Any advise on PREDNISONE

Hello
Any advise please regarding Prednisone, My staffy called 'Cooper' who is 7yrs old has been on these for about year and a half now might even be 2yrs.

He was given them by the vet he was getting small baldy patches, dry skin, he would always nibble at his paws he was smelly.

When we first started giving him the tablets they where working a treat, baldy patches went,

He was given one a day, then we had to increase him up to 2 a day about year ago, I've tried doing it where he was given 2 every other day but that did not work. Such a shame as he used to have a lovely shiney coat!

His skin is getting worse its really dry, crusty skin, his coat is thin. I've stopped giving him the tablets they are not working, I'm not happy in him having them all the time, I would like to try something else which is better rather than giving a steroid.

Anyone got any advise,
thank you

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you could try fish in sunflower oil, or just sun flower oil on his biscuit, this worked wonders for my lurcher. takes a couple of weeks to see any change, but good for the coat and skin in the long run

Hi & welcome.

Prednisone is normally a short term treatment. Has your vet said why it is still being prescribed? Have you ever tried to wean him off it, and if so what was the result?

Thanks steve76 I'm going to look again at his diet,
caryll - a month ago we dropped him down to 1 a day and missing a day, now he's not on any hasn't been for 2wks.
He's a little poorly at the mo had diarreah and sickness last night he's feeling a bit sorry for himself
Every 6mths we see the vet all he does is check him over then prescribes more tablets! this is why his coat is all dry its awful wanting to try something rather then tablets.
thanks

The problem with Prednisone long term is that it can lead to Cushings disease.

To be honest, I'd be inclined to ask another vet, at another practice, for a second opinion. Also, speak to a vet about alternative treatments. Many vets nowadays are in contact with homeopathic/natural remedies for skin conditions etc and he may be able to refer you.

Are you insured?

P.S.
I've merged the two topics & moved it to the health forum.

thank you was wondering where it had gone!
Yes i would agree about the vets we have spoke about doing that for a while i must say cos' every time he goes and gets checked its just a case of here goes some more tablets....!
We are not insured unfortunately. I was going to try and start giving him some Primrose oil or cod liver oil tablets. and looking into changing his food. he has a delicate tummy to start with certain foods give him the runs!!

Do let us know how you get on with a new vet. Just renewing the tablets every few months seems to be a bit of a cop out, doesn't it?

I was going to suggest getting a second opinion from another vet and saw that Caryll had already mentioned it.

What does he eat?

2nd opinion definitely.

My staffy had a skin prob, an overabundance of the staphacocus bacteria, which is normally on the skin but can cause probs if they have too much of it.

Did ur vet ever give u a diagnosis for ur dogs skin condition, ever do tests, skin scrapes etc?

My Diesel was on steroids for very short periods as they supress the dogs immune system therefore not allowing the dog to get over it.

I hope u get some answers and help for ur dog.

Also, for dry skin, my vet recommended a hypoallergenic dog food, salmon oil drizzled ontop of the food and Etiderm dog shampoo which is fab stuff for protecting and soothing skin.


X

Thanks for the responses,
No Vet Never done any tests just looked at him and said it was a common problem with staffys !!!??
Since been off the tablets his coat seems to have thickened a bit. he's still lumps that are going dry. he has a load of dark spots aswell that pop up go. what could these be? We asked the vet and he just said its the pigment of his skin!!
He is on Pedigree tins and dry mixer biscuits. was debating on trying him on something else to see if a different diet would help.
cheers

Yumega oil is very good for skin conditions

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/yumega-nutrition-supplement-for-dogs-250ml-by-lintbells-15432

With the tablets,i would definatly review his medication with the vet

hopev wrote:He is on Pedigree tins and dry mixer biscuits. was debating on trying him on something else to see if a different diet would help.
cheers

To be honest, no tinned food is very good, really. It's not great for their teeth and around 70% water! I'd try one of the better dry foods if your finances can run to it. James Wellbeloved do hypoallergenic dog food taht may help his overall condition. You can get it from any large pet store or online.

Lisa & Cairo wrote:Yumega oil is very good for skin conditions
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/yumega-nutrition-supplement-for-dogs-250ml-by-lintbells-15432

I've also heard good reports about Yumega. If you want to try it & don't know which one to choose, give Lintbells a ring - I believe they're very helpful!

is Septiderm available in your area? works for my APBT Herman?

Is this the stuff you mean Matt?


http://www.naturaldogs.co.uk/store/naturvet-natural-horse-products/septiderm-v-bath-240ml.html

We took Cooper to the vets yesterday (we seen a different vet) cos he's been vomiting and diarreah. Vet checked him over and said their is a lot of gas in his tummy. they've give him antibiotics and some other injection for the bacteria he's got on his coat !
I asked the vet about his skin condition and told him I stopped giving him the tablets and he said i done right he said its not meant to be long term! He said to try Hypo-allergenic , wheat free diet and said to try James Wellbeloved.
We are completely going to change his diet soon as he recovers properly he is getting No scrap bits any more nothing other than his own meals.

Ive not heard of Septiderm is it a shampoo?? I do like the sound of the Yumega may look into that, or would it be worth buying some Cod liver oil.
I am really looking forward to trying his new diet and seeing if his coat improves.
Thanks

our boy tygo has also problems with his skin, atopic dermatitis. whenn he was about 6 months my vet also wanted to put him on predison. i refused and kept on searching for a alternitive treatment. i now have a homeopatic drop that frees him from the allergies. and it works like hell.

hopev wrote:We took Cooper to the vets yesterday (we seen a different vet) cos he's been vomiting and diarreah. Vet checked him over and said their is a lot of gas in his tummy. they've give him antibiotics and some other injection for the bacteria he's got on his coat !
I asked the vet about his skin condition and told him I stopped giving him the tablets and he said i done right he said its not meant to be long term! He said to try Hypo-allergenic , wheat free diet and said to try James Wellbeloved.
We are completely going to change his diet soon as he recovers properly he is getting No scrap bits any more nothing other than his own meals.

Ive not heard of Septiderm is it a shampoo?? I do like the sound of the Yumega may look into that, or would it be worth buying some Cod liver oil.
I am really looking forward to trying his new diet and seeing if his coat improves.
Thanks

Good luck with the change of diet. If it doesn't work, you might want to try raw feeding. If you do, just let us know & we can point you in the right direction.

Septiderm is a shampoo that soothes the skin & doesn't strip the oils from the coat.

marloes wrote:our boy tygo has also problems with his skin, atopic dermatitis. whenn he was about 6 months my vet also wanted to put him on predison. i refused and kept on searching for a alternitive treatment. i now have a homeopatic drop that frees him from the allergies. and it works like hell.

Can you tell us what the homeopathic drops are?

@ caryll, will try my best to translat in english because its a dutch product.
its called drainage compositum and manufacturer is groene os. the drops are to purify the blood and get rid of all toxins in the blood. at first i was a bit sceptic but it works on my boy.
and he had it so bad that we could'nt go near lawns for the whole summer. now he has about 50% relief on his allergies and that is a lot

here is the website but its only in dutch im afraid
http://www.nmlhealth.com/p,34,509/Drainage-Compositum.aspx

prednison causes in the long run a few bad ilnesses as in tumors of the kidneys of pituitary gland, calles cushings disease. if treated with prednison from young age these dogs dont get very old.

forgot to mention, it s a treatment for about 8 weeks. dogs that have serious problems can be treated for longer periods. but between the treatments should be a few weeks rest.

Thank you for the link. I've used Google Translate & printed the page. I'll see if I can get a local homeopath to have a look at it & see if it can be produced here.

kathytake2 wrote:Is this the stuff you mean Matt?


http://www.naturaldogs.co.uk/store/naturvet-natural-horse-products/septiderm-v-bath-240ml.html

yep

Interesting...

thanks I will do caryll, he's on chicken n rice for now. then will start with the James wellbeloved later, I only hope he eats it he's not used to eating just dry food !!
I've been looking up about the raw food, Never knew you could give dogs raw chicken etc...!
vic
x

septiderm-V is a topical treatment for problem skin. it's applied directly to the affected area and can work in seconds sometimes. don't know if it's the answer for your lil' one, but it's worth a try.

Caryll wrote:Thank you for the link. I've used Google Translate & printed the page. I'll see if I can get a local homeopath to have a look at it & see if it can be produced here.

if you want or at any time need a bottle i can buy it here and send it over

also a product that we saw good results with ( worked as a veterinairy assistant for a few years)
http://www.virbacvet.com/products/dermatology/allergicdermatitis/allerdermspotonskinlipidcomplex.aspx

marloes wrote:

Caryll wrote:Thank you for the link. I've used Google Translate & printed the page. I'll see if I can get a local homeopath to have a look at it & see if it can be produced here.

if you want or at any time need a bottle i can buy it here and send it over