Member

Posts: 12
From:Conrad, MT USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 07-27-2003 03:44 PM         

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Hi there, I am new to this forum but have just about run out of ideas and am hoping someone out there will have some. My 23 month old Spay Boxer, Gracie, has many food allergies which I thought were under fairly good control.

However, two weeks ago, we entered a new level of problems. First she had a pretty bad seizure and required valium to stop it, followed by Phoenabarbital 30mg Bid X 1 week and am not tapering her off of this. A week later she appeared to have been stung by a bee or??? or gotten a spider bite? Anyway, head/face severely swollen and hives covered her body. A cortosone shot followed with minimal relief. A second 1/2 dose was given the next day along with Benedryl 25mg bid. Her hives and swelling were completely gone until this morning when she broke out in severe/large hives. So far today, I've given her 50mg of Benedryl twice am and pm. I bathed her in oatmeal shampoo and sprayed her with topical .5% OTC hydrocortisone spray. Nothing seems to be getting better except she appears to be more comfortable and isn't panting. It's very hot here, the mosquitoes are thick and it's Sunday and the Vet is closed. I would appreciate any suggestions/comments. Sorry this is so long. Elizabethp

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Member

Posts: 616
From:,Calif. U.S.A.
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 07-27-2003 04:19 PM         

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Think hard about if she was exposed to ANYTHING different. Did she start a new food? did you or anyone in the family give her something, table scraps that could be disagreeing with her. It could be thie littlest thing that could trigger hives. Does she break out after a walk thru grass or pavement? With dogs it can be something that we would never think of. Even cleaning products. Have you used anything new on your floors. They are very sensitive about those things too. What kind of food does she eat? The heat will make her pant more try putting ice cubes in her water and put a fan down where she can lay near it. Or dowse her with the hose. Dogs can get over heated. I was just chatting with a gal I know from a poodle forum I go to and she had some worries that her poo got into mushrooms in the garden. Turned out she was ovewrheated. She doused her girl, it was rather funny. But with the hives, you just have to try to find the culprit. I must say that some medicines can make one break out hives. It happens in the human world(my son for instance) If you think it is a medicine that she is causing the breakout maybe with-hold it a day and start it up again and see if the same thing happens again. There are some vets that are open on Sundays. The Emergencie places are always more, you can call a few places and see if you can have someone call back to answer your questions. Let us know whats going on Ok.

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Member

Posts: 12
From:Conrad, MT USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 07-28-2003 08:08 PM         

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You know, I did purchase another non-allergenic dog food to mix with what I'm giving her now...it's about $9.00 less per bag and doesn't list any of the known allergies she has, ie. corn, soy, cannola, flax, plus maple and some fungus. I've been mixing it with her veneson and rice since last Thurs. I suppose that could be a contributor. She got 50mg of Benedryl this am for hives (not as bad as yesterday) and she doesn't have any tonight. I've stopped the allergy shots and she hasn't had phoenabarb since last night. I appreciate your message. I know it could be just about anything. Am wondering if the mosquito population has any bearing? Anyway, I have two Vets I take her to, one here in town and one in Great Falls, about 60 miles away. They pretty much concur with one another but don't feel the same sense of urgency that I feel at times. Guess they have to be more distant. Anyway, thanks for the input.

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Member

Posts: 186
From:
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 07-29-2003 09:42 AM         

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My dog has allergies, grass seems to be then main environmental allergen, but she also gets big (way bigger than normal) bumps if she's bitten by a mosquito or by ants. There are a ton of things that can cause a reaction, so it really could be almost anything.

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Administrator

Posts: 197
From:Sydney
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 07-29-2003 11:04 AM            

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Allergies in dogs http://www.auspet.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000048.html

Hope this helps...

Cheers
Auspetian

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Posts: 163
From:
Registered: May 2003

posted 07-29-2003 11:16 PM         

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hi, hows the swelling gone down by now I hope?

Have you discussed with your vet about doing an elimination diet? Has he any idea what may have triggered the seizure? Has she had just one seizure? Did the vet do any sort of testing to determine what type of seizure? I would be reluctant to medicate right off the bat (pending type of seizure and diagnosis) because this doesn't solve the proble of why they are occuring. The allergies to certain foods could well be related to the seizures. Have you thought of a second opinion - perhaps from a homeopathic vet?

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Member

Posts: 12
From:Conrad, MT USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 07-30-2003 10:02 AM         

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So here's the latest. Gracie has been totally free of hives since Monday. And has not had another seizure. I think there were two totally separate things going on.

The vet that put her on the phoenabarb didn't do any lab work which the other vet thought should have been done. But then she had allergic reaction to ???? and so we were only addressing that. She's been free of everything since Sunday night. I've also tapered her off the Phoenabarb. So far so good. No hives and no seizures. Phoenabarb does slow the action of certain meds one of which is cortisone. What a mess eh?

I have used a spray on her that's suppose to help repel flying insects, made by Absorbine. Have avoided using chemical topicals but am open to anything. I also sprayed the yard with a product from PetCo for mosquitoes, flys, gnats, etc. Hoping that will also help.

I'm not aware of a holistic/naturapath Vet in my area but I am open to most things. It always amazes how suddenly the onset of her allergies can be. And then they clear about as suddenly and I never seem to know the cause or the cure.

The plan at this point is to have some lab work drawn, go to the website you provided on allergies, and keep searching. Meantime, thank you all SO much for your suggestions and support. She is just the sweetest thing and I love her so much as I'm sure each of you feel about your pets or you wouldn't take the time to help others. Thanks again.

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Member

Posts: 186
From:
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 07-30-2003 01:00 PM         

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I didn't pay attention to what meds you had used before I made my first post.

Cortisone can affect a dog's ability to break down sugars, leading to higher blood glucose (sugar) levels... signs of higher than normal sugar levels are panting, peeing (the urine may have a very strong smell as well)/drinking more than usual, and lethargy. The reason for the excess peeing, etc is that the body eliminates excess sugars (in this case, sugars that aren't broken down because the cortisone has inhibited the insulin's effects) through urinating. The side effects normally subside as the drug leaves the system, but there have been some cases of Cortisone actually being a catalyst for a dog becoming diabetic. This may not be what the problem was with your dog the other day, but I figured I'd bring it up anyway, just in case.

Here's a link with some more info on the above... http://www.vetinfo.com/dpred.html

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Member

Posts: 52
From:
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 08-01-2003 07:33 PM         

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Goob,

Thank You so much ;-)

I had never heard of a possible link between Predisone medications and an increase in blood sugar or possible stomach ulcers!!!

As you may already know, my Sheltie is on Methylpredisone because of horrible inhalant allergies this year *;(

My Vet and I jointly decided to lower her dose to 2 mg every two days, because of an increased amount of urine output and increased thirst.

I am going to print the article out, and discuss it with my Vet the next time my dog goes in.

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Carla and beloved pets
"Remember! We each have a responsibility to care for animals and to care for the enviornment."

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