What to do when you can't afford the treatment?

Thehallk

Thehallk

New member
Gilly has skin issues/allergies mostly to grass/environmental factors which are year-round but affected worse seasonally. We've used benadryl and prescription antihistamine to no avail, steroids which work a charm, the targeted injections to build resistance to the allergens which didn't work and we just started Atopica three days ago (which already seems to be a big relief for her itchy skin) and I was feeling so relieved about this. I know there are drawbacks to immunosuppressants, but it seemed like the lesser of two evils given that steroid use has been the only other working option. But Atopica is ridiculously expensive and after looking over "the books" we just can't afford it short term or long term. We're looking into natural remedies (essential oils) right now, which I'm skeptical about but we just don't seem to have any other options. I'm on my way today to return the three unopened boxes of Atopica to the vet and so the financial stress is easing but the emotional guilt and stress of trying to help Gilly is weighing back in. I cried last night knowing that if this was my human baby I wouldn't stop just because of finances (although my insurance would cover this, if it was my human baby) and my guilt is heavily weighing on my heart. I just wanted to get that out.
 
nowhavethreebears

nowhavethreebears

New member
Cyclosporin from the human pharmacy? Talk to your vet. Tell him straight out you need a cheaper option.
Ask him about using the Atopica cycling with the steroids. Less cost/less steroids and she still gets relief.
So sorry that you are having to deal with this issue. I know how hard it is when you want to do everything for them but other responsibilities have to come first.
And I know no one wants to ask for help, but I am sure there are folks on here who would (me being one) Just let us know how to help.

Prayers for you and your family and best healing wishes for Gilly to feel better.
 
DAWNMERIE

DAWNMERIE

Active member
What I will say is some have had great sucess with changing the diet to raw. CharlieinNJ has had great luck with Oliver's issues, I may attempt myself, if I can convince Vin.
 
ElvisTheNewf

ElvisTheNewf

Active member
I'm assuming she doesn't spend a lot of time outside, right? What if you blast her off every time she comes inside to get some dander off? Wiping her feet down every time? I know it sounds like a pain, but it's free and really doesn't take that long. Even something as little as doing this may make a big difference.

I have allergies here that i've never had before (darn Ohio) and I notice a big difference if I just wash my face after being outside for awhile.
 
jane

jane

New member
My Shannon & Merlin have seasonal allergies. I use Zyrtec on them. They get 1 pill at night. I use it spring through fall. It works great!! I have even bought generic at times and it works just as well.
I treat my dogs as holistic as possible, but cannot beat the allergies holistically. Rather than battle ear infections, hot spots and runny eyes, I give the zyrtec.
 
padkins

padkins

New member
jane said:
My Shannon & Merlin have seasonal allergies. I use Zyrtec on them. They get 1 pill at night. I use it spring through fall. It works great!! I have even bought generic at times and it works just as well.
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We use the generic Zyrtec as well. Works great for Snoopy (Non-Newf) who weighs 15 lbs. and gets one a day. Didn't work as well for Indy. Although, our vet told us that at 120 lbs. she could have 2 1/2 Zyrtec a day. If Zyrtec works, you might want to ask the vet how much you can give based on weight.
 
shellyk

shellyk

New member
padkins said:
We use the generic Zyrtec as well. Works great for Snoopy (Non-Newf) who weighs 15 lbs. and gets one a day. Didn't work as well for Indy. Although, our vet told us that at 120 lbs. she could have 2 1/2 Zyrtec a day. If Zyrtec works, you might want to ask the vet how much you can give based on weight.
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Costco carries generic Zyrtec for a very reasonable price. I think it was less than $15.00 for a large quantity.
 
NinaA

NinaA

New member
I didn't know they could take Zyrtec. Vet just put Moonlight on Benedryl yesterday. We're thinking her ongoing UTIs are allergy related. I, too, would just talk to the vet and ask for something cheaper.
 
jane

jane

New member
NinaA said:
I didn't know they could take Zyrtec. Vet just put Moonlight on Benedryl yesterday. We're thinking her ongoing UTIs are allergy related. I, too, would just talk to the vet and ask for something cheaper.
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I was told about Zyrtec, few years back, by a friend who's vet had her put her newf on it. She told me it worked great and it does.
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
jane said:
My Shannon & Merlin have seasonal allergies. I use Zyrtec on them. They get 1 pill at night. I use it spring through fall. It works great!! I have even bought generic at times and it works just as well.
I treat my dogs as holistic as possible, but cannot beat the allergies holistically. Rather than battle ear infections, hot spots and runny eyes, I give the zyrtec.
Click to expand...
We also use generic zyrtec for Annabelle if she has her allergy issue..but initially they took us the path of grass allergies/environments (the money we wasted is incredible)..but after much ado, we found out Annabelle is allergic to wheat, food coloring and preservatives and the centre (Uni Vet) she went to tells us many dogs are and are therefore allergic to most commercial dog food..We are RAW feeders or home cooked. Annabelle only get the problems when people give her treats that I did not see and vet.....I give her Zyrtec and hopefully prevent all the hotspots bad ears and whatever's
 
YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
I have a feeling that if Atopica is prohibitively expensive for her family right now, so is feeding raw. I have no advice for you, Liza. Though I wish I did :(
 
OodlesOfNoodles

OodlesOfNoodles

New member
I know nothing on this topic, but seeing as how the consensus seems to be that Zyrtec works well enough to try, Costco does have the generic brand for $15.99 for 365 tablets as someone else mentioned

http://www.costco.com/Zyrtec-D®-12-Hour,-24-Tablets.product.11756775.html

We also use coconut oil, and it's worked really great on getting rid of dandruff/flaking he had and making his coat soft and shiny (although he doesn't have any allergies that we know of). We get it from Costco, 1.5L for 17.89.
 
takemebacktotulsa

takemebacktotulsa

New member
I don't know that this would help in your situation, but have you tried nzymes? They have a few different products and claim to help a lot of allergic dogs. I know there is a solution for you guys and hope it presents itself very soon.
 
Puppypeoplenj

Puppypeoplenj

New member
YorkvilleNewfie said:
I have a feeling that if Atopica is prohibitively expensive for her family right now, so is feeding raw. I have no advice for you, Liza. Though I wish I did :(
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That may be true, but it's far from definite. I'm not sure how expensive the medication is, so I don't have a point of reference, but I've heard amazing stories about allergies being resolved after a switch to the raw diet, so it's worth looking into to see if your family can swing it. To make it less expensive, you'd want to find a co-op, somewhere you can buy in bulk, and you'd want an extra freezer, to store the bulk. But using the sources in my area, I've priced out feeding raw to be just under $150/month, while a premium-quality dog food, assuming I fed 4 to 6 cups/day, would be only slightly less expensive. Which is to say, it doesn't hurt to look into it. :)

This raw sticky (from the Food and Diet area) has a lot of information, and has been a real help as I try to plan this out for my own family.

http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=81999

Liza, I'm sorry you're going through this. It sounds tough, but I hope you'll find lots of support and creative ideas through this forum. I also second the suggestion that you communicate with your vet: maybe she or he can help you replace the atopica with a less expensive version, or an equally effective option?
 
Thehallk

Thehallk

New member
Hi All,
Thanks for your input, first of all! Gilly spends a lot of time outdoors (by choice - I think she wishes that she were an "outside dog", I'm pretty sure the only reason she comes inside is to be with us - so really she wishes that we were outside people). Atopica starts off (with a $95 discount that the vet already gave me) at $420 a month, and eventually you can taper it depending on how well your dog does. My vet and I priced out cheaper options but when calling Costco their equivalent was the same price - the no name brand costs less, but is still VERY expensive (and the pharmacist told me that most vets don't like the no name brand because it has proven to be ineffective - my vet confirmed that she likes to try starting with atopica or human name brand then if thats working try a switch to no-name to see if it still helps). I didn't think of any other antihistamines than the benadryl, so I'll definitely give Zyrtec a try. Raw is sort of an option and sort of not. The food I feed now is probably cheaper but close to the price of raw - although we were in the process of switching back to Nature's Domain again, since the switch between Nature's Domain and it's more expensive and similarly formulated counterpart was making no difference in allergies (she's allergic to peas in addition to grasses). I'm not really clear on feeding practices, but we don't have an outside area for Gilly to eat and we do have a wee baby who Gilly loves to lick (and who loves to be licked). Ill have to research it more. I do know that my meats and veg here cost a lot more than my sister who lives in Utah or my cousin in Washington state so it might end up costing me a lot more for raw than my kibble. I've got an appointment in two weeks (I promised my dad i'd try his natural remedies and essential oils) to talk to my vet about different options and i'll ask about Zyrtec dosages. Thanks for your comments everyone! Also, just to be clear - Gilly doesn't get hot spots, but she itches her ears and sometimes her rump until she scratches herself and then gets infections. It's not as bad as a lot of other dogs have it, but she also gets really whiney and barky and restless when the bad season starts.
 
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