Dermatologist?
Sam has had horrible skin allergies his entire short life. He's miserable about 3-4 months out of the year. Benadryl has ceased working and the doc said that giving him steroids is a no-no for a long term solution. He recommended a dermatologist but that is $900 for all the tests etc!!!!! I love my puppy but $900!?!?!?!?!?   I wanted to see if anyone else has ever been in this situation and what they did...Any input would be helpful! Thanks!!! |
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| Yes, I have. And I can tell you it is worth every penny. It was a long time ago (about 13-14 years ago) & so was not $900.00 but it was still a bit on the expensive side. But after watching my dog chew the hair off at skin level & having spent close to $1000.00 between meds & vet visits & hit & miss routines in about 4-5 months, it took 2 visits to the allergy/dermatology specialist vet for her to examine, run tests & come up with a soultion. I have never regretted the time or the cost. My dog lived a healthy, comfortable life & went on to obtain her AKC Ch in conformation as well as her CD in obedience. |
| I assume the $900 tests are to identify the allergen? Have you tried eliminating some of the more frequent culprits, like grain in the diet, or feeding an unusual meat -like duck or rabbit- based kibble? We took Tonks and Luna off all food with grains, and got a great result. I took my cats off all chicken based foods and have seen a big improvement there. All four have allergies, but they've been easily managed with dietary changes. Have you tried these sorts of things to see if you get any results? |
| If he's affected only 3-4 months out of the year and he's well the rest of the time, it may be a seasonal allergy. Is it in the fall only? Ragweed allergies start here in August and taper off around November or so... with the freezing weather. If you can identify the allergen(s), you have the hope of desensitizing the dog with allergy shots. If you're going to do it, I'd choose a board certified veterinary dermatologist who sees these things all the time. Bumble had intradermal and RAST testing repeated down at Michigan State University this past October. The pricing you mention seems right... it was $440 for the office visit along with RAST blood testing and intradermal testing... allergy serum and syringes would have been additional. The benefit of seeing this board certified dermatologist was that he had 75 allergens he could test with instead of 33 the previous time we did it. Still, Bumble did not have an IgE reaction to any of seasonal or environmental allergens tested for so it provided no answers... his problems have been year-round. But still, we did find that there is a food component to his problems and his recurring sores (pyoderma) are now gone because of Dr. Rosser's help (diet and frequent baths... we are able to avoid antibiotics most of the time now). Note that most dogs will not be like Bumble and you will likely get some answers! I agree about the steroids... without at least attempting to identify the cause of his allergic reaction, all they're doing is masking the symptoms. Over time, I think more steroids will be required in order to achieve the same level of relief and they carry long term risks. They definitely have their place in providing quality of life if all else fails but I just don't think it's in the early stages of skin problems. Just my opinion for what it's worth.  IF you can identify the trigger and if you can desensitize him with allergy shots, the following year you may have a less reactive dog.  You can take the shot in the dark approach and try to figure this out on your own. I was able to figure out that Darby likely had either ragweed, nettle or chenopod allergies by following the area pollen counts for a season... it was ragweed. There was no rhyme nor reason with Bumble's skin problem and I narrowly escaped with some sanity. Keep a diary if you choose that route... I strongly advise against it if you've already done a food trial and it's not been beneficial. Best wishes... hoping for an itch-free pupper! |
| You don't mention your dog's age but, young or old, don't waste any more time. The board certified veterinary allery/dermatology specialists will cut to the chase in no time & you will have a more comfortable dog. I was lucky to have one of the top ones in the county in my backyard.....about 35 minutes from home. But I will tell you from experience, I would have traveled several hours for the results I got. People come from several states away to her. These specialists know what they are doing. |
| You are very fortunate to have one so close, Marilyn! This is BB's doctor- http://cvm.msu.edu/directory/rosser I wish this guy was in my backyard. He's 3 1/2 hours away but was worth every hour we spent on the road. We try to do whatever it takes to try to make them well... |
| Thank you so much for replying!!! Sam is a little over 2 yrs old. He has reactions year round but it seems worse when it's cold than any other time of year. We thought dry skin but that doesn't seem to be it. He's been on hypoallergenic food for the past 6 months or so and that was helping until it got cold and then this crazy flare up! He bites his tail, bites his back, scratches behind his ears on his side, anywhere he can reach!  We've tried elimination diets, etc but nothing seems to be working so the dermatologist is really our last resort...I'm glad that you shared your stories about what it was like for you! Knowing that some good can come out of this is very VERY encouraging!  |
New OES Mama wrote: Thank you so much for replying!!! Sam is a little over 2 yrs old. He has reactions year round but it seems worse when it's cold than any other time of year. We thought dry skin but that doesn't seem to be it. He's been on hypoallergenic food for the past 6 months or so and that was helping until it got cold and then this crazy flare up! He bites his tail, bites his back, scratches behind his ears on his side, anywhere he can reach! We've tried elimination diets, etc but nothing seems to be working so the dermatologist is really our last resort...I'm glad that you shared your stories about what it was like for you! Knowing that some good can come out of this is very VERY encouraging! If it's worse in the winter, then he could very well be allergic to housedust & housedust mites.......something that we ALL have in our homes but the greater number of us & animals are able to tolerate it. You can't clean your house good enough to eliminate this stuff. It's just there. He's probably itching "from the inside out". Time to bite the bullet & seek out a board certified allery / dermatology vet for your guy. Once they find out the cause of his discomfort & you get him desensitized he has many years of a comfortable life left! The key thing to remember is you have to have patience. It takes several months for the desensitization to reach the level where he won't be scratching at all. A couple months into it you will notice a decrease in scratching & all of a sudeen one day it will dawn on you that he's not scratching at all! Keep us posted. |
| Hi Kate. I knew you were from the Chicagoland area, as we met at SheepieFest, and I now see you are in Elgin. Oscar's dermatologist is in Buffalo Grove. Her name is Dr. Karen Kuhl, and she is Board Certified in dermatology. If you google her name, you will see her long list of credentials. She is very accomplished in the field. We saw her for Oscar's issues with skin infections, not allergies per se, though Oscar's issues are autoimmune related, like allergies. Though it is expensive, you are probably saving money and energy in the long run by seeing a dermatologist, as you will bypass all kinds of other tests and cut right to the chase. It does sound like a seasonal allergy, which could be triggered by turning on the heat in your house. Dust mites were my first thought as well. Laurie and Oscar |
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