Medication problems?

Hi all you fellow staffy lovers

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this before and what your take on this is , a month ago on Friday My girl was at the vets due to allergies to insect bites (hypersensitivity to insects vet said ) and he decided to put her on steroids. I didnt like the idea of her going on steroids as she was on them before christmas for (dermatitis ) and they only made her paranoid and stressed out and more inwards and quiet which she aint. So i reminded him of this and he said its a different kind of steroid to what she was on before and to see how she got on so i thought fair enough if it helps her its worth it . So she started on 1 twice daily and it was horrible she was constantly shaking and was unsure of her surroundings and she seemed very distant to me which she never is as im with there all day every day 24/7 and were very close . Then she started wetting herself which is something she never does shes always a very happy doggy and tail never stops walking and shes very happy and bouncy all the time . I was just wondering what you would do she is now finished her first course but vet wants to start them up again for all of her allegries and was just wondering what you all thought of this and whats the best thing to do for my girl ?

Thanks Lizanne x

Personally I'd try looking at more holistic treatments. The steroids are clearly affecting her quality of life.

Does your vet have any 'natural remedy' practitioners that he can refer you to?

Sorry i'm quite inexperienced but if she is hypersensitive to insects could you maybe use a type of insect repellent to stop her being bitten in the first place?? It seems sad that she has to take a medicine that is affecting her badly poor baby..

Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Caryll wrote:Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Makes sense it probably would irritate her skin , Steff has sensitive skin under her front legs, the vet suggested fish oil tabs and sardines mixed with her food..It hasn't really improved it though and I suppose that dosen't help with insect allergies.. There has to be something out there that would work without those nasty side effects though.. I just googled Piriton as I haven't heard of it before, have you ever used it Caryll? It said it was a sedating antihistamine, was wondering if it had the sedation effect on dogs?

Caryll wrote:Personally I'd try looking at more holistic treatments. The steroids are clearly affecting her quality of life.

Does your vet have any 'natural remedy' practitioners that he can refer you to?

Thats what i was going to do after getting some advice from my Vet nurse friend . Its just i hate seeing my baby girl like this and since shes been off them today shes going back to her usual self and nope already asked him will just have to look into it and see what i can find thanks for your advice

Lizanne x

Kat75 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Makes sense it probably would irritate her skin , Steff has sensitive skin under her front legs, the vet suggested fish oil tabs and sardines mixed with her food..It hasn't really improved it though and I suppose that dosen't help with insect allergies.. There has to be something out there that would work without those nasty side effects though.. I just googled Piriton as I haven't heard of it before, have you ever used it Caryll? It said it was a sedating antihistamine, was wondering if it had the sedation effect on dogs?

Hi there thanks for your reply its horrible watching my furbaby being in so much pain all the time i do use piriton but only for hives as it doesent help with her allergies only helps to take her hives down think its because she got them too much during the summer and they dont have any side effects on her thanks for your reply

Lizanne xx

My beau has the same and he is on Piriton once a day and only in the summer

Kat75 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Makes sense it probably would irritate her skin , Steff has sensitive skin under her front legs, the vet suggested fish oil tabs and sardines mixed with her food..It hasn't really improved it though and I suppose that dosen't help with insect allergies.. There has to be something out there that would work without those nasty side effects though.. I just googled Piriton as I haven't heard of it before, have you ever used it Caryll? It said it was a sedating antihistamine, was wondering if it had the sedation effect on dogs?

Yes, I've used Piriton, but I don't think you can get it in Australia. The following might be helpful to you, though....

http://www.ingleburnvet.com.au/antihistamines.htm

Caryll wrote:

Kat75 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Makes sense it probably would irritate her skin , Steff has sensitive skin under her front legs, the vet suggested fish oil tabs and sardines mixed with her food..It hasn't really improved it though and I suppose that dosen't help with insect allergies.. There has to be something out there that would work without those nasty side effects though.. I just googled Piriton as I haven't heard of it before, have you ever used it Caryll? It said it was a sedating antihistamine, was wondering if it had the sedation effect on dogs?

Yes, I've used Piriton, but I don't think you can get it in Australia. The following might be helpful to you, though....

http://www.ingleburnvet.com.au/antihistamines.htm

Thanks Caryll.. It's called Phenergan here I think, it is used in hyperactive kids as well as an antihistamine Does it have the same sedatation effect on dogs though?? At 13 weeks sedating her is very tempting at times :-$ but wouldn't really like a dizzy doggy she is silly enough

Koyah.16 wrote:

Kat75 wrote:

Caryll wrote:Insect repellants rarely have any effect on dogs for some reason. And if she has sensitive skin it could irritate her. Have you tried giving Piriton?

Makes sense it probably would irritate her skin , Steff has sensitive skin under her front legs, the vet suggested fish oil tabs and sardines mixed with her food..It hasn't really improved it though and I suppose that dosen't help with insect allergies.. There has to be something out there that would work without those nasty side effects though.. I just googled Piriton as I haven't heard of it before, have you ever used it Caryll? It said it was a sedating antihistamine, was wondering if it had the sedation effect on dogs?

Hi there thanks for your reply its horrible watching my furbaby being in so much pain all the time i do use piriton but only for hives as it doesent help with her allergies only helps to take her hives down think its because she got them too much during the summer and they dont have any side effects on her thanks for your reply

Lizanne xx

Ohh poor baby please let me know if you find any holistic remedies.. I think my girl may get more skin problems especially now we are coming into summer..

Kat75 wrote:Thanks Caryll.. It's called Phenergan here I think, it is used in hyperactive kids as well as an antihistamine Does it have the same sedatation effect on dogs though?? At 13 weeks sedating her is very tempting at times :-$ but wouldn't really like a dizzy doggy she is silly enough

It does sedate, but only if you use it occasionally. Apparently, if you use it regularly, they get used to it & the sedation doesn't have any effect.

Thanks for the info Caryll..

And so sorry Lizanne for hijacking your thread

Tell the vet you would like to discuss other options. There are different ways to treat allergies, at least in people.