sol exposure
Suttree Update
To read what Suttree has been going through for the past year, check here and here and here.
Well, we found a new vet. A vet, not a dermatologist. I felt like the dermatologist wasn't listening to me, he would take days, sometimes weeks to respond and Suttree did not like him. He also wasn't helping Suttree's condition. When I had to find a vet clinic to buy the expensive Purina HA food, I found a very friendly, small clinic. Even though I was just buying food from them, they seemed genuinely interested in Suttree's case. The vet wanted to know every detail and I felt very comfortable talking with him. I found out he has specialized in allergies for the last 30 years. We talked a couple more times and I made an appointment for a wellness exam with him. It went great. He had several notes prepared for me the moment I walked in. He writes down everything I say, which I've never had a vet do before. We are going to start a whole new treatment and here's where it gets complicated…
He believes that Suttree is creating an allergy to any kind of food he is on. An allergy can take 2-4 weeks to manifest. What do I do to combat this? Just switch his food when I notice him having an upset stomach or scratching excessively. Ok, that's easy enough. Now, we need to ween him off of Prednisone, which is a steroid that can create serious long term problems. One of those problems is lowering his immune system. So, although it is keeping him from scratching and licking, it is actually making him sicker. The vet thinks that, once Suttree scratches to the extent of having lesions, that Suttree has an allergic reaction to his own Staph. This is what makes him incredibly sick, to the point of near death and he has to go on immediate antibiotics. So, in a sense, Suttree is allergic to himself. What we need to do is get his body to tolerate his own Staph.
So, first, I need to keep switching his food, about once a month. Second, we *want* to give him Staphoid injections. Basically, we are injecting his own Staph into his body in very low doses at first and increase them as time passes. This will create a immunity that most dogs and people have naturally. During this time, we need to boost his immune system, in order to tolerate the Staphoid injections. We will do that with a drug called Atopica. It is used with patients who have had a transplant so that the body does not reject the transplant. Unfortunately, there is no generic versions of the drug and it is very pricey ($60 for a 2 week supply). For scratching, we will be giving him Hydroxyzine, a very strong antihistamine. This is also kind of pricey ($25 for a 2 week supply). As a topical solution, he needs to be bathed 2-3 times a week and every other time, I need to use Hexadene ($30 a bottle). This combats any fungal growth, which is essential during the warm months.
Right now, because I can only do what I can afford (on top of regular vet things like heart worm tests and pills and so on), we are not doing the Staphoid injections. We are trying the Atopica, Hydroxyzine and Hexadene wash. Fingers crossed! If this works, this will have to continue for a few months, and quite possibly, the rest of his life. At this point, all we can do is wait and see how he reacts. I will of course be posting updates.
That being said, I am still running a 50% off sale of *everything* in my Etsy to help pay for some of these ongoing vet bills. The link to my Etsy can be found on my profile. Just message me before purchasing and I will change the price. Also, if there happens to be anything on my stream you would like a print of, just let me know and I will charge half the cost of what I normally charge.
For those of you who have helped already, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Words cannot express my (our) gratitude.
Suttree Update
To read what Suttree has been going through for the past year, check here and here and here.
Well, we found a new vet. A vet, not a dermatologist. I felt like the dermatologist wasn't listening to me, he would take days, sometimes weeks to respond and Suttree did not like him. He also wasn't helping Suttree's condition. When I had to find a vet clinic to buy the expensive Purina HA food, I found a very friendly, small clinic. Even though I was just buying food from them, they seemed genuinely interested in Suttree's case. The vet wanted to know every detail and I felt very comfortable talking with him. I found out he has specialized in allergies for the last 30 years. We talked a couple more times and I made an appointment for a wellness exam with him. It went great. He had several notes prepared for me the moment I walked in. He writes down everything I say, which I've never had a vet do before. We are going to start a whole new treatment and here's where it gets complicated…
He believes that Suttree is creating an allergy to any kind of food he is on. An allergy can take 2-4 weeks to manifest. What do I do to combat this? Just switch his food when I notice him having an upset stomach or scratching excessively. Ok, that's easy enough. Now, we need to ween him off of Prednisone, which is a steroid that can create serious long term problems. One of those problems is lowering his immune system. So, although it is keeping him from scratching and licking, it is actually making him sicker. The vet thinks that, once Suttree scratches to the extent of having lesions, that Suttree has an allergic reaction to his own Staph. This is what makes him incredibly sick, to the point of near death and he has to go on immediate antibiotics. So, in a sense, Suttree is allergic to himself. What we need to do is get his body to tolerate his own Staph.
So, first, I need to keep switching his food, about once a month. Second, we *want* to give him Staphoid injections. Basically, we are injecting his own Staph into his body in very low doses at first and increase them as time passes. This will create a immunity that most dogs and people have naturally. During this time, we need to boost his immune system, in order to tolerate the Staphoid injections. We will do that with a drug called Atopica. It is used with patients who have had a transplant so that the body does not reject the transplant. Unfortunately, there is no generic versions of the drug and it is very pricey ($60 for a 2 week supply). For scratching, we will be giving him Hydroxyzine, a very strong antihistamine. This is also kind of pricey ($25 for a 2 week supply). As a topical solution, he needs to be bathed 2-3 times a week and every other time, I need to use Hexadene ($30 a bottle). This combats any fungal growth, which is essential during the warm months.
Right now, because I can only do what I can afford (on top of regular vet things like heart worm tests and pills and so on), we are not doing the Staphoid injections. We are trying the Atopica, Hydroxyzine and Hexadene wash. Fingers crossed! If this works, this will have to continue for a few months, and quite possibly, the rest of his life. At this point, all we can do is wait and see how he reacts. I will of course be posting updates.
That being said, I am still running a 50% off sale of *everything* in my Etsy to help pay for some of these ongoing vet bills. The link to my Etsy can be found on my profile. Just message me before purchasing and I will change the price. Also, if there happens to be anything on my stream you would like a print of, just let me know and I will charge half the cost of what I normally charge.
For those of you who have helped already, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Words cannot express my (our) gratitude.