Apoquel - any experiences?

melbury

Vet has today prescribed this for my dog who has been constantly scratching and licking his undercarriage so it is now very sore and inflamed.  The dosage she has prescribed is 12mg twice per day, but he only weighs 22.5Kgs.  Have looked on the website and it says 2 x 5.4mg tablets per day for that weight.  

Has anybody any experience of this drug?

Mnoee

Call your vet and ask them to double check the dosage is correct if you're worried. Random internet strangers aren't the best at medical advice, especially nuanced things like specific dosages, even for pets. 

melbury

Mnoee said:

Call your vet and ask them to double check the dosage is correct if you're worried. Random internet strangers aren't the best at medical advice, especially nuanced things like specific dosages, even for pets. 

I wasn’t asking for medical advice, just if anyone had given it to their dog and did it help.

Dosage is right as apparently they have higher amount for first 14 days.

onylon

I gave it to my dog and the next day she had explosive diarrhea that lasted 2 weeks. Even though diarrhea is a side effect, my vet said it must be a food allergy (she doesn't have any food allergies). I would be very reluctant to give it to any of my dogs again.

peter021072

My dog has atopic dermatitis, and has inflamed ears.  After Apoquel he developed a large lump on one ear flap, but it stopped the inflammation!  The vet recommended never to use it again for him!  However, for some animals it might be OK.  He's been through all the drugs including steroids and Cytopoint, but the best solution was to clean the house of dust!

Peco141

peter021072 said:

My dog has atopic dermatitis, and has inflamed ears.  After Apoquel he developed a large lump on one ear flap, but it stopped the inflammation!  The vet recommended never to use it again for him!  However, for some animals it might be OK.  He's been through all the drugs including steroids and Cytopoint, but the best solution was to clean the house of dust!

Did removing the house from dust work for you and if so, how did you do this?  Air purifier or something?

Peco141

melbury said:

Vet has today prescribed this for my dog who has been constantly scratching and licking his undercarriage so it is now very sore and inflamed.  The dosage she has prescribed is 12mg twice per day, but he only weighs 22.5Kgs.  Have looked on the website and it says 2 x 5.4mg tablets per day for that weight.  

Has anybody any experience of this drug?

Are you still having these issues?

We have a 5 years old Cavapoo Spaniel Cross, and she developed Atopic symptoms.  Lots of itching, loss of hair around her eyes, nibbling at paws and in ear problems which results in quite a bad smell.  She is so down in the dumps with it.

Apoquel has been prescribed by the vet, and we've used 28 tables over two weeks a couple of times, and it completely cleared up the symptoms, no side effects that we can see.  We've also successfully reduced the dose the last time round to x1 tablet per day, which at least seems to keep the symptoms at bay.

The problem is this was £55.18 every single month on top of a pet plan and pet insurance and proving to be extremely costly.

Edit: Meant to add.  The vet suggested contacting the insurance to see if they would cover costs of the medication but unfortunately Waggel declined suggesting it was a pre-existing medical condition.  Just my luck.

However, my main concern with Apoquel is the long term effects. I've read it's not good for your dog to be on these types of medicines longer term. Risks of growths/cysts and possible links to cancer.

We decided to try to boost her immune system, so I bought some Salmon oil from Amazon and gave her 4 pumps per day, but to no avail. Also tried Dog Skin pellet supplements, but she hates the flavour and after trying both symptoms unfortunately remained. As things stand, our only option is to reluctantly go back to Apoquel.

I'm planning to get a prescription from the vets and purchasing online.  This should work out cheaper :

• £24.08 tablets
• £14.14 prescription
• +£2.49 delivery
  Total = £40.71 so a saving of £15 per month.

Also thinking of picking up the Dermacton Shampoo bar online too, but I'm not sure how effective it might be, particularly for treating around the eyes and in ears.

Not sure if this will be of any help to you or anyone else. 

However, if anyone knows an alternative to Apoquel, or a way to get it cheaper on the short term, please let me know.

Katiehound

I don't have any experience of either of these products but they seem to have good reviews and both were developed for skin problems in animals.

You can email them and ask questions- maybe ask for a sample??

 https://anicura.co.uk/pages/about-us
https://anicura.co.uk/blogs/skin-questions

 https://www.camrosa.co.uk/dogs

HTH

Megandlg

My French bulldog has been taking this for a while, in combination with a prescription diet for skin sensitivities and the DouxoS3 range of shampoo and skincare products. It has helped to clear up her skin really well, and she no longer chews at her paws making them sore. At one point they were really itchy and she was really distressed and trying to gnaw at them. This medication has made a massive difference, despite the possible long term side effects. Nothing else worked for her so it’s a no-brainer for me as at least she is happy and content again now. 

helpfulflowers

Made my dog pee all over the house! Although stopped his scratching! 

Lo2013

My dog (Llasa Apso) had a bad yeast skin infection just on his head. After the vets gave him Apoquel it spread throughout his body and I’m still fighting the results a year later. I found pure coconut oil has done more good and it has almost gone since using it.