The Last Couple Of Months Have Been A Nightmare

when you add up all of the items you have purchased to try this and that you might have already spent the amount of $$ the allergy tests would have cost - or come close to it.

And I understand your $$ dilemna - trust me as I work in a real estate office. Lucky I still have a job - right now. Lose this one and I'll never find another.

Anyway I hope the homeopathic vet can help. Would something like acupuncture offer any benefit?

Actually the homeopathy may be the BEST answer. 

Probably*not* raw -- my guess is his immune system is SO compromised he probably can't handle even normal meat bacteria.  However, home-cooked may be a good option -- you could do an elmination diet easily that way -- this vet should be able to help you.

Do you know if this vet does "classical homeopathy" or "homotoxicology"??  If you call them they will be able to say one way or another.  NEITHER IS BAD -- just different.  I've had phenomenal results with Billy (who has been THE worst allergy dog I have ever had -- all steroids did was make him worse). 

Homeopathy sometimes works fast, sometimes slow -- but it will make *change*.  And it will help detox him of all he's been thru.

Feel free to email me or call me -- and I can at least help you understand homeopathy before you get there.  I go to a homeopath myself and have seen good changes in ME.  No side effects, no sleepiness. 

Sometimes the best thing Benedryl or regular antihistamines can do is keep the dog from scratching and tearing the skin. 

But honestly -- I would encourage you to email me and I'll send you my phone number again -- truly it will help you if you understand homeopathy before you get there. 

Can you get your hands on an aloe plant?  Or just plain pure consumable aloe??  Use of that as a topical may help the skin -- it soothes, and will help and not hurt. 

I undertand your frustration -- truly I do. 

Accupuncture is an idea I hadn't thought about, would it be to boost his immune system?  What kind of accupuncturist works on pets?

It definately feels like I'm spending the same on foods and supplements as I am at the vets but trust me, the vet is out muscling all other expenses by a large margin.  I have always trusted what my vet recommends but so far after $700 he is worse.  I am open to all sorts of routes but if it involves a second mortgage then it's out of my league.

Thankyou Mary :)

Callie I sent you a pm, I am so glad to see you here!  :)

I'm really sorry to hear what you're going thru but boy, I sure can relate. I remember going thru almost an identical time with Sassy and I know how depressing and frustrating it can be. We ultimately did have the allergy testing done and it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. We had to use the blood test because Sassy was such a mess, we couldn't wean her off the antihistamines to do the skin test. Our allergy vet felt that because of Sassy's super high readings on so many things, the allergy shots would be a long shot and probably take too long to be effective. We decided to go with Atopica and it's been a couple yrs and she's doing fantastic. She's on a low dose and only takes it 3x a week, so the cost isn't too bad either. I know a lot of people worry about the affects of Atopica but for us, it has been a blessing. I'm not suggesting you go that route, but I would discuss it with your vet.

In the meantime, if at all possible, I'd continue to use the benadryl. Even if it causes sleepiness, it still might help calm down some of the itchiness.  To help with the itching of the feet, you can try using some strongly brewed tea. I didn't have much luck with using any of the soaks because like you, getting a 75 lb dog to cooperate with stepping into anything was next to impossible. With the tea, I just kept it in a squirt bottle and I was able to squirt it on and then blot it off with some old towels. She never seemed to mind it. You can also add a couple drops of tea tree oil to the solution.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck getting this under control. Not only is it horribly expensive but it's heartbreaking to see them suffer like this.

Thankyou Cathy, when I talk to the vet I am going to clarify with him the actual cost of the allergy testing.  I was first quoted two thousand dollars.  !Ouch!  These guys think I should be financing a new wing of the hospital or something, I dunno.  There must be a route that wont break the household finances.  Is two thousand dollars a normal sounding amount, or does it sound inflated? 

 When I contacted Michigan State University about an allergy test, it was pretty expensive. I want to say either $1,200 or could have been $2000. I don't recall exactly. And yes, that is insane.

 This website gives a good description of a different kinds of allergy tests. They say that a skin test is best. It sounds cheaper too from what I have found online. (roughly $200)

I would stop giving the dog so much extra stuff - yogurt, oil, pumpkin, etc. because you really don't know if this is a food allergy or not. I would start with an elimination diet first. Others on this website can tell you all about that.

Also, look in to Care Credit http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html

I use this as a back up emergency credit card for my dogs as I don't have pet insurance. Over $200 or $400 (can't remember) you will get 2 years interest free and it gets longer the higher balance you have. Over $150 I think you can get 1 yr interest free. You have to read about it to get all of the details.

I put most of Dakota's vet bills on this cc last year when she was having to see the vet many times over. It was a relief to have this option vs not getting her the care she needed.

I will check at home and let you know what it cost us but I know it was less than $1,000. I also asked my derm vet about the cost of blood vs. skin testing and she said it was comparable except they usually have to be sedated for the skin test, so that can add to the price. The results we got back were based on Sassy's reading and the tests were run against things found in our area. She tested super high for dust mites and molds though, so it wasn't even a seasonal thing for her, altho her worst times have been in the winter.

I agree with Julie on eliminating all the extras and doing an elimination diet. I did that with Sassy and it wasn't too bad. I used pork because (to my knowledge) she hadn't had it before. I used buckwheat as the carb. I'd buy inexpensive pork shoulder roasts, throw it in the crockpot and let it cook for a few hours with some liquid. I'd pull it out and add the buckwheat to the liquid and let it cook until it was mush. I'd package it up in single serving freezer bags and I'd usually make enough for the week. You don't need to worry about balancing or supplementing the diet during the food trial. I did it for 8 weeks. As it turned out, Sassy does really well on Natural Balance Duck & Potato, so that's what we've been using. I do give both my dogs salmon oil too, but you can wait to add that in once you're sure of the food issues.

 You need to take him to a veterinary dermatologist; there's a good chance that the nearest vet teaching school will have one. Whether it's allergies or something else causing this, they're the most qualified to help your dog. It may not cost as much as you think; it cost me about $800 for the first three visits to a derm vet at Purdue. That included all the testing and lab work as well as the immunotherapy vaccine that has made such a difference in her life. After that, we only go back twice a year for rechecks and sometimes there's no charge. Jessie wasn't as bad as your dog but she used to have bloody feet and swollen toes, as well as numerous ear infections.She would also have skin infections on her stomach and around her vulva. We were at the vet at least twice a month and it became very depressing after a while.

  About tripling the fish oil caps; that can cause diarrhea as much as the antibiotics can because some dogs can't tolerate that much fat in their diet. I would simplify his diet a little; as sensitive as he is, he may be allergic to the yogurt, flax oil, and cottage cheese. Is the Eukanuba a simple formula for dogs with possible food allergies? Anyway, please consider a veterinary dermatologist; it has really helped Jessie; {{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

  Edited to add; here's a link to a list of veterinary teaching hospitals in the U.S. Perhaps one in Okalahoma or Texas wouldn't be too far. I've met people at Purdue that drove for more than 5 hours to get there, and some from as far away as Iowa;

http://www.jugglingcats.com/vet_teaching_hospitals/veterinary_teaching_hospitals.htm;

julesmac8

Thankyou Cathy, when I talk to the vet I am going to clarify with him the actual cost of the allergy testing.  I was first quoted two thousand dollars.  !Ouch!  These guys think I should be financing a new wing of the hospital or something, I dunno.  There must be a route that wont break the household finances.  Is two thousand dollars a normal sounding amount, or does it sound inflated? 

There are two different types of allergy testing.  The one that's usually around $500 is just a blood test.  Usually you get back answers that aren't very specific -- like "tree pollen, dust mites, etc."

The one that is $2000 (and frankly I've seen it more than that) is VERY specific.  You're going to get answers more like "Live oak pollen, Bahia Grass, ..."

VERY specific things.  It can be really helpful -- a friend of mine wound up going to Cornell (in NY State) -- and their vet school is WAY cheaper.  The local vet quoted Tracy $2,500 for allergy testing about 7 years ago.  She went to Cornell, saw the vet, got the allergy test (the 2d one) done, AND the vet wrote her an elmination diet for the dog ALL for around $285.  

At a vet school you deal with students -- often they are WAY cheaper than a regular vet or a specialty type of dermatologist or whatever.  

However -- this particular friend of mine ... when she got Quincy's results back the TOP OF THE LIST was a totally unexpected thing.  The one substance in all the worst he was MOST allergic to?  Feathers!!  

Huh?  Yep -- feathers.

AND ... yep, they slept with feather pillows and a feather duvet -- and yep, guess who slept with them!!  Quincy!!  She went home, put a hypoallergenic cover on the duvet and pillows and literally had a different dog in 2 weeks. 

Now -- he was also mightily allergic to a ton of other things -- from the wallpaper paste (and they had wallpaper thru the entire house) to the oak and maple trees outside, etc.  BUT just getting rid of the feathers made an astonishing difference and that's not an item you'd see on the blood test ever!

The vet started her on an elmination diet (and he quizzed her at length about what novel items Quincy could be on -- and the original "diet" she had him on was white potato and green peas!!  Yep -- for THREE WEEKS he had white potato and green peas!!  But she'd had him on every allergy kibble on the planet so finding a novel protein that she could find and afford in a small western NY state town was no small task.  BUT it worked.  And Quincy has led a pretty normal life since.

However -- here I'll digress since you and I spoke on the phone.

I have HUGE confidence in homeopathy medicine -- both for humans and dogs.

****BUT****

your dog is SO sick I would be extremely reluctant to have you just talk to a vet over the phone.  I think your dog has some undiagnosed very specific medical problem - and I honestly don't think you can tell this vet *enough* in a 15 minute consult to safely diagnose anything.  

Given what you're saying about the retention of fluid ... it would scare the liver out of me that your dog might have some undiagnosed heart issues.  High blood pressure?  a murmur?  

I'd love to see you get to a good holistic vet.  And since you don't have any homeopathic vets *near* you ... then I'm going to say if you go thru the Chi Institute (http://www.tcvm.com ) you will get a vet who will look at him from a whole dog standpoint.  Not just test results.

The first visit is  steep, BUT it also includes acupuncture treatment.  It's rare for a TCVM vet to ask for tests -- because they're trained to discern things with their hands - by comparing the heart pulses to the liver pulses to the spleen pulses -- how fast the blood is moving thru this area of the body vs. that.  But I think your chances of getting him stabilized are better that way to be honest.

I'd be afraid that there is something you just plain can't describe over the phone and he's too critically ill.  If the homeopathic vet was right THERE it would be different.   But I wouldn't want to steer you wrong on this. 

Callie

calliecritturs

There are two different types of allergy testing.  The one that's usually around $500 is just a blood test.  Usually you get back answers that aren't very specific -- like "tree pollen, dust mites, etc."

  The derm vet at Purdue did both the blood and skin (intradermal) test for Jessie; the intradermal test is the more accurate one. The reason she did both was to prevent Jessie from going into anaphalatic shock. The blood test gave her an idea how sensitive Jessie was to various allergens in case she wanted to avoid injecting them under Jessie's skin for the intradermal test. Some of the results from the blood test were so high that she did not use them in the intradermal test. By the way, the blood test that Purdue uses is HESKA, and it came back with very specific results, naming specific trees, grasses, and weeds that Jessie was allergic to, so blood tests may have changed from what Callie was referring to. And like I said, all the testing, three visits, plus the serum, cost about $800.

   About the immunotherapy; Jessie tested significantly allergic to over 2 dozen grasses, weeds, and trees, as well as house dust mites and storage mites. Immunotherapy isn't as effective if more than 12 antigens are included in the serum. My derm vet decided which antigens to include in the serum based on Jessie's history (what time of the year she had the most problems, how much time she spent outside, ect.)  Jessie gets 1 cc of the serum every 2 weeks and that's enough to keep her allergies at bay (below her threshold).

calliecritturs

There are two different types of allergy testing.  The one that's usually around $500 is just a blood test.  Usually you get back answers that aren't very specific -- like "tree pollen, dust mites, etc."

From what I've read, allergy testing based on bloodwork used to be almost worthless but that has changed greatly over the years. The test results from the testing we had done were very specific, so altho I don't want to disagree with Callie, ask your vet about it. Our results showed responses to specific trees, grasses and shrubs found in the Sacramento area and the range of the sensitivity. I'm not sure dust mites can get more specific, but Sassy's reading was highest on that and molds. It explained why she was having so much trouble in the winter as opposed to spring/summer. Again, just find a good derm vet and then discuss it with them. I have great confidence in mine and fully trusted that she had Sassy's best interest at heart.

I have a friend whose previous GSD survived lepto but was allergic to EVERYTHING - pretty much all normal food ingredients, dust, regular grass, everything.  They worked with MSU and were told she was one of the absolute worst cases they had every seen.  I've seen the pics and it was horrid.  I believe they eventually were able to manage her condition by strict management of her environment, an expensive drug (the name escapes me, I think it started with an A), and a diet of ostrich meat and sweet potato.  The dog died at age 14 but my friend still sings the praises of MSU and how thorough they were, not ever giving up.

Liesje

an expensive drug (the name escapes me, I think it started with an A),

I'm sure it's Atopica. It's what we use for Sassy and it is pricey but not compared to what we spending to treat all the infections. More importantly, it has worked wonders for her.

I found the paperwork from when we had Sassy tested in 2006 and it was about $400. I also found the results and she too was off the charts on just about everything. A reading of >60 is considered "unusually high" and she was over that range on almost every weed, tree, grass, fungus and environmental allergen. Environmental allergens are the mites and they tested her on 3 types. She was 239, 229 and 99.