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  1. #1
    House Broken coopsmom's Avatar
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    Question Prednisolone use concerns

    It's been a few years since I've been on this board, but I knew I could come here for help and advice.

    My 6 year old lab has suffered from allergies the last several years. He is currently on a round of prednisolone. 20mg 2 x day for another 2 days then 1 a day for 20 days and then 1 a day for 10 days.

    His allergies are doing wonderful. However, he is peeing ALL the time. I'm talking every 1/2 hour he's whimpering to go outside. During the night he can make it 2-3 hours. During the day I've been coming home on my lunch...he's alone for 4 hours...to let him out and clean up at least 2 large puddles. When I get home from work at the end of the day there are more puddles waiting. He's been on pred. before, but not with this severity of peeing.

    I know that frequent urination is common, and I've talked to the vet about it just yesterday, but does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Should I stop the meds? He stays in the kitchen on linoleum so the floor is easy to clean, but it is a nuisance and I don't want him to feel bad.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    This is common. Unfortunately. You've got to get him off of it as it is not a long term solution.

    Do you know what he is allergic to? Food? Environment?

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    I think that the peeing should get better as his dosage decreases. Less pred, less water consumption, less urine output. Is this a higher dosage than he's had before? It's also not unheard of for males to get urinary tract infections. It might be worth taking a sample to the vet just to be sure.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Do NOT, absolutely NOT stop the meds. Stopping Pred cold turkey is dangerous, speak to your Vet for a weaning off schedule.

    Oban was on Pred for allergies too and did not have the more frequent urination side effect. Neither did Whisper and she was on it for nearly 7 years. It should ease as you taper the dose down but for some it doesn't. And it is not unusual to see side effects one time that you didn't another time.

    You do have alternatives for dealing with allergies. New drugs Atopica and Apoquel are serious medicine but are considered a lesser evil than Pred. WE went to Atopica.

    You could try allergy testing in the form of skin scrapings, mini innnoculations or blood tests.

    Alternative medicine, TCM and acupuncture is helping, Oban right now. There's also homeopathy.

    Guess I should have asked first, what is he allergic to? For us it was seasonal environmental and only in summer. Oban didn't itch at all in winter. True allergies are apparently rare and food allergy is less common than environmental but if it is food you simply avoid it, just like we do.

    WE did the Nutriscan test for food allergy and found there were some foods to avoid. Not a surprise, allergies typically worsen; staring out as seasonal environmental doesn't mean it won't progress to other allergens including food.

    NutriScan Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Test for Cats and Dogs - Dr. Dodds

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Doreen Davis's Avatar
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    Hi there, the peeing is certainly related to the pred and you do need to reduce the dose as recommended and not stop cold turkey. The allergy symptoms will improve dramatically on pred but it treats symptoms only and should not be viewed as a long term solution.

    I strongly recommend getting to someone who knows how to diagnose and treat allergies, a derm vet is well worth the investment. They'll look at what is the root cause, if there are infections present because of the itch/scratch cycle i.e. they scratch which allows bacteria and yeast entry and the cycle is endless.

    Once I got to the right vet, we never were prescribed prednisone again. It should be used for a severe allergic reaction and for as short a time as possible.

  6. #6
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    Agree with all the other advice, but also want to add that with the dogs I’ve had on prednisone for various reasons over the years (usually either short term in a younger dog or palliative in an old one), the only time we ever saw the increased pee issue was with a puppy who was deliberately on a fairly high dose for a transient autoimmune issue. Makes me think the dose your dog is on may be higher than needed for allergies ....
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  7. #7
    House Broken coopsmom's Avatar
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    Cooper is on the same dosage as he has been on in the past. He is definitely drinking way more than last time he was on it. He weighs 102 lbs and I dropped him down to 1 20mg pill every other day now. This is not what the vet prescribed this time, but what he was on for the schedule last time.

    He is drinking several gallons of water a day! No exaggeration...will it hurt his kidneys or anything else if I take the water bowl away completely during the day? I think with his excessive thirst it's cruel to withhold water so I leave it for him, except at night.

    As far as what he's allergic to, it has been a long guessing game. He is on American Natural Premium Grain Free and has been for almost a year I guess. Last year he was on TOTW grain free, developed problems similar to what he's facing now so we switched him. Everything was going well until May when his seasonal allergies kicked in high gear. To sum it up, we figure he has environmental(possible dust mites), food and seasonal allergies.

    I am hoping to have funding to get him allergy tested in the next month or so to really narrow down his allergies. Until then, we struggle.

  8. #8
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    If you take away the water then you might have other issues as he becomes desperate (and yes, you're right, it is cruel). And know that as soon as you put the water back down, he will drink it all anyway. Dogs on pred can do out of character things to get to food and water if they are desperate enough.

 



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