Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin So pleased to read he is greatly improved,what a relief,for you , as well as lovely Snowie. My boy tortures me with his looks if I mess with his food so I know how he will have made you feel but it sounds like you've divided portions and amounts up effectively to cope with his needs x
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin That's reslly interesting about the natural cortisone production. We always give ours in the mornings too, but that's just random luck. Glad we were accidentally doing it right Obi just gets 1 tablet a day when he needs it and, at the most, one more two days later. Hopefully you find that Snowie can manage with a pretty low dose as well, once this 'acute' phase is over. Really glad it's helped so much. Must be a massive relief for you all.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Very good news you have found something to help Snowie. He'll be much more comfy now.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I read up on cortisol production, although in my limited time I only managed to find info about humans, but am assuming similar for all mammals, although probably not always true that all mammals are the same. Nevertheless, cortisol levels peak at 8am and are secreted in response to stress. Given that waking up is stressful for some of us , this makes a lot of sense! Logically it makes sense to me that we need a burst of energy to get us up, that cortisol causes blood sugar levels to increase. So I made sure I gave Snowie his two cortisone tablets before our 7.15am walk (he gets breakfast after our walk) to coincide with the 8am rise in cortisol levels. He is still making a poo with one of the droppings covered in a lot of mucus, and his second poo this morning was very soft. I have no idea if this has to do with the cortisone tablets. But what is interesting is that he did not want to jump into the swimming pool after our walk, something he always does. I am wondering if the cortisone has cooled his skin, reduced the inflammation. (It could also have been that going into the freezing sea during our walk, albeit only as far as his legs, was enough to keep him cool.) He also jumps into the pool to drink water (I'd prefer he drank from his water bowl, but such are his habits!). I have not seen an increase in his desire to drink water (a side effect of cortisone) but last night, while he was lying on the kitchen floor (before going to bed) there were a few drops of wee. My husband cleaned it up and immediately we saw a few more drops. Drops, not a puddle. He has had incontinence before while sleeping and the vet said this is nothing to worry about, very normal for an intact male (he is intact and will sometimes have a dog's equivalent of a "wet dream"), and he has had urinary analysis that shows all normal. But of course my heart sank. I wondered if was connected to increased weeing associated with cortisone intake, but of course one event does not provide a definitive answer. Two days of not chewing his paws has seen a dramatic improvement in the skin adjacent to the pads, really most remarkable. One other thing: he didn't get the two cortisone tablets last night, as per vet's recommendation to reduce the dosage (well, I had asked if we could reduce the dosage to minimum necessary given that it has been so effective), and he did give the odd scratch in the night and a few licks and chews on the inside of his hind leg. I felt bad not giving him the two tablets last night when this happened, but, oh my word, the reduction in chewing and licking and scratching is nothing short of amazing. I'll see how it goes today...
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin An increase in peeing initially is totally normal, but, if it's the cortisone, it should settle down with the reduced dose. Don't be worried by it It's great that his skin in healing up. Imagine how much better he must be feeling!!
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Fantastic, isn't it? His life must be so much changed for the better!
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin My boy had teribble skin problems he used to end up pretty bald then he would get infected and it was a nightmare to control, he had weekly baths with medicated shampoo but i took him for alergy testing with a specialist, and they made him a vacine which I injected once per month, altho to begin with it was done at the vets just in case he got anaphalctic shock, it took a while but it worked, it took about nine months but he was not scratching it was such a relief! Previously, I would only give hime one steriod tablet once a day any more than that he would drink gallons of water and pee for England! He had several spells on steroids once for the whole summer! I finally got that sorted but then I lost him unexpectedly on fri 13th Feb totally unexpetedly good luck with your dog
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Oh Sharon, I am so terribly sorry you lost your dog. What happened? Was it related to his allergies? I am very interested to know more about the vaccine. My vet did mention it although in the same breath she also said it was difficult to pinpoint the allergen to ensure the correct vaccine. She said that a beesting vaccine was easy (allergen easy to identify) but it seems that airborne allergens are not.
