Apoquel for allergies

[CoasterCoaster]

Just wondered if anyone had experience of this drug, vet has just switched Ddog from Prednicare as he's showing signs of steroid-related Cushings and we're concerned about swapping one set of nasty side effects for another basically. Not feeling overly confident in the vet atm as they didn't mention Cushings as a potential side effect of the Prednicare and it was only picked up because we pushed for a blood test so feel like we need some reassurance (or warning) about Apoquel. Hope someone can help.

My dog was given it when she had a nasty ear infection to stop her from scratching. It did seem to soothe it, but she was a bit "stoned" for want of a better word. I only gave it her for 2 days and then stopped as she just didn't seem herself.

My German Shepherd has been on it since August 2020. She had large bald patches and bad skin irritation and Apoquel cleared everything up.

In the past few weeks we changed her to a Cytopoint injection once a month, but if it doesn't work we'll put her back on Apoquel.

Thank you both, will do some research on the Cytopoint injections too, the vet hasn't suggested them yet so it would be good to know there's another option if the Apoquel doesn't suit him. Really starting to wonder if I need to change vets tbh, would be awkward as I don't drive and there are no others in walking distance but I don't feel like they're being very thorough.

It's so hard to know what's best when it's your beloved pets and I hope you find a solution.

I'm not very impressed with our vets but the other one in the area isn't taking new patients due to Covid

We had that problem with the first vet too...he just didn't make much effort, and her problems were basically occurring on a cycle.
Bad itching - predisolone - bad stomach - come off steroids - bad itching. It was also €50 every time I went, which really adds up.
My new vet has a monthly plan for €15, and I can go as often as needed, so they're not in it for the money at all.

The first guy wouldn't look at the Cytopoint, but it seems good so far. Apoquel was costing €150 per month, this is only €90 which helps too.

My lab has been on Apoquel for a couple of years. No side effects. Once or twice we’ve run out and in the few days without tablets he has almost immediately become really itchy and irritated. You can buy cheaper in bulk online instead of via the vet - just pay your vet to write the prescription

My dog has been on it for years, she wouldn’t cope without it as she would scratch herself raw otherwise, no side effects.

My springer didn't have any side effects from Apoquel, but it wasn't quite doing the job. We've switched to Cytopoint and it works much better for her.

My pug is on it for skin fold irritation, it really helps keep his folds cleaner and smoother and he doesn’t get any side effects

This is comforting reading, thank you all. Almost don't want to ask this in case I spark worry for anyone else but were any of you warned about long term side effects? Googling throws up a concern (cancer related) and I'm feeling a bit wary having not been informed about the Cushings link with the Prednicare.

My border collie is prescribed apoquel. She was misdiagnosed originally with a grain intolerance after chewing her paws and them turning pink. We later discovered it was severe allergies

Sorry posted too soon -
And found that apoquel was the only thing they would work.
We looked at pros and cons of Cytopoint vs Apoquel and the tablets were a better fit for our pup

@CoasterCoaster sounds like your dog has atopy which is a chronic condition requiring long term management. There are several different methods for controlling atopy, but as they all modulate the immune system they do come with risks.
Prednisolone - as you have found out this carries a risk of iatrogenic cushings disease with long term use, this is fairly common with long term use, but does resolve once the steriods are stopped.
Apoquel - there is a very small increased incidence of cancer in dogs using long term cancer. It is as I say a very small risk, infact most vets will never see a case I believe the incidence is around 1 in 10,000 dogs treated.
Cytopoint - this is a biologic rather than a drug and works by biologically altering the immune system. Whilst at this point we are not aware of any side effects it is a relatively new drug so we may not be seeing issues related to long term use (years) yet.
Cyclopsorin (atopica and others) - this is a immuno suppressive drug and can significantly reduce white blood cell lines making patients more vulnerable to infection.
Immunotherapy - this involves 'vaccinating' your pet against their personal set of allergens. It requires a blood test and then the immunotherapy to be created. It is an expensive option, carries a small risk of anaphylaxis so you will be asked to remain in the veterinary practice for some time after each of the initial injections. It is a very rigid schedule on injections and they are fabulous for a third of dogs, partially helpful for a third of dogs and unhelpful for a third of dogs.
It is a matter of weighing up the options with your vet and deciding which to go for based on which set of risks you feel most comfortable with.
I hope this helps, vets all understand that treating an atopic dog is frustrating as it is lifelong and there are often flare ups.

Pretty much the whole profession has struggle with not having as much time for our clients as we would like over the last 18 months. Pet ownership has massively risen, numbers of vets and nurses have dropped due to brexit and people leaving the profession due to the pressures in the last 18 months not just covid, but AHC increased client abuse of staff (up 1000%).

The vast majority of us are very much open to you saying I have heard of cytopoint do you think it would be suitable for my dog could you give me an idea of costs.
I hope that helps.

It helps massively Lonecatwithkitten, thank you so much for taking the time to write that. Your post is all the information I feel was lacking from recent consults with the vet, although I take your point that it's difficult in a 5 minute chat in the car park wearing masks so no one can hear each other! They've gone back to normal consults since my last appointment so hopefully things will be better from now on and I can discuss the options properly now I know what they are You can tick off your good deed for today and it was very much appreciated

@CoasterCoaster

It helps massively Lonecatwithkitten, thank you so much for taking the time to write that. Your post is all the information I feel was lacking from recent consults with the vet, although I take your point that it's difficult in a 5 minute chat in the car park wearing masks so no one can hear each other! They've gone back to normal consults since my last appointment so hopefully things will be better from now on and I can discuss the options properly now I know what they are You can tick off your good deed for today and it was very much appreciated

I completely understand car park consulting is not ideal. The only good thing about it is that very few veterinary practices had to close due to all staff self isolating - for most teams a single staff member going positive would have caused the entire team to self isolate.

I get that completely, it was the best option in crappy circumstances for everyone and I know we were lucky staff were able to find a way to make it work. It makes sense to me that things will get left out when during a normal consult the vet would be asking questions and giving information while they were doing the examination and things were naturally occurring to them. Much harder to get all the relevant info from owners beforehand and then have to remember everything the owner needs to know for afterwards I would imagine so I can see it's no ones fault. Really appreciate you filling in the gaps anyway, I feel in a much better place to make an informed decision.