Bad Experience with Revolution (Selamectin)

[Julie822]

This happened to me at the end of October, but I figured I would share this story now in the hopes that I will spare one of you the scare that I went through with my little guy!

At the end of October, I took Diesel to the vet for the first time. They gave him all of the routine tests/vaccinations and they prescibed him Frontline and Heartgard. Then, at the last minute, they changed the precriptions for another called "revolution", which is supposed to protect against fleas, ticks, ear mites, heartworm, etc. It is applied the same way as Frontline... It comes in individual dosing tubes and is applied to the back of the base of the neck. Anyway, not knowing any better (and assuming my vet is an educated professional in the field of veterinary medicine) I take the prescription home and put it on Diesel around 10pm a couple of days later.

About 2 hours after putting the medicine on him, he is sound asleep. I get up out of bed for something (I know, he sleeps in bed with me--is that wierd?) and he doesn't follow me, which is VERY wierd for D... He follows me everywhere! So I call his name and gently nudge him a bit, and I get NO REACTION. I finally lift him up and he is COMPLETELY LIMP. I frantically revive him, put him in the tub to wash him off (even though the medicine is fully absorbed after 2 hours) and start trolling the internet to see if this is a common reaction to this medication. I would have gone to the vet, but it was the middle of the night and I really didn't know what to do.

Needless to say, I stayed awake all night listening to him breathe and took him to the vet first thing in the morning. They said that what happened to D is not a common reaction, did some blood tests, and kept him at the vet all day monitoring his condition. Thankfully, all of the tests turned out to be fine, so I took him home that afternoon.

Have any of you had similar experiences with revolution or other medications? What do you give your Yorkies to protect them from heartworm and fleas? Is the Frontline/Heartgard combo the way to go? I'll never use that revolution crap again!

[Patti]

I have all 4 of mine on Revolution and have not had a bad reaction, but i also don't put the full tube on them. I usually share 2 tubes between my 3 that use the 5 lbs and under one. I hate putting any thing on them because it seems so toxic. I only use it during the summer months. I am so glad you acted quickly and he is ok. It is a good warning to others.

[Julie822]

Thanks for the response, Patti... I'm wondering how big your dogs are, since you said that you share a tube between two of them. I considered doing that, but since Diesel's reaction was so severe (and traumatic for me), I'm permanently scared off. I had used the full tube on him, but he's a big Yorkie-- almost 10 pounds. The vet said to use the whole thing, so I followed the doctor's instructions.

I know what you mean about not wanting to put anything that harsh on your pets. In my research, I read something about revolution that said, "if it kills THAT MANY things, it can't be good for your dog." The bottom line is, it's pesticide. No matter how you slice it or what side of the fence you fall on regarding the overall safety of fronline/revolution type products, it's still poison... And I hate it, too. The question is, is it a necessary evil? I don't want him to get heartworm or fleas, either.

[Ellie May]

How scary.

I'm not sure that that is a common reaction but there are sites on that you will find on Google that state there are about 36 deaths a year from Revolution and 6 from Heartgard. If Revolution was used more than Heartgard, that would make sense, but it seems that Heartgard is the older, tried and true drug and more people would be using it. The heartworm protection is also questionable. I have heard of too many dogs getting heartworms while on it. You also can't split the dose because of the heartworm protection. That is only okay for flea meds because unmedicating wouldn't be life threatening.

I use Interceptor and then Frontline Plus when absolutely necessary. Interceptor appears to have 9 reported deaths a year. I'm not sure how many people use it though, so hard to say.
I think Heartgard is okay also and may be one of the safest for some breeds.
I do not use and would not recommend Revolution.

Sadly, any drug could've caused that reaction though.

[Marias]

i used to give advantage, but i read a lot of articles talking bad about frontline and all pesticides. Of course it harms your dog, it's a quimical that causes brain damage and cancer. There are a lot of articles online you can read about it.
I now changed for another way, let's see if it works. It's a natural spray that contains essential oils, that keep fleas and ticks away. I've talked with a lot of people and they say it works.
Good luck

[Patti]

Originally Posted by Julie822

Thanks for the response, Patti... I'm wondering how big your dogs are, since you said that you share a tube between two of them. I considered doing that, but since Diesel's reaction was so severe (and traumatic for me), I'm permanently scared off. I had used the full tube on him, but he's a big Yorkie-- almost 10 pounds. The vet said to use the whole thing, so I followed the doctor's instructions.

I know what you mean about not wanting to put anything that harsh on your pets. In my research, I read something about revolution that said, "if it kills THAT MANY things, it can't be good for your dog." The bottom line is, it's pesticide. No matter how you slice it or what side of the fence you fall on regarding the overall safety of fronline/revolution type products, it's still poison... And I hate it, too. The question is, is it a necessary evil? I don't want him to get heartworm or fleas, either.

My yorkies are 5 lbs, 4 1/4 lbs and 4 lbs. I use the one for 5lbs and under but never have used a whole one on any of them. My Pom is 10 lbs and I use the next size up and only put 3/4 of it in her. My girls are mostly in the house and yard so I only use it in July, August and September.

[Ladymom]

I have always heard that it is better to separate out the heartworm preventative and flea treatment in these toy breed dogs because they are more apt to have a reaction.

Interceptor and Frontline have the fewest reactions as Crystal said. That's what I use. I always make sure to wait two weeks in between treatments. I do one on the 1st of the month, the other on the 15th to be safe.

[Tessaroland]

My yorkie had an allergic reaction to Revolution, her hair starting falling out and she was sick....They gave her antibiotics and antiflammatorys and she is better now and her hair has grown back...Will never use it again, now I have her on Comfortis and that seems to be working great...

[YorkieLover9]

This is scary - Canyon is on Revolution and every month when it's time to apply, I always dread it as he runs around trying to rub his back on furniture as I guess it burns but he's never had the reaction that OP posted. Hmm, makes me rethink the whole thing. I also use the whole tube on him and I have the prescip for 5 lbs and under, now I'm thinking maybe I should just used 1/2 of it. Vet is now trying to get me to use Advantage Multi as it not only does heartworms, fleas and ticks but internal parasites. Now I'm concerned with all these products.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by YorkieLover9

This is scary - Canyon is on Revolution and every month when it's time to apply, I always dread it as he runs around trying to rub his back on furniture as I guess it burns but he's never had the reaction that OP posted. Hmm, makes me rethink the whole thing. I also use the whole tube on him and I have the prescip for 5 lbs and under, now I'm thinking maybe I should just used 1/2 of it. Vet is now trying to get me to use Advantage Multi as it not only does heartworms, fleas and ticks but internal parasites. Now I'm concerned with all these products.

I really think less is more with toy breeds. I like Interceptor for heartworm because they have a 10 pounds and under dosage as opposed to Heartguard 25 pounds and under. Heartguard has been linked with seizures in Shelties, too.

These combination medications are fairly new. Don't forget these are pesticides we are giving them, so less is more. It may be more convenient to give an all-in-one, but it puts our dogs at more risk IMO.

[jencar98]

I had used Revolution with out any problems until about 6 months back. I used the normal dose on Ruby and within 20-30 minutes she began to act lethargic, and not quite but almost stumbling trying to walk. I immediately washed it off of her and her symptoms stopped. That was enough for me, no more flea meds. Now we treat the yard, the cats, have no carpet and haven't had a flea problem all summer.

[chestermama]

I use revolution all the time with no problems

[kpstoybox]

Originally Posted by chestermama

I use revolution all the time with no problems

I too use it on all of mine, and have no problems at all in the 2 years I have used it on my 5 yorkies and Biewers.

[mk97]

I use heartgard/frontline combo on all my dogs. I don't like that the stuff is for up to 22lbs, but the company told me as long as the pet weighs at least 2 lbs it's safe. Knock on wood, none of my kids have had any reactions. The vet I work for raises yorkies and she uses advantage/interceptor on hers. I don't like the smell of advantage and my yorkie likes to get her heartgard treat once a month with the other 2 dogs. I haven't seen any reactions to the revolution--but have seen cases where the owner swears the pet didn't miss any-but the dog has heartworms.

[Ellie May]

For the people who are or who are wanting to split the dose, isn't there a problem with heartworms in your areas? It wouldn't be at all safe to split it...

If Ellie were on Heartgard, she would be getting about 4 times more med than she needs because the lowest dose is for 25 pounds but any dog who takes Interceptor automatically gets 5 times more than what they need. Milbemycin Oxime is used in doses five times higher than it needs to be just so the drug also protects against intestinal parasites. That is what I've read anyway. We do use Interceptor but it is all poisonous garbage.

I do not yet trust topical treatments for heartworms and Revolution and Advantage Multi fall into that category. They are both also pretty new which wouldn't be my first choice. Not tried and true...