URGENT!!! Advice

[Wayne Sorensen]

Needing some advice. Bella's allergy issues are causing a great strain between me and the Mrs. After completing her couple weeks of meds to clear her yeasty paws and having great results, it has come roaring back. Her paws are so swollen that she has a hard time walking to her water and food bowls, to the point we have to bring them to her so she can eat.

My predicament is this; we cannot afford to bring Bella to the vet every couple of weeks when she runs outta meds and the yeast infection comes back, its too expensive for a household with only one working. I am needing a vet to work with me on this, a vet that will prescribe me meds with several refills so I don't have to bring her in every two weeks or waive the visit fee. Finding out what is causing Bella's allergies is a long term deal not a 2 week one.

In everyone's opinion, do you think I would be outta line to suggest this to her vet? My plan was to meet with her today and explain my situation and see if we could agree on a treatment plan that won't bankrupt me. Thoughts?

Wayne

 

[Ashleym]

So sorry you are having such a rough time with your bullies health. Have you slow switched to a no grain food? Possibly one without chicken? Also tried the Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and in her drinking water? I would also ask for a prescription from your vet and order the meds online they tend to be less expensive.

 

[2BullyMama]

so totally NOT out of line.... explain the situation and aks for some options as to not returning every 2 wks

Maybe this will help -- http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/showthread.php?22290-Financial-Assistance-With-Vet-Bills

 

[dalmatina38]

What kind of food is Bella on? Is there anyway you can basically strip her diet and start from scratch to find out what is causing the allergies or has she been tested to determine the medication is necessary long term? If it is diet I would recommend home cooking food for her and see if that helps. Start with the basics such as some ground beef and boil it and add some vegetables (green beans and carrots are good starters). Toss an egg in it and keep the carbs somewhat low for starters because yeast builds off of carbs. I would start there and see if that helps along with communications with the vet. Good luck.

 

[Wayne Sorensen]

Dalmatina, We recently took her off of Nature's Variety Instinct raw (Chicken) about 5 days ago. We found a pet store right down the road from us that sells a large variety of dog foods so we and paid them a visit. The owner was awesome and really seems to know about the different foods and brands. After explaining the problem i'm having he's agreed to work with me until we find the food that works. He said if the food doesn't work, bring it back and he'll replace it at no cost for something else until we get it right. Totally awesome! He recommended Pure Vita Bison Entree, grain free and that's what we went with. A small bag of course. The hard part is we don't know if it's the food or something else causing the problem. Can't afford allergy testing at the moment due to our current financial status and i really can't afford the cooked dinner option. With this pet shop's help we're hoping to find the right food but we know it will take some time.

 

[Baconator]

Great suggestions so far, I would definitely ask your vet if they can work something out. If they have an ounce of compassion they will work with you on it. Check out this thread you can try to help Bella's paws by doing this

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/showthread.php?20245-RaRett-s-Pickled-Paws-for-yeasty-paws

 

[bullmama]

Also ask your vet if you can get a prescription for the meds to be filled at your pharmacy instead of buying from them directly, it will save you loads of $$$!!


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[cowsmom]

im thinking this is a food issue and ive dealt with this with sarah forever. until you find out what is causing this no amount of vet meds will help as it will clear up but as soon as you finish the meds it will come right back. i would try the acv water as it helped sarah but question is will they drink it if not perhaps put it on the food as some have done. ive also started her on coq10 for her immune and zinc for her skin. perhaps start with the zinc as coq10 can be a bit pricey but she is doing really good on both. you can try to soak in some hibiclenz from the drug store. its a soap so you wash her paws with it and let sit and then rinse off. duoxo ps shampoo is awsome for this as you just put some in the bath water and let her soak or you can get a small plastic container and put some in it and her. the pure vita grain free is a great place to start as its single ingredient protein and very limited ingredients and they have 3 different flavors to choose from.

 

[Wayne Sorensen]

Cowsmom, Those are great suggestions but the problem I'm battling is Bella doesn't seem to be getting better. Right now I have her on Ketaconozol and Benadryl to help keep her comfortable.It takes some time for me to see results from the food if at all. Then its onto another type of food and start all over again. All the while Bella doesn't move, she sleeps all day. If I have her on a medication that helps i'll never figure out if the food's working. I'm to the point where I will have to eliminate meds, hand feed her, hopefully she'll let me near her paws to wash them or soak them and carry her outside to use the bathroom until it clears up. I'm at a total loss right now.

My wife has already made contact with someone who wants her and can afford to take care of her. This has royally pissed me off because i've always wanted an EB! Needless to say we haven't been saying nice things to each other today over this.

 

[cali baker]

In addition to all the advice given already, DO talk to your vet about your financial concerns and I would think they would be able to work something out with you. Have you applied or do you have Care Credit yet? Many on this board use that...you do payment plans, interest free, for a set amount of time.
Good luck to you, my friend!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Absolutely..talk to your vet. Costco also gives discounts for pet prescriptions. [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] can tell you about it. all of this is so very stressful, I'm sorry your family is having to deal with so much.

 

[Texas Carol]

Wayne, I'm so sorry to hear that Bella's still having problems & this problem
plus money woes is causing disruption in your household. Please...try not to let
it no matter what it takes to fix it. As you may know, my husband died 6 months
ago from a heart attack, he was 52. I told my son later that I regretted each &
every fight we ever had and not one of them was worth it!

Your wife is not trying to take your dream from you, she's just trying to ease the
pressure off of you...we were in financial woes many times & unemployment too.
Do not let it come between you, stand strong together & be understanding & kind.

I just researched last night on yeast (thinking of you & Bella) and I will PM a web
site that offers a Yeast Buster Kit for difficult cases. Prayers & love for you & yours!

 

[kazzy220]

[MENTION=7874]Wayne Sorensen[/MENTION] I am sorry to hear about what you are going through, but I am so happy that you are HERE on EBN!!!

Let me tell you a quick story first .. I work for Rescue Ohio English Bulldogs, and about this time last year I had to go and pick up an owner surrender. His owners had been battling his yeast infections all his life, and had gone to a VERY well known bully vet in our area the whole time. The vet prescribed prednizone and other stuff and it would clear up, the meds would run out and he'd be back with the yeast again. Interdigital cysts on his feet that were so bad he could hardly walk, and yeast all over his belly, chin and back end. The husband lost his job. They had one option and they contacted us.

I went to pick him up and his yeast was so bad that you could smell him as soon as you walked in the room. They told me about the vet, and I was horrified that the vets only action had been to treat the symptoms and these people had not even been offered a blood test to see what allergies he actually had!

Long story short .... this was the VERY worst owner surrender I've ever done. Because if they had been given the right information instead of spending a fortune on steroids then they may have been in a financial situation to have kept him. It was the saddest day of my life in rescue and I drove away feeling guilty for taking him from them.

So some vets don't always give the best advice.

You mention chicken ............... that and grains seem to be the most common triggers for allergies in bulldogs. Just by cutting out chicken and grains you may already have your answer.

The other thing you mentioned is the cost ..... I switched to home cooked ... well at least I do 50% Fromm and 50% home cooked. In my first batch of home cooked I was unsure so just went along to walmart and bought the stuff I needed. My hubby was very disgruntled and went on and on about how this was going to be so expensive, much more than Fromm. So to shut him up I very methodically worked out the cost per cup of food for both Fromm and home cooked. Now, I had bought the home cooked ingredients from Walmart, so not the cheapest places I could have got them. The home cooked still worked out 10c cheaper per cup. I know I can cut my costs further by buying bigger amounts and getting stuff like my frozen veggie mix and the brown rice from other places. So if I can save 10c per cup now, I am confident that I can make bigger savings once I get into the "swing of things"!!!!!

 

[Wayne Sorensen]

Kazzy, thank you for sharing this information. Bella's issues have become such a challenge, I feel like we can't enjoy her as our pet because of this issue. I spoke with my vet yesterday, she's someone I've known for the last 19 years albeit on a friendship level and not my vet (we never needed a vet before). She has agreed to work with me to help figure this problem out to include discounted appts, prescriptions when needed, etc. This was a big relief obviously. She immediately prescribed me some meds Bella has done really well on (Prednisone, Cephalexin) a months supply. I desperately needed something for her to start her road to recovery possible, Bella could barely walk. After one dose I can see her improving already, she can walk, her eyes are goop free and her paw swelling has gone down.

Obviously I want to take her off the meds asap. I changed her food from Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Chicken to Pure Vita Bison Entree. She was on chicken for a while, hell we were even giving her boiled chicken breast pieces as a treat. After doing some research we found we were probably pumping her full of crap she's allergic too. So for the last week or two she's been chicken free. I am curious about this cooking method you do or have done. Can you tell me what your recipe is? I have found a dog food retailer in my area that will also work with me on the food, after we explained our situation he's agreed to take back any food that does not work and give us a refund. He even said he'd take an empty bag back if it would help us. Again, an awesome find on our end! We are trying as hard as possible to figure this out without allergy testing right now because I can't afford it at the moment.

Any advise you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[PeterPanAndWendy]

We battled allergies with Pan, so I know how aggravating it is.

Switch to a grain free food with limited ingredients, something that you haven't fed before, no chicken or potato.

Feed only that food for eight weeks. No treats or table scraps. If you want to give a treat just give a few pieces of kibble.

If you don't see an improvement try a different protein and starch for another eight weeks.

If you see an improvement try adding one more ingredient to see if there is a reaction. In another eight weeks try again.

You need to give their system time to expel the old food so you can get a true read on how they are reacting to the new - that's where the eight weeks come into play (along with a transition period while switching foods).

Milk bones and most store bought biscuits are made with crap ingredients and should be avoided - you're gonna spend a lot for a quality dog food to avoid those ingredients - why give it to them in another form...

We keep frozen veggies in the freezer - $1 for a bag of frozen beans = no costly trip to the vet.

This takes commitment from the entire family. No one can sneak treats, or let them have that goodie that fell to the floor when cooking/eating dinner. But it beats paying hundreds of dollars for an allergy test (which may or may not tell you what the problem is) or going to the vet all of the time...

Good luck!