Bad SA-period + NO Atopica = ?

What if we stop giving Atopica for 8 days right in the middle of a bad period? We just had to do it due to stomach problems but this is somethinge I have wanted to do for a long time…

Having doubts

I haven’t been really sure whether the Atopica really has helped Manuel or not.

• Maybe due to the fact that we started really early  with Atopica it sort of slowed down the development – then.
• However, it is really hard to make any conclusions on what Atopica does/doesn’t do – now.

It is really hard to know if it is the Atopica or if he “is in good period”  We have discussed it and have had a feeling of that it has helped him, at least slightly but haven’t been really sure.

Anyhow, I had Manuel  on a small dose when the SA started to flourish again, so I increased the Atopica to full dose. After just a week he caught something bad so his stomach was really really upside down.

Manuel can not cope with the Atopica when his stomach is in a bad shape – it will cause him pain. So we decided that we had to stop with the Atopica until his stomach was OK again.

Conclustion – still not sure

It is hard to know if things happen due to Atopica/lack of Atopica – or it is just something that would have happened anyway. 

After 7 days Manuel started getting the “famous” dark SA-crusts that felt uncomfortable, so he wanted to be stroked a lot (not his normal behaviour) and also made some minimal scratching. When scratching the crusts with a paw…the hair and parts of the skin comes of in patches… also in “new”, earlier unaffected areas.

Finally we thought it would be OK to start the medication again. We started to give it close to feeding time (Atopica is absorbed in the stomach, not later on) so it hopefully was somewhat “diluted”, and then slowly moved to 4+ hours before/after food according to recommendations.

After one week after we started with Atopica, he is back to “normal” which is more a dry skin with flakes, but no real “crusts”. The  inside of his ears  are neither dry nor flaky. The skin almost looks “normal”. 

SA-documentation

The first  pictures are not the best quality as I had to do them without an assistant.  Manuel was a darling standing still, but even then it is hard as I had to both be the photographer (trying to get focus on the right area) as well as being the assistant (separating the coat, moving Manuel a few centimeters to the left or right). 

What is hidden underneath? I am looking at the ears

We can see the ear (with all the white hairs 😉 ) being a bit thin in coat but it does not look too bad from a distance. But he still puts his head in my crotch (it itches) so maybe we should look closer. When I lift the hairs, they stick together and do not really want to change directions. It feels uncomfortable for Manuel. The skin is moist and sticky at the same time. Then I know I need to investigate other areas.

Different kind of stages – at the same time

Some of the pictures are showing spots that have calmed down, some are showing more active spots.