Advice on Atopica please

I'm off to the vet again today as Ruben my boxer is runninng out of his medrone that he has been on for quite some time now 4mg in the morning 2mg in the evening. my vet has suggested atopica, mainly because he is losing his coat quite badly now as a result of prelonged use of the steroid apparently, but I'm not sure about it and wondered if anyone else has had good results from this drug. Also its very expensive. I'm just not sure what to do for the best.

If you are insured try it. Is Reuben itchy? What age is he & how long has he had the problem

If you are insured you could try it. Has Reuben allergies? How long has he been on Medrone & what age is he & where are his main problems

Just to warn you, my vet put Henry on Atopica for a short time whilst we were awaiting the results of his allergy test...it gave him the most awful colitis, the vet asked me to persevere as it is a known side effect, but it just wouldn't clear up so I stopped using it. He doesn't itch at all now that he has had his treatment, (he is allergic to hazel and some grasses).

I know a lot of people in English Setters have their dogs on it and swear by it, but I just couldn't get on with it, if your boy also suffers from a sensitive tummy then I would be extra cautious.

Best of luck

Hi,

He is insured but the insurance wont cover it (long story). He is allergic to dust mites had the blood tests done last year. He is 3yrs old and it started before he was 1 yr old. He was scratcing his muzzle and making it bleed to start with, then his feet, he would also rub himself along the sofa. At first the vet thought it was just a seasonal thing. Unfortunately not
I have done everything I can think of to help him, his bed is in our conservatory which has tiled floor we got rid of carpets and put down wood in lounge and kitchen is tiled, he does not get into bedrooms but does like to lie at top of stairs which does have carpet. I bought an all singing all dancing steam cleaner which I use most days he is bathed in malaseb and just recently I have started to freeze his food. I feel so sorry for him.

Thankyou for that. I had heard it can make some dogs very sick. What treatment did Henry have?

They took blood tests to see why he was itching, he had not long been attacked and we thought it was a reaction to the op and the bandages. The vet wanted to check for everything so they knew what they were treating, his results came back that he is allergic to hazel and some grasses....I had been walking him through the woods so was probably irritating him without realising. He had some immunotherapy treatment where they inject him with small amounts of what he is allergic to and it, hopefully, helps his body to produce it's own protection. He is one of the lucky ones that seems to have benefitted from it, thank goodness, as I don't know what we would have done had he needed the Atopica long term, it did make him very poorly as he would vomit with it too

As I said though, a lot of people have dogs that are doing very well on it, I suppose it's just like humans and their allergies...Hen also reacted to a sedative last week, so maybe his system is more reactive than some

Oh my goodness poor Henry he has been throught it! Immunotherapy has also beem mentioned, i will grill my vet later today. Had a quick look at your website, gorgeous dogs

I had a dog on it early 2007 he developed muscle weakness, weight loss, joint pain and mild seizures.
For the last 2 years of his life he was maintained on preds and all the above symptoms went, he was allergic to various meat proteins and dust mites.
I damp dusted daily with a solution I made up a powder in warm water which killed dust mites, sprayed the house with Indorex every 4 week, washed his bedding daily and dryed on a hot setting in the dryer, used a dehumidifier as dust mites get their water out of the atmosphere.