Morgans Nose

[Weims]

Hi, Morgans nose is healing well. All the scabs have dropped off but it does look like he is going to remain hairless on the top.

I need some more advice. The vet gave him more steroids and we are reducing slowly over this week and next. He has now become ravenous and is eating poo as well as anything else he get get his jaws on. He is drinking for england and peeing for Europe. He seems to be losing weight, I can see his backbone and his waist is thin. We have upped his food to 3 times a day but will he put the weight back on when the steroids have finished? He has always been a thin dog so he cant aford to lose weight.

Lynn

[marjolein]

We usually don't see dogs losing weight over steriods. Might be a intestinal issue due to the steroids and ab's. I'd advice to give him some live yoghurt and other pro-biotics as well.
Good to hear his nose is healing!!!!!

[Weims]

I am giving both Mar, I have also just bought some bone meal as I find this can help with weight gain. Anyway I will just have to see how he goes.

Thanks
Lynn

[christina]

Hello Lynn,

I am pleased to hear that Morgan's nose is healing well. - As for him being ravenous .... I would expect that, it is a common side effect of the preds. What dosage is Morgan getting now? Your vet should have halved the dosage after a week, then halved again after another 5-7 days, and then halved again etc.... as the amount of preds gets smaller and smaller, you could go on reducing the preds every 5 days rather than 7 or 8, to get down to zero faster. Personally I would do the last reduction from daily pred to every other day (EOD), to give the liver and kidneys a bit of a breather and then gently withdraw them altogether.

The muscle wastage is also a side effect of the preds and the muscle should build up again once he is off the preds. Other than accounting for the muscle wastage - as Marjolein has said - you do not often see weight loss with pred medication. I am a bit puzzled by that and am wondering if something else is going on here. If Morgan were mine, I would have a blood test done and check in particular Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K) to see how his adrenals are doing, all the usual liver parameters and also look at the Cholesterol (chol) .... and, as I had said before, have the thyroid function checked with a full panel. Many vets will tell you that because a dog is thin, he can't possibly be hypothyroid... this is a myth. You can see either - dogs with unexplained weight gain or extremely thin ones....same goes for humans.

As a matter of cause, please always ask you vet for copies of any blood results and keep them safe. This really can be important information, which you may need at a later stage for comparison or a second opinion. Never accept a verdict of "all is normal", always ask for the actual figures and their norm ranges.

Please carry on with the yoghurt and probiotics - he needs both for a while. - Don't give up on the regrowth of the hairs on his nose yet. It can take a little while, but most of it should come back. The extreme hunger should also go away once he is off the preds. For now just feed him plenty, and always let him have access to fresh water - never withhold water. Things should get back to normal soon, hopefully.

Best wishes,
Christina

[weimaranermama]

Super that Morgans nose is healing now. Succes with everything.