Quote:
Originally Posted by TxNative247
Our dog had horrible hives itching
Poultry allergy
Tried venison potato rx but too much carbs
Yeast problems
Eating zignature venison kibble but fat is little high
Beef Babyfood n 7% hamburger--rinsed
Might have to change n homecook
She is having loose stools again
2nd time in 7-8 days
Sometimes she eats wo any problems for months
Apoquel stops itch but can have side effects some dog owners say
RX company wont do long term tests to check for tumor growth
Wo a trial no scientific evidence it leads to tumors
Our dog had no quality of life w/all the allergy issues so no choice
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I had one of my senior labs on Apoquel for over a year. Her allergies were the worst that my vet had seen in nearly 30 years in practice. She was allergic to many things but the 2 worst were food mites and dust mites. You can do something about the food mites - put kibble in ziplock bags and freeze for several days - but dust mites are ubiquitous. She did develop a tumor in her left front armpit and the only way to fully remove it was to amputate the leg. While we can't be positive that the Apoquel's suppression of her immune system lead to the tumor it certainly is a strong possibility.
So I think that the drug should be used with great caution, for a short term if one has not yet figured out the causes of the allergies. She had already gone through 13 weeks of food trials followed by testing of her blood by Heska labs to determine what were the primary sources. She takes custom blended therapy drops every day for the rest of her life to help her body learn to cope with the irritants. She's also on Gentocine/Myconizole to help keep her ears clear, as well as antihistamines every day. I also have to apply Vagisil as needed for her itchy butt.
The same company that makes Apoquel also makes a new drug called Cytopoint, an injection given every 4 to 8 weeks and she's been on that for a few months and it is helping. Before going on it she had developed several lick granulomas and had to be put on predinisone and antibiotics to heal and clear those up.
I adopted her when she was 9 and since her allergies had gone untreated for so many years she has a great deal of "elephant skin" in her ears and around her mouth.
Despite all that she is a happy girl and I'm so glad that I have the good fortune to be able to afford all her expensive treatments.
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