My dog has been off steroids for almost 3 months and so far has been doing well.We gradually lowered the dose with all advice from our vet so everything was done right.As far as I know she is in no pain,she walks,goes up the stairs and shows no sign of discomfort,but something is wrong,we are going through the wont eat stage again,although will eat any human food,cat food ect but not dog food,so I give up on that one,i cant see my dog starve so she just has what ever she wants but I still feel intake is not enough.

She is very lethargic but she is an old dog,she just seems depressed,when she first came off steroids she was a different dog,so happy and playful,I know that after such a long time on steroids it will take time to even out,up to a year our vet has said but I think she is having withdrawal symptoms.
Tomorrow we are going to the vets,but has anyone out there had the same thing,and if so what did you do?
I feel as though I need to make her life more interesting and I know that sounds a bit bizzare,but its as if the lights are on but no ones home,i feel as though she is unhappy but its not pain.
Help.
Ash

The steroids will have perked her up and improved her appetite now they have stopped those feelings have gone and it may take a while to get back on an even keel. Is she losing weight she can't afford to lose?

Has she had her bloods checked lately to make sure her liver and kidneys are working properly. Tell your vet about your concerns and whether she can have anything to improve her appetite or whether she will have to go back on a low maintainance dose of steroids.

I hope her mood picks up soon.

The steroids will have perked her up and improved her appetite now they have stopped those feelings have gone and it may take a while to get back on an even keel. Is she losing weight she can't afford to lose?

Has she had her bloods checked lately to make sure her liver and kidneys are working properly. Tell your vet about your concerns and whether she can have anything to improve her appetite or whether she will have to go back on a low maintainance dose of steroids.

I hope her mood picks up soon.

Ashlee
I don't know why your girl was on steroids, but I recently took my girl off of PLT, which is a combination of NSAID and 1mg of prednisolone.  Her appetite on that was voracious. Since she has been off of them when I put her bowl of food in front of her, sometimes she just looks at it before starting to eat. I watch her out of the corner of my eye but ignore her, and then she does eat OK, but nothing like she did when she was on the PLT.

However, what I am getting at is that PLT has such a tiny amount of pred in that it might suit your girl and just boost her appetite. I was told that she could stay on them long term (in fact she was on them over 3 years with no problems) and might just perk her up. Just a thought.  I only changed my girl because I wanted to try a different medication to see if it suits her better for her joint problems.

I would second ChinaBlue's opinion on the PLT. It is a very small dose of Prednisilone and my girl was also on it for about 3 years. It perked her up no end and she was happily running again. I also had a Bernese on a large dose of Pred for his arthritis and he was on it for a couple of years. It was given for 6 weeks then off it for 6 weeks or that sort of regime and it kept him going. Without it, he would scream in pain sometimes when getting up so it was a necessary evil. I wouldn't hesitate to use steroids if there was no other option which worked.