i always doubt what vets want to give my dog,i will discuss it with the vet then research the side effects,its a very emotional time when our dogs are poorly and we listen to our vets and do what they want to do,i think that if there are too many side effects and there always is with any meds be it human or animal but we are only thinking of our dogs best interests at the time,try researching alternitive meds ,i know that we want instant results and sometimes we get them with very little/no side effects,and some meds are urgently needed for some illnesses ,but for allergy related symptoms which is all they are and whilst we treat the symptoms we are not dealing with the core problem,its very hard and i am in no way trying to dismiss allergy symptoms as a minor problem as i know they are not,but surely instead of trying different allergy shots/pills which have so many side effects and not always instant remember some can take months to show themselves,perhaps herbal/homeopathic remedies would work just as good if not better,just my thoughts and what i am doing with my own dog at the moment,if i have offended anyone then im sorry and it was not intentional,karen