[PipKelpy]

I have 2 mutts, 1 of which became epileptic over 3 years ago. If you've never experienced canine epilepsy, DONT believe what the experts state about DONT PANIC!! My babe is classed as an uncontrolled epileptic, registered with several vets practices for emergencies! Its been a learning curve more than a smallholder has been. Think consistency re food (types and time) pills (time) ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE! She is NEVER left!

However, the last couple of years, she has started shaking her head due to her ears. Pills make her hungry so hoover is always going making sure nothing is available for her to munch on. She was started on Canural, (i think its how its spelt) used alongside Apoquel. Eventually, we had to move onto Osurnia. That worked for a short while (a few months) and then even with boosting it with the Apoquel pills every now and then, that didn't work. So we progressed onto Cytopoint injection. Now, that is supposed to last upto 8 weeks, if it lasts 4 with us, we're lucky. It was working beautifully for several months but then she had a really bad cluster so was put on her heavy duty meds. (thats her normal pills plus keppra every 8 hours for 4 days to reset the brain). Unfortunately, whilst she was recovering she had a UTI so had to go on antibiotics. Now, when she went on these, Noroclav, she started biting her feet. I asked the vet if this was linked and he said he didn't think so as they are several drugs that don't clash. When better and back on just her normal pills, she did stop biting her toes.

A month later and another bad cluster, so back on the Keppra, but no Noroclav and no toe biting. So we thought that it was the clash between the pills. Another month, another UTI so back on Noroclav, the UTI brought on another cluster (she's very sensitive) so again, Noroclov and Keppra, but no toe biting, so that for us proves that there is no clash.

However, a few weeks later, she started crunching her toes. So every month, when she goes for her Cytopoint jab she gets a pedicure even with the jab she still crunches her toes.

Sorry about the essay!!

Has ANYONE got any similar allergy problem with either a pet or a working dog? She cannot take steroids. Her epilepsy meds come first which is why we have to be very careful with what we give her.

[fsmnutter]

That does sound like a handful but well done for sticking through it!
Sounds like you are doing really well with sticking to routine with food etc which is very helpful for allergies as well as epilepsy. Id also say to make sure flea treatments are all up to date, regular bathing with malaseb or similar can also help.
As far as I'm aware, cytopoint is monthly, so I'd definitely stick with that regime if you're finding you can get about 4 weeks respite.
Have you considered immunotherapy? A blood sample will identify allergens and then a "vaccine" is made to gradually desensitize to them.
Allergies are one of the hardest things to treat as they just keep coming, and causing so many symptoms, so it's always a multi-modal approach.
On another note, have you and the vets considered keppra permanently as it sounds like regular cluster seizures? Every time a dog fits, especially with clusters, or causes a little more damage, so prevention by regular meds could be better than a cure  by giving short courses?

[PipKelpy]

Keppra is our backup and needs to remain so for as long as possible as we hit the insurance limit last year (£6000) with 5 months to go! Cytopoint is £120 per month and her pills even though to save money i buy off a registered online site are £60 per month. The Keppra (levetiracetam) for her dose is minimum £8 per day! When she has bad clusters and I can't stop them with the diazepam is when we phone for help! If I can stop them which usually normal than she's started on the Keppra. After experiencing 12 seizures in 10 hours it was mutually agreed 3 is the limit! Once 3, then start the Keppra. I was told that it was the oral version to What the vets would give her to knock her out. Where we are there is no night cover which means fits at night, we're alone! when she's had to be hospitalised, depending on where she goes, it's minimum £350 per night though the specialist charge £500 a night and that soon burns through the policy!

The cytopoint helps her ears but not her toes and trying to help her is difficult as the epiphen knocks her liver, which we're trying to counter act with milk thistle, currently we have a good balance, and her libromide has upped her sodium levels and EVERYTHING has some sort of sodium/salt in it!

We were told that cytopoint was based on the immune system and reading other people's reviews (bad reviews as well) it is very difficult. I've googled and there are antihistamines recommended but they excrete via the liver which is already taking a battering! I've been told that her liver ALT is fine but other pills that don't help the liver would mean the milk thistle going up!

The only good thing about it is when she isn't under the table you know where she is! Constantly hearing crunch crunch!

[fsmnutter]

It's always tricky to manage many drugs, side effects and costs. In my experience, keeping on regular meds rather than starting and stopping when cluster seizures occur tends to mean fewer clusters and hence trips to emergency or overnight vets. Keppra is just another type of anti seizure medication like epiphen or libromide and is good particularly for preventing cluster seizures.
Also the manufacturers of epiphen say that an increase in alp without an increase in alt does not necessarily mean liver damage, it can just be increased release from the drug effects. This may mean that other drugs that affect the liver don't need to be excluded if liver function is actually ok (bun, albumin, bile acids, including a bile acid stimulation test) are all better blood tests to check for actual function.
Malaseb baths can often be helpful for toes, particularly if there's any relation to contact with grasses and pollens in the season. Antihistamines can help some dogs, not others. Is it just itching/ chewing the feet or do they get red or black and sore?

[PipKelpy]

Her full bloods depending on current events are tested monthly. We have the honour of being 1 of 2 seriously epileptic dogs at each practise we are registered with! One vet even chuckled as she described 'with epilepsy there are good ones and bad ones and you've got a baddun!!' However, considering her breeding, all vets are unanimous that despite EVERYTHING she has been through the last 3 years her temperament is divine. She's a Rottweiler x border collie!

Feet/pads are black anyway but normal. She crunches her toes. She even looks at her toes, licks them and then sticks them in her ears!!

[fsmnutter]

If just chewing/ licking but not causing lesions, it sounds like your allergies are just controlled enough. Things like steroids may be added in to the regime to stop that itch further, but doesn't sound like it's worth it if the skin is ok underneath, and may just be that a level of itch will come and go with her.
We have a collie at our practice that has repeatedly been in for seizures but has a lovely temperament too. I know it's horrible to have to deal with chronic, tricky to manage diseases, but at least it's bearable with a nice dog, where a dog that wouldn't stand repeated blood tests and things may not have such a good chance of being able to manage the diseases.

[PipKelpy]

Even before all this started she was a very docile mutt who always wanted attention and love. The drugs have emphasised that in her. Family don't understand as they have never seen her at her worse. Those who have do 'get it'!

The crunching though is consistent for her. Websites state that dogs that live indoors are more prone but the other mutt, also a collie x has  no health issues at all, though saying that she's half kelpie so totally nuts! Each compliment the other!

Allergies are a bugger and I was hoping others had similar issues that were treated nicely, so to speak!

[Steph Hen]

My son has many serious food allergies and never goes anywhere without epipen and his emergency meds.

To my utter amazement an applied kinesiologist was able to diagnose them all in one hour. It had taken me months on incredibly strict limitation diets, introducing one thing at a time to get there. And she highlighted a few other foods as 'OK in moderation, but not great for him' and since limiting these he's been even better. NHS wouldn't even consider diagnosis, left it all to me. I went just to see what she'd come up with and if there was anything else I could try.
I don't understand it and I know it's crazy, but can recommend.

[doganjo]

Friends of mine had an adult dog from me - they had looked after him for me while I built my house and created a bond, begged me to let them keep him.

Soon after they got him they told me he was allergic to something(he'd never had any symptoms at all when he was with me from a 9 week old puppy till they got him aged 3)

After a number of false starts their vets discovered it was trees and a few other things.  The vets took blood from him, created a serum, and he had monthly injections from then on for a while, then gradually reduced to quarterly.  His symptoms gradually disappeared.  He had no other health issues though.

You're doing a great job so far, pup is lucky to have you, many people would have given up long since
Good luck 

[PipKelpy]

many people would have given up long since

The vet said the same to me last year when I told him the policy ran out in January and didn't restart until May. Lets just say dog spending took priority!

I'm old fashioned, I believe that dogs are for life, no matter what.

Years ago, a border collie of mine was diagnosed diabetic, my sister actually suggested I have her put to sleep and start again (dog was 10), so me being bad tempered, told her what I thought!! When I mentioned it to the vet at that time, she said that was what a lot of their clients did, dog gets diagnosed with a health problem, dog then gets put to sleep! That dog lived another couple of years and was only put to sleep because (and due to age, we never knew why) she started having fits. Nothing like this one. Just once a week but because she lived outside she was seriously hurting herself when seizing. Already blind in her remaining eye (she had lost an eye when she was 6) we (me and vet) did agree that to put to sleep was the best thing.

This dog though, I am VERY much aware that her time with us may not be long. Born March 2011 she's as daft now as she always has been and when she's good she's a loon, but on her bad days I don't want to leave her and knowing that there are animals outside that need checking on, its a horrible feeling! ANY shake of the head or a sudden kick out and I'm watching for telltale signs. I've lost count of the amount of times that I've started the stopwatch when I've heard a bang and gone to her only to see her looking at me as she's kicked the bathroom door as she's stretched!

This latest weather has been terrible for her. Doggy month of old (back in the 1980's) is nothing compared to what its been like! Wore her cooling coat most of Thursday and then actually got the hose pipe later in the day. Shook off all in the house mind you, but hey ho, never mind!!