What the heck else can I do????

[Latte's Mom]

Food allergy trial 13 weeks, cortisone, zyrtec, Omega 3 supplement, yeast ointment, so many trips to the vet, I can't count and today-STILL itching her belly so much that now she has a big red, raw spot!! Panting and scratching and I AM LOSING MY MIND??!!! What else can I do??? Have an appointment for a week from Saturday.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Is it her food that is causing the problems? Or are you not sure what is causing it? I'm not sure which you are saying in your post.

[JMuedog]

Oatmeal baths? Maybe Benadryl instead of Zyrtec or even in addition to it.

[Latte's Mom]

i have some children's benedryl liquid-I have used it before, but I can't remember how much to give her. She weighs 6 pounds. 2mg?

[skittlz]

did your vet take a skin scrape to see if she has mites?

[RileyDC]

When Riley started getting environmental allergies, last year the Vet told me to get some shampoo with oatmeal in it. I bought some Tropiclean from a pet boutique. I Looooooove It!! They have several different ones. The one I used was the medicated oatmeal w/tea tree. I would Highly recommend it to anyone.

Tropiclean Products

Here is the oatmeal one:

Oatmeal & Tea Tree - Medicated Shampoo

[LoALAnna]

Originally Posted by Latte's Mom

Food allergy trial 13 weeks, cortisone, zyrtec, Omega 3 supplement, yeast ointment, so many trips to the vet, I can't count and today-STILL itching her belly so much that now she has a big red, raw spot!! Panting and scratching and I AM LOSING MY MIND??!!! What else can I do??? Have an appointment for a week from Saturday.

I went through this with Neo, too. All the trips to the vet, food trials, otc itch sprays, antihistimines, you name it, I tried it-all to no avail! Finally I put my foot down to my vet and demanded a referal to the vet dermatologist (only one that comes around to our neck of the woods). It cost us a bit, but finally got the answers we needed to give our baby some relief. He is allergic to practically everything that grows, so he has to get an allergy shot every week, probably for the rest of his life. BUT he is getting relief, along with a low dose of Temeril-p every other day. Please consider a trip to the vet derm and get your baby tested! It will be worth it!!!

[Latte's Mom]

I really appreciate the info: Here's where I'm at: I moved up the appointment to this Saturday. I'm going to take the food I have bought with me incase we change it. I do think it's the food (Hypoallergenic Royal Canin rabbit and potato) because the cortisone didn't seem to stop the itchiness-in fact, it didn't seem to work at all and she seemed to get itchier and itchier as the trial went on. I am going to tell Dr. Dan everything and also will probably need an antibiotic for the big red raw spot. I will ask him what he recommends. I think we have discussed allergy testing before-I will see what kind they do and have some info with me. I will also want to know what I should do when she has a flare-up, so I don't make myself crazy when there's nothing I can do for her on a weekend.
I am going to have to accept that I am doing everything I can and there may always be some itching-as long as she's comfortable the majority of the time, I think I can live with some itching. I will ask about a Doggie Dermo, but I'm willing to bet there is no such thing around me.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

One of the first things that I would recommend you doing is starting from scratch, sorry, no pun intended. If you are trying to pinpoint a food allergy,it's going to take a while before you will be able see any type of results, so you need to give each food some time, you cannot keep switching after a short period of time as it will not have gone thru the cycle.

I would, maybe, try a bland diet for a week and then slowly add in an ingredient for a few days. Watch for any itching, paw licking, etc. And then if all is well, add another ingredient.

As for the initial startup, definitely try the oatmeal shampoo or ask your vet for a medicated shampoo.

Poor Hot Rod was so dry and flaky when the he came to us at 15 weeks, his ears were flaking very badly. At one point, the first vet I was seeing mentioned ringworm--wrong! Thankfully hubby convinced me to get a second opinion and we started with the medicated shampoo and medicated conditioner. Worked wonders.

We then, over time, figured out that he is allergic to chicken. Well, if you look at most puppy foods, the main flavoring is chicken. And if you look at a lot of the foods, even if chicken is not an ingredient, chicken broth is.

It's going to take sometime. A derm. sounds like a good game plan as he can guide you in this direction.

Good luck. I have soft cones also that might help your little keep from getting to any sensitive areas.

[Latte's Mom]

The nutritionist and the vet both agreed with me that Latte has a combo of food and environmental allergies. So, we got the Royal Canin HP and we're going to use that for 6 months. I will keep a log. (Another Yorkie-Talker had very good results with this food.) I have said that the Cortalone she was taking didn't seem to work any more, and the vert agreed that she may have developed a tolerance to it, the same way that people do with medications. So, for her environmental allergies, we're going to use Zyrtec and Benedryl. I use Avoderm Shampoo and Epiclear conditioner. (Tea tree oil shampoo didn't work for her.)

I have new hope! The food only comes in dry form, but I am going to grind some up, mix it with water and bake her some cookies. :O)

I love when I get something that might work!! Fingers crossed!!!

[ritapatt]

Can I suggest that you look into probiotics? While not the whole answer they have been a miracle to boosting my Wheaten terriers immune system.The meds and antibiotics can really wreck havoc with the natural balance. Probiotics are not expensive and really can make a difference.

[Latte's Mom]

What are you recommending? The vet's nutritionist said that I could not use the supplement I was currently using, and it contained a probiotic and Omega 3s. If you could tell me what to ask about, I will definitely ask. Thanks!