Rush to the emergency vet – Take three

Well lookie where we are AGAIN.  Yup back at the emergency vet.  This time we went to our allergy specialist place which is also and emergency facility.  The poor guy looked really bad this time and after talking with the vet it sounds like it might have been our fault.  For any of you that have been following this blog for awhile now you know that we have been giving Riggs allergy shots to see if we can get his allergy issue under control. Well tonight was his scheduled night to get his shot.  Riggs has been on the shots long enough now that he is up to the full and strongest dose.  The allergens are in a vial with a mixture of saline and the allergens will separate from the saline over time.  So each time before giving his shot we flip the vial back and forth several times to mix it up well.  We think what happened is that we did not mix it up well enough and Riggs ended up getting too strong a concentration of the allergen.  Here is what the poor guy looked like about 15 mins after he got a shot of Benadryl and steroids in him.

Is Atopica the culprit?

The allergy shots have began for Riggs but at the same time Mama continues to search the internet for other possible causes and remedies for Riggs itching.  One of the medications he has been on is called Atopica.  Many of the side effects are things Riggs showed signs of when he had a severe reaction.  It is very possible that the medicine that was suppose to help his itching was instead making it into a much more severe issue.  Now it will just take some time to see if he has any more severe reactions or not.  Hoping for the best.

Allergy Specialist

We have tried every test our primary vet and we could think of.  Four different food trials have been tried.  Two emergency vet visits.  The itching and scratching continues.  The vet has recommend we go see an allergy specialist.  We had our initial consultation today and the specialist feels pretty confident that she knows what is going on.  She says the allergies he has are most likely environmental and not due to food.  Currently Riggs skin is fighting off a bacteria infection due to the allergies and that needs to be cleaned up before they can do any type of allergy tests to find out what he is allergic to specifically.  So more medications, sprays, shampoo & conditioner to get his skin infection under control.  Total bill today : $452.33.

Rush to the emergency vet – Take two

Sigh.  Riggs had another severe allergic reaction tonight and had to be rushed to the emergency vet.  No vaccine shots were given so we have no clue what it was that caused the reaction this time.  Same symptoms as last time, rubbing his muzzle and snout, throwing up, really pale tongue.  Vet pretty much did the same treatment as last time.  This is even more frustrating now.  At least the first severe allergic reaction could possibly have been tied back to the vaccine shots but this time who knows what caused the issue.

Rushed to the emergency vet!

What a horrible stressful day today.  Riggs had to be rushed to the emergency vet tonight.  Earlier today was Riggs' yearly shots.  So we took him to his regular vet and dropped him off.  Unfortunately, we think our vet got a little behind and did not give him his shots till close to the end of the day.  We came to pick him up right as they were closing.  We were heading back to the car and could tell there was definitely something wrong with him.  Riggs started to throw up, his tongue got really pale and he was rubbing his face hardcore.  We could tell his muzzle and snout was all swollen.  Riggs was having a severe allergic reaction to his shots.  The vet was closed and told us we needed to take him to an afterhours facility (what the hell!).  We rushed over there, the poor guy was itching so bad and you could tell he was really nauseous.  The emergency vet gave Riggs a shot of a strong concentration of Benadryl and a steroid shot.  After about 30 mins, he looked much better.  Poor guy was wiped out and slept the whole rest of the night.

That explains all the hair loss

The allergy dilemma continues.  Still no signs of the itching going away and the post from a couple of weeks ago about the shedding is more than likely related to the allergies as well.  Riggs is now starting to show signs from the hair loss on his undercarriage area. 

We are starting to do some additional test to see if something else might be causing the issues.  Today we got his thyroid tested and that came back normal.  We have switched him to a different food trial as well.  Vet thinks it might be a protein based allergy so no meat products at all now.  Soybean and vegetables dry dog food.  I am sure that will be tasty.  NOT.

More meds, more attempts

Riggs' itching continues.  We have special shampoo and conditioner, hypoallergenic treats, wipes for his face and now he will be on Benadryl twice a day.  So far the food does not seem to be making a difference.  Poor guy, I cannot imagine being itchy all day every day.  At least he is not scratching himself so hard that he is making his skin raw.

Itchy & Scratchy

Riggs continues to itch and scratch himself nonstop.  He primarily scratches his black muzzle area.  We are thinking he might have a food allergy and the vet has recommended we start him on a food trial to see if he gets better.  So sorry bud no more tasty beef flavored dry dog food.  Sweet potatoes and veal instead.

Mange

Riggs has been itching and scratching quite a bit lately so we took him to the vet to make sure he does not have fleas.  He does not have fleas but instead has something called Mange.

Mange: is a class of persistent contagious skin diseases caused by parasitic mites.

Apparently he has the demodectic mange version.  Also called demodicosis or Red Mange, demodectic mange in dogs is caused by a sensitivity to and overpopulation of Demodex canis if the animal's immune system is unable to keep the mites under control.

The vet did a skin scrap and looked at it under the microscope where he saw the little mites.  Riggs immune system it appears is not developing as fast as he is currently and having difficulty fighting off these parasitic mites.  So home we are sent with pills to fight the battle of mange.  Oh joy.