Wes on steroids

[Nimitor]

Hi all, Wes has been on steroids,2 a day for the last 5 days reducing to one a day for the next 5 days.He has really sore itchy skin, vet said it was obviously an allergy to something but not sure what. Since he has been on them he has become VERY hungry and thirsty.So much so that he is waking me at 5 in the morning to out..he's not settling at night til gone midnight. The vet did say he might need water more often but didn't mention the extra 2 meals he now wants! I wouldn't dream of withholding water but am beginning to wonder if I should feed him as much as he seems to need.He has always been a fussy picky feeder but now he has even started to "do the bins". Any advice welcome

[Bid]

Poor Wes . Did the vet try anti-histamines before resorting to steroids? I always try every other option before going down the steroid route because of the side effects, but I know that sometimes there are very few other options. Increased appetite is a well known side effect, but I don't know if you are supposed to feed more Hope fully someone with more infor wil be along soon.

THis is a useful site for dogs with allergies ..... http://dogallergiesindogs.blogspot.co.uk/

[The Turners]

Poor Wes , I have no advice, but hope he feels better soon.

[Clairejen]

That's a side effect of steroids I'm afraid, my first dog had to have them for a while and broke into my mother's cupboard and ate a bag of birdfood with disastrous results!

[Nimitor]

Thanks for the website Bid, very useful. He was on anti-histamines for 4 days but was just going mad scratching,he was making himself bleed.His coat is looking a lot finer and quite dull now.The steroids seemed to work almost immediately and he is a lot happier in himself. x x

[Maggie111]

If it's only for a few days I don't see any harm in overfeeding him? He may not be able to absorb quite so much nutrients, or might be digesting it quicker for some reason. Once he's finished his course of tablets I'd drop him back to normal again and let him feel like he can't get enough food when he's not miserable for other reasons too

[Florrie!]

Florrie is on a low dose of steroids permanently atm for her gastritis. When we first started her on them, she was on a much higher dose than she is now and she drank for england, wanted to eat everything and became food aggressive. She is NEVER aggressive but she became so obsessed, she also guarded the water bowl from Sophie poodle and would attack her if she came near it. Florrie was so thirsty she would be standing at the water bowl drinking and weeing at the same time! She was up several times every night and would just walk around the house all day whining. Whenever hse lay down she would groan as if in pain because she had drank too much water.

It was awful and tbh it took ages to get her dosage right for her, she's on a tiny dose she has half a tablet a day, for her weight 25kg she can have up to 6 tablets a day so I would hate to think how that much would affect her.

Our vet said that she would WANT more food BUT she doesn't NEED more food. We fed her the same amount and although it was hard to stop her eating other stuff, we just had to be really vigilant more so than usual as she has PICA. If you feed more, it can affect weight and give them a bad tummy due to overfeeding. Also the more food they get, the more they want.

I hope he finishes his steroids soon and is feeling better

Tasha

[Maggie111]

Aww Florrie what a trauma I didn't realise Wes might need to be on such a long dose.

[Rowan11]

sorry no advice but wish him well v soon. xx