Steroid Prejudice: Looking back at this thread, I see this by me (QUOTE): But I am so leery of steroids, which I believe cure NOTHING (they do suppress symptoms but are riddled with side effects) that I was looking at every alternative END QUOTE

Yep..........that's a prejudiced-sounding statement, all right! Point taken.

Yes he has been tested & out of 20 food items tested for he came back positive or borderline on 16 of them.

Airborne tested positive or borderline on 28 of 30 allergens

I guess we will continue raw food diet & perhaps have him tested again to see if we can fine tune his raw diet as of right now he only has 2 meats he's not allergic to. (lamb & venison) To much venison in his diet & they call you a poacher!!

Yikes! Lots of allergens to deal with.

How do you get enough venison (just curious)? I don't know much about deer-hunting --- can you buy meat from a hunter?

Lamb was one of the things my most allergic dog could eat, and I found out that lamb isn't cheap when you're using it every other day. Had to remind myself that it was cheaper than the vet!

Krieger- who has food allergies, is getting about 10mg of Prednisone every other day and we increase it for flare ups. The vet had mentioned using Atopica but wanted the allergies to be more under control before switching. Right now he gets an added dose or two almost every week for increased itching.

Heidi, who is allergic to something from my husband going to military bases, is getting Prednisone almost every day. I was within days of having her put down in March because we couldn't figure out was wrong and she was obviously suffering miserably. She would wheeze and cry and yack up huge amounts of saliva and mucous. At that point she'd been on steroids with limited improvement, she'd had blood tests, then she had 2 hugely swollen lumps in her throat that appeared to be her lymph nodes. Her blood work was fine so we knew she wasn't reacting to an infection. They did a needle aspirate on the lumps and the lab said they only contained blood cells which still didn't really tell us anything. Then they did a biopsy and found the lumps were her salivary glands that were hugely enlarged. The biopsy results were inconclusive from 2 different labs. They also did nasal x-rays which also showed nothing. At that point the vet had no idea what it was. But as the weather warmed up in March we didn't have the heat on and she improved dramatically. That was the first solid indication of what the problem was. However my husband came home a few days later and within half an hour Heidi was wheezing and yacking up again. That was when I realized it was something on him. I suggested that from now on he strip down to his underwear before he comes in the house <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> but he declined. But it has improved since we keep all of his gear away from Heidi.

Erika, We have a client at work who has a shepherd with Perianal Fistula that uses the Cyclosporine, along with ketoconazole... From what I am understanding this is very exspensive... This client gets his scripts filled in Canada, but still he has to keep his dog on prednisone also. When you put dogs on it do you remember what the cost was? It is something both my vet and I talked about, but due to the cost we decided to wait.

Connie, I am usually very careful when it comes to "New" drugs, and yes the natural was a concern for me, but after trying just about everything else, I figured it was worth a try.... Please don't think you need to

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(I myself would probably question something called "Natural Steroid" with no other content details, but maybe your vet knows the product and I should mind my own business....LOL!)

mind your own business, every opinion matters to me, I can choose to use the advice or not.... I am still interested in the foods you cooked for your dog. I figure it this way, Denvers quality of life is great, there is a trade off here somewhere with all these steroids, but you know what he is a happy young man, and loven life right now. This is a much better chance then when he was at the shelter.

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To much venison in his diet & they call you a poacher!!

Too funny Robert! The area of NY that I live in we have to avoid deer, getting deer meat here would be of no troubles. I have thought about changing him, but still don't know how to balance the diet to be sure he is getting the vitamins and minerals that he will need. Both my husband and I have talked about switching to BARF and getting a large freezer just for this.

Sorry, Kay, I had forgotten to type up the "recipe" I ended up making at home. I will do it today and PM you.......it's sort of long because I don't give the same foods every day; also it involves which foods I concluded were safe to serve raw and which I feel I need to cook because I'm not that certain of the source(s). Some of it is cooked because I do have salmonella concerns with certain items, so I cook those items, along with all vegetable items (because dogs' systems didn't evolve to handle raw grain or vegetable matter).

I'll do it -- just forgot.

From what I remember...

The Atopica is around $300 for the initial 30day dosing where it is a once a day pill. The smaller the dog, the cheaper. After 30 days, most show significant improvement and the dose is lowered. Some dogs improve so much that they can go to an EOD pill. It is designed to be a permanent perscription. Its not uncommon for dogs with severe allergies to have to start Atopica while taking dexamethazone or Pred or antibiotics because of the secondary infections that are usually associated with constant itching and inflammation.

I know it sounds really expensive..but if you compare it to the cost of monthly vet visits, allergy injections, steriods, medicated shampoos and sprays, hot spots, and sometimes even immunosuppression therapy...most people find that in the big scheme of things its actually less expensive and thier dog is far more comfortable.

hope this helps!

-Erika

I really don't so I end up feeding alot of borderline foods and I hope that I will continue seeing improvement.

I found a place where you could buy venison for your dog & if memory serves me right it was about 4.00 lb, approx. 400/month which is not an option for me at this time.

Although I hunt & have a buddy who hunts that gives me his deer every year it still falls way short of his needs. He's not to bad on chicken & pork so he gets his fair share of those.

I believe it is illegal to buy meat from a hunter in the state of Ohio as they feel it would be a legal means that might encourage poaching.