# Allergies and Apoquel



## BeckyM (Nov 22, 2013)

I use Apoquel with Polly daily. She's on a relatively low dose and she has had zero side effects other than her itching completely disappearing. We went to a different vet for her itching that put us through a food trial and it was insanely difficult. It was impossible and extremely stressful to make sure she injested nothing other than her very expensive food. Between my husband and my children, food gets dropped often. Polly is good with a "leave it" but when they don't even realize they've dropped something, they can't tell her to leave it. When we traveled, it was so hard to make sure family didn't give her other food. The expensive, limited diet food was horrible on her stomach and she had the worst gas and loose stools. Not to mention that we had to switch heartworm meds and even switch doggie toothpastes! The food trial was miserable for us. 
We only made it 4 weeks through her food trial before I asked for Apoquel. Now that Polly is on Apoquel, she could go back on her regular food and all is well and easy again. Her stomach is back to being normal with no gas, she can eat whatever we give her, and she doesn't itch. Her skin was never the issues (other than her scratch marks) it was just the itching that was the problem. 
Also, my vets (I've been to 2 of them about her itching) have said the Apoquel is very safe and that they haven't seen any side effects. Sounds like your pup is handling it well too.  Best of luck!


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## Michele (Jan 20, 2015)

Thank you BeckyM!!! Can you tell me the weight of you pup and the amount "low dose" she takes daily, and how long you have been using it? 

June weighted 34 pounds last month. For two weeks she is on 16 mg day (8mg morning/evening) and then will switch to one does of 8mg per day.


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## BeckyM (Nov 22, 2013)

Polly is 3 years old, 40 pounds, and takes 1/2 of a 16 mg. tablet once a day. She's been it for about 8 months now and it's been wonderful


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Veterinary Dermatology Center - Dr. Buerger- Allergy Testing Info

I posted this link yesterday as a good short summary on allergies, treatments, testing and costs by a vet dermatologist. I went the route of full testing and two years of desensitizing shots, which I learned how to do myself. Our Scottie puppy was allergic to everything and yes, the cost of initial testing was a shock to the budget. In his case, it was an unqualified success and worth every penny. He enjoyed a long life, allergy free. Houston is the worst climate for allergy sufferers. We probably lead the nation in Zyrtec and Claritan sales


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Neither of my current dogs have allergies, but I very much wish that Apoquel was around for my previous poodle! I would have put him on it in a heartbeat! I work at a vets (and before we moved, a different clinic when the drug originally came out), and we prescribe Apoquel Often for our allergy patients! It was dubbed the "miracle" drug, and for alot of dogs it is. I have never seen or heard a report back from a client about any side effects (let alone horrible ones). 

I am so glad that it is working for your girl so well! My last poodle would chew his feet so raw and be miserable. I would have loved to use it back then.


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## BeckyM (Nov 22, 2013)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Neither of my current dogs have allergies, but I very much wish that Apoquel was around for my previous poodle! I would have put him on it in a heartbeat! I work at a vets (and before we moved, a different clinic when the drug originally came out), and we prescribe Apoquel Often for our allergy patients! It was dubbed the "miracle" drug, and for alot of dogs it is. I have never seen or heard a report back from a client about any side effects (let alone horrible ones).
> 
> I am so glad that it is working for your girl so well! My last poodle would chew his feet so raw and be miserable. I would have loved to use it back then.


Both of my vet said the same thing... that this is a miracle drug and it was very safe. Polly is so much happier now because of it. Her day isn't spent itching like crazy and she can still have the bits of cheese that fall on the floor.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

My girl Killa is on it and it's done miracles for her. I can tell when it's getting close to the 24 hours sense she's had it or if I forget to give it to her, because she starts scratching something horrible and her skin flares up. We also tried the Atopica and it worked for a bit but then stopped working, just like the steroids. Plus there are so many side effects and dangers with it. With apoquel I haven't run into any. She hasn't had any vomiting like she always did with the Atopica, or diarrhea which is also a possible side effect of the apoquel. Her blood work always comes back perfect as well versus when she was on the Atopica and steroids her bun and creatinine would always be elevated. We are going to try the new Cytopoint injection next week, which is like apoquel but is supposed to last for a month. I'm so bad at remembering to give her her pills I hope it works. 
I've attached some before and afters of her skin. She had been on apoquel for a year and these were the results. The hole that was left was so deep it had to be surgically repaired twice. Oh and using it on Killa is technically off label use because she is so small. It's only supposed to be used on dogs over 6lbs and she is 3.4. After talking with the apoquel Veterinarian from Zoetis we lowered her dose from half tab to a quarter. She told me that the dose she was on prior was actually at immunosuppressive levels which isn't the point of apoquel. The point of it is to be an immune modulator so it isn't supposed to suppress the immune system like Atopica or steroids, it is supposed to normalize it.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

The Scottie before my last one, also had allergies. That was long ago, and the only relief a general vet provided were the steroid shots. He developed a tolerance to them and shortened his itchy/scratchy life. When the next one had even worse allergies, I took him to a dermatologist. We bathed him weekly with a recommended shampoo to combat environmental allergens, he was on a lamb based diet and after two years of shots it was over. We continued with the same shampoo and leave in conditioner when he needed a bath and the kibble because they shipped. He enjoyed every food group and every protein in addition to the kibble in his long allergy free life. If it's seasonal, by all means use the new miracle drugs. If scratching is your dog's soundtrack for all seasons, consider a vet dermatologist.


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Max is on the injectable Apoquel, Cytopoint is the brand name. He is allergic to dust mites and fleas. Almost impossible to control exposure to dust mites. Ironically, I am also wildly allergic to dust mites, so the house is already set up the best it could be to limit exposure. Thankfully, no food allergies, although he has chronic pancreatitis so we're already fussing with his diet!

The Cytopoint is the only thing that has been touched his allergies. It's not 100% better, but is much improved. I will keep him on it. I know it changes the immune response, which has its own risks, but the stress of constant itching probably affects immune function as well. It's so good that he has stopped constantly licking his paws. They're actually losing the red staining. 

If it shortens his life by playing with his immune function, that's a risk I'll take...at least he will have felt good for the time he is here.


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