Has anyone used the medicine Clomicalm?
 

Pixie has been having extreme anxiety for several months. It can be brought on by thunder, the sound of rain, a motorcycle going by, a plane going overhead, pretty much any loud noise.
She lives in her thundershirt, I use natural calming medicines and an occasional Xanax when it gets unbearable. Nothing seems to help long term.
The vet gave me Clomicalm a few weeks ago but I have hesitated giving it to her.
Has anyone used this for their dog and if so did it work and any bad side effects? Thanks

It looks like Clomicalm is a tricyclic antidepressant used to treat separation anxiety in dogs. Here is the page with all of the uses, warnings, drug interactions, etc:

Clomicalm Official FDA information, side effects and uses.

The major side effects are emesis (vomiting; in 20% of treated dogs) and lethargy (tiredness; in 14% of treated dogs). Less common side effects include diarrhea, thirstiness, decreased appetite, etc.

It is metabolized by the liver and interacts with other drugs and anesthesia, so be especially cautious if your dog is receiving other medications, or before surgery, or if it has liver problems. Since it's a tricyclic antidepressant, it may take a couple weeks before it has noticeable effects--this is a drug that you give your dog long term.

Here is some critical information from the link I gave above:

The specific methods of behavioral modification used in clinical trials involved desensitization and counterconditioning techniques. Since the manifestation of separation anxiety can vary according to the individual dog, it is advised that a specific behavior modification plan be developed based on a professional assessment of each individual case.

Once the desired clinical effect is achieved and the owners have successfully instituted the appropriate behavioral modification, the dose of Clomicalm Tablets may be reduced to maintain the desired effect or discontinued. Withdrawal side effects were not reported in studies with Clomicalm Tablets in dogs. However, in clinical practice, it is recommended to taper the individual patient dose while continuing to monitor the dog’s behavior and clinical status through the dose reduction or withdrawal period. Continued behavioral modification is recommended to prevent recurrence of the clinical signs.

In other words, besides giving this medicine, you should try to desensitize your dog to the things it fears or which cause anxiety. Once the anxiety is controlled, the dose of medicine can be reduced or stopped. There are no withdrawal symptoms, but it is recommended that if you're going to stop the medication, you taper it off gradually.

Bottom line: If it were my dog, and the anxiety were extreme, I'd rather give this medication than Xanax (which is more toxic and does have withdrawal symptoms) PROVIDED that my dog were otherwise healthy and had no liver issues. I trust that your vet ran the necessary tests. Good luck, let us know what you decide to do, and if you do put him on Clomicalm, let us know how it works out!

Thanks! I knew about some of the side effects but the information you provided was much better. The vet wants to do blood work a month after she has been on it. She had her yearly blood work about 6 months ago. I may try and get her in to her regular vet (same clinic, I just want her opinion) before I put her on it. Her quality of life is being greatly affected.

I haven't, BUT I have a friend who has a small Yorkie and he has extreme anxiety issues. She didn't want to start him on med's. I finally talked her into at least giving Clomicalm a try, she did. Now Ross is just a completely different dog now. So it has worked great for him.
When I was working as a Tech we had several patients on this drug all with great results.

Assuming her labs are normal I see no reason to avoid giving this. Her quality of life is most important.

I'd don't give this, but do use Prozac for Rylee.

It sounds like you've done all that you can but this. If she isn't distracted by play, food, etc., Thundershirt isn't working, desensitization didn't work at all and illness as a causative factor has been ruled out and your vet has cleared her for this treatment, you've probably got to give her a chance on it. Hopefully she won't have to be on it that long and hopefully it can provide her some relief and psychological healing where fear isn't such a huge thing in her life and allow her to be herself again. Even if she's fairly sleepy on it for a time and maybe is off her food even, you've probably just got to try it and adjust the dose if necessary. I sure would try it if it were Tibbe and he were suffering through something like this. I sure do pray it works.

:thumbup::thumbup: Your vets sound like they know what they are doing--the second opinion can't hurt either.

Oh, I missed that part about maybe getting a second opinion! I definitely would get one anytime you're a little concerned about even the least little thing. Another brain - another set of eyes and ideas and a fresh look at things couldn't hurt one single thing.