Thank you for your kind words at such a sad time, and for having the strength and generosity of spirit to share your experience and insights here so that others might benefit from what you and your dog have experienced. I wish vets were more honest about the serious side effects of this drug at the beginning of the treatment. A nightmare it definitely is, but the only way out is through and you’re on your way. In one respect, it saved my dog’s life. The FDA has warned that brands containing the isooxazoline class of drugs are associated with “adverse neurologic events” — and that’s in well dogs. He went on prednisone in early December because he developed pneumonia. There’s a fair chance prednisone will make your dog depressed. I bought Dr. Marty’s food, probiotics, and his joint supplements. Small head. We certainly have a quality of life again now but even 12 months after stopping all drugs we are not back to normal yet. That’s not the highest dose possible, which would be 2-6mg/kg/day, at which level the effect on the body would be immunosuppressive. Liver is showing slight jaundice. Some short term side effects may include increased hunger, thirst and urination. Lymphoma Treatment Includes Nutritional Therapy for Dogs and Cats. Very appreciated. I naively assumed it would be a short tapering dose to get things under control. We were advised this would lessen as the pred was tapered. Here’s an article on the benefits as it relates to dogs and here’s a broader article with some more information, focused on humans but the same mechanisms are at play in dogs and humans. I would be inclined to see what happens, next time you taper, if you give the body time to equalize over a week or so before concluding it’s relapse an upping the drugs. Even though this steroid can cause side effects, the benefits it offers are substantial. Without being a vet, but based on my experience tapering my own dog off prednisone for a different condition, that seems like a reasonable taper to me. I started to notice heavy panting during the once a day cycle. Prednisone Dosage for Dogs. Make sure you do your own research. It’s a horrible situation really I’m a final year undergrad and worried sick about him! Rather than more drugs I might be considering alternative approaches. The vet always recommends to boost him back up to the full dosage again and try again after a couple weeks. He had gained weight from the medication and now, after reading your article, I understand that this medication really caused a lot of changes. First things first. Microchipping Could Save your Pet's Life. It’s an approach used in human medicine too. It’s a recognized side effect. Well done on making it through. Yes. Ruby had to have her teeth cleaned mid last year, so my vets were able to see exactly what she’s been doing. The downside to dog lethargy is that the root causes can be somewhat vague. He stopped chasing the ball… thank you for listening. Veterinarians will advocate administering a minimum effective steroid dose to reduce these risks to your dog. Not that it probably really matters, but just mention in case it’s in any way helpful. I would highly recommend joining, posting your situation and doing what they say. No supplements (far better for the body to get the nutrients in whole food form), just a fresh biologically-appropriate canine diet and the use of fasting to trigger deep cellular repair and regeneration. I can tell you one thing I will never give my pets prednisone ever again. The first 4 days were very hard for her. I’d love to know your opinion. The only good thing is that she is not in any pain, and it may be limited to only her hind legs. Last year, unfortunately her shaking became more frequent, it was happening every day, several times a day, with no storms or anything bringing it on. Prednisone and prednisolone are steroids that can be used for dogs to treat inflammation and suppress the immune system. Unfortunately our dog is on yet a different med they added to try and get copper out of her liver. Increasing that dosage to 75 mg while we slowly taper off of the prednisone. Are you giving any flea/tick meds? Happy Thanksgiving! Lower doses for itching you can come off much faster as the adrenals are less likely to have been affected. I’ve been wondering if it’s the Prednisone that’s been causing these UTIs, so I started slowly weaning her down. Don’t know whether thats a slow enough taper. Side Effects of Prednisone in Dogs. Am I doing the correct thing? Thank you, Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I bring her there crying the whole time waiting to hear the worst. It needs to be shared with anyone who’s dog is put on a steroid for any length of time, especially since vets downplay the side effects greatly…usually not informing owners of the full picture. She has been on prednisolone all this time. There may well still be some hazardous terrain ahead, but at least now the drug can start clearing from his system. Prednisone messes with virtually every aspect of the body’s functioning. High-blood pressure. No real answers but hope that helps some? Do you have any suggestions? The vet also mentioned it usually takes months to lose muscle on the steroids. I think from memory you need to check possible interactions with the other drugs. We are hoping now that his skin will slowly recover. No longer up for going for walks, car rides, nothing. More than 10 months after completing treatment, we are still dealing with the consequences of this drug. Since symptoms are the easiest way to know what’s going on and the other option is another MRI, I definitely needed her off the prednisone. Some owners though say the muscle never returns to how it was before. She specifically links IMHA and other immune-mediated diseases to the use of MLV (modified live) vaccines. You will get there. A stroke. Vets mightn’t automatically think to do this with a dog. Lethargy; Delayed healing; Long-term use of these steroids increases the risk of adverse reactions that may lead to more serious health conditions such as Addison’s disease (adrenal insufficiency), Cushing’s disease, heart problems, obesity, and/or diabetes. My Standard Poodle Holly is 5 yrs old and was diagnosed with IMHA last October. Thank you so much for the time you put into this article. What does steroids do to a dog? I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the information! Panting, lethargy, or vomiting may also be observed. Some short term side effects may include increased hunger, thirst and urination. He was prescribed 10mg of this awful drug for upper resp infection. I have come to understand the causation of these “unexplained” diseases as less a random aberration that you can’t do anything to prevent and more related to a combination of various toxic exposures that accumulate in a kind of “stacking” effect until one day you get the straw that breaks the camel’s back and you see an outbreak of disease. I’m very glad to be able to help a little. Cephalexin 500mg ($30 per 100ct.) The tapering was completed 8 days ago. I would also be looking to remove all possible toxic exposures in the home and environment (cleaning chemicals, scented plugins, room deodorizers etc), all of which I would see as combining to create a level of toxic accumulation in the body that likely played a role in the original outbreak of the SRMA, though vets shrug their shoulders and say we don’t know what caused this. Discussion. If it’s very difficult to manage, you can go in smaller increments, more often to step down a little more gradually, if that makes sense? Panting, lethargy, or vomiting may also be observed. It’s very difficult to know what to do. Not even 4 days into it she had a full blown seizure (never had happened before) so she spent the day at the vet- getting all the tests and X-rays the whole nine yards done..they said her heart beat was very quiet, her heart rate was 40 bpm and she had an afib heart beat. Certainly cyclosporine and pred combined increase the effects of each other, including side effects, so the two together can really knock a dog around. Most will either have … An eight year old dog likely has lifelong immunity from previous vaccines anyway. With the foot, the drugs will only be masking symptoms, not addressing the actual cause. We completed her 2 week long Rx of Metronidazole (for diarrhea), which didn’t improve her diarrhea at all. I wish the absolute same for you. Seriously, she is a completely different dog…..constant hunger, racing heart/panting, non-stop thirst, peeing and pooping constantly because of the amount of food/water intake, whining, weird stares, lethargic, fearful and sometimes shaking and tender footed. At no point during the study period did any dog show signs of dehydration, lethargy, or inappetence. Thanks again! – complete loss of muscle and only big pot belly looks skinny everywhere else I’d love to hear what we can do for his diet. Or is it just a stab in the dark by the vets? Hold fire and build back muscle slowly after your dog is off the drug. Hoping its just part of the whole adrenal glands needing time. I am currently weaning my 10 yr old hound off prednisone and its been a nightmare. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6228146980, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1323597764385389. We are made to think raw feeding is complicated but it absolutely is not. I noticed the same psychiatric disturbance when he first went on high dose pred and again when we came off it. Not even 2weeks after finishing them, we noticed the blood again, so then Ruby had an X-ray, Ultrasound and a sterile urine sample was taken straight from her bladder. This will pass. It may well be the biggest problem your dog is left to battle —  potentially long after he’s finished his course of prednisone. I am baffled. We are currently tapering our senior lab off of prednisone he has been on for about 1 year for heart and lung conditions. A lethargic dog does not want to eat, drink, go for a walk, or even get out of their bed. Regardless of what exactly has happened, fasting her would be a good course of action. Maria, I know the feeling of waiting for the vet to call back and worrying about your dog. In some cases the signs of adrenal insufficiency mimic the symptoms of the disease for which the prednisone was originally given. All the veterinary advice is that the prednisone taper for dogs must be done (painfully) slowly. I definitely saw prednisone work like a miracle on Shiva initially too. Depending where you live and what the weather/temp is like the risk of contracting heartworm may be very minimal. Monica, thanks for writing. The dog is a Kelpie/Pit mix. He would not give me a time frame, only saying that he wanted to test her blood 30 days after starting Cyclosporine in case she is losing bone marrow, and that she will need to be on a high dose of Prednisone that will eventually taper down to a low dose every other day for the rest of her life. Do you think it’s worth giving her something for her stomach for the Prednisone? Seems unlikely to be a coincidence, doesn’t it. I had a pill cutter for a while and it helped with some of them but not others. Wow, seriously great article – thank you! The two drugs will be referred to interchangeably in this article. The puppy strangles has gone away but the effects of the prednisone are horrible. This is very accurate. They said it looked a lot like White Shaker dog syndrome or Generalised Tremors Syndrome/ GTS . The more dogs and owners we can help, the better. The last two weeks have been a nightmare. She’s still in discomfort with her stomach right now, even though her blood test was fine, I’m not sure what’s causing her stomach upset. Linsey, I am so sorry you and Kenzie are going through this. Jane, thank you so much for your thoughtful and helpful response on Rori. On Friday February 12, the neurologist added a huge Immunosuppressive dose of Cyclosporine (100 mg/day), enough for 34-lb dogs!! This also tells us that you shouldn’t be deciding how much to give to your four-legged friend. So I stayed by his side and let him go. What started this? Should I voice my concerns about the Cyclosporine to the Dr. at our check up next week? You literally just need a butcher or a supermarket. The risk of stopping prednisone suddenly is that it can send the body into an “Addisonian” crisis. He is a quiet dog but began barking at shadows, as though he was afraid and seeing things. If you’re open to addressing things with diet, I would recommend joining the Facebook group I’ve mentioned elsewhere called Healing Diet for Dogs and Cats. We are 3 weeks off prednisone. Around 1pm, I noticed him becoming lethargic, which is so unlike him. He’s been on Prednisone for almost four months and started tapering about two weeks ago. We had exactly the same thing at exactly this point. My 13 year old terrier was diagnosed with IMHA back in August and after a blood transfusion and medications (including prednisone), his blood count is normal (low-normal, but I’ll take anything within the normal range any day), we started tapering off the prednisone yesterday, from two dosages to once a day. Some owners actually observe a worsening of their dog’s bloody diarrhea on omeprazole, so pay close attention to how it works or doesn’t work for yours. Mine would leave the living room where the family was gathered, go downstairs and put himself to bed in the toilet cubicle. I know she wont be with me much longer but I want her to be happy and comfortable in her final days. I have learned so much from reading it. It’s no small feat. We were told he has muscle wastage and we took him for hydrotherapy on Sunday to see if this would help. Our awesome vet is on vacation this week but boy, he’s gonna’ hear from me! It’s transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito and the parasite larvae can only survive in sustained warm temperatures. That is why I say your article is a God send (not to mention the Raw Food Diet article). Thursday she was unwell again, not wanting to eat and twisting her neck, being in discomfort, she started dragging her back legs, like she couldn’t move them, so I rushed her back into the vets. Stephanie I’m so glad it helped. Or the liver supplement Denamarin for her Alkp value and Cranadin cranberry supplement to help prevent urinary Tracy infections? I put her on 5mg for 1 week. We get him home and he couldn’t move or eat for three days, got a call saying he probably has cancer, the blood work is consistent with cancer. This group was nothing short of life changing for us and well worth joining and posting your situation. No food until at least 24 hours after the stomach upset has stopped will not only avoid putting more food in a stomach that is trying to empty itself, but give the gut some digestive rest and support the body to clear the toxins from the pred. I’m thinking about helping her with hydrotherapy. Anne thank you for your sweet thoughts. He is also on Flocazanole (may be spelling that wrong) Lots of rest. Shocked, I listened to the ER Dr. as she attempted to explain what this was and exactly how it was affecting our girl. Dogs may experience short term or long term effects of prednisone depending on the dose and duration of their treatment. They made us keep him on 30mg a day and taper down weekly. It can take years to develop and involves chronic disease that often doesn’t get traced back to the vaccine because it was so long ago. It’s one of the reasons why a gradual taper is important. He started at 20mg a day and is now at 2.5 mg every other day until early Jan. Fogle has had a variety of side effects, 2 of which don’t seem to be going away. Fasting is also known to have an anti-inflammatory effect, and is a natural part of how dogs eat in the wild, so I’d be incorporating that into her routine ASAP — again, hard to do while on pred given you have to give it with food, but once you’ve discontinued it. As far as I could work out, this was a fairly gentle supplement with no worrying side effects I could find. Recently he only made it 1 week at 1 3/4 doses before relapsing. But when I go back to the prednisolone, she gets back on her feet and can walk. My baby was dying and I didn’t even have a clue! Getting off the pred is certainly a good thing. Due to increased hunger, dogs may develop a tendency for obesity. with the Internal Med Dr. is 1 week from today on 12/29 and they say if she is continuing to do well, we can discuss starting the weaning of Prednisone. Keep going! If it were me, I would be posting your situation there and taking full advantage of the experience of the admins. I also noticed the very disturbing rapid eye tremors she was experiencing while on Metronidazole seized to exist almost immediately and she isn’t stumbling as much. (That’s the lowest possible dose of prednisone in that chart shown earlier.). Why I Stopped Feeding Home Cooked Food For Dogs. Shows how strong this drug is though, that it can have such a long effect. Do you have an understanding of that? Ultrasound was done, bloodwork sent to NCS Vet School to rule out any tick born diseases. Of course, keep fresh, pure water available. Let him be where he feels most comfortable. My pup stopped sleeping in his bed for several months while on prednisolone. I’ve been told the liver supplement has only anecdotal evidence of help, and a human doctor told me it’s better not to overload her little aging system with extra drugs, and that Cranadin can cause stomach upset, but she may need something like Pepcid to protect her stomach long term. In terms of what caused the original illness, I would be looking now to optimize his diet and his overall care, starting with feeding a fresh, natural canine diet and removing all possible exposures to toxins i.e. Many of the side effects mimicked her disease. Any additional advice for overall tips, now that I am at 10-15 mg per day…its hard to break the pills perfectly. When will he turn a corner? I am glad our experience was able to help you and your dog some. I am glad to hear that Cheryl. It’s when I started the every other day that we ran into a huge issue. Boy has it been stressful. The urgency in his voice concerned us and 2 hrs later, we were told that our sweet furbaby had a very serious condition called IMHA. You know not to give any more vaccines ever to a dog that’s suffered from an autoimmune condition, right? I was so tired from months of what we went thru and researching cushing’s and the adrenal surgery, and from not sleeping much to let him out a few times during the night – so I maybe didn’t question and research as well as I should have. Another couple of days pass and we went back to the vet to share the story. I question over and over hoping I did the right thing. I will ask for a lower dose pill so I can do this slowly. I should say I have no knowledge or experience with prednisone for the treatment of mast cell tumors. Wondering if you have any experience with this- my dog had a aural hematoma and was given a large one time dose in her ear, under the skin not the muscle. Is it possible much of what you’re seeing right now is due to the effects of the drugs and not the stroke? I now never set foot inside a pet store and feed straight from the butcher, sticking as close as possible to a natural canine diet without preservatives and all the mistakes of commercially-manufactured dog foods that really bear no resemblance to what dogs are designed to eat. If you do one thing, join and ask for advice and follow their guidance. And the last step we took, my dog had the limp during a walk which as you said resolved itself in 2 days. My sincere sympathies for anyone that’s dealing with their dogs on prednisone! With the vets at a loss, you as the owner may very well be left with the task of deciphering the side effects and navigating all the various risks on your own. He is down to his last two doses (quarter tab) every other day. If given together, these two immunosuppressant drugs can increase the effects of each other.

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