Our current daily SA treatment regimen is described here
Here is a picture of our current medication and supplement arsenal and information on how how I am using them.
On the left Virbac oil products in packages that are simply to use because they are packed in sachets for one day’s portion . Then the next one in the back is Biotin (product in the picture is for horses, but it is a lot cheaper than those from pharmacy for dogs). It is for skin and coat well-being. Then there is baby-oil for oiling the skin and in front vitamin-E. It is antioxidant and it is supposed to diminish the isotretinoins hazardous side-effects. On the back I have the actual meds: Isotretinoin Actavis and Atopica Vet. In front of these are Omaga-3 capsels and right from that is keratolytic shampoo.
I still have to count for what really are in those supplements, so I don’t over-doze her with some vitamin…
I give two tablets of Atopica 100 mg to Hilma in the morning to empty stomach before I leave to work. In the evening with food she has two tablets of 20 mg Isotretinoin Actavis. With evening food (fish, potatoes, vegetables) she has also all those supplements. Hilma has always nowadays available Royal Canin Anallergenic dogfood, but she hardly eats that at all. Picky lady I must say…
Shampoo and oil
From now one I try also to wash her once or twice a week with keratolytic shampoo and oil her after that. I’ll have to monitor the skin and coats situation and decrease or increase washing/oiling occasions.
I am really suprised how light that baby oil is. I thought that it would be really messy job, but no. It absorbes quickly and is not at all messy. Keratolytic shampoo also seems to be really good product. It lifts that stinking sebum off the skin and now after I have washed her coat i can lift off all the dead and dry coat.
She is now dropping all her undercoat… There is only some left in the bump and tail. I would say that this is good, it is easier to manage oiling and prevent bacteria to nest in her coat.
What is the use with dead hair after all?
Maybe she does not look so pretty without coat but at least her skin is healthy and pink. Where there is more hair there is still that brown sebum.
I’m hoping that cyclosporine will start working after couple of weeks, I don’t know is it already working after one week. Or what is working because I have so many different treatments going on. What I have noticed now, is that pigment on her nozzle and around eyes have
gotten darker. I guess that is good thing? Still, I would say that it is too early to say anything, after all our antiobiotics regimen ended just few days ago, so there is so much going on in her body right now. I’ll keep you posted when we have hopefully seen some improvement.
Question to you
Does anyone know is this complete undercoat loss good or bad thing? At least those sebaceous gland are not in inflammation stage after they are dead?
A friend of mine had a cat who got sebaceous gland problems – lost all it’s coat. Cyclosporine did not help at all (I guess there were no more glands to attack, so it did not matter if the immune defence was “on or off”).
At this stage they tried the Virbac spot (Skin Lipid Complex) on and it really prevented secondary problems.They stopped with the Cyclosporine and used only the spot on.
I guess this worked better than oil-treatment since it is a cat – oil-baths would involve a lot of problems 😉
I think it is great there are many ways of preventing the secondary problems… as the goal is the same – keeping the skin soft, moist and protected.
I’m curious to read more about the progress, even though it will be hard (as you write) to say if it was “this or that” or a combination that helped her.
PS. Regarding Cyclosporine.
I was told to wait 1 month to really see if any result. Or as our vet confessed – already after 2 weeks one should be able to see a small progress, but one should try for a whole month before making any new decisions (unless major side-effects).
Virbac is a good brand. I noticed those oil treatment products on my vets stand. I asked more information about them and I was told that in allergy etc. skin somehow loosens up. This products thightens this loosen-up structure. I think that I will try this product next…
And one thing, what is that cat’s situation now? This whole SA topic is so confusing because all animals are individuals concerning this disease. Some have positive effects to some medication and others have no effect at all… You never know. I am that kind of person who want’s to know all exactly as it is and now I don’t know what to expect. So hard…
Hi Anna I heard the cat was OK using Virbac spot on, but from time to time in need of cortisone treatment.