Guest ChasesMum Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 so she tested positive for ehrlichia, she is on prednisone already, but are we "too late" to start doxy? how fast is this needed if she is already in the chronic phase? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I don't know about Ehrlichia; we just have Babesia in our house. But here's the URL for the tick list and it's worth looking at. You can look up posts about Ehrlichia in the archives. http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/tick-l.html Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyB Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Click here for Susan Stack DVM erlichia info Quote Nancy with Rocket, Umeko and Sasha Missing Albi, Kassie, Ramm, Ruby, my good boy Marvin and Mickey (BT) NANCY B'S COLLARS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leash Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) I have heard that prednisone is bad for dogs because of the steroid in it. For most tick-borne diseases, doxycycline is the treatment of choice. My personal experience we treated Magnum with high doses and long duration doxycycline. I will ask my sister who is Vet Student at UC Davis Veterinarian School. Edited July 2, 2010 by leash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChasesMum Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 thanks Nancy! That was a wonderful link! she has meds waiting at the vets office when we get there in the morning. leash, she is on the pred because they assumed she was having a systemic allergic reaction last week. the specialist vet we consulted with thinks that this may have actually set everything off and caused the flare up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) I have heard that prednisone is bad for dogs because of the steroid in it. For most tick-borne diseases, doxycycline is the treatment of choice. My personal experience we treated Magnum with high doses and long duration doxycycline. I will ask my sister who is Vet Student at UC Davis Veterinarian School. Prednisone IS steroids, and it's very commonly given to dogs for a variety of conditions. It's a powerful drug, however, and needs to be given exactly as the vet tells you. Edited July 2, 2010 by GeorgeofNE Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeForHounds Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I think I mentioned before that Jake has TBD, most likely ehrlichia. He has been having flare ups for 2 years or so before we figured it out. You got your answer much faster. The trick as we now know is to treat aggressively. I will keep her in my prayers. Quote Casual Bling & Hope for HoundsJanet & the hounds Maggie and Allen Missing my baby girl Peanut, old soul Jake, quirky Jet, Mama Grandy and my old Diva Miz Foxy; my angel, my inspiration. You all brought so much into my light, and taught me so much about the power of love, you are with me always.If you get the chance to sit it out or dance.......... I hope you dance! Missing our littlest girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JedsMom Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 My Jed had ehrlichia. Our first vet wasn't able to diagnose him, he was treated for several bladder infections until we switched vets. Our current vet nailed the diagnosis almost immediately. Stress would cause Jed to have a flare up. Now that you've got a diagnosis, Doxy is the key. We would pretty much get Jed on Doxy anytime he would start to act a little off. If he peed in the house, it was 8 weeks of doxy. When we first realized it was ehrlicha, Jed was also put on Prednisone (pill form) for the first 2 weeks and we treated with Doxy for 8 weeks. After that, when he'd have a flare, our vet would give him a shot of prednisone and send us home with doxy. Flares would also make Jed's temp shoot sky-high (105-106), so if he ever seemed off, I'd take his temp, too. Jed lived a long, happy life post-ehrlichia diagnosis. Daisy, our little found-hound, has Lyme disease. Because we caught it during her first flare-up, and treated it so quickly, my vet believes that it may not be an on-going condition for her - - that we may not have to worry about other flare-ups in life. I hope that the same is true for you and your hound, that you guys can knock this out now and not have to deal with it again later. But if you guys do have to deal with the occaisional flare-up, I hope that it's similar to my experience, and something that can be managed easily. Quote Daisy & Eli, the crazy hounds, and Bella & Zoe, the curly kitties,and Jed (10.30.98 - 11.28.08) & Ripple (3.25.99 - 8.20.09) together again at the bridgewith Cleo-Kitty (10.8.1988 - 7.26.2007) always in my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cris_M Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 If she was on the Prednisone because of suspected allergy and she's fine now, the vet will be titrating it down quickly. And, yes, the Pred probably was the culprit in the Ehrlichia flare-up. It shoots the immune system. You've gotten on things fast. Good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChasesMum Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 he's titrating it down but over 3 weeks. hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirocco_Nikki Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 he's titrating it down but over 3 weeks. hmmm 3 weeks is not unreasonable. Taking prednisone medication causes the body's adrenal glands to slow its production of steroids. Weaning off of prednisone too quickly does not give the body time to kick production up to adequate levels. Death can occur when steroids are stopped suddenly. Please talk to your vet or pharmacist if you are thinking of changing the weaning schedule. Quote Drake - Fortified Power x Cajun Oriel Janney - Ronco x Sol Happy Waiting at the bridge: Sirocco - (Reko Sirocco) - Trojan Episode x Reko Princess; Nikki - (MPS Sharai) - Devilish Episode x MPS Daisy Queen;Yukon - (Yak Back) - Epic Prince x Barts Cinnamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinams8 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 I know several vizsla people who have dealt with ehrlichia. It seems to be becoming more common around here for hunting dogs. Like Diana said, the solution seems to be lots of doxy for a long time. It's not like lyme, which seems to go away more permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChasesMum Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 i wont change the schedule but it was a surprise that one vet halved the dose every 7 days and the other did every 3 days. could be simply that the original pred was for a healthy dog for an allergy and the second was for a now ill dog with ehrichiosis. dont want to stress her poor body put even more was my thought. i will be glad to be done with the 3 times a night pee breaks though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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