Dog with severe allergic reaction and taking Prednisone

  Hey Kim; Jessie has many food allergies and I can tell you that food allergies can cause ear infections, skin infections, hair loss, watery eyes. Jessie has experienced all of these. They can also cause diarrhea and vomiting, but that's not as common. However, your dog has IBD, and I can't stress enough how sensitive these dogs are to ingredients in their diet. Vomiting and diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea, are very common symptoms. I'm guessing the Royal Canin diet is a hydrolyzed protein diet? This type of diet is often used for IBD dogs because it's processed so that their digestive system will not react to the ingredients. You may want to post on the pancreatitis forum I referred you to before. Many of the members have IBD dogs and they are on a hydrolyzed diet such as Hill's z/d or the diet your vet prescribed. It's the only thing that keeps their dogs stable. The medications your vet prescribed are often given for IBD. She may need to be on the prednisone long term, but on a lower dose than she is taking now. That won't be determined until she's stable. Others will have to comment on the side effects of the prednisone because Jessie hasn't had it, but you must give it to Prissy for now. I'm guessing that the reason she's so tired is because she's been through so much, but she could also be dehydrated; is Prissy drinking? You can try adding some warm water to her food. That will help her get some fluids and may make her food more appealing. Does your vet know how weak she is? She may need to be at the vet getting IV fluids if she's dehydrated. I will keep your sweet girl in my thoughts; ((( hugs))).

Kim I'm so glad you posted -- Janice and I both have been worried about you and Prissy.  Yes, Prednisone is typical to give both for extreme IBD and for an allergic reaction.

Essentially the pred gets the inflammation down (and the B12 will help that too).  Long term pred isn't a good idea -- it has many side effects.  )(Janice is right -- give Prissy as much water as she wants and can hold -- the pred makes them thirsty but it's also the body's way of dealing with the pred.)

She may have accidents and they aren't her fault -- it's not just that she's drinking SO much but prednisone actually messes with the ability of the brain to tell the body when to release urine -- she may try and try to go and can't and then walk back inside and wet.  It's not her fault -- it' s just a side effect of the pred.

Pred is difficult to take but it can be a life-saver!!  Short term it is good -- and follow the vet's instructions.   You can't just stop giving pred -- generally after taking it even just a few days they have to be weaned off it, but it will help get that inflammation down.

Wasn't she taking another antibiotic?  They can be allergic to many things and if I recall someone asked how long she'd been on the antibiotic because some of the side effects you were seeing before could have been allergic reaction (yes, to a drug even)  Talk to your vet

 Janice knows way more than I do about kibble. 

Kim-- it's not easy to have a dog that is chronically ill -- but be patient with her.  You should be able to get this turned around.  Both Janice and I have history with really sick dogs ... we'll help you all we can. 

It was smart to get her back to the vet.  Good luck - all the prayers and good thots we've got coming to you!!!

 Thanks for all the help, She was on clavamox antibiotic, does Prednisone usually make them hungary, I hope it starts making her hungary.  I had alot of people tell me the prednisone will make her hungary, It has did the opposite to her, I cant get her to eat anything, she will drink some but will not eat anything at all, she will pretend she going to eat but then she spits it back out.  You know anything about Holistic vets, alot of people been telling me to take her to a holistic vet.  Thanks so much again for all the help and concerns and the Prayers.

you  may want to ask the vet for Cerenia or Reglan -- she's feeling too sick to her stomach to eat still.  Pred does make them hungry, but not if she's that nauseus. 

Kim -- a "holistic vet" is only good if you find a really superior one ... the closest one I could even think about referring you to would be probably in Dublin and even then I don't know if that ONE is any good.

Janice and I both have talked to you about a vet school.  What is going on with Prissy is very complicated -- but it SHOULD be treatable, IF you get to a good vet who can diagnose it and help you.  You are almost equal in distance from both the GA vet school in Athens and the one in Gainesville, FL.  I don't know anything about the Athens one, but I have been to Gainesville MANY times.  As vet schools go it is absolutely excellent and you CAN self-refer. 

I know a vet school may sound scarey but it's not, and it can be a FAR cheaper option than going back again and again to a local vet or specialist where you really aren't getting to the bottom of something.

Getting a dog to eat when they are sick isn't easy --

What you can do, is use a food processor or blender and break up the kibble into powder and mix water with it.  Use a baby medicine syringe (it looks like a big syringe with just a bigger hole in it) -- you put a spoonfull of food in it and then put the tip of it behind her canine tooth and squirt slowly so she can swallow. 

That way you are getting food in her -- and you'll see if it will stay down.  Just little bits at first.  Don't even TRY to get her to eat voluntarily -- she probably can't handle it mentally (that's NOT uncommon when they are really sick).  But she's got to take food in so as to take her medicine. 

You can call UF tomorrow or the one at Athens and find out what you need in order to "self-refer" (meaning go yourself rather than waiting to see your own vet *again* before you go.  

 Part of the problem is that you've skipped between two vets so one is likely not at ease treating her.  Going to the vet school may be the best option for you.

I will PM you my phone number -- it might help you to be able to talk to someone? 

The first time going to a vet school sounds scarey -- both Janice and I have done that MANY times (Jessie has been so sick with pancreatitis that Janice has taken her to Purdue lots of times, and I've taken several dogs up to Gainesville).   You deal with sudents a bit (they'll come in an take vitals and write down all her symptoms but you will then see the vet -- a vet school simply uses these visits to help train vets, so you usually get a bit of a price break because you ARE dealing with students

You're already getting great advice from Callie and Janice but I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you and Prissy and saying prayers that things improve. I've gone through tough times like this where you just don't know what to do to help your pup feel better and I know how hard it is to feel so helpless. Listen to Callie and Janice. (((Hugs)))

 Hey thanks everyone especially callie and Janice for all the help, I wanted to give a update.  I carried Prissy to the vet school in Athens georgia.  I called them Saturday night and they told me to bring her on in so I got there about 4:00 sunday morning and they started working with her, they started running tests and gave her IV fluids and they told me that they didnt want to but the only thing they knew was to do surgery to save her life so they did and she had a severe infection where she was spayed at in September, the incision been giving her trouble and her vet kept just draining it.  The infection was so severe that it was shutting down her organs, her liver enzymes were so high and her kidneys were shutting down too, they also took a biopsy of her colon and stomach, said her colon and stomach looked bad, said she has a rare form of inflammatory bowel, it is called granulomatous Regional enteritis, it is immune related.  After they did the surgery they checked her liver enzymes and kidney function and it was already improving.

 Kim, I'm so glad she made it through the surgery. You must have been so scared when they were doing the operation. Thank goodness they have the infection under control and she can begin to heal. They should be able to help you in dealing with the inflammatory bowel condition. I'll keep you and Prissy in my prayers; please let us know how she is doing; ((( hugs)))

Yes, this is huge for her!!  I know going to a vet school is scarey but look where it got her!!  A GOOD diagnosis.  They found the deeper problem and got it diagnosed!!

The inflammatory bowl problem is auto-immune (I've been talking to her email folks - that's what she told me) but it's treatable and you can tackle that now!! 

I thought I would give my 2 cents on IBD. I have had a dog with IBD as well as mild megaesophagus for six years now and we have gone through the ringer to get him on a diet that works for him. I hope my post will help someone!  The internet was not helpful to us at the time we got our dog as a puppy, so we were just blindly going through the trial and error process to find what worked.  This whole thread reminded me of the process we've gone through to diagnose/treat/maintain my dog's symptoms and health. None of the conventional methods worked and most drugs didn't either. I'm glad they didn't because it forced me to try everything and find the best thing for my dog.

---Here are things we've tried that DIDN"T work---

home-cooked food (chicken, venison, beef, pork)

store-bought raw (before raw was a "thing" the brands were lacking quality)

prescription pet food (and we tried to find comparable non prescription foods but to no avail)

metranidazole

digestive enzymes (pork-derived made him totally sick!)

accupuncture

Not to mention he underwent exploratory surgery to figure out his health problems. Super invasive!!!

---Here is what we have finally deduced and he is healthier than ever---

introduce all changes very, very slowly

50% raw food (not sure if we're allowed to post brands but he's eats 50% Primal raw duck formula)

50% kibble (IVD hypoallergenic potato venison dry kibble) always soaked in hot water for thirty minutes before feeding

[he is 50 lbs so he gets a heaping cup of kibble and 5 Primal nuggets)

pepcid 30 minutes before eating as needed (rarely needed anymore)

prednisone 5mg 3 times per week with food (this is a very small dose)

probiotics (we had to find the right one that didn't make him sick, which come from vegetarian sources)

an herbal complex called Harmonize the Stomach

our holistic vet suggested we give him raw kuckle or shoulder bones (beef) to supplement with the marrow, but we haven't tried that yet!)

We are still trying to possibly convert him to a higher ratio raw food, but after years of struggling, we love that he doesn't throw up and rarely has loose stools, and he seems happier and healthier.  

I hope this helps someone! If you have any questions, contact me through twitter: @ catchstephanie

Good for you that you persisted!!  So often that is exactly what you have to do!

My dog suddenly has a red rash all over his body, I don't know what he is allergic to. Or perhaps not an allergy?

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