Porky needs Rays

[doxielady5569128]

Thank you Suzie!  No we don't have any vet schools close to here that are very good.  Porky has been to both the emergency vet and our regular family vet at another clinic.  Did your Milo have to take prednisone ever and if he did how long does it take to work and get rid of the hives permanently??   Porky has gotten miserable again within the last hour the animal hospital said to give him a cool bath, and bring him in if he keeps getting worse.   

Porky is crying and shaking again tonight and his chin swelled up again.      I am so frustrated that nothing is helping!  The clinic told me i could give him a dose of benadryl so Porky could get relief until the next dose of prednisone, but I'm not too sure about doing that.  I would think the two drugs would interact with each other badly.  Anybody know?    His symptoms are really strange because he feels okay (not good) for a half hour to an hour, then he is miserable for an hour and the cycle just keeps repeating.  The hives never disappear completely, but they do change size.  I am so lost on what to do here.  We are probably going to go back to the hospital if he's not better in 20 minutes.    I have to wait for my husband to get home from work.   

[AnnieofNJ]

Thanks for all the updates.  Have been so worried about him.  I hope both of you had a restful night.  Mega rays still being sent.

Hugs,
Annie & the New Jersey Doxie Gang

[cheryl186]

Amorette, how is Porky this morning?  Still sending rays and prayers your way

[doxielady5569128]

I ended up calling the Kansas State Toxcitiy center to ask about the benadryl and prednisone combo.  I was desperate to be able to give Poky some relief and just wasn't sure that the vet's office was correct in telling me he could take both medicines together.   They said he would be fine to take the benadryl as long as the dosage was correct and as long as I was there to supervise him for an hour to make sure he was doing okay.   So after I got off the phone I gave Porky some benadryl and other than being mad at me for giving him that nasty stuff, he started to settle down.   

By 2 am his itching and hives had lessened enough that I was confident enough for us to go to bed.  :apls: I haven't felt that way since he got sick on Saturday.   Porky slept for 7 hours.   I slept well too, except I set an alarm to check him every hour and try to get him to drink some water.  Let me tell you, he did not appreciate me waking him up.   I have never been happier to hear his grumpy little grunts and feel him do the kick he always does when he gets annoyed.   I had him sleep under the covers with a cool cloth on his head, and that really seemed to help.   

Porky is still very itchy and has a very red and sore neck and chest, but he is doing so much better today.   I'm still going to keep him on the benadryl every 6 hours as advised for today and then tomorrow we are going to try to change the benadryl to every 12 hours instead.    :xfinger:   The vet said not to relax too much just yet, because Porky is still in danger until his hives and itching have disappeared completely for at least 24 hours.  I'm glad they are honest with me, but that freaked me out!   

Like yesterday, I won't update unless we see changes.   We're hoping not to have to update at all today unless we only have good changes to report.       

[April]

It really sounds like he's still in contact with whatever he's allergic to.  The one time I broke out in hives that bad was  when Cajsa had gotten some new meds and I was allergic to them!  It took almost a week to figure it out too.  Prednisone didn't work because I was still loving on Cajsa and reacting to it through the oils on her skin.  Once we stopped her meds and washed all the blankets where she had been, I got better. 

I mention this because it may be something less obvious causing him to react.  I'd gone through everything I'd eaten, drunk, or contacted and didn't think of her meds because I washed my hands immediately after giving them to her.  I was still reacting and Porkie could be too.  Is there anything under the beds or in any of his 'hiding places' that may have something different?  New parfume? bath soap for hoomans?  Anything he might nose or rub his face on/ breathe in?

[doxielady5569128]

Arpil,
We washed all his stuff the first day before we would let him use any of it.   I am glad you thought of that though because a lot of people don't.  I suffer from sever allergies myself, so that's the first thing I do when I have a breakout is I check those kinds of things.   

We are pretty sure its the high pollen count that is causing all this.  Unfortunately, we can't keep him from going outside because he does have to go potty.  The vet also told us last night that the prednisone would take a few days before doing much good, since Porky's allergic reaction was so bad.   We have tried the litterbox training with him and all he did was want to roll in it. And the dust from it made him sneeze.    Our pollen count is supposed to go  down here soon, so that should really help him out.   

Another thing we thought of is it is harvest season for sugar beets and sunflowers around here.  The dust and smells of those two things are thick in the air right now.  I think both of those things would explain why he keeps getting worse and better in cycles.       We could be wrong about that but, it sorta makes sense to me.  Everytime he has to go out and potty he is re-exposed.   We have all the windows shut and doors shut, vaccuumed out the ducts and air system of the whole house yesterday,(Thanks to my dad!), and we have the air running only when we need too.   We are running air purifiers as well trying to control Porky's allergies.   

Thanks for your ideas!   I am going to wash all his stuff again today just to make sure.   

[Frankys_mom]

Sending lots of get well rays for poor Porky.
Itchy hives are the pits and we hope you feel better soon!
Dawn, Franky & Delilah