Friday, March 20, 2015

Revisiting the Dermatologist

Due to various reasons, we decided to give the dermatologist another try. The one we went to 3 years ago is the only one in this area, so we didn't have much choose, but we did pick a different doctor this time.


Before we headed over, I have two plans in mind. One is to put Maya on Apoquel, a new drug that seems to have helped many itchy dogs, but was out of stock due to high demand as soon as it came out in 2013. Two is to start Maya on RESPIT, a sublingual immunotherapy that targets common regional allergens and doesn't require allergy tests.


Well, of course nothing went as I planned. Apoquel is still out of stock till April, and even then, they are not guaranteed to have enough supply for new patients. As for RESPIT, the doctor thinks the success rate is low by just targeting random allergens. She suggested us to do a blood test or skin test first to identify the causes and customize the immunotherapy to Maya's needs. Since we've already done a pretty useless blood test, I wanted to go straight for a skin test.


Unfortunately, unlike blood test that can be done right away, Maya can't do the skin test now. We have to get Maya's itchiness and infections under control, or the result will not be accurate. So we were sent home with steroids and antibiotics again. Great! To make things even more interesting, she can't do her skin test while she's on the steroids either, so we need to put her on the meds for 2 weeks, take her off for another 2, then do the tests. Nothing can be done till a month later, and whether she'll be itchy again when she's off the meds is unknown. Uhh!!


Oh well, at least for now, the meds did stop the itch and she's out of her Thundershirt. It is kind of nice that we can all sleep through the night.


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Bad Behaviors

A few days ago, when we were in the elevator, Maya stuck her head in the grocery bag, smelling the meat, the fruit, the yummy Cheese cake. For a split second, I thought about stopping her. This is not a behavior I normally allow. Then I questioned myself. Spring allergies has been brutal and she has been so uncomfortable in the past two weeks. Why take away this little happiness?


I noticed I have been letting her get away with some mischief lately, especially when she's sick. When she's pulling on leash, she won't be sitting in the middle of the street scratching. When she's begging for food, she won't be noticing the tingling sensation on her butt. When she's chewing on my blanket, she won't be licking her own feet. I believe a dog deserves all the happiness in the world. If only I can figure out how.



We will be going to the dermatologist again next week. Hopefully, we will find better solutions this time. Wish us luck.