Panda & Darby's 2007 Journal

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  • October 2nd:  We finally got a copy of the RAST test results. We didn't realize the first copy we received was the one back in 2005 so had to request the correct one.  According to this new test cat, American elm and cockroach season is from late August until it freezes. Sigh... I'm not sure I can proceed with a new serum.  The holistic vet felt that if shots hadn't helped in 2 years, and the results appear to be so far off, they probably aren't worth it.  He said he's seen some RAST tests be right on and others way off base.

    We stopped the Diphenhydramine completely but found Darby gets itchy so we're trying 1- 50mg Diphenhydramine at around 10am and another around 4pm... we'll see how that works.  Two seem to make her real sleepy.  Maybe we'll ask about using the Tavist again the next time we visit the holistic vet.  Darby's doing very well though... no scratching 'til she bleeds.  She was without a shirt today when Jim had an outpatient procedure... she licked the top of her leg a bit.  She really does need another antihistamine in between the BHI Allergy tabs.

    Came across an EXCELLENT article on reddish-brown staining.  Wish I had found it a year ago!
    http://www.esracarolinas.com/7062/7117.html

    Also, Panda will not be vaccinated again for Distemper unless Dr. Dodds feels it's best. The holistic vet feels we'll compromise her immune system if we continue to vaccinate (I was hoping this is what he was going to say :)  We'll send the annual tests to Dr. Dodds' lab next year to get her opinion.  Panda had a pinched nerve or something... she wouldn't stand so we took her right in to the emergency vet (Dr. Josins


  • September 27th:  Things have improved for Darby!  We still have to watch her closely and she continues to wear long sleeve shirts but we haven't had the horrible scratching that draws blood.  Her worst times are just before breakfast and just before dinner so the Diphenhydramine is given about an hour before dinner now... also with breakfast.  She had a second shot of Cutis Compositum and Histamine yesterday and will go back in 2 weeks.  She's more alert except after the Diphenhydramine.   I've asked Dr. Lynch if he'd go over the RAST results and give us his opinion on continuing the current serum, adding the new one and the validity of the results themselves.  I had shaved her foot fuzz down last night and I washed her face, feet, front legs and fanny with the lovely green soap.  The tops of her feet are stained from all the licking she had done earlier... she seldom licks them now.  I'll do a touchup with the Malaseb pledgets between her pads/toes and on top of her hind feet every couple of weeks just to be sure the yeast is in check. 

    Panda saw Dr. Lynch on Tuesday too. Though we had not intended for her to have a chiropractic treatment, she did.  He used the V.O.M. thingie and clicked it along her spine and also a laser-type thing.  Though her hips are bad, her spine is good :) Now we left not expecting anything... we actually never gave it another thought until the next morning when she hesitated at the bottom of the 3 steps leading into the house.  We thought... oh, oooooh.  Not long after, she and Meesha were let out to potty and they ended up playing (they have confrontations at times).  Panda herded/chased her all around the yard which Meesha enjoys... Meesha quit before she did.  That night, I had let Emma, Maggie and Panda out for the last time and she chased Emma like a wild woman... she wouldn't let her potty!   This morning I was walking behind her as we went out to the shop and she had a jaunty little spring/bounce in her step.  I'm not sure WHAT to think...

                

   

Darby's foot comparison May and September 2007.

  • September 14th:  I've lost faith in RAST test results... for Darby anyway. Doc mentioned yesterday morning that one of the new allergens that appeared has to do with cats (skin/saliva from licking). It's been about 8 years since there's been a cat in the house. The reason this makes NO sense to me is because her allergies are bad from mid-August until it freezes... about 4 months. She was perfectly fine in June- there was NO evidence of allergies...  http://oesusa.com/EmmaDarby-Ball.jpg The symptoms reappeared for the 3rd consecutive year and again it was in August. The second call yesterday said we needed to go down to MSU for the intradermal skin testing.

    We saw Dr. Lynch on Tuesday and added some addition supplements and holistic things.  Darby also got a shot of     Cutis Compositum and Histamine both by Heel.  We go back in 2 weeks to repeat it. 
     

    We also have a new air purifier- http://mountainaire.info and will also add one to the furnace/air conditioner http://www.fieldcontrols.com/uvaire.php ... they're said to be the type that hospitals use.  They both kill bacteria, molds, etc.

  • August 29th: Panda's feet are STILL looking good.  She'll be getting another bath soon.  She's now on 3 Uroeze with each meal and 1000mg of Ester C along with the Nzymes... still the Cosequine DS and buffered aspirin for the HD.  The last urine test came back with a ph of 7 and no crystals, no casts, no bacteria so we'll probably wait a few weeks and retest.  Her elbow has not improved a whole lot so we may do the biopsy to see if they can figure out what it is.  I might wait though to try a new soap first since we already did a skin scraping.  Almost nonexistent licking of the feet or scratching of the ears :)

    Darby on the other hand has started the seasonal itching due to allergies. She's getting TWO 50mg
    Diphenhydramine 50mg and ONE Hydroxyzine Pamoate at 6am and 8pm and THREE Diphenhydramine at noon.

        
     
    We went in and talked with doc on August 22nd.  I asked of it was possible we had gotten an inaccurate diagnosis from the RAST test we did a couple of years ago and he said yes.  Grrrrroan.  I asked if we should repeat the RAST to see if ragweed or nettle or some other pollen might show up as a problem since this was the 3rd year in a row she's had itching and he said yes.  He said sometimes you can have such an allergic reaction going that you don't have a lot of the antibodies in the bloodstream because they're concentrated in the tissue instead.  I asked him if these are really inhalant allergies or if it's on the skin... he said they're tending to believe now that it's caused by contact to the skin instead. 

    So we're waiting for the results of the RAST test.  They didn't draw enough blood the first time so we had had go in again on the 27th.  Darby wasn't on antihistamines the first time, but had started Diphenhydramine and Hydroxyzine when the second draw was made.  They promised it would NOT mess up the results.  I don't know how much faith I can put in this $275 test.  We increased the frequency of her allergy shots to once a week for molds.

    The questions...

    * Does she REALLY have allergies to the molds and dust mites originally diagnosed 2 years ago or are we to assume the immunotherapy has been a total failure?
    * How do the allergy shots she's now getting affect these test results?
    * IF the first results turn out to have been inaccurate, how can we ever consider giving different shots based on a previously faulty test?
    * Should we head down to MSU?

    "...Unfortunately, the RAST and ELISA tests have some inherent problems in their design. They were initially developed for humans and the circulating antibodies that they test for are different in dogs and cats than in people. The result is that there are a lot of false positives. In other words, the test results indicate that your animal is allergic to things that he is really not..."  
    Source: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1587&articleid=504

    Sigh. Dr. Burke gave Darby's files to Dr. Ross down at MSU for either recommendations or to set up an appointment for a intradermal test... http://cvm.msu.edu/scs/faculty/Rosser.htm .  We'll wait to see what he says.

    I used the Malaseb pledgets between Darby's toes last night.  I then took cuticle scissors and trimmed the hair short between the toes short and again applied the Malaseb.  It's definitely yeast because it's damp with flaky brown "stuff". :*(  She'll get another bath this morning and we'll keep each other company for 15 minutes while it's working.

    We gave Darby raw honey for a few days... we read in "The Whole Dog Journal" that it's supposed to help dogs with allergies.  Ummm... not this dog.  The yeast appeared about a week after we started it so no more honey... Mike from Nzymes didn't think it was a good idea and I should have listened.  I think allergies and yeast often go hand-in-hand.  We have some bee pollen from the beekeeper down the road... it's also mentioned in the WDJ.  We aren't going to give that a try.  I had also used Duox shampoo for Darby's last bath.  It was prescribed last year by the vet for Darby's itching... maybe I should have stayed with the Malaseb?  Back to the Malaseb.

    Lisa's sending Darby a special soap to try to see if it helps.  We'll give it a try in the next couple of weeks. Thanks SO much for your ideas and advice! :)