Today dad decided it was best to drive all the way into Loughborough to get the vet to have a look at my paws. The irritation has finally shown itself as an inflamed pink patch on the inside of my toes. So all this slurping my paws was for some good reason.The vet took a quick look at my feet and decided it was Eczema. Probably caused by some allergic reaction to a chemical in or around the house. He said it's not unusual this time of year with people planting and growing things, using pesticides and fertilizers. So finding the cause could be quite difficult.
The vet prescribed a weeks (7 days) dosage (1 x 5mg, twice a day) of a corticosteroid called Prednidale/Prednisolone. He also preceded it with an injection to kick start the effects.
The vet explained it acted as an anti-inflammatory and that although I currently take an Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAID, Previcox) the two can be used together as the Prednidale targets a different area and that the Previcox is very specific in its treatment.
Dad asks the questions and gets a lot of useful information from the vet. They seem very open and keen to discuss specifics, so dad tries hard to get as much detail as he can. He's no vet, but if you get the information, even if you don't understand it (and dad really doesn't), you can take it away and go rumage around the internet to get more help.
So digging around later dad find a wealth of information regarding possible side effects so now we know what to look for.
What dad also found out is that it is an immunosuppressive drug. So I guess the allergic reaction should also be lessened because of this feature.
As I'm about due another bout of seizures this really couldn't have come at a worse time. Now we wont know if these new tablets or the injection will have had any impact on my seizures. Maybe it'll cause me to go into one, delay it, who knows? But whatever it does, it means a change which we can't account for.
Well with all these drugs it looks like entering the 2012 Olympics will be out of the question. Any sample I'd give would be sure to cause the testing machine to blow a gasket!
We've had our dogs on prednisone; it's usually very hard on the body, and there's the "pred belly" and massive fluid retention (as well as overheating). It doesn't always happen, but it does in some cases.
ReplyDeleteBut, pred. is good for stopping allergic reactions and skin allergies, too.
It's always just having to find that balance between side effects and benefits :)
Best wishes!
Thanks for the input. Thankfully we're only looking at 7 days worth, so hopefully the side effects wont be noticeable, or long lasting.
ReplyDeleteHi Roxy,
ReplyDeleteI start 7 days trial of prednidale tomorrow. 2x 5mg twice a day. My folks think the possible benefits outweigh the risks.
Oh, I should say I'm a 9 and a half year old German Shepherd.
Have a look at my site, my folks should have helped me update it this week but didn't get a chance, they will help me next week. That way we can compare how we get on with our new drug regime. I also have gabapentin. www.alexfoard.co.uk Alex x