Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinniedoggy  I recently posted about a little guy I rescued who has some bad skin allergies (see this post).
In the past 24 hours, I have managed to track down more of his past vet records and located the allergist his previous owners took him to. Apparently, he had a complete panel of skin testing done, but the allergists office said the owners never followed up with the shots (they even have the serum there still waiting). The serum costs just $134 for the initial 6 months worth of doses, which I will administer at home. The next round of doses will be even cheaper because he will need them less frequently. They told me that a year of allergy shots has a significant chance (about 80-85%) of curing him completely from these allergies or at least giving him really decent control! I have an appointment tomorrow with them.
Has anyone been down this road with allergy shots? Do they work? What should I expect? I am still going to continue the regimen I described in my earlier post, because it has definitely resulted in improvement. BUT, Alex can still get quite itchy, and I know a change in diet will not completely cure him because his allergies were all found to be environmental (trees, grass, mold, etc). We live in the DC area, which is HORRIBLE for allergies in general, so I'm thinking allergy shots are a good measure. Another thing - this dog had bloodwork done in May of this year by his previous owner that had some really strange results. His WBC, RBC, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, and MCHC were all low (not extremely low, just borderline low) and his neutrophils were high. He also had high intraocular pressure in his right eye. When his blood work was repeated in June by the rescue, all his results were in the normal range, except for his WBC, which was elevated. I am hoping that these wacky results are due to his malnutrition. He is now on a good diet. His energy level is HIGH (he can walk for over 2 miles, practically running the whole time), he eats like a champ, and my doggy intuition tells me he is healthy (other than the skin allergies). I am taking him to my regular vet tomorrow as well and will see what she says, but am curious to see if anyone here has thoughts on this. |
Andrea, if this were me - I'd be doing the shots pronto! You're lucky that he already went through the testing, that's so great (and expensive). Though my Marcel does great on Atopica, I actually want to get the skin testing...the only thing holding me back is the required sedation...which worries me for Marcel.
Anyway, I'd be chomping at the bit to do the shots - bc like you, Phoenix is an allergy nightmare - pretty much all yr round for many. Like you've already mentioned, the success rate is quite high. Some (stress
some) dogs could have some increased symptoms during allergy-shot treatment....but again...if it were me, it'd be worth the risk.
The blood results are a little funky - these results (esp. the crit) make me wonder if he was rather dehydrated at the time of the blood draw. If that blood draw was pre-surg (like before neuter?), he could've been dehydrated bc of no food/water after midnight (then throw in the malnutrition you mention). The WBC is interesting as well...but he could be fighting systemic yeast...though I kinda doubt it would elevate WBCs that much. If only slightly elevated, it may be a combo of his overall health and that may go away under the awesome TLC you're giving him.
