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Thread: Anxious about Tasha: severe allergies (update post 16 with pic)

  1. #1
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    Anxious about Tasha: severe allergies (update post 16 with pic)

    Tash has never had allergies or any skin problems in her life. She hasn't so much as had a real hot spot before. Within the last couple weeks though she has been showing signs of being allergic or having allergies that have just gotten worse and worse to the point now I am really upset and anxious about it. At first I was sure it had to do with food because I ended up getting them a different food last time because I was having trouble finding where EVO was sold. I did find a place later but by then wanted to finish what I had. I had gotten them Solid Gold and they seemed to do okay on it, but then I noticed Tasha getting itchy and scratchy and chewing on her feet some. I took her off the food, the last time she had some was Tuesday morning this week. I also started giving her Benadryl and spraying the irritated hot spots she was creating with Dermacool that I had on hand.

    She has just seemed to get more and more miserable, rubbing and scratching her face until her whisker area bleeds, chewing her feet, and then today I saw her ears getting more red and her belly seemed to get little bumps on it. I could scratch anywhere on her body and she would go nuts thumping her leg and trying to scratch too. She hasn't been interested in running and playing at all. I had had enough and took her to the vet today. He seemed more inclined to think it was environmental than the food, although he said it's possible she could have developed a food allergy. She also had weepy eyes and her face seemed a bit puffy. He gave her a prednisolone shot and a prescription for oral prednisolone and I picked up some diphenhydramine shampoo there too (basically benadryl shampoo). I gave her a bath with that and I'm supposed to start the oral pred tomorrow and give it every other day.

    I don't know how quickly the shot is supposed to work but 4 hours later she doesn't seem any less miserable and itchy. Has anyone experienced this before that could tell me when I might look for improvement? Also her ears seem even redder tonight to the point I'm worried about ear infections now. If they still look as bad in the morning I may run her back in...

    I took a few pictures. I don't know who is more miserable, her or me. I just want her to start feeling better. I feel almost in tears seeing her this way. (As an aside, I know her nails are due for a trimming)



















    Last edited by K9soul; 11-25-2007 at 08:34 AM.
    Mom to Raven and Rudy the greyhound

    Missing always: Tasha & Tommy, at the Rainbow Bridge

  2. #2
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    Poor Tasha Looks like a lot of itchy spots. I'd for sure call the
    Vet by tomorrow, if she is still that uncomfortable. I thought the shot of
    Pred worked quicker than 4 hours. I hope she starts to feel better soon.
    I've Been Boo'd

    I've been Frosted






    Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again.

    Eleanor Roosevelt

  3. #3
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    Poor girl. Seeing her so miserable makes me sad, as well I hope you can find a solution to her feeling better soon. Kiss those little feet for me and give her a big hug. You might want to check out holistic methods, as well.

    9/3/13
    I did the right thing by setting you free
    But the pain is very deep.
    If only I could turn back time, forever, you I'd keep.
    I miss you


    I hear you whimper in your sleep
    I gently pet you and say, no bad dreams
    It will be alright, to my dog as dark as night.

    Fur as dark as the night.
    Join me on this flight.
    Paws of love that follow me.
    In my heart you'll forever be.
    [/SIZE]



    How I wish I could hold you near.
    Turn back time to make it so.
    Hug you close and never let go.
    11/12/06




  4. #4
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    She ate her dinner and is sleeping now. Her appetite and digestive functions seem normal at least. I think part of what is driving me crazy is not knowing what is causing it too. About the same time as the different food, the neighbor's tree dumped a load of leaves that has just covered my back yard including the deck, and I did notice today she seemed really exacerbated when she came in from outside. This is a different area and it's conceivable that there are pollens and irritants in the air that we didn't have in Minnesota or at least in the area I lived.

    I am really hoping I see some noticeable improvement by morning. It does seem like it started out with just her licking and chewing her feet some and progressed more and more which would probably fit the environmental allergy picture more.. I just don't know. I can't seem to stop obsessing over it at this point either.
    Mom to Raven and Rudy the greyhound

    Missing always: Tasha & Tommy, at the Rainbow Bridge

  5. #5
    I don't know who is more miserable, her or me.
    I feel your pain Jessica. Those pictures could have been Lacey back in the summer.(with the exception of rubbing her face) It started last summer with just her feet. She took Hydroxyzine,an antihistamine. This past summer she also started chewing and licking on her tummy, personal area and butt. I ended up putting her on Temaril-P,which is a type of predisone. We just now got her off of it, waiting to see how she does. I started her on omega 3 and 6 pills a few months ago. If she still has problems we will try to make it through the winter with just an antihistamine. It seems to be a summer allergy, my Mandy had them also and she did rub her face.
    I hope Tasha is feeling better soon, poor girl.
    http://petoftheday.com/talk/signaturepics/sigpic9646_1.gif
    Forever in my heart...
    Casey.Ginger.Corey.Mandy.Sassy
    Lacey.Angel.Missy.Jake.Layla

  6. #6
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    aawwww! poor baby!!!
    big hugs to both of you!
    Keeganhttp://www.dogster.com/dogs/256612 9/28/2001 to June 9, 2012
    Kylie http://www.catster.com/cats/256617 (June 2000 to 5/19/2012)
    Kloe http://www.catster.com/cats/256619
    "we as American's have forgotten we can agree to disagree"
    Kylie the Queen, Keegan the Princess, entertained by Kloe the court Jester
    Godspeed Phred and Gini you will be missed more than you ever know..

  7. #7
    Ouch ...sending lots of healing vibes Tasha's way. Hopefully the meds will kick in soon and the poor girl will start feeling better.
    Rhi *Hooman* Clover *Rottie x ACD* (RIP to my BRD) Elvis and Tinny *The BCs* & Harri *JRT* Luna *BC x*

  8. #8
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    Ouch, Ouch, OUCH!!

    I just went though this with Bud last month. I switched the pups to Wellness and it didn't agree with him. Ear infections and his feet looked HORRIBLE!!
    After a trip to the vet we had pills, ointment and eas wash. He's back to normal now except for the fur on his feet is growing back VERY slowly!!!

    But nothing like your poor little Tasha... ouch those whiskers!!
    I hope she's feeling better soon!!

    {{{hugs}}} to you both!
    ~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
    **Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**

    I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome



  9. #9
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    Ouch, poor Tasha! I know how you are feeling, if you don't know the cause you can't begin to address the problem. My cat, Bobby, had dreadful allergies and had to wear an e collar for 4 months while I was trying to figure it all out. (Just removed the e coolar last week.)

    Here some things I learned. First, IF it is an allergy:
    - prednisone will also depress the immune system; if an antihistamine will work, that would be better. Get the dose based on weight and try Chlor Tri Meton 12 hour; Benedryl (does make them sleepy), Claritin. Straight antihistamine, no cough or cold ingredients formulas.
    - warm water makes it itch more; cool water has a calming effect, but doesn't last
    - if it is a food allergy, there is no reliable allergy panel. You just have to go through different foods doing trials, to figure it all out
    - if it is environmental, a vet dermatologist can run the allergy panel to try and figure it all out (very expensive, about $200) Panel includes mold, mites, etc.
    - you have to tackle this on 2 levels: with the antihistamine / prednisone to treat current symptoms, and with removing the food or allergen source, to cure the underlying problem.

    And if it is not an allergy, it could be a few things, including:
    - eosinophilic granuloma (just do a google search)
    - a form of mites (her scratching spreads it to various parts of the body over time)
    - a fungus ( ditto re spreading)
    - other stuff

    Over time, all that scratching can result in a bacterial infection on certain sites; Bobby had to have an oral antibiotic at one point during that 4 months.

    My cat's appears to be food related. The common food allergies for cats are: grains; fish; chicken. He is allergic to ALL these and is currently on a prescription cat food, venison and green peas. We ARE making progress.

    If a food: once you stop the food, the itchy places still take time to heal. Meantime they still itch and the pet still scratches. Which is why they tell you to do a food trial for 8 weeks. When I hit on a food which was working, I saw less inflammation and itching in a week, but it did keep on for a time after that.

    So if Tasha's problem is the food, you only just stopped that less than a week back, and it is going to take time to see an improvement.

    I hope this info is helpful.
    .

  10. #10
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    Thank you so very much for all the insights and of course for the words of comfort too. I guess there's just no way to know right now the cause, whether it could have been the food or environmental. I'm not taking a chance on giving her any more of the food though just in case. Today I'm going to grab some EVO and perhaps some Omega 3 supplements. She has just had rice and yogurt, eggs, broth and her raw in the evening the past few days.

    This morning she still seemed pretty uncomfortable, wanting to rub and scratch her face especially. I called the vet's office to ask if I should bring her in again and they told me to go ahead and let the shot have 24 hours in her system and see if she is showing improvement, and if not to go ahead and call and they will see her after hours.

    I gave her her breakfast and her pill and she has been laying and resting since then, not trying to scratch and chew herself too much for now. I am hoping it's the beginning of improvement for her. I had been giving Benadryl before I took her to the vet, but it didn't seem to even touch her misery. If anything she seemed to be deteriorating so much despite the Benadryl that I got nervous she was allergic to the dye on the tablet too and stopped giving it yesterday. Her ears are still red though don't seem quite as red as last night so I will just watch that too for now.

    Well, I will keep updating here. It helps me keep my sanity.
    Mom to Raven and Rudy the greyhound

    Missing always: Tasha & Tommy, at the Rainbow Bridge

  11. #11
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    Benadryl didn't help Buddy at all either.

    I hope she feels better soon!
    ~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
    **Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**

    I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome



  12. #12
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    Update

    Well it is approaching noon here and Tasha definitely seems to finally be feeling better. She is more relaxed and her face seems less puffy and her expression just seem more drowsy and relaxed instead of upset and miserable. She gets up to follow me around and see what I'm doing in the house again and she's stopped her constant trembling (something she does when she is miserable). I can't say how relieved I feel to see her acting more herself finally, for the first time in several days. Now to get her ouchies healed up and hopefully not have any more episodes after she is off the steroid.
    Mom to Raven and Rudy the greyhound

    Missing always: Tasha & Tommy, at the Rainbow Bridge

  13. #13
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    Good news! Keep on healing, Tasha.
    .

  14. #14
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    Awww poor Tash, she looks so miserable. I hope you'll be able to figure out the cause of this and she'll get feeling better. Cisco's paws get looking like that too, sometimes he won't stop licking them, nothing my friend has tried has helped much either (it has never been as bad as Tasha's though, poor sweet girl!).
    Last edited by wolf_Q; 11-24-2007 at 11:10 PM.

  15. #15
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    So glad you've seen an improvement and she's feeling better! Hopefully, she'll continue to get better. Give her a hug for me.

    9/3/13
    I did the right thing by setting you free
    But the pain is very deep.
    If only I could turn back time, forever, you I'd keep.
    I miss you


    I hear you whimper in your sleep
    I gently pet you and say, no bad dreams
    It will be alright, to my dog as dark as night.

    Fur as dark as the night.
    Join me on this flight.
    Paws of love that follow me.
    In my heart you'll forever be.
    [/SIZE]



    How I wish I could hold you near.
    Turn back time to make it so.
    Hug you close and never let go.
    11/12/06




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