Not a vet, but I've had several dogs and cats prescribed prednisone for various reasons. My understanding is this: if you're using pred at a level that it acts as an immunosuppressant (in your dog's case, to prevent a whole host of allergic reactions), then it can lead to a whole bunch of secondary infection possibilities and, potentially, the onset of drug-induced Cushing's disease. So basically, your vet wants to monitor the bloodwork to essentially know when (not if, but when) this stuff happens, which will allow your vet to respond with a different combo of drugs once your dog can no longer tolerate pred. But it seems like there's a fine line between when pred is doing more harm than good in these cases so regular bloodwork is pretty much the only way to know when you've crossed that line (or to try to guess that you're about to cross the line).
I feel for you. I have a cat with renal disease (mid stage), a dog with renal disease (early stage), and another cat with a currently undetermined medical issue. Regular bloodwork is just part of the routine for all of them. I try not to think about it in terms of dollars and cents instead preferring to think about the additional days/weeks/months/years of high-quality life they have gotten as a result. My cat was diagnosed with renal disease nearly 5 years ago. He'll turn 20 in April. Every vet visit, every round of bloodwork, every dollar spent has been totally worth it to have the extra 1,800+ days with him curled up on my lap while I surf the internet, sleeping in bed next to me every night, and bringing me a ridiculous amount of joy.
Now, if you don't trust your vet, then get a new vet. But, if you trust your vet, then follow their instructions. They spent a lot of years in school learning how to treat our furry, four-legged children.
And now, hopefully, some actual vets will weigh in on this. :)
The vet has already said this is the end of the line. We've tried everything, and they don't like the idea of giving her pred, but the alternative is putting her down (or just letting her suffer with her allergies - which is also not an option). I've asked what happens when she gets organ failure and can no longer receive prednisone, and there is no next step. Which is why i'm confused about why they need to test so much.
Like I said I don't want the dog to suffer, but are there any warning signs of impending organ failure? Ones that don't require $500 worth of testing every 6 months?
Really? The end of the line? Not a vet. but--I've got a rescue dog who came in to my house with the most horrific skin you can imagine, his former family treated it with pred and antibiotics. Then they would get tired of it. Then he would break out badly,and they would treat it. They Became tired of that and turned him into rescue..
I took one look at him as foster mom and said "we are goong to the skin specialist,." Lots and lots of dollars later after some analysis, he is on
Apoquel which controls his skin beautifully. It costs about $500 -$600 annually. His medication routine is 2 pills daily, big dose in the am and small dose in the evening.
Apoquel has been out on the market for for about 2.5 years.
Sure, we also feed him grain free food but he is allergic to everything, the food isnt a cause.
Prior to Apoquel he was on an older and more expensive drug, Atopica, but he had side effects from that although it, too, controlled his skin nicely.
I wish I could post a photo to show you how bad he was. Honestly, I too would have euthanized him if we didnt get this miracle drug. It is truly a miracle.
Atopica took 6 weeks to kick in. Apoquel kicked in sooner.
If your vet isnt talking about Either of these drugs, I would be interested to know why. It doesn't work for all dogs, of course.
Edited to add: i see that someone upthread talked about
Apoquel. Yes, it can be hard to get and some vets in gEneral practice may not be able to get it at all. Not too long ago only the specialists were able to get the drug. Now, I know a vet in general practice who can het it.
But other than initial startup, our supply has been smooth. Besides, i woul ,break into the vets office with an Uzi to get Apoquel for me dog, its the difference between life and death for him.