Originally Posted by chickendido (Post 1156443)

My Yorkie Toy has all the same problems as you described for your Lexi. He weighs 9 pounds and is 11 years old. I tried everything as well. Nothing helped. I spent tons of money on useless products, medicines, prescription food, shampoos, pastes, sprays, you name it!
Atopica is very expensive. If you want to still give it to your dog after this, google it online and it shows you which websites have it the cheapest at the moment. Also try 1800petmeds, they have great coupons most of the time.
Atopica; no steroids, which is much better that pregnosone any day or the useless Benadryl. The Atopica pills are huge and liquid filled, so no pulverizing them and only when I put it in raw hamburger he would eat it, but sometimes he even refused then. It became a challenge to find different treats to hide that pill in. He vomited if I gave it to him to close to or after a feeding, so I waited 4 hours after his breakfast, gave him the pill and waited another 4 hours before feeding him again. That worked for the vomiting. It is true, the symptoms went away the very first day he took the pill, BUT the skin condition never ever got any better. He wasn't preoccupied with licking, scratching, chewing anymore, but his skin looked the same. Atopica will not cure your dog of his allergies, it will only make him stop feeling them!
I researched this subject to death and with all the dry kibble talk and home cooked vs. raw. I believe our dogs are allergic due to the food they ate all of their lifes, over vaccinations and a toxic environment. The cleaners, soaps, ect. we use in our homes. I stopped giving the Atopica because I felt that for a 2 dollar a day pill, it should've cured my dog, but like I said, it didn't. I'm trying something totally different now. Raw meaty bones and organs, no veggies, no supplements, no grains, no kibble of any brand, no canned cooked meat.
I'm giving this approach a one year try as I have experimented with EVERYTHING else for 10 years with no results but an empty wallet and a rich Vet and Commercial dog food business due to my ignorance of Canine nutrition and health. Bad, stinky breath and teeth, dry flaky skin, awful odor coat, red patches, black spots, oozing sores are not normal in dogs, so what are we doing that causes that???? Exactly! We are what we eat......
Sorry for the long post! I wish you good luck in your endeaver! PM me if you like for more info on Atopica as I fed it to my dog for a year and a half. He experienced no ill side effects from it, at least that!:)

Originally Posted by LEXINGTON (Post 1156328)

Hello Everyone, This is my first email to Yorkie Forum. I am looking for anyone who is using Atopica on their babies. My babies name is Lexi, (very common as I see on the forum) she just turned 5 Yrs in April she weights 7 1/2 lbs and has suffered with scratching and a horrible red rash on the top of her back which has gotten worse since she was about 3 yrs. She scratches all year long. I, like most of you, have tried just about everything, Prednisone only one time for about 1 month, Childrens Benadryl which really just puts her to sleep, but at least she gets a few hours of relief from the scratching. I have tried food trial several times and have finally found something that she will actually eat, she is on Wellness brand duck (simple food dry ) and then I buy rotisserie duck and put that on top of the dry or else she won't really eat it of course (extremely finicky eater) so she has been on this restricted diet of nothing but duck, no treats except duck strips etc for 5 weeks now and I really have not seen very much of a change, she has been on Temaril P for about 5 months straight now, which I swore I would never do, but she cannot live without it, at least there is only 2% prednisone in the entire pill and she takes 1/2 a pill a day so it is a low dose but its still prednisone. My vet actually made me think that it was okay for her to be on this low does indefinitely, but now he is saying no and wants to put her on Atopica which I am really nervous about because of the side effects, vomiting, diarrhea, sores in mouth etc. and 2% of dogs had seizures from it, I read this on the Atopica website. So if anyone out there is using this drug I would really love to hear from you. It is kind of the last resort I don't know what else to do, but if it is going to make my baby sick I certainly do not want to harm her. But I feel I already am by giving her any prednisone. Any info would help. Thank you for your time. Kathy, Lexi's Mom P.S. I want to take her to a dermatologist, but she has to be off of all steroids for 2 weeks before testing can be done, and she could never survive without out it, she would be bleeding from all the scratching.

Originally Posted by LEXINGTON (Post 1156328)

Hello Everyone, This is my first email to Yorkie Forum. I am looking for anyone who is using Atopica on their babies. My babies name is Lexi, (very common as I see on the forum) she just turned 5 Yrs in April she weights 7 1/2 lbs and has suffered with scratching and a horrible red rash on the top of her back which has gotten worse since she was about 3 yrs. She scratches all year long. I, like most of you, have tried just about everything, Prednisone only one time for about 1 month, Childrens Benadryl which really just puts her to sleep, but at least she gets a few hours of relief from the scratching. I have tried food trial several times and have finally found something that she will actually eat, she is on Wellness brand duck (simple food dry ) and then I buy rotisserie duck and put that on top of the dry or else she won't really eat it of course (extremely finicky eater) so she has been on this restricted diet of nothing but duck, no treats except duck strips etc for 5 weeks now and I really have not seen very much of a change, she has been on Temaril P for about 5 months straight now, which I swore I would never do, but she cannot live without it, at least there is only 2% prednisone in the entire pill and she takes 1/2 a pill a day so it is a low dose but its still prednisone. My vet actually made me think that it was okay for her to be on this low does indefinitely, but now he is saying no and wants to put her on Atopica which I am really nervous about because of the side effects, vomiting, diarrhea, sores in mouth etc. and 2% of dogs had seizures from it, I read this on the Atopica website. So if anyone out there is using this drug I would really love to hear from you. It is kind of the last resort I don't know what else to do, but if it is going to make my baby sick I certainly do not want to harm her. But I feel I already am by giving her any prednisone. Any info would help. Thank you for your time. Kathy, Lexi's Mom P.S. I want to take her to a dermatologist, but she has to be off of all steroids for 2 weeks before testing can be done, and she could never survive without out it, she would be bleeding from all the scratching.

Originally Posted by LEXINGTON (Post 1185440)

Hello Charlie's Mom, Thank you so much for answering me, can you tell me how long Charlie has been taking atopica , how much does he weigh, and what is the dose he is on now and what he was started on. Also do you notice any side affects? I am afraid since it causes them to vomit that is may make them feel sick to their stomach all the time. Also afraid of all the other bad side affects, I know they say it doesn't really affect their liver or kidneys long term, but this drug is fairly new and I don't trust any of the drug companies, I feel they could leave alot of information out, especially if it is bad. Anyway, sorry to ramble on, but I am worried sick as what to do for her. But I feel this is really my last resort since the only alternative is prednisone. I would really appreciate any information you could give me. Thank you for you time, Kathy, Lexi's Mom

Originally Posted by shadream (Post 1187410)

Charlie has been on Atopica now for about 4 mos. He weighs 6 lbs. and is on 10 mg. The only side effect was vomiting if I gave the pill with food or within 2 hours of eating, so now I give him his breakfast and wait for 11/2 to 2 hrs. then give him his pill and no vomiting. I did try prednisone short term and it did not work at all. The atopica works, I have read the insert in product and they report the studies and many ill effects, but honestly if I read the inserts for my medication, I'm leary too, yet I need them so I take them and pray for the best, I do the same with Charlie, so far so good.

I hope this helps you, I know its a tough decision, Charlie was scratching his poor little nose and chin raw and I couldn't stand to see him suffer anymore, so to me the medication is worth trying.

Originally Posted by dwerten (Post 1242179)

How is atopica working as dd been on for 60 days and helping a bit

how it working for everyone else?

Originally Posted by danchul (Post 1273257)

My Shaq has been on Atopica for the last 2 weeks, and it hasn't help, it was acually made in a compound pharmacy in liquid, because my vet had it in capsules, and he needed 1/2 a capsule, well, you can't cut a capsule so it was made in a compound pharmacy. but since he is still scratching i am taking him to a new vet in 1/2 hour. see what he says. Shaq scratches like crazy and have started to loose hair from the scratching, he is so miserable, i don't know what to do.