Pug with many issues. Need advice about steroid medication.

My little guy is named Cleatus and just turned 5 in June. This boy has been through hell and back. It started with him having seizures which progressed rapidly. He ended up going to a neurologist and was diagnosed with encephalitis but not the fatal one that kills pugs. He was put on an anti seizure med and a steroid (dexamethasone). We brought him home and he was great for 2 weeks. Then one night after he ate his dinner, he lied down and didn't want to move. The next morning he was having tremors all over his body. We took him to the vet and then back to the neurologist. The vet there determined he had a slipped or herniated disc in his neck. He was then put on tramadol and gabapentin to help and stayed over night. When we went to pick him up, he had a huge case of wheeze coughing and even the receptionist was concerned but we didn't have enough money at the time for him to stay another night so we ended up bringing him home. While we were bringing him home, he ended up going into respiratory distress and had to be taken to the emergency vets again and was in for at least 4 days and we were on the verge or losing him. The vet gave us the option to take him home, keep him isolated and calm. He needed to lose weight and stay calm for as long as possible. So here we are today with him being back to the normal cleatus we knew. He is still on the seizure meds, gabapentin and steroid. Now my question is we already know that being on steroids for a long time is not good but when we tried changing him to prednisone, he ended up getting worse so the vet switched him back but with a plan of cutting him down. We recently started cutting him back and I've noticed that he's starting to lose his hair on his chest area and he's itching and scratching a lot. Whenever we try and cut back his steroid, his reverse sneezing and his twisted trachea acts up. My concern is that I'm worried I haven't cut back his steroid quick enough and it's starting to harm his body. I'm also afraid that once we take him off, he'll go back to how he was before. The vet has mentioned something about some sort of immune boosters or something to help because of the prolonged use. I'm sorry this is so long I'm just so afraid of losing my baby boy 😞

Since your vet is using steroids for the encephalitis, I assume that your dog has GME which is an inflammatory type of encephalopathy. The only conventional treatment for this is steroids. I have seen several cases over the years that responded well to treatment. With your dog showing so many symptoms of allergic-type reactions, have you considered the possibility of a food allergy being a factor. We now know that seizures are often a symptom of food allergies, particularly in young to middle age dogs. Might ask your vet. There are also some Chinese herbs that work well for both seizures as well as the other symptoms you mention. If you find yourself between a rock and hard place, might consult with a holistic vet for some other options. Good luck. We all love Pugs.