Something for severe allergies besides Benadryl

[SalemWitchChild]

Kota's vet has put her on some medication for allergies. The med is called Depo-Medrol Injection. The problem is that if she keeps taking this med it can cause liver failure. This is a long shot, but does anyone know of any supplements or OTC medicine that will help her? We've already tried Benadryl and it does not help.

We are not sure what exactly she is allergic to. She scratches herself raw. She's always had mild allergies, which no grain food fixed. But now that she's older they are getting worse. Her vet says this is somewhat common for collies.

 

[Paradis]

For my allergy boy, I've had success with Chlor-Tripolon (generic name chlorpheniramine) when Benadryl doesn't work for him. It does make him sleepy which always isn't a bad thing.

He is also hypothyroid and has severe autoimmune atopic dermatitis which is being controlled with Atopica (cyclosporine) which might be worth a shot for your dog depending on how bad the allergies are, it is quite pricey and can be hard on their internal organs so regular blood work is a must. Can't always rob jonny to pay peter.

 

[SalemWitchChild]

For my allergy boy, I've had success with Chlor-Tripolon (generic name chlorpheniramine) when Benadryl doesn't work for him. It does make him sleepy which always isn't a bad thing.

Do you know the dosage for a 50lb dog?

 

[*blackrose]

Depo is a steroid, which is why it isn't best long term. The injections seem to be worse long term than oral steroids, as with oral you can get them down to the lowest effective dose and stay within that "safe" range.

Gracie is on Temaril P. It is a combination of prednisone and an antihistamine. She was able to be weaned down to a half dose every other day until she wemt to my Mom's, where all of the grasses and such have made her really break out. And honestly, although its a steroid, its really the only thing I can do for her that is in my price range. Atopica or allergy testing/allergy injections would be the best bet, but that is $$$ I don't have. So we'll just be checking an NSAID panel every 6 months.

Eta: Antihistamines alone are not going to help a severe allergy dog's skin. They can help reduce the amount of other drugs you need to use, but that alone won't fix it if it truly is a severe problem.

 

[Paradis]

Do you know the dosage for a 50lb dog?

Best to ask your vet regarding the doseage as it might counter act with the depo-medrol or anything else she is on.

 

[OutlineACDs]

Are you feeding a good quality, grain-free diet?

We had an allergy dog and after Benadryl, injections, "special food" from the vet and the really expensive ($100/month) allergy pills (immunosuppressant), we finally found out we weren't feeding that great of a food.

Our vet never really asked in detail or even seemed to bring up that important point. We switched to a grain-free kibble (did raw for a while, too) and then never had any other problems. Occasionally when the seasons change she still itches a bit, but Benadryl is enough to keep her comfortable.

They kept telling us it was allergies to grass because she would chew her feet and make them raw, after the diet switch, no more of that.

Not saying you haven't tried it, but just giving my personal experience, like I said, we thought we were feeding a good food at the time (and it was decent), but it was grain inclusive.

 

[SalemWitchChild]

Are you feeding a good quality, grain-free diet?

We had an allergy dog and after Benadryl, injections, "special food" from the vet and the really expensive ($100/month) allergy pills (immunosuppressant), we finally found out we weren't feeding that great of a food.

Our vet never really asked in detail or even seemed to bring up that important point. We switched to a grain-free kibble (did raw for a while, too) and then never had any other problems. Occasionally when the seasons change she still itches a bit, but Benadryl is enough to keep her comfortable.

They kept telling us it was allergies to grass because she would chew her feet and make them raw, after the diet switch, no more of that.

Not saying you haven't tried it, but just giving my personal experience, like I said, we thought we were feeding a good food at the time (and it was decent), but it was grain inclusive.

Kota has always been allergic to corn. Yes she is fed a grain free diet.

 

[momto8]

Kiley has flea allergies. Last year we were not on top of it and they got fleas and it took a bit to get it under control with frontline and home treatments. We used generic claritin along with the bendryl. Make sure its just plain jane claritin, not the claritin D. She weighs 35 ish lbs and I gave her half a tablet a day and if she was really bad would give her a whole one. We did consult the vet first, and would recommend you do as well before you give something you haven't used before.

http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/25/claritin-for-dogs/

 

[Saeleofu]

Allergy testing and desensitization is probably your best bet. I've seen some dogs with nasty, nasty allergies go from steroids to needing NO meds in about 4-6 months.

If they are food allergies, avoiding the triggering foods is your best bet. Determining those foods is best done with food trials, but allergy testing can give you a good starting point.

 

[Mach1girl]

We changed Catos food to 4Health, and that has helped a ton. He still gets the occasional break out, which we control with Temporil P. Part steroid, part antihistamine. Once under control we stop it, and continue with Benedryl until we are sure we have a handle on it. Works great.

 

[SalemWitchChild]

We changed Catos food to 4Health, and that has helped a ton. He still gets the occasional break out, which we control with Temporil P. Part steroid, part antihistamine. Once under control we stop it, and continue with Benedryl until we are sure we have a handle on it. Works great.

She's far past just diet changes. And stopping the steroid shot just makes it come back. Benadryl does not help at all.

 

[Mach1girl]

We fought diet changes for 7 years. And it wasn't until recently (5 months ago) that we tried one more time. And this FINALLY helped. We even did RAW for awhile, and it didn't work as good as this is working. And the Temporil P, is awesome. Being that it is part steroid and part antihistimine, it really works well. I get where you are coming from, we too thought we were at a loss.......but after all these years, it's worth sharing!


And the Benedryl, it won't work if the allergies are out of control, you have to get them under control (Temp-P) first,, then maintain with Benedryl. Also, with my Catos weight, Benedryl dosage is 2 pills twice a day, and the vet told me to up that. So with 3 Benedryl every 6 hours, it keeps his allergies under control. And, I haven't noticed him being more tired than usual, or even more thirsty. The vet tells me that the way that a dogs metabolism works, they actually need a bit higher dosage then humans do, and that there are no long term effects from it.