Apoquel

Well we tried a vet near our new house and wonder of wonders, he not only recommended we switch to Apoquel right off the bat but had it in stock! (in the large pills so we need to split them but whatever)

Starting tomorrow we start transitioning Olive to it and off Temaril-P :fl
 
Started my 10 year old rescue on it a week ago. Gus has an unknown history but the obvious issues he has are hypothyroidism, arthritis and bone spurs on his spine. He also has a chronic cough that hasn't been diagnosed other than changes in his lungs due to chronic bronchitis. He is on a flovent inhaler that usually keeps in under control. Gus also had been licking and chewing on the tops of his back feet and on his front legs. He's been doing this to varying extents since I got him last year. ( I am getting to the apoquel part).

I've had Gus on grain/chicken and recently lamb free with no difference. I've also tried different antihistamine.

I started Gus a week ago Friday and by Wednesday his cough was much worse. He also had loose stool which, I saw was a common side effect. When I was reading up on side effects, one site mentioned lowering the immune system. I wondered if that was what caused his cough to get worse so I stopped the apoquel. Also, after 5 1/2 days of twice a day, there was no improvement in his licking.

Tomorrow we go back to the vet to get his cough checked on. In March, he almost died of pneumonia so I'm real sensitive to the cough. Not sure if it was a side effect of the apoquel this time around. It's hard to find a lot of literature about the drug.
 
Apoquel is amazing

For what it is worth, we had tried all kinds of approaches for years to treat recurrent skin infections, including staph. He was tested for Cushings, but was negative. At one point in his life I spent a year and a half giving him staph lysage injections in hopes he would build up resistance to recurring staph infections -- to no avail. By the time we got on Apoquel, we were bathing him with medicated shampoo weekly, he was completely off of grain due to recurring yeast infections, was on a raw diet using Dinovite, and we were spending a fortune on Atopica. When our vet finally got in Apoquel, Connor was near the top of the list to try it since we had tried everything else. Incredibly, after starting Apoquel he was completely symptom free within a couple of weeks and STAYED that way the entire time he was on it (he passed in December at 14 1/2). We literally could not believe it. Don't know how other dogs may react, but as far as we're concerned it significantly improved Connor's quality of life during his final year and I wish it had been available eight years sooner.
 
After a week and a half of Apoquel, I think Olive is definitely feeling better! She has sooo much more energy and just seems happier. It might be wishful thinking but I think her coat is a little less greasy too. Her eyes are definitely clearer, even when my own allergies are awful. The vet wants us to keep up with either fish as her primary protein or add a fish oil supplement to keep her skin hydrated. H

We went in for a check up over the weekend and the vet immediately hugged her - turns out he had two PTS appointments beforehand and was so happy to see a positive response. :cry:
 
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