Molly has been allergy tested and is allergic to dust mites and storage mites - I have spent a small fortune on trying to help her and immunotherapy which did not work.
She would bite her paws until they bled, she was bald under both armpits and spent every waking minute scratching and had severe ear infections. It was heartbreaking to watch. My vet put her on Atopica and her paws are now back to normal, she does not scratch and her ears are fine. However there is a downside, when she gets up from sleeping she can hardly walk, I have to lift her up steps, she sleeps most of the time and is like a really 'old dog' now. She is 8 and the vet said @it's just her age" but it has only happened since she started the Atopica, I'm in a dilemma, what was worse the scratching or now, she's virtually immobile? What should I do? would it be Atopica causing this?

I found this article which maybe helpful, adverse reactions to Atopica can include muscle weakness - it might just be a case of adjusting the dosage

http://www.vetinfo.com/atopica-for-dogs.html#b