Quote: Sarah_Morris

Thanks for the link, Connie. I love that web site.

Ok, so far as I can tell only Benadryl and chlorpheniramine are OTC. Hydroxyzine and clemastine will need an Rx from a vet. Is that correct?

Yes, I think that's correct.

I would ask for a trial amount, like 2 weeks, so you can see how (and if) it's going to work.

Thank you SO much for your help, Connie. It really helps to have someone advise me on this.

I know, I know...you're not a health professional...but I have waaay more faith in you than most *professionals* I've met.

Thank you!

I've had more experience with canine allergies in adopted dogs than anyone would ever want to have. At least there is a positive outcome, which is accumulating bits of knowledge and being able to pass it on.

I just recently bought clemastine without prescription online, but it's not working as well as benadryl for my dog. She's got a seasonal allergy, just when the grasses are starting to seed just until the time they stop, so I think it's a grass or weed. I also use some vetwrap and boots to prevent any contact with her paws, since that's where she will chew the worst. I also have a large flat storage container with lid full of water with a little bit "relief" shampoo in it, standing on my porch. I walk her through that before coming inside, if I took her outside without any protection.

An update my itchy boy:

It's been roughly 9-10 days since he's had any chicken and about the same amount of time he's been taking chlorpheniramine 4mg 2x/day. The itching has lessened considerably but he is still itching his arm pits and biting his forelegs.

I took him to a new vet today. His coat, skin and ears look good, he has no fleas, but she did do a skin scraping, which came back negative for demodex. She agreed to an antihistamine trial so I have an Rx for 25mg. hydroxyzine 3 capsules 2x/day. I'll start that tomorrow.

She said if this doesn't work then I am to try OTC Allegra 60mg 1x/day for 2 weeks. If that doesn't work then I can try OTC Claritin 20mg. 1x/day for 2 weeks. Has anyone used these OTC medications with any success?

If NONE of the above works then she suggests a $300 blood panel to test for environmental AND food allergies.

If I remember correctly blood tests are not very effective in diagnosing food allergies, right??? So I was not very happy to hear that.

She didn't hassle me at all about raw feeding but she DID suggest we may want to try an elimination diet using Eukanuba!?! I don't think so.

So while things have improved we still have a ways to go...I'm really hoping hydroxyzine will be the answer.

And we may still need to be looking around for a vet

I used Atarax (hydroxyzine) several years ago for many months with my previous GSD and his bad allergies and dermatitis. I remember it worked pretty well (along with an occasional "booster" of pred.) I used 25mg. pills, but don't recall how many a day - maybe 1 or 2 twice a day.

I wanted to try it with my current dog, Nettie, but I let the vet convince me to try Benedryl which he said was stronger. It didn't do a damn thing. And back then, he also wanted me to try an elimination diet with Science z/d - which was never going to happen! I was about to go back to him for Atarax when I discovered the probiotic thing.

Somewhat like your situation, I recently experienced a week-long flare-up (with the same the symptoms you're seeing) after 3-1/2 months of being totally symptom free on a raw food/veggie glop/Grizzly/E/probiotic diet. Since it's taken a long time to arrive at the fine-tuned diet I've been feeding, I decided not to start making a lot of changes and just wait and see what happened. I upped Nettie's yogurt/kefir portions and did resort to 5mg. pred for 3 days during that week. The symptoms tapered off, and after about 10 days, she's about 95% free of symptoms. So I have no idea what the cause was and what exactly made the problems do away. My uneducated WAG is that her immune system has been sufficiently improved recently to combat most allergens, and either something different came along or maybe her immune system was temporarily below par. I just don't know.

Mike

Yes, Hydroxyzine and Chlorpheniramine have been most successful for me.

Sarah, a vet who suggests a "blood panel" for food allergens is not educated about current allergy testing. Run. JMO.

1. No ELISA, RAST, or even intradermal tests are accurate on food allergens.

2. Intradermal (NOT BLOOD) tests are the gold standard.... not for food, but for inhalant/environmental. Some vets recommend blood tests because they can do them, and the intradermal tests usually require a derm vet. :>(

ONLY a strict elimination diet can ID canine food allergens. There is NO OTHER WAY (as of now, anyway). It has been clear since the 80s that this was true.

Never a dull moment with our little darlings.

You know, I went back and looked at my older posts and he has had these same allergy symptoms before...back in March and then a year ago. Both times it came on suddenly, violently, then gradually petered out after a few weeks. Both times I just assumed it was the food but you'd think the symptoms would continue since he, more or less, eats the same thing. I vary the diet but not that drastically.

I've worn my brain out playing "allergy detective".

I'm glad Nettie's feeling better, Mike. It really sucks seeing them so uncomfortable.

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=12&Number=157389&Searchpage=1&Main=16467&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post157389

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=10&Number=156852&Searchpage=1&Main=16418&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post156852

and especially:
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=10&Number=145950&Searchpage=1&Main=15462&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post145950


And food is by far the least likely allergy.

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=137011


Please note that current vet manuals are cited in the above threads, so you can print them and ask questions from them when you find out why the vet wants to do RAST or ELISA.

 Quote: connie sutherland

Sarah, a vet who suggests a "blood panel" for food allergens is not educated about current allergy testing. Run. JMO.

SEE...I knew that! And I swear I almost said to this vet "But Connie said..."

Seriously, I knew that was totally wrong because of what I've read here so there was no way I was doing the blood test. I did get what I needed...the hydroxyzine...but, like I said, I'm still vet shopping.