Great news. |
A little update on Alex for anyone who comes across this thread and is dealing with a dog who has severe allergies. After a few days down to prednisone every 3 days, the itching came back full force. I talked with both my general vet and our allergist and they both agreed Atopica was the best option for now. They both were not comfortable keeping Alex on prednisone throughout the winter, even at the every-other-day dose of 2.5 mg. Apparently, the risk of developing severe side effects from prednisone (diabetes and other complications) were just too high. So....we started Atopica on Friday. Alex is taking 25 mg once a day for now, and we're going to try to get him down to every other day. The sincere hope is that he will just need this through the winter and then come spring his allergy shots will start to work. Now, I know they say Atopica takes about a month to kick in, but I swear he's better today. We were outside all day in the woods, a place that usually triggers major itching for Alex, and he is barely itching at all tonight. I am still eager to hear from anyone who has used Atopica long-term. I know in humans cyclosporin (what Atopica is made of) is preferred to prednisone and has fewer long-term side effects (cyclosporin is what made organ transplantation possible!). But, it still has side effects. So, I am really interested in hearing from others who have been on it long-term. Thanks! |
I already resonded but wanted to add that 5 1/2 years on atopica and not one side effect plus perfect blood work. We too saw an immediate benefit and it was days not a month. Good luck. |
I am considering Atopica for one of my pups. I spoke at length with the vet and the only concern is the possibility of liver problems....but I was told that risk is very small. If/when he starts this treatment I will follow up with lab testing as recommended. There are risks and side effects with every drug made. When it comes to decision making about medications, we have to weigh the benefits vs the risks for ourselves and our pups. I have not seen anything in print or heard anything negative that would stop me from trying Atopica on my George. The only reason I am holding off right now is because we just found out he is hypothyroid and I want him to be on the Thyro-tabs first to see how much benefit he gets from that. I am fairly certain he will start the Atopica in the near future. He has been on Temeril P for about three years now and while he is not having problems with it, he does still have terrible bouts of itching at times. I also feel like we have been tempting fate in continuing the Temeril P ... while a low does of prednisone, it is still prednisone. |
Cali has been on Atopica for close to 3 years and has mild MVD. She gets blood work done regularly and it has been perfect. It started working pretty quickly for Cali too but she was also on a lose dose steroid for the first 2 weeks. I have just now been able to wean her to every other day. She scratches occassionallly but I really don't want to go back to her taking it every day unless we have to. |
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He is on 10mg 3x week now. He sometimes has a breakthrough symptoms when the pollens are at their worst, but it's nothing like how it was before (his paws drove him nuts :(). As you know (Andrea), Marcel has now started his allergy shots...we've done 2 shots at this point and we're so hopeful that this will help desensitize him with time! |
So glad to hear about the success with Atopica. It's the best $50/month I spend! I really wasn't expecting such a fast reaction; while Alex still has some break-through itching, he is SO much improved already. We have completely tapered off the prednisone so I know this is the Atopica working. For the first time since I adopted him this summer, he has not had to wear a onsie in the house, as he's not chewing his fur right off!! He clearly likes being naked. I really hope that Atopica is a temporary measure just to get us through next year, but if he has to stay on it long-term or during bad allergy seasons, I am fine with that. We are going to continue the allergy shots, since now they are no longer a big deal (just once each Friday). The funniest thing is that since starting the Atopica, Alex has had a HUGE amount of energy. I didn't read about this being a side effect of Atopica, and we finally realized it's because he's not spending half the day itching, scratching, and biting! All of this excess energy is going to LONG walks and crazy amounts of toy playing. Even as I type this, he is incessantly squeaking his toy at my feet, wanting to play. So I guess I better go play :-) |
Thank you so much for this update! I am happy that your Alex is doing so well on the Atopica. This is valuable information for all of us! :) |
That is so great. He must be feeling so much better. |
Tessa gets her pill every 4 days now...really works well but it is expensive...but worth the price...:) |
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Poor little thing...I'm glad it's helping...I think it's an amazing medication... |
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It's been about 6 weeks now...I did catch her licking her paws last night...so might have to go back to every 3 days...we'll see... |
I just talked with my vet about this today and she said that they can do a cyclosporin test to see what level of cyclosporin he has in his blood and, therefore, whether it's necessary to keep him on one pill a day or if he can maintained on 1 pill every other day. I am not concerned about the cost of the medication, but don't want him taking more than he has to. While it's better than prednisone, cyclosporin is still an immunosuppresant and can have negative long-term effects. Again, we're really hoping that the allergy shots ultimately do the trick and the Atopica isn't even needed anymore. |
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