# Allergy Testing



## Lennap (Jul 9, 2010)

My vet of 5 years ago decided to jump to allergy testing for my cat after he kept getting head colds and bloody noses. Drew the blood and sent it off to California - results came back that he was allergic to EVERYTHING including people. The same lab mixed up very specialized serum for his allergy shots. 

Needless to say all of this was very expensive and took a LOT of time (as in at least 2 months) just to get the results and the serum - then another month or two of shots not working (meanwhile the Vet kept telling me I hadn't given the shots enough time) - when I finally blew up and said at least keep testing! At least scope his nose!!! Ends up the cat had cancer and the prognosis for treatment would have been much better had we not lost so much time with the stupid allergy sh*t. ONLY because the prognosis for that kind of cancer was so good, I did opt to treat, but a few months later the cat crawled inmy arms and passed.

Once I finally found a new vet that I liked (oh yes I fired the other one) - I discussed what I had been through - and his very candid response was that there is a lot of controversy surrounding allergy testing of blood. There is certainly value in these tests, however they should not be done exclusively without exploring other possibilities as well.

Not sure if this helped or hurt - but rather than telling you my opinion, I figured I'd just relay my experience.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't have personal experience, but allergy tests have been shown again and again to be ineffective, particularly with food allergies. If you want to isolate a food allergy, an elimination diet is a proven way of figuring it out. Allergy testing can be extremely misleading.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

You'll have to discuss your concerns with your vet. We use HESKA and have had some nice results. Other dogs have had inconclusive results and we're still trying to work on their problems. (aka allergic to everything or something present everyday)

http://www.heska.com/Documents/Allergy/ALLERCEPT-CB_Allergic-Pet_001-SC.aspx


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

We just had the serum testing done on Riley. She has itched since we got her at 8 weeks of age. No hot spots, just a generalized overall itching. Even though the vet did not think her allergies were food related we tried a few different foods that resulted in no change in her itching. 

So when we went sent the blood sample we only tested for weed, tree, grass, fungal, insect and environmental allergies. Turns out she is highly allergic to certain fungi. 

I started her on allergy shots last week. She has only had 2 so far so it's way to early to determine if they are working.

I read that allergy shots are effective in only about 60% of cases and my vet concurred. But we decided to give it a try. She is also getting benadryl 2 - 3 times a day.


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## Hiker (Mar 29, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'll dust off my wallet and give it a try. This has been going on way too long and I've got to find him some relief.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I did the VARL Liquid Gold test on Conner. Based on those results, he is on a restricted diet and shots. We have had wonderful results.


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## Hiker (Mar 29, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I did the VARL Liquid Gold test on Conner. Based on those results, he is on a restricted diet and shots. We have had wonderful results.


I believe the VARL test is the one my Vet uses. Thanks for this info.


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