Allergies And Prednisolone

[sas]

Good luck Sas I so hope it helps you guys

By the way what does the Skin & Coat Formula contain? Also what grains are in the Premium Blend?

For Benson Mega Oil created to help people with skin conditions seems to help heaps!

Ingredients - Flaxseed Oil, Soybean Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil (15ml GLA), Safflower Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Pumkinseed Oil.

I also give him salmon oil capsula's

Still gotta look into it, I think when you're in a position of no win already you're willing to give it a try LOL

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Good luck Sas I so hope it helps you guys

By the way what does the Skin & Coat Formula contain? Also what grains are in the Premium Blend?

For Benson Mega Oil created to help people with skin conditions seems to help heaps!

Ingredients - Flaxseed Oil, Soybean Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil (15ml GLA), Safflower Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Pumkinseed Oil.

I also give him salmon oil capsula's

Still gotta look into it, I think when you're in a position of no win already you're willing to give it a try LOL

Absolutely - best of luck Sas!

[Erny]

I've been given the opportunity to try the Vet's All Natural Program, 6-8 weeks, anyone tried it?

I had my boy on the Allerblend for about 7 months after he went 'off' previous foods, broke into hives, lost weight etc.. He did well on it for that period of time and looked well, although with him it was difficult to get weight on. Bear in mind that his 'allergy' so to speak is not a contact or food allergy and that he is that 'type' of dog who carries lean at the moment anyway. It was a bit exxy for me, because I needed to feed 2.5 packets per day (2000g) to him. But many other dogs wouldn't need that much.

After 7 months of being on Allerblend and all things going well, he suddenly went 'off' that and we struck then another bout of hives; spasmodic eating and so forth. But I do not put that down to the VAN food. With my boy there are other things going on.

I would definitely give the VAN program (I presume it is Allerblend that you would have him on, along with Omega Blend Oil and perhaps their skin support forumula?) a go. It is good food and if it works for your dog, then that would be a bonus.

BTW - the Skin Support Formula (just saw a post where it is referenced) contains multi-strain pro-biotic, trace elements and anti-oxidants. In more detail :

Protexin powder

Milk Thistle

Flax Seed

Grape Seed

Barley Grass

Astragolus

Perilla Seed

Vitimin C

Quercelin

Beta Carotene

Ginger

Devils Claw

Green Tea

Colostrum

Cat's Claw

Zinc

Edited February 5, 2010 by Erny

[OSoSwift]

OUr aged Stafford has been on and off and (on again) Pred since he was 14 months old. We could nurse him through winter quite often but spring/summer where terrible. He would go out to have a wee and come back covered in hives and red welts. We had him allergy tested and he was alllergic to 38 things other than foods. We tried the desentising injections which he was okay on for a while, then he was having non-controllable reactions to that.

He is sensitive to certain foods which we avoid.

I found a really good blend was using the pred spray, then we could reduce the oral Pred. I decided quality not quantity was the most important thing for us, so went with the Pred as he was miserable and tearing himslef apart otherwise.

Now however he is on Pred every second day as he has degenerative spinal disease with some nerve damage. He will be on it until he dies.

He has been on Pred consitantly for over 12 months and also has heart issues and is on three times daily medication.

He is going extremely well and is happy and comfortable.

[TerraNik]

Thanks everyone! It's so nice to have some support.

[zayda_asher]

You know I feel like I have just come in for a therapy session AA = atopic's anonymous

I was just saying to another friend, who's dog is just in the process of being diagnosed, that we need to start a support group!! lol

Well FTPO and I decided that we could use this for real... so I've got a board up and running - "K9 Allergy Support"... its sparse at the moment, as I've only done it today, but it will get there... so if any of you would seriously like a venue where you can be supported and discuss / find allergy management and treatment ideas and research drop me a PM. Hope to see some of you there :D

Edited February 5, 2010 by zayda_asher

[sas]

Join me up!

[sas]

I've been given the opportunity to try the Vet's All Natural Program, 6-8 weeks, anyone tried it?

I had my boy on the Allerblend for about 7 months after he went 'off' previous foods, broke into hives, lost weight etc.. He did well on it for that period of time and looked well, although with him it was difficult to get weight on. Bear in mind that his 'allergy' so to speak is not a contact or food allergy and that he is that 'type' of dog who carries lean at the moment anyway. It was a bit exxy for me, because I needed to feed 2.5 packets per day (2000g) to him. But many other dogs wouldn't need that much.

After 7 months of being on Allerblend and all things going well, he suddenly went 'off' that and we struck then another bout of hives; spasmodic eating and so forth. But I do not put that down to the VAN food. With my boy there are other things going on.

I would definitely give the VAN program (I presume it is Allerblend that you would have him on, along with Omega Blend Oil and perhaps their skin support forumula?) a go. It is good food and if it works for your dog, then that would be a bonus.

BTW - the Skin Support Formula (just saw a post where it is referenced) contains multi-strain pro-biotic, trace elements and anti-oxidants. In more detail :

Protexin powder

Milk Thistle

Flax Seed

Grape Seed

Barley Grass

Astragolus

Perilla Seed

Vitimin C

Quercelin

Beta Carotene

Ginger

Devils Claw

Green Tea

Colostrum

Cat's Claw

Zinc

Yes very pricey, Vets All Natural have advised I can just used Roo Meat with the Complete Mix added to it and supplement with the skin support powder. I wouldn't be able to afford to buy the pre-packaged allerblend meat for a Dane.

The program we would be on would be Roo Meat + Complete Mix + Skin Support Supplement and the Omega Blend Oil for 6-8 weeks and then wean off the Skin support supplement and Omega Blend if things are looking better.

[Erny]

The program we would be on would be Roo Meat + Complete Mix + Skin Support Supplement and the Omega Blend Oil for 6-8 weeks and then wean off the Skin support supplement and Omega Blend if things are looking better.

Any reason why weaning off the Omega Blend? I fed what you are proposing to feed to my previous (avatar) girl, Kal (bless her cotton socks) and she did very well on the VAN Complete Mix/Roo/Omega Blend combo. Mind you, she didn't have any allergies to contend with, but she did look exceptionally well on it.

Also make a mental note that many dogs do so well on the VAN that they can pork up fairly quickly. You might find that you need to feed considerably less than the amount of food prescribed on the packet. I dropped down to half that quantity pretty quickly as I noticed Kal all of a sudden getting somewhat fat! So feeding wise, it worked out pretty cheap overall.

I'm paying back for that privilege with my boy though LOL.

[Erny]

Well FTPO and I decided that we could use this for real... so I've got a board up and running - "K9 Allergy Support"... its sparse at the moment, as I've only done it today, but it will get there... so if any of you would seriously like a venue where you can be supported and discuss / find allergy management and treatment ideas and research drop me a PM. Hope to see some of you there

Mandela's condition, it seems, is not really an "allergy" as such. It seems for him it is a matter of food not being digested properly for one or two other (presumably organ related) reasons - the toxicity from improperly digested food builds up in his system and his liver hasn't coped with filtering the toxins from his system. Hence the out-break in hives.

So I guess I don't quite qualify for your "K9 Allergy Support" List?

PS In a way, I suppose it is somewhat like an allergy though - isn't that when foods are the cause of toxins that the body can't cope with and so the skin reacts?

[sas]

The program we would be on would be Roo Meat + Complete Mix + Skin Support Supplement and the Omega Blend Oil for 6-8 weeks and then wean off the Skin support supplement and Omega Blend if things are looking better.

Any reason why weaning off the Omega Blend? I fed what you are proposing to feed to my previous (avatar) girl, Kal (bless her cotton socks) and she did very well on the VAN Complete Mix/Roo/Omega Blend combo. Mind you, she didn't have any allergies to contend with, but she did look exceptionally well on it.

Also make a mental note that many dogs do so well on the VAN that they can pork up fairly quickly. You might find that you need to feed considerably less than the amount of food prescribed on the packet. I dropped down to half that quantity pretty quickly as I noticed Kal all of a sudden getting somewhat fat! So feeding wise, it worked out pretty cheap overall.

I'm paying back for that privilege with my boy though LOL.

mmm I'm pretty sure it said to wean off the Omega Blend as well, I'll have to go back and read now LOL

From what I can see we'll need 525 grams of meat with the complete mix. We have to keep Dante trim due to his Osteo issue so will be keeping an eye on him.

[sas]

Well FTPO and I decided that we could use this for real... so I've got a board up and running - "K9 Allergy Support"... its sparse at the moment, as I've only done it today, but it will get there... so if any of you would seriously like a venue where you can be supported and discuss / find allergy management and treatment ideas and research drop me a PM. Hope to see some of you there

Mandela's condition, it seems, is not really an "allergy" as such. It seems for him it is a matter of food not being digested properly for one or two other (presumably organ related) reasons - the toxicity from improperly digested food builds up in his system and his liver hasn't coped with filtering the toxins from his system. Hence the out-break in hives.

So I guess I don't quite qualify for your "K9 Allergy Support" List?

PS In a way, I suppose it is somewhat like an allergy though - isn't that when foods are the cause of toxins that the body can't cope with and so the skin reacts?

How are you going with the Greyhound man?

[zayda_asher]

Well FTPO and I decided that we could use this for real... so I've got a board up and running - "K9 Allergy Support"... its sparse at the moment, as I've only done it today, but it will get there... so if any of you would seriously like a venue where you can be supported and discuss / find allergy management and treatment ideas and research drop me a PM. Hope to see some of you there

Mandela's condition, it seems, is not really an "allergy" as such. It seems for him it is a matter of food not being digested properly for one or two other (presumably organ related) reasons - the toxicity from improperly digested food builds up in his system and his liver hasn't coped with filtering the toxins from his system. Hence the out-break in hives.

So I guess I don't quite qualify for your "K9 Allergy Support" List?

PS In a way, I suppose it is somewhat like an allergy though - isn't that when foods are the cause of toxins that the body can't cope with and so the skin reacts?

Well sounds like at least intolerance / GI stuff... so yeah you'd be welcome to join... I'll PM the link...

Also been meaning to say that when I was researching a couple of weekends ago I came across a piece that said that recurrent staph infections are most likely to be allergy related... so if you're seein recurrent staph, its worth investigating the allergy option. I meant to save the link, but it got lost

[stormie]

Sign me up!! sign me up!!

That's interesting Erny. I've never seen or heard of anything like that before. Have you had his liver enzymes checked or an ultrasound to get more info as to why the liver isn't functioning properly? So is it EPI?

My only experience with canine urticaria is purely that of an allergic reaction - either contact or inhaled, so would be interested to hear more!

Urticaria is seemingly always followed by a staph outbreak, due to the inflammation and irritation in the skin breaking barriers etc. Also, some dogs are allergic to staph and can break out in hives during staph outbreaks, so that could be something to investigate to? Do the hives clear up on antibiotics?

Edited February 5, 2010 by stormie

[Erny]

How are you going with the Greyhound man?

..... we're on an "up" at the moment.

Hives are all but gone - although he looks a bit moth eaten where his coat has dropped from the hives that erupted. But that's getting better. Coat is generally looking better, as is skin.

Has put on some weight - helped by the fact that he's gone off Roo mince and Rabbit mince (BARF) and is now preferring (again) chicken frame mince, which of course has more fat content. Gotta say that I'm a bit relieved (or my purse is) because the Chicken frame mince is far cheaper to feed than the other.

He is eating better lately, but it is still unreliable. Push comes to shove and I feed him from a spoon. Sometimes that does the trick when he'd otherwise leave his food. But too occasionally, he won't touch it.

Hair sample man (Barry Templeton) has done the 3rd hair sample now and suggests that we've righted the issue of his liver not functioning sufficiently to cope with the body toxicity level. Still working on 'cleansing' his body of all the toxins and fixing his irritated stomach.

I must say that Mandela has shown more marked improvement since I started him on Barry's meds. So it is a bit fingers crossed.

When I have got him 'right' again, I'll be waiting. The first bout of turning off food occurred at around the age of 7 months, followed a month later by a bout of hives. We got him going again with the VAN diet and I thought things had come good but 7 months further down the track and he goes off that food, followed closely by another (worse) bout of hives. So I won't really know if we've got him right this time around until another (approx) 7 months go by to see if there is a pattern in all of this.

I'm also still with the naturopath. In fact, we're due to make a follow up appointment with her in the next week.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Erny

[Erny]

That's interesting Erny. I've never seen or heard of anything like that before. Have you had his liver enzymes checked or an ultrasound to get more info as to why the liver isn't functioning properly? So is it EPI?

I don't understand the technicalities, but did have bloods done after the first bout of him going off his food. The liver function test showed no probs.

My only experience with canine urticaria is purely that of an allergic reaction - either contact or inhaled, so would be interested to hear more!

Urticaria is seemingly always followed by a staph outbreak, due to the inflammation and irritation in the skin breaking barriers etc. Also, some dogs are allergic to staph and can break out in hives during staph outbreaks, so that could be something to investigate to? Do the hives clear up on antibiotics?

When the first bout of him going off his food occurred and he had a bit of colitis, the Vet prescribed AB's. I put him on those but mid-way through the course he worsened (wouldn't eat anything) and his stools became extremely sloppy and blackish. That's the only time he has ever been given AB's and no, they didn't do anything for him.

I've looked up "Canine Urticaria" and what happens to Mandela doesn't sound like that. Apart from the hives (all over his body, although it does sometimes seem to be sectional - ie that some parts might be worse affected at sometimes compared to others at that time) and the itching that comes with that (for which I use the Calendula Tea wash), the only other thing I notice is that his eyes get a bit gunky (and I'm careful to cleanse and soothe them with Saline solution if I need to). He sometimes goes a bit flatter than he normally would be (which, if it wasn't for the fact that he's not well, would be a temporary relief for me because he is so "out there") but that would usually also be the days when he hasn't eaten, so this I assume is likely to be because his stomach is feeling sore.

What I don't understand about the suggestion that he could be allergic to the normal staph bacteria on his skin is that we can go (if past history is anything to go by) for months with all being well. And the hives are always preceded by him refusing food. If he were allergic to his own staph bacteria, wouldn't we be seeing the allergy symptoms continuing rather than abating and ceasing for so long? And why would they cease at all?

ETA: One thing I have noticed is that on the two or three occasions in his lifetime (19 months) that he has vomited, I've never seen any bile. The naturopath is aware of that and we are moving forward to correcting PH balance in his stomach. If he was not creating bile (or enough of it) then I can understand why his foods aren't being digested properly. This would also make sense of why I have so much trouble getting weight on and why he has to eat so much for this to happen. Which of course would be a catch 22, because the more food he eats, the less bile to 'go around', the less the food would be properly digested.

These are only my thoughts. Take no notice of me. I'm rambling.

ETA Note to self : talk to naturopath about potential Gallbladder problems.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Erny

[sas]

Good Luck Erny, I watch your case with much interest and hope!

[Erny]

Thanks Sas. It is hard for me to tell anyone exactly what is wrong which is the reason I think that my posts are so long (that, and the fact that I'm not exactly against talking ) - possibly because I am resisting the usual veterinary path of GA, AB's and Cortisone and without sticking cameras and so forth down his gut or up somewhere else, and nothing appearing on blood tests, there is no firm diagnosis. I am just so convinced that these things will set him back. It's an albeit strong gut feeling on my part and I hope I'm not wrong. And I mean no offence to the Veterinary system or the people within it. They do some excellent work and of course there are definite times that without their help our dogs would not last as long as they do.

Barry (hair sample) said to me when I first telephoned him to enquire, that most people come to him as a last resort. I guess I'm working the opposite way around and venturing the natural path with a view to giving Mandela's system every chance of becoming stronger without influencing that by him needing to work off the affects of drugs/GA. I am so that I'm not doing him a disservice.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Erny

[zayda_asher]

Urticaria is seemingly always followed by a staph outbreak, due to the inflammation and irritation in the skin breaking barriers etc.

Just for the record Zayda is my urticaria dog and she's never had staph from them... Asher is my Staph dog and he's had hives once. Maybe they're the exception that proves the rule - or just bloody contrary!

[stormie]

Sorry Erny I should have clarified - urticaria is just the technical term for hives

Zayder you are so lucky! I dread any bouts of hives because they almost always turn into crusty staphs which in turn the hair falls out from and we go moth eaten. If I can get on top of things in the beginning though, we can cope.

He's mildly hivey at the moment which sucks. But good news is we just had 5 days off pred thanks to cyclosporin! Not so good today, but not terrible, so 1 dose of pred to get things back under control.

Has anyone used the Convenia long acting AB injection? Porp had a really bad week last week, needing daily pred which still barely touched the sides. Naturally he ended up with pustules all down his thighs, flanks and under arms. We had a spare 5ml (just what he needed!!) of the Convenia and thought what the hell, lets do it. I'm not usually a fan of any type of slow release injections, but I'd just had enough so thought bugger it. Pleased to say his skin skin/coat is looking better than ever - more so than what the oral AB's generally do!! YAY!!