Allergies...help me without steroids

[SunCzarina]

Black tea is certainly less expensive than his pills! Just regular tea from the grocery store??? Not a tea drinker so I don't know.

Now if you said coffee, I'd have a clue lol.

[LisaT]

Yep, regular black tea - I just used the ol' stand-by Lipton's!

[dogmama]

My Zack has bad environmental allergies. A temporary fix is a nice cool bath.

We're seeing yet another holistic vet on Monday. We've done almost two years of allergy shots, I've replaced lawns with bricks, I cook his food (but I'm slowly moving him to raw, just in case...) I check titers before I vaccinate. He takes benedryl and amytriptaline and they help a little, but not much. I'd like to get him off of those things because I don't think it's good for his liver - although I have complete blood panels run every year and his last one (last month) was perfect.

If somebody bumps this, I'll let you know what my holistic vet says. Otherwise, I'll forget.

[dogmama]

I'm bumping myself. Vet said Atopica. I started another thread on this:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubb...553#Post1116550

[Fluffypants]

Bumping this thread and looking for advice on how to build Niko's immune system... he is my allergy boy and will be going to the vet this morning for most likely aural hematoma surgery again.

I'm looking at the info that LisaT posted about Belfield's recommendations and was wondering if this is something that I should try.

Niko has been so itchy the last couple of days.. he was on a low dose of pred for a month to avoid another hematoma surgery, it worked, but as soon as he was off the pred his ear blew back up. He wasn't itchy probably because of the pred.

I just started him on Honest Kitchen and some raw meat... so far so good. I also was giving him Cosequan DS... he seems to be a little stiff here and there.

My question would be where should I start with him in building his immune system up. I noticed Theralin VMP was mentioned and Brewers yeast, Vit C and E. Was a little nervous about Brewer's yeast since I think I read that can be an allergan??

I was also looking at Belfields Mega C... it's pricey, but if it would help... I would give it a try. Niko is 105lbs.

I need to try something else since I feel like I have exhausted every avenue without any real relief. Allergies are so frustrating... the amount of money I have spent (and will spend this morning on the hematoma surgery) is crazy... if only I saw some decent results. I feel like I'm at my wits end with my poor boy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Tanja

[LisaT]

My Max can't have brewer's yeast (allergies), but Indy excels on it. Just about anything can be an allergen - doesn't hurt to be cautious, add one thing at a time, watch for reactions.

The MegaC is vit C plus some basic vitamins. I've never used it, but knew of others long ago that did. A couple were able to get their dogs off steroids with either Belfield's program, or a modified version. The only thing I would add to Belfield's program is some fatty acids. If not allergic, I like fresh ground flax.

Best of luck, I hope your boy can find some relief soon!

[Fluffypants]

Thank you Lisa.... any particular brands or products would you recommend I take a look at?

I was looking at Vetriscience Canine Plus Soft chews as an all around multi vitamin. I was just thinking to purchase the C & E at the drugstore.

As for fatty acids... I'll have to look around a bit more... Niko came up allergic to Catfish.. so not sure if Salmon oil will be an issue. Vetri Science makes a 3,6, 9 capsule. Haven't look at it too much.

There is so much out there... YIKES

Thanks again!
Tanja

[LisaT]

There is a lot out there.

I've always used the Canine Plus for my dogs. For the fatty acids, I like Missing Link, or fresh ground flax if there are multiple allergies, flax alone is safer.

My dogs only seem to tolerate sodium ascorbate, thet I have to get online, it's actually the version the belfield uses. You could try any C, just start slowly.

For the E, stay away from the synthetic dl-alpha form and stick with the d-alpha form. Better yet if you find one that has the mixed tocopheral, alpha, gamma, beta, and one other I can't think of right now.

[natalie559]

Originally Posted By: LisaTJust about anything can be an allergen

Isn't that the truth. Some can even be so sensitive that they cannot handle one form of a vitamin, but can another.

So think about this when buying supplements. For example, what about the beef gelatin in caps? Or the soy in a capsuled vit e? Certain digestive supplements could be derived from an animal but never say it on the label.

Brewers yeast is mainly b vitamins. You could supplement with a vit b complex instead.

Have you done an elimination diet?

Did you ever try the comfortis?

[Fluffypants]

Thanks again Lisa!!! I was thinking of Missing Link, but it has rice bran... Niko has an allergy to rice. So, I think that one is out. Have to look for fresh flax... I'm sure I can get that online somewhere.

I still haven't ruled out the Mega C... just wasn't sure if I should do the Mega C and Canine Plus together. I have E at home and I think it is d-alpha. Going to recheck.

I'm going to give the Nature's Logic another try since I know I just can't afford going completely to Honest Kitchen for my big guy. I think I'm going to start adding raw meals at night a few times a week. Although I'm not going to start all of this at the same time as... my god I'll never have any idea what Niko's is having issues with!!

Saw the vet this morning... Niko is back on pred for a few weeks - supposedly a low dose 15mg for 5 days then tapered down for a couple of weeks. This is for his aural hematoma... which he had surgery for a few years ago (same ear). I think the vet wanted to give this one more try since it can work without going into a surgery again on the same ear.

I hate pred, but will give this one more shot to prevent surgery and another $700 vet bill. I'm nervous about pred again... hoping this isn't another bad decision.

Going to look for flax now.

Thank you Lisa for all your help... I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Tanja