new dog foods on the market that have no grains. Or making your own food at home is also a good way to go. Chance showed early on that he did not like chicken and I began to realize that it made him much worse so I never give him chicken. He gets very few grains, occasionally some rice. So you can see that not only does he have inhaled allergies (atophy) but he also has food allergies. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed between 11/04/2008 and 12/04/2008
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