Help Needed! Atopica for Allergies?

[hnhammond]

Hey All!

So Matilda has crazy allergies. Paws swollen, gnawing on them like crazy, losing fur, itchy nose rope and wrinkles, itchy ears, the works!

She has been on pred every few months for the last year or more.

My vet recommended that we start taking Atopica every day. She said it would be better long run just to prevent the outbreaks than to try and get control of them after the fact. She also said it's better for Til to be on than constantly taking Pred.

Does anyone know about this drug? It is ridiculously expensive, but the constant vet visits aren't exactly cheap either, so I'm okay with that part. I bought a 15-day supply of the drug (it's refundable though) from 1800Petmeds but I'm scared to give it to her.

Anyone else use this?

 

[hnhammond]

I've also read it causes cancer. Any truth to that? If anything happened to Matilda, I would absolutely die.

 

[nycbullymama]

I've heard that atopica is used as a last resort, and it's not something I would consider unless I've tried every other alternative.

One of my bullies, Blue has terrible allergies. He was tested and has quite a few environmental allergies so we decided to put him on immunotherapy.
He's been on it since June, and I was told it could take up to a year to show results. It's also not a guarantee.

He's had two major flare-ups since starting and we had to put him on prednisone both times. But I would rather do a low dosage of pred. every few months than atopica.

Have you tried allergy testing?

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=7260]Chumley[/MENTION] -- is this what Hershey is on?

 

[Opie CHL]

@Chumley -- is this what Hershey is on?

No Christine Hershey is on Apoquel. Rick said it was a miracle drug for him. I have kept him on it but I haven't seen a sign of any allergies in the 8 months Ive had him. Im going to slowly wean him off. [MENTION=5755]hnhammond[/MENTION] ask your vet about apoquel. I have heard its so effective on allergies they cant keep it in stock. I cant even get it from my vet until Spring so I have it shipped from Delaware through Rick from Hersheys old vet. Good luck!

 

[2BullyMama]

No Christine Hershey is on Apoquel. Rick said it was a miracle drug for him. I have kept him on it but I haven't seen a sign of any allergies in the 8 months Ive had him. Im going to slowly wean him off. @hnhammond ask your vet about apoquel. I have heard its so effective on allergies they cant keep it in stock. I cant even get it from my vet until Spring so I have it shipped from Delaware through Rick from Hersheys old vet. Good luck!

well. i had the 'A' going for me

 

[TyTysmom]

No Christine Hershey is on Apoquel. Rick said it was a miracle drug for him. I have kept him on it but I haven't seen a sign of any allergies in the 8 months Ive had him. Im going to slowly wean him off. @hnhammond ask your vet about apoquel. I have heard its so effective on allergies they cant keep it in stock. I cant even get it from my vet until Spring so I have it shipped from Delaware through Rick from Hersheys old vet. Good luck!

Yes, I have also heard Apoquel is an amazing drug for allergies. My vet said she'd put Tyson on it in a heartbeat, but they can't find it anywhere... she said it would take a couple of months to get probably. Surprised Delaware has any, very lucky. I've been wanting to try it out!

 

[Opie CHL]

Yes, I have also heard Apoquel is an amazing drug for allergies. My vet said she'd put Tyson on it in a heartbeat, but they can't find it anywhere... she said it would take a couple of months to get probably. Surprised Delaware has any, very lucky. I've been wanting to try it out!

I don't know why its taking so long. Its been hard to get since before last july. My vet first said the start of this year..now he says Spring. I know they never expected this demand for it but how long does it take to make?

 

[TyTysmom]

I don't know why its taking so long. Its been hard to get since before last july. My vet first said the start of this year..now he says Spring. I know they never expected this demand for it but how long does it take to make?

I know, our Vet said beginning of this year as well... but she said it was no guarantee either as the demand for it is so high. We've been trying to get it since last year...(August) - We go back in March for his shots, so I'll see if they have a new timeline....Stinks. I know my vet did carry it for a very short while, and they said it worked wonders for bullies.

 

[nycbullymama]

Apoquel isn't generally available to most vets right now (we've tried with 2 vets and 2 dermatologists that work in animal hospitals). Some can get it in sporadically, that's it.

Thing with Apoquel, it only gets rid of the itch and if there's any bacterial or fungal infection, it needs to be treated first.

I keep being told it will be available to all vets this summer. But they've been moving the date back since it came out- and it came out over a year ago.

 

[hnhammond]

I thought Apoquel and Atopica were basically the same thing, no?


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[nycbullymama]

no, not even close.

 

[Opie CHL]

They are different meds used for the same purpose. My vet said apoquel works faster..

 

[Maximus]

Unfortunately, Maximus was on ATOPICA. Yes, it was very expensive, and unfortunately it did not do a thing for his Allergies and skin conditions.

 

[santinomom]

Santino has used Atopica in the past and it seemed to work really well, but then the longer he was on it, its effectiveness seemed to diminish. He is now using apoquel and has been on it since end of last summer and he truly looks the best he's ever looked.......I DO consider this a wonder drug for bully allergies! PS. I also had him allergy tested and tried allergy shots for a year and s half and saw no results. Apoquel is costly as well but then again what isn't in the life of a bully???? Thus far , no side effects either. I also had to wait a few months to get it from my vet when it became available.. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of you to be able to try it on your bullies, cuz I know how bad it is to watch them suffer with allergies[emoji4]


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