[ SHOWGSD-L ] Update: Cutaneous Histiocytosis
- From: Fran Henry <fhenry1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 09:46:08 -0600
So many of you were so generous with your comments, suggestions and support
for my boy Luke, I'd like to give you an update.
The news is good. After weaning him off the prednisone, his weakness in the
rear abated, and he regained his goofy personality, love of the ball, and
desire to play. He can and does jump on the bed, into the car, etc. He and
my bitch Cinder, his best bud, were wrestling and romping in the yard just
this morning.
For awhile, we continued to give him one dose of cytoxan every three weeks,
but the lesions did not heal.
My vet, in consultation with CSU and a skin specialist, and with the many
suggestions from the list, put him on 100 mg. of Imuran every other day on
May 22. Both the skin specialist and the vets at CSU resisted putting him on
cyclosporine, saying they "didn't like the drug."
It's now a month later, and ALL the lesions have healed, and no new ones
have presented.
We're within a week of halving the dosage and will continue to decrease it
in the hopes of getting him off it completely.
He had a pretty spectacular shed just a week ago -- hair literally fell off
him one day. When I brushed him out, there was a lot of skin flaking, and
his skin was tender, but not red or broken in any way. A bath with a vet
coal tar shampoo seems to have taken care of that problem. The vet said that
the drugs he'd been on could cause this -- they're chemo drugs, after all --
and said that CSU recommended another thyroid test since the drugs can alter
dogs' ability to produce/benefit from thyroid.
For the moment, he can't go to dog shows or herding because his immune
system is suppressed. That's OK -- I'll take healing and feeling good any
day.
If we cannot get him off the Imuran entirely, many of you have told me you
have dogs who have been on a low dose for a long time without ill effects.
I've seen NO side effects to this drug -- that doesn't mean there aren't
any, of course, but . . .
To this day, I don't know if the diagnosis is correct. The biopsy came
back, bling, bling, cutaneous histiocytosis. I accepted it at the time, but
now that I know how poorly understood this phenomenon is, I'm not so sure.
It seems clear it's an immune problem, but having the lesions only on his
belly and paws makes me wonder about environmental factors -- lawn
chemicals, for example. I've completely stopped putting ANYTHING on my
lawn.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your advice, moral support and
just plain caring.
Fran in Denver
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