[Update] Apoquel: Dog Miracle Drug With a Dark Side
Part One: A New Wonder Drug for Itchy Dogs?
When you have a crazily itchy dog or cat, everybody suffers. Patients in this state often keep you up at night and drive you crazy during the day dealing with the mad itch.
Scratching, biting, losing hair, skin red and inflamed, these guys often stink, ooze sticky moisture from their skin, and many can’t get comfortable long enough to take a decent nap, let alone sleep the night through.
Talk about a pain for you and your loved ones!
At the base of wildly itchy animals is the immune system, which is working overtime, but malfunctioning.
“Dysregulated” is a term used in the scientific papers.
(We have to insert a wink here because immune system dysregulation is entirely a manmade disease. More on that later.)
Interestingly, most look right past that important manmade point and seek to “fix” the itchy beast with powerful drugs.
Enter the latest anti-inflammatory drug to make a splash in the veterinary market: Apoquel (oclacitinib).
And lest you think I’m recommending it, you’ll want to read on for the details about why an abundance of caution is recommended before you plunk down your hard-earned money and start your dog down a potentially dangerous path.
Apoquel is not for puppies. Or cats or people. It’s Apoquel for dogs that we’re talking about.
Born from the loins of the world’s largest drugmaker Pfizer, their former division Zoetis is now the “animal health” giant that brought this much-touted wonder drug to market in 2014.
How big is Zoetis?
$4.34 billion in revenue in 2012, before Apoquel had even hit the market.
But, let's get more recent: as of September 2023, that figure doubled to $8.6 billion!
So: BIG.
Stops Itch FAST!
The claims and even the actual results in itchy dogs are amazing.
Provides onset of relief within 4 hours. Effectively controls itch within 24 hours.”
Irresistible, right?
After you’ve lost sleep for weeks on end and tried everything offered you by Dr. WhiteCoat and Dr. Google without success, wouldn’t this sound like heaven in a pill?
Apoquel: How Does it Work?
Ah, now you’re asking a smart question. I love it when you do this.
How Apoquel works is the key to why you need to be smart.
Smarter than the marketers, smarter than Zoetis, and smarter than Dr. WhiteCoat, who’d be tickled to sell this to you.
(He, like me in the old days of conventional medicine, hasn’t likely read the research on safety or efficacy. He’s just taking his Zoetis rep’s word for it: it works! But guess who did the research… and for how long? A: Zoetis! 30 days!)
Can you say “conflict of interest?”
Pull up a little closer to the campfire for this part, because here’s where the story gets good.
Why is my Dog so
Damned Itchy?
To know how the drug works, you should know first how The Itch works.
Here’s what a board-certified veterinary dermatologist says causes The Itch:
- Flea allergy dermatitis
- Atopic dermatitis
- Food allergy dermatitis
- Contact dermatitis
- Sarcoptic mange
- Demodectic mange
I really, really wish I was making this up. (He’s merely listed itchy diseases, nothing about their causes).
But, while that explanation is seriously lacking in the “why?”, the part he does get right is this:
That’s been true for well over 20 years now. Hard insurance data tell no lies.
Remember that wild and crazy immune system, spoken of earlier? The one that’s off the rails, acting all whacky and dysregulated?
That’s what Apoquel is acting on. It’s being called an “immune modulator” by the experts.
That’s an enticing way of calling out its action.
Sounds suspiciously benign.
Keep reading though, and you’ll see that it’s anything but.
In Part Two, I go into how that dermatologist really missed the larger point of what causes itch. And how to work to truly prevent this maddening disease from wreaking havoc on your own animals.
As you might guess, prevention in a real sense will trump giving a drug to try to control this painful disease.
For now, here’s a brief description of how this “wonder drug” called Apoquel works.
Immunology 101
First, an important understanding. While it might seem like we know a lot about the immune response, there are still large swaths of mystery we don’t yet comprehend.
By its very nature, this is one complex system! If we didn’t have it, we’d have been lost as a species a very long time ago, right along with our pets and our livestock.
That said, we know there are lots of messenger molecules involved.
And sweeping events called cascades, where the right trigger (a virus, say) causes a series of chemical messages and events that, when all is working well keeps you and your animals out of harm’s way.
“Yo. We Need to Talk”
One group of immune messengers are called cytokines.
These small molecules are produced by a wide variety of cells, and they signal other cells to do something like come to the scene of infection, let loose their chemicals, take part in signaling others, dump antibodies, etc.
You’ve likely heard of some cytokines before.
- Interferon
- Interleukins
- Tumor necrosis factors
When inflammation is triggered, these chemical messengers call in the troops. It’s time to heal!
(More on inflammation in context here. It’s not the enemy, by the way.)
Enter Apoquel (Oclacitinib)
A couple of words hidden in those names. A whole class of inhibitory compounds man has invented have “inib” at their end. Short for inhibit.
And “quel?” You get that one.
Chill out this hot mess of inflammation!
So, this drug seeks to stop a piece of the inflammatory chemical cascade by interfering with certain enzymes called kinases, or JAK in the literature, which stops some cytokines from doing their thing.
And it works!
But like all things that “work,” we need to look a bit deeper if we want to raise truly Vital Animals. “Work” can mean cure but it more often means palliation:
Palliation means, while the medicine is being given, the symptoms are relatively controlled. The animal is no better overall and once the drug stops, the symptoms return. In the meantime, the disease is slowly growing and getting less likely to be able to be cured.
Usually, there’s a price to pay in long term health when we interfere with Mother Nature, and this drug is no exception.
Apoquel and Long Term Safety? Not So Much.
My Texas colleague Dr. Ron Hines has done a brilliant job of cataloging feedback from animal owners actually using this drug.
You, dear readers, have also contributed many, many of your own experiences in the comments on this article.
When you read past the glowing reports of “Hallelujah! Peace at last!” you start to pick up a theme.
Those who’ve been using this drug for a while are seeing two common problems. Variations of these occur in most all drugs, in fact, not just this one:
- Side effects
- No longer helping as much as it did at first.
Here are a few real people, real dog problems I highlighted. You’ll see more if you dig further.
8 months on the drug, Bishon
The drug has given my dog (four years old) a quality of life I never thought was possible. He also receives an allergy serum injection every ten days. However, for the past several weeks his nose has been running constantly and as of late he has been gurgling rather than breathing. Two days ago, his nose was bleeding. I stopped the Apoquel immediately and will see the allergist this week. Most importantly, two days after I stopped the Apoquel, his nose dried up, no more running and no more blood. I cannot help but assume that the Apoquel was the cause of his misery.”
6 mo. on the drug, Mini Dachshund
She has gained almost 3 pounds, and has become very yeasty and smelly. She also has pain going down stairs and playing. In reading about Xeljanz (a human variation of Apoquel) in an advertisement in a magazine, I noted that this drug is an immunosuppressant. Yes it works for the itching, but I am concerned about the changes in her health since taking this drug.”
1 year on the drug, Mini Schnauzer
Curly has just been discharged after 4 days in the hospital. He was hospitalized due to a mysterious 105ºF fever, lack of appetite, huge papilloma lesions in his mouth, vomit,and abdominal pain… It worked only in the beginning, and now it barely provides some mild relief to his itch; he chews his paws raw and now his face and legs and tummy itch a lot, too…
So here is our challenge: It seems that Apoquel has greatly contributed to weaken Curly’s immune system to the point that his platelets and also his red blood cell count is considerably low. At the same time, he is experiencing very little relief by taking it. The internist believes that continuing the Apoquel any further (would) wreak havoc in his immune system, that we can only expect more papilloma lesions, further inflammation of his lymph nodes, lower platelet cell cell count and so on.”
Also of note, this drug is not labeled for cats. Or pups under 12 months old.
Hmmm. What are they telling us in between the lines here?
Can Apoquel Cause Cancer in Dogs?
Before I share some real dog, real people experiences on that, let’s make sure you are aware of something.
Did you know that, for decades now at least, immunologists have known that you and I and every animal on the beautiful blue planet are making “mistakes” in our cells every day?
They are called mutations.
Mutations happen during cell division, which is pretty much a non-stop process in a living being. When you’ve worn out a liver cell or you’ve got to knit a cut back to normal closed skin, it’s cell division that makes this possible.
But, like all biological systems, cell division isn’t a perfect process.
Some “oopsies” happen, and the copy comes out wrong.
Some mutations are harmless, some, when certain genes are involved, cause runaway cell division way past what’s necessary.
The result? Tumors.
Tumor cells are in me and you and your dog right now
The understanding of those steeped in immunology is that it’s our immune system that is the sole reason every mutation that starts running wild in cell division doesn’t create cancer.
We likely have regular battles waged on cancer cells that never become tumors.
Why?
Our immune system correctly “saw” these cells as foreigners.
And called in the guard, like white blood cells, complement, interferon, natural killer cells, etc.
And summoned those kinases, known to be great communicators that help coordinate the attack on the wayward cells leaning towards becoming cancerous.
What’s Apoquel good at?
Taking out some of those kinases, remember?
Is an immune communication breakdown possible, when we mess with the kinases?
I’d bet on it.
And, it’s as if Zoetis never got the memo about how important our immune system is to prevent cancer:
APOQUEL may increase the chances of developing serious infections, and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or **pre-existing cancers** (emphasis mine) to get worse. — company literature
Pre-existing cancers?
Isn’t that what we’ve known about for all these decades?
They are ALL pre-existing until they get a green light to grow, aren’t they?
Let the Apoquel Dogs Speak
Here’s a handful of the many comments that say that’s likely far better than I could:
Linda, young German Shepherd
My 4 year old gsd was on it for itching. She died 2 months later with lymphoma
Carley, 7 year old Aussie Shepherd
Do either of your dogs have hard lumps in their lymph nodes? Unfortunately my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma after using apoquel. I’m in the process of collecting more data if there is a connection because my vet brought it to my attention (not the vet that prescribed the apoquel) my dog is a 7 year Australian shepherd lab mix and has been completely healthy and happy minus his allergies. In comes the apoquel and then the lymphoma it’s hard to not think it is related
Bruce M, Boxer
My sweet boxer Daisy turns 5 in 10 days. She has had allergies for virtually her entire life, and we have tried a variety of diet changes and treatments. She got a prednisone shot in May, and it lasted about 3 weeks. A clerk at the vets office said they could give us “something” in a pill form, and it would last longer and has proven to be very effective. It’s a very good vet practice, so we trusted them completely.
On June 23, I began to give her the “pill”. It was apoquel. Within a week, the lymph nodes under her jaw began to swell. Took her to the vet the next week, and the needle aspiration was inconclusive. It turns out her lymph nodes were swollen behind her legs as well. They did a biopsy, and we were informed today that she has lymphoma. She also defecated pure blood today.
I asked the vet, “did apoquel expedite the cancer that was in her body”? He said “yes”, because it compromised her immune system and allowed the cancer to take over.
Dan, Bedlington Terrier
Our dog (Bedlington) had horrible grass allergies. He would scratch himself bloody. We put him on Apoquel because he could not sleep from all his scratching. It was a wonder drug and his itching stopped after 24 hours. His coat came back, and he was a new dog. 2 months later he had a benign cancerous skin lesion on his nose that had to be removed. Wish we had connected the drug to that problem. 4 months after that he developed squamous cell carcinoma in his lower jaw and died 3 months later.
Too Good to Be True? I’d Put Money On It.
So, a big caution here, as with all “miracle” drugs.
If it’s interfering with your dog’s immune system, and running out of gas after a certain period of use, is there any hope that it will cure your dog’s itch?
Of course not.
As you’ve learned, if you’ve followed along for any length of time, drugs never cure chronic disease.
They cannot.
Want more? I’ve got a Free Report for you outlining alternatives to Apoquel that work without negative side effects.
Click the button and grab yours now:
Apoquel Alternatives Report
Part Two: Apoquel Side Effects
In Part Two of this series, we look at the real causes of The Itch, and immune dysregulation.
Neither of these fell from the sky and happened to land on your poor innocent dog, as you likely have guessed.
Tell us in the comments below if you’ve had any experiences with this “wonder drug” called Apoquel.
My vet recommended apoquel for my CAT. 8 months into this the itching has returned and he has painful bowel movements that have blood in them. I have stopped the drug and am trying salt baths and plan to try oatmeal baths plus a prescription spray on spots as needed. Hoping my cat will heal naturally.
My 3 year old Rottweiler Luka was put on this drug in February this year as recommended by the Vet. Not knowing side effects from the drug as there was no info inside or outside the packet supplied by the vet. We noticed he had bloody diarrhoea and then bloody nose , lethargic, vomiting., We booked to see vets
On the 17th of April the vets carried out a blood test. He was prescribed course of antibiotics. I went to collect his pills from the vets On the 18th and was called to her office I was informed that his platelets were Low which was a shock to me as Luka was so strong and vibrant, I was told that he needed to go to the hospital asap, where an appointment was made the following day. On the day of the 19th took Luka to the hospital and had a discussion with the consultant . My wife had told the consultant most of his history which was not much as he very rarely need to see the vets apart from his annual booster. My wife also stated that he was on apoquel because he was chewing his paw, we told the consultant all we now know was side affects of this drug and Looking at the notes from the vets and unknown to ourselves they called apoquel obviously concerned and unsure. Back to the hospital now it took 3 people to hold Luka as they took him away that’s how strong he was . He did not have a harmful bone in his body such a sweet boy within 3 days the hospital killed him.
The following day I googled aproquel and could not believe what I was reading. I made an appointment with the consultant at the hospital and gave her all the evidence I found from different sites including this one.
I look at the consultant in the eyes and told her between the vets and yourselves you killed my dog, her eyes was watery trying to say she done all she could. Trying to cure a problem that we now know was a side effect from this drug.
They put doses of steroid into him and god knows what else the gave him a chemo drug and a blood transfusion
We went to see Luka and he was in his kennel on the floor I knelt down to his face and called his name, he look at me and bearly lift his tail to wag it I kissed him All over and he was lying there panting exactly with no rhythmic pattern my wife and daughter also knelt down and kissed him all over he also had eye contact. My wife said he should be put to sleep but we did not get any professional advice from the consultant. They left him there for another 8-10 hrs where we had a phone call at 4.15 in the morning saying Luka had deteriorated they also knew that we lived more than 30 minutes away they said the time it would take to get down he would be gone. Got there at 4.50am obviously too late. We feel so much guilt it’s unbearable my wife gave him the pill and I drove him to his death totally distraught that we lost our sweet boy. We now have to get our cockapoo tested as she took the same drug.
My dog was put onto Apoquel and then not long after started having Seizures
I put my dog Buddy on Apoquel a year before I had lost my Abby a shih tzu to congestive heart failure & was hanging on to Buddy so tight ! I had him to the vet for every thing to keep him healthy. He was a shih tzu 13.5 years old & the sweetest little thing. He was having skin problems itching even after taking him off grains & chicken products. The vet suggested Apoquel I started him out slowing & with in three weeks he was having seizures I took him to the vet again we stopped giving him the Apoquel & tried seizure medicine but it didn’t work he just kept getting worse wouldn’t take the medicine. It got to where he couldn’t stand without having a seizure he was having to many to count. Buddy had never had a seizure before! I had to let him go he was suffering, he didn’t deserve to go out like that! I wish I would have known about this before. I try to warn people about this some listen other look at me like I’m crazy.
My dog got lymphoma cancer because of apoquel.
My 6 year chocolate Labrador recently died. She had explosive diarrhea for about 2 weeks. Our vet prescribed antibiotics etc and nothing helped. Week 3 I took her into urgent care because she stopped eating. Turns out she had an aggressive stomach cancer that perforated with leaky gut making her septic. I always fed her premium food and even filtered water, she got the highest quality everything. She had been on apoquel most of her life because of skin itching allergies. My vet never explained the risks ever. Over the last year I’d been seeing negative info re apoquel and cancer and figured it had to be false if my vet trusted it. I do now believe, even though hard to prove that apoquel did kill my sweet Briar Rose. I will never give any of my dogs anything but natural supplements for allergies ever again, and will never give apoquel ever again knowing what I know now. I have even convinced family members giving their pets apoquel to stop. Heartbreaking to lose my soulmate dog at only 6.
Im so sorry for your loss 🫂❤️🐾❤️
Oh gosh me too. My dog a lab cross is 10 years old and has had seasonal allergies at first each year it has become more involved needing the medication longe.
She got the shot 🙄 ?
It worked the next year ( last year) started her on nightly Claritin it worked great until recently. We took hr to the vet and she pushed the apoquel m. We did 3 week treatment 80 plus dollars. Worked great until she was finished. I got 16 more 16mg for 80.00 it works but not as well as at first.
After reading these terribly heartbreaking stories of unnecessary pet harm and death that’s it. Going to try to find a natural supplement.. anyone know about canine Cbd ?
Thanks for your stories. 😶
I had to put my 8-year-old dog to sleep this past Sunday, March 3rd, 2024. He had an abdominal mass that exploded and his stomach was full of blood. It happened very fast within a 2-hour time frame. My husband & I are heart broken & torn apart,….He was on apoquel for a little over a year. He had horrible skin allergies and his allergies also affected his eyes, always watering & red he rubbed them on us and the carpet. Our vet suggested apoquel, it worked we were so happy for him. I asked about side effects and they told me it was rare. I trusted them as I had tried several natural supplements that offered hardly any relief. I will NEVER put another dog on this drug EVER.
Hi Dr Will Falconer,
I reached out to you about a year and half ago, about my Bryn. She was on Apoquel for close to two years because of allergies.
Long story short Bryn was later diagnosed with Lymphoma.
Although you responded with the best advice you could give at that time. We realize it was to late.
Eventually Bryn lost her 18 month, two remissions struggle with chemo to try and prolong her life.
I want to thank you for everything you are doing to get the word out on this horrible drug named Apoquel.
Thanks, Tom
My 5 year old shepherd/husky Pebbles developed allergies this summer. We went into the vet to update her shots and give her a good checkup. She was healthy as ever, and the vet prescribed Apoquel to help her itchiness from summer pollen. 2.5 months after using this drug, Pebbles collapsed on a walk to my horror. I quickly snatched her up and ran to my car, horrified knowing something was wrong. I decided to google “Apoquel side effects” and found several that matched… lethargy, lack of appetite, diarrhea… So I booked an appointment with the vet and immediately took her off Apoquel. She’s now been diagnosed with Lymphocytic Leukemia, and is slowly dying in front of me. This dog has been the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my life. She has been a therapy dog when I was down, and a best friend. I knew in my bones it was the Apoquel, and after finding HUNDREDS of other people saying the same thing, I’m convinced this “wonder drug” is poison. DO NOT give this to your beloved pet, it will likely kill them. I wish there were something else I could do, the helpless feeling I have watching this part of my family quickly die in front of me is the absolute worst thing.
I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine
I am so glad that pet owners are finally understanding what a horrible existence their dogs suffer due to this drug. I see it most everyday with my customers dogs that truly believe it’s NOT the right thing to give their dogs, but continue on it……until they no longer can. It is such a shame.
My 6 yr old Pug Grover gets crazy itchy every Aug-Oct. When Allegra didn’t help Apoquel was prescribed (my ignorance). Grover was on Apoquel twice a day from 8/25 – 9/1 and got one dose on 9/2 then started with bloody urine, so I didn’t give any more. Urine started clearing up on 9/3. 9/4 he developed diarrhea and vomiting. Vomiting didn’t last long. He stopped diarrhea after cleaning out his bowel to the point of watery little bits of diarrhea. He seems to be getting better. Keeping in fluids. More energy. Resting most of the day.
How is Grover doing? I pray everything cleared up. Mine has been on this med for about the same amount of time, and I won’t be giving it again after everything I have read today.
Apoquel has been fine with my dog she is happy and healthy been on it for a while I think it’s better than seeing her itch all the time I think it’s amazing .
That’s what I thought. I had my dog on apoquel for 4 years… A chihuahua, until about yesterday he was beside me at dinner asking me for bits of chicken, and ate them. I heard him squeal at 6 am and took him out he peed and did number two. But the thing is for the past 3 weeks he was down, he didn’t want to walk, he would normally show me his belly so I would scratch him most of his life except for the last 3 weeks. We took him to the vet, and she, the same vet that prescribed apoquel because he was very itchy and would scratch himself raw and would draw blood and nothing we tried helped. All his legs were scarred and no hair would grow in those areas. She never explained the risks of this drug, and when she saw him about a week and a half ago and claim his swollen belly was some random symptom but that he would be fine, this afternoon he died. We tried to revive him for half an hour. His belly was hard. Thankfully we had been giving him benadril and it kept him without feeling most of the pain. it was benadril, and I am 100% sure the veterinarian knew that apoquel kills dogs, and she didn’t say anything about it to make a buck. They LOVED to call me to make tests on my dogs and “never found anything” and would cost me an arm and a leg… I am taking my other dog off that veterinarian and might even sue them or at least will make sure everyone that goes there knows what kind of veterinarian she is.
Made a mistake, meant to write “it was apoquel, I am 100% sure.
I thought the same way. One injection is all my rescued boy got. At first, I was thrilled to see him get relief so fast. Then shortly after, issues of aggression popped up out of nowhere that he didn’t have before he got that poison injection. If my regular vet was available, I’m pretty positive he would have warned me against it, knowing full well my holistic views. I was desperate and made the mistake of not investigating first and now these aggression issues have led to a red line situation that I need to try to reverse. A serious bite with a certain breed of dog will surely lead to being euthanized. I should have known better than to trust any pharmaceutical remedy and if I were given the information that Ivermectin would have fixed the itching, perhaps at a slower rate, I would have never allowed them to give him that injection. I can only pray at this point that this can be fixed, and my sweet boy will not suffer a tragic fate through no fault of his own. If you love your pet, stay away from this poison!
We have a 12 1/2 year old Shitzu. At the age of four she started having skin lesions but I was always able to treat her with natural remedies. In August of 2022 she started to smell, coat became dull, loss of hair, oily and scratching constantly. Kept us up at night due to her scratching. On May 3, 2023 I took her to our Vet (I avoid them as much as possible) and he prescribed prednisone for 14 days, Cefaseptin 300mg Tablets for 14 days. This was a MIRACLE drug – that very first night she slept through the night and the bald spots were already showing signs of recovery. Then at a follow up visit on May 24, 2023 he gave her a Cytopoint shot and put her on Apoquel. For the first two weeks she continued to improve, no more scratching but I was told to keep her on the Apoquel and give it to her as needed. She gained weight even when I cut back on her food and became very demanding and aggressive during the day. So now she was good at night but a tare by day. She had always been a quite, patient dog but not anymore. We couldn’t take her in the car anymore because she barked incessantly. In August of 2023 I was told by a clerk at a pet food store that the cause of her allergy could be her food so at her advice we changed her food and she has calmed down and we can take her in the car again. I had just filled a prescription for 50 tablets of the Apoquel when we switched her food and I am only giving her a 1/2 tablet every 3 days. I am wondering if I should just cut it out altogether.
I do hope you stopped the Apoquel.
Please anyone who is thinking of using this product, do your homework!
Especially anyone owning a German Shepherd!
My 7yr old German Shepherd was only on the drug for a few months and she went from a happy healthy (other than allergies/stratching) to crashing on me.
Hemangioscarcoma (sp) killed her. Masses on her spleen, liver and one on her lung. by the time we found this out it was too late.
2 weeks before her demise she went through hell with bacterial infections, fungal infections, It had progressed to 90% of her body!
I had taken her off the drug because I actually found out the horror of this drug, but unfortunately it had already done its damage!
Yes maybe the cancer was already there, but this drug suppressed her immune system and allowed the cancer to take over quickly!
I’ve had discussions with my Vet and still I’m told that it does not suppress their immune system!
This drug is not safe as far as I’m concerned and will continue to tell myself putting my dog on this drug shortened her life!
PLEASE EVERYONE DO YOUR HOMEWORK IT IS NOT A MIRACLE DRUG LIKE THEY CLAIM!
The article mentions Apoquel, the latest anti-inflammatory drug for itchy dogs. While it may seem like an easy solution, I’m glad the writer is urging caution before jumping to use it. It’s important to be well-informed before making any decisions about our pets’ health. Thank you for sharing this insightful article!
On Sunday 25th June 2023 our 14 month old Springer Spaniel woke up very lethargic, eyes rolling to the back of his head and could barely stand up. Just a day before, he was his silly self running around with other dogs, presenting no signs of any illness, he could play all day without being tired. He was taken into ICU with suspected lungworm. After they had done a blood cell count they found his white blood cell count to be practically non-existent. After some further tests they then concluded that he had pneumonia, from this pneumonia he developed a collapsed lung and a pneumothorax. Because of this, his chest was constantly filling up with liquid and air, so he was put on a ventilator as a last resort. He lost his fight on 30th June 2023. Prior to this our boy had developed skin allergies for the past 4 months. We tried a course of steroids to begin with, we had him on hypoallergenic food, nothing seemed to be helping so the vet suggested apoquel. The vet said he would need to be on it for life but only told us that the side effects would be a slim chance on cancer, not that it would completely destroy his immune system. After being on it for a week we were amazed at how it cleared his skin up and stopped his itching however we now know this has come at a cost. He had only just turned 12 months when he started taking Apoquel. Does anyone have any advice on how to take this further? We have sent a report but I don’t know how this drug is still allowed to be prescribed.
We rescued a one year old staffy in 2016 who had terrible allergies. She would break out in these giant hives and always had itchy feet and would scratch and chew herself raw. Her first vet prescribed Apoquel and basically called it a miracle drug. And it was at first. It was the only thing that stopped her itching (we had also tried limiting her diet and medicated baths etc). We kept her on it on and off for a year.
On her second birthday, we found a lump on her chest right over her mammary gland. We took her into the vet and when they aspirated it, the results were inconclusive. However, because the lump was located over her memory gland, the vet suggested immediate surgery just to be safe. Thankfully, we took his recommendation because after biopsy, we found that it was a mast cell tumor. She had to have a second surgery because they hadn’t gotten it all in the first round.
I had this gut feeling that apoquel was the cause of her cancer. She was only two years old!! And it’s the only thing I could think of that would cause something like this. We took her off it and asked the vet about the connection. He basically said that there’s no way they could prove the connection, but because she was a bully breed she was predisposed to these types of cancer. The only thing he would admit was that since she was predisposed there was a possibility that the drug could have sped up the process. Regardless, I trusted my gut instinct, and we kept her off the apoquel and I started doing some research. This was five years ago and the drug was still fairly new so there wasn’t a lot out there, but I did find other people who experienced the same thing I had with their otherwise young and healthy dogs.
I also went to the actual brochure they give you with the medication and in a little semi hidden pocket in the middle of the brochure, there was a print out detailing all the testing they had done on the drug. The print out said that in their testing, dogs under the age of six months had died of pneumonia and several of the dogs in the test group had developed mast cell tumors just like my dog. They also listed side effects, such as ear infections, which up until that point I hadn’t connected with the drug for my dog. She always had so many allergies, I assumed her ear infections were related to those.
But since we have stopped the use of Apoquel, she has not had ear infections, and she also has not had any recurring mast cell tumors. At the time of her surgeries, we were told that as a bully breed, she is predisposed to these types of cancers, and that most likely she was going to have recurring tumors over her life. Fast forward to now when she’s seven years old we have not had any more tumors (even though any bump or lump we have aspirated right away because we’re terrified of losing our pup.)
I am a dog walker, and one of my clients is a seven year old Rhodesian Ridgeback who was just diagnosed with a heart murmur and found that he has the early stages of an enlarged heart. He has been on apoquel for the last few years and he has the same recurring ear infections my dog had and now this with his heart. Back in 2017 when my dog was diagnosed, I felt like a crazy conspiracy theorist over the apoquel but now all these years later, seeing how many people have had similar experiences with their dogs breaks my heart. I believe this is an evil drug and that it’s killing our animals and I’m so glad I listened to my gut versus my vet about taking her off the drug all those years ago
Haha! Welcome to the “crazy conspiracy theorists” club. Until people realize in time, you weren’t crazy at all!
My 7 yr old ShihTzu, for the last 4 yrs has had skin issues bad, ear infections all the time. They gave her a shot of Apoquil . She’s really no Better. It’s constant. Losing hair and gaining weight. Is prednisone a better one? My daughter is going to take her to a Holistic doctor in 3 wks. Thank you!
This is, by definition, chronic disease and no drug will ever cure. Never has, never will. To reach cure, it takes professional help in the form of a qualified homeopathic vet. Here’s how I sort them.
p.s. may have to work long distance. That clearly works, in the right hands.
Where can I find a solution for extensive itching and allergies, my dog has been on this drug for about a year. I believe he has an autoimmune response to flu shot and other shots before I took him from rescue. Can I detox him? Thanks so much.
Scroll through the article again, and download the Apoquel Alternatives Report. It takes more than detox to cure your dog, but you can detox if you wish with Venzeo, from my sister company Venjenz.
Hi Marie,
Did your dog start itching again after stopped apoquel?
My vet suggested this medication and I’m very worried.
But my dog is licking his paw till raw.
Did you change her food?
What do you feed her now?
Apoquel isn’t ALL doom and gloom.
We have a 7 yo GR who has been on apoquel since he was 1.5 years old.
We tried food allergy testing, went to an all raw diet for three months, removed items from our home . . . he was chewing up his feet and legs and they were getting infected. He also had a nasty ear infection.
Final conclusion was an allergy to fleas, dust mites and chicken.
Our GR now eats Fromm duck variety food and takes three 16-oz Apoquel pills per day. (That’’s nearly $300 per month for (one of) our 4-legged children), plus annual vet visits).
Do I wish there was an alternative? Absolutely! But i also wish there was world peace.
There was/is no way for our dog to live a quality life without apoquel.
No regrets.
I hope you’re right but my poor sweet little Westie took it for 6 yrs w/no problem then started throwing up and not being able to eat. Now she is starving and can’t eat anymore. There are alternatives that are not drugs. I felt like you do,
now. . .all I have is regrets and anger at big pharma.
I agree entirely with you Hrlrnah – I too feel unalloyed fury at what big (p)harm(a), in cahoots with our veterinary practice here in the UK, has done to our beloved Labrador. She came to us in 2018, aged just 5 years, already having been for some years, on a daily dose of Apoquel for an alleged ‘otherwise unmanageable’ skin allergy. I took her in the fortnight after she’d come to us to our (then) trusted vet, who had looked after all our furry family members for the previous 20 years with thoughtfulness, kindness and a high standard of care (two Labradors and one cat had lived long, healthy and happy lives – 14, 15 and 20 years respectively, hence our trust in the veterinary practice) for some advice about whether to keep going with the Apoquel. He just asked me how many pills I’d like to take home – no suggestion of discussing the mechanism of action of this horrible, toxic drug, so I assumed that it was an antihistamine, although I did reduce her intake dramatically straight away, only giving her a half dose when she had a particularly itchy day in the spring/summer. I changed her food completely, cooked for her myself and gave her plenty of fresh fruit and veg (from our garden, so no chemicals), along with taking her sea swimming, exercising her in grassy pastures and woods – we live in the South Downs in England, so there’s lots of open space and interconnecting footpaths (away from crops and glyphosate nasties) and making sure that her bedding (and our sofa covers) were washed regularly, using only non-bio, chemical-free products. Her itching went away completely and over the next year, I was able to take her off the Apoquel altogether.
Fast forward to autumn last year (2022) when our shiny, exuberant and perfectly healthy and super-fit 9 y.o girl suddenly fell over one morning, having lost all strength and tone in her left foreleg. We took her straight to the vet, who (of course) just prescribed an anti-inflam (Loxicom) and said it was probably an idiopathic something-or-other and to just wait and see. She was fine the next day and back to her energetic self, so we heaved a sigh of relief. She then developed a sudden limp on her back leg a month later, but didn’t seem distressed or in pain from it, so we took her back to the vet after a week of no change or improvement in her gait/limp, who examined her (extremely roughly, which did make her sore) and said he though it was ‘probably her anterior cruciate, which would necessitate a TPLO’ to fix it. We were horrified at the idea of putting her through such a major surgery on such a flimsy basis, but having trusted this practice for 25 years, we booked her in for an x-ray in 10 days’ time. The x-ray itself was inconclusive, but they obviously did something terrible to her during the procedure as she never ‘came back’ from that, but 2 days later went into shock with haemorrhagic diarrhoea and had to go back to the vet for 24 hour ‘care’ and IV fluids. We brought her home 3 days later (they were STILL planning to do a TPLO op on her, despite no further follow-up or tests to find out why she should have gone into shock, and were very blase about my frantic worries about the state she was in and the fact that she could barely move and barely eat). I phoned them daily, telling them about her lack of progress and fretting about her affected hind leg wasting away before our eyes. There was a strange smell coming from her leg by now – but they dismissed this and just prescribed more painkillers….. I knew intuitively by now that it wasn’t her cruciate ligament that was the problem, but I couldn’t get anybody at the veterinary practice to take my concerns seriously, so in despair and desperation, we took her in to see the independent osteo surgeon to see what he thought. She was shipped straight off to the operating room without being examined and 15 minutes later, he called us to say that her leg was ‘red hot’ and she had a raging temperature. They x-rayed her leg again and said it was an osteosarcoma and that she probably wouldn’t survive amputation and chemo, which they said would only give her another ‘6 months at best’, so the kindest thing for her would be for us to agree not to have her brought round from her anaesthetic, but have her euthanised there and then. We asked if we could be with her (we only live 10 mins away), but he said no, they needed to do it right away, so we lost our beautiful, beloved friend without even being able to comfort her at the end. I am in tears as I type this and can’t read what I’m typing – even 8 months later, we are in such pain and I feel so desperately sad and guilty about trusting these venal, profit-driven shills for the pharmaceutical industry. I have failed my dearest friend utterly and I have nothing but regret about the path I took her down. The take-away lesson from this miserable tale is that even though she’d been off the Apoquel for more than 3 years and I had learned about its mechanism of harm – (thanks to the wicked shenanigans of the ‘vaccine’ barons with their inadequately-tested, dangerous mRNA gunk they were busily injecting into humans, I started hitting the books and doing my own homework), it was too late to rebuild her immune system and the annihilation of her cancer surveillance system let in a turbo-charged, deadly killer. Please don’t imagine for a moment that the danger is past once you stop giving this dreadful drug to your dog; as they age, they become immunosenescent anyway, so to have already compromised her immune system to such a catastrophic degree by effectively downregulating it to the point of almost switching it off entirely whilst on Apoquel, is a crazily hazardous way to go. Our beloved dogs rely on our good judgement and wisdom for their wellbeing now that we can’t rely on allopathic vets anymore (I do think they weren’t as bad as they are now, before they lost their integrity via the profits-over-pets paradigm), so I would urge anybody reading this to follow Dr Falconer’s advice and find an alternative/holistic vet and STOP the Apoquel (and most other allopathic prescriptions) immediately. At no point was our darling girl seen as anything other than ‘a leg’ or ‘a gastroenteritis’ case by any of the vets and no dots were ever joined or a more holistic approach taken. I should add that coincidentally, our old veterinary practice had been bought out by a private equity partnership in 2018, but that none of us (i.e. the clients/patients) had been told that the practice had changed hands, so had no idea that their approach might have changed. They mysteriously upped their vet numbers from 4 practising vets in 2018, to 24 by 2022, so that by the time our lovely girl was in their (extremely indifferent, unkind and careless ‘care’) last autumn, she was seen by no fewer than 11 different vets over the 10 days she had left to live. We are very very sad, bitter and traumatised – telling this tragic story won’t bring her back, but it might just raise awareness and help a few other beloved dogs avoid a similar fate; I can only hope and pray. Our dogs deserve much much better.
I am in tears reading this. Im so sorry you and your dog endured this. My heart aches with you. ❤️🐾🫂🐾❤️
I’m so sorry for your loss 🐾🐾❤️
I’m also really worried as I started my dog on this drug he’s had 9 tablets and I have just thrown the rest down the toilet.
I’m scared I have caused something nasty. Do you think after 9 tablets he can become poorly In the future.
I never give him drugs always holistic,
the paw biting and arm scratching became so bad that the vet said try one tablet a day .
I raised concern about cancer and she said there’s side affects from paracetamol but we still take them
And I’ve known dogs on this drug for years and they are fine.
I should have gone with my gut feeling
Never before have I used drugs hate big pharmaceutical companies.😡
I hope after 9 tablets I have not damaged my dog in any way .
No more drugs for my fur baby.🐾🐾
The corporate vet practices (also human medical practices) are awful. No dr knows what the last one did-if they even have time to read the notes. I get that it’s lest costly than have a 1 or 2 person practice, but the care aspect is drastically diminished when medicine becomes assembly line (the industrial revulsion in medicine). We tend to trust our practitioners when the prescribe or inject us. Now, I ALWAYS ask what drug/injection and why/ for what and if there are any known side effects BEFORE accepting whatever from a dr.
Same here in The Netherlands with our American Bully Named King ( almost 7 years)
Allergic for many things.
Different foods, pollen, Even grass.
From eight months till now almost 7 years he gets apoquel daily. In winter he gets 1,5 a day…at summertime max. 3 a day.
His quality of live improved a lot … So maybe the conclusion is…Better live shorter without itch and infections then live longer with it.
We do not regret it at all to use apoquel and made his last 6 years a better live. And even If he dies of cancer next year….
We love our King, and will not let him suffer.
I don’t think it’s as simple a choice as either 1. Live with the horrible itch or 2. shorten life (and cause more serious disease) with Apoquel.
It pays to look deeper and seek out a qualified homeopathic vet if your animal is already in the throes of allergic disease (the #1 reason dogs see vets, for the past couple decades).
Homeopathy, in the hands of a serious practitioner who uses little else, can cure the allergic state. Then, you’re not only not doing the harm that the Apoquel causes but you’re also not left playing Whack A Mole, trying to find non-allergic foods and avoiding the environment.
I explain how to sort out the qualified homeopathic vets on this video: https://youtu.be/XyEklB8W6M0
What is your position in regards to Cytopoint? Safe or harmful? Adverse reactions seem commonplace as this biologic affects the immune system. Zoetis claims are certainly different from that of many dog owners. The placebo group wasn’t that much different than that of the primary drug, Lokivetmab.
Veterinarians receive “Reward Points” for signing up clients/dog owners. Do Vets have a Code of Conduct or is this rather common in your profession?
I appreciate your objective inout.
I have a rescue dog that was fed adult kibble, vaccinated for EVERYTHING, microchipped and spayed at the shelter at 3 months of age.
It took years to heal her gut and control most allergies but in the fall she was miserable. A couple of apoquel tabs to test and the vet then put her on Cytopoint as it was safer, he said.
But in my estimation, cytopoint cannot be stopped as quickly as apoquel, its IN THEIR SYTSTEM. I have her now on raw food, but she still has seasonal allergies. She will chew and lick obessively once the irritants fire up.
I now give her 1/2 of an apoquel as needed. It works for a minimum of 1 week. SOmetimes, depending on the weather, it will work for a month or more, quieting her irritation and allowing her skin to heal. Sometimes I can control her irritaiton with Zyrtec. Bathing helps for about 20 minutes.
Its a heartbreaking thing to see a farm dog not able to lay in the grass, so the apoquel, I feel, in extreme moderation, is less of a danger to her system than the “safer” Cytopoint.
My vet seems to agree.
I’ve blogged about Cytopoint and share your concerns.
Vets have a code, similar to MD’s, but they are both in bed with Big Pharma for the most part. Pharma is at every meeting, sponsoring free luncheons, breakfasts, and all manner of gatherings, plying vets with food and/or booze, while looking for more sales.
And yeah, I trust the comments that come in on both these drugs way more than the “research” that was done in house by Zoetis, Merck, etc.
I have a nine-year-old American bulldog, part boxer, and he was itching himself to death. It was driving me crazy as well. so I got my cousins veterinary to come to my house and he didn’t even look at the dog look at his feet. He said in the chair from a far and said he had podo dermitis and would have to be on apple quill the rest of his life 16 mg a day because he weighed 80 pounds ! yes, they cost me $250 for 16mg pills. So I was wondering why you have to give your dog three of them a day of the same that my dog took? how big is your dog? anyway, it’s been like four years that he’s been on it and now he has domectic podo dermitis which is cause by immune system not working and I feel like he got the Demodex really bad from the weakens immune system from APOQUEL. I also feel little like cysts or bumps around his leg and in his chest which really freaked me out ! after hearing and reading, so many articles about the auto immune, not working after taking up a quote I totally blame it on that !! I started him on it, because his feet were itching and looked terrible and I felt so bad that he had to feel this way but it was a relief in the beginning because the itching was driving him crazy and driving me crazy at the same time because I hate to see my animal hurting and uncomfortable !! it’s been four days since I took them off Apoquel and he was itching like crazy again ! not even any kind of ice gel pack or neosporin or aquaphor would help on his stomach! no, he never ever had anything that bothered his stomach and recently he’s been scratching like crazy !! I’m taking him to the vet this week as I’m retired and I don’t have that much money and all my money so far so far that I have had extra has gone for any kind of cream any kind of benadryl to help soothe him.
since he has Demadex now, and never had it before I feel like the immune situation has made it out of control as I have read in many articles. did Demadex has multiplied because of no immune system. i’m really pretty mad that the vet recommended this for my dog.
now, another thing is that somebody told me that chewable Bravecto cures demodex the best. He also has an abundance of yeast which is another immune problem. right now I’m only going to shampoo him until I see the vet. I washed him today when I got home with some Shampoo for mites and ( i wish i could add pictures ) this was not a benzyl peroxide shampoo. It was a different medicated shampoo, but it worked for today. I’m getting the benzyl peroxide shampoo until I see the veterinarian. after the shampoo, he did not lick his feet, but he was still scratching his stomach, but so far stopped. He’s 9 years old now and I don’t intend on losing him !! after Frankie started getting the demodex mites really bad on his paws where he even his toes are swollen, red and partial hair loss on them !! 😢😡I have seen some hotspots on the body, but I’ve taken care of those. This drug Apoquel for me has turned out to be SO BAD ! The hotspots was really had me checking out everything about Apoquel because he’s never had that before and he got some on different parts of his body and it worried me ! they were a little tough hair and if you remove the hair, there’s a circle like a quarter that’s bright red ! I had never ever seen that before, so I cleaned it off with povidone iodine on it to clean and then put neosporin and kept checking it!! when he got a few of these I really started to wonder. now the backs of his front legs have some thing on it and I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it’s eczema. I don’t know if it’s psoriasis I don’t know what it is. I kind of understand your use of it for your dog because it’s so annoying rattling. Disturbing to have your dog be itching but you don’t know what it’s doing to your dog internally.
I don’t know about anybody else in this world but if you yourself had an itch or had a problem you would take care of it there’s so many people out there that just say oh he’s OK but they don’t have that itch and it’s very annoying and painful !! thank you for letting me speak out. Damn these drug companies that put out drugs that can do this horrible immune problem to humans & dogs for $$$ !! (Thank you for this article!)
Ms. Maria D.H.
Best shampoo has been dawn dishwashing liquid. No fleas since using it on my pets. Skin and fur are fine.
My boyfriend and I lost our pitbull Lilly only a few months ago from lymphoma developed within a month of taking apoquel. She was about 10 and healthy other than severe allergies, testing revealed allergies to grass and human dander. We thought apoquel was really helping her until the lymph nodes behind her legs enlarged, then her neck and groin followed. We stopped it immediately. We tried everything to keep her with us and after 6 months of chemotherapy and getting her cancer into remission it came right back. It makes us angry this terrible drug is still out there and we were not given a single warning of possibly side effects especially death by cancer. We said goodbye to sweet Lilly girl who is finally at peace and not itchy but we can’t help but feel robbed of our time with her from this terrible drug. We warn anyone who ever mentions it.
My 14 yr Chihuahua Tolly was put on Apoquel Jun 22. Sept 22 diagnosed anal gland cancer. I stopped Apoquel. My Tolly is suffering Rhinititis. Tolly is suffocating, struggling to breath because of Apoquel. Apoquel is killing my Tolly. Drug should be illegal and banned. I hope to be apart of a class action lawsuit against them. Patntolly@gmail.com
Hi – My dog Buddy (staffy cross breed) was only on Apoquel for 1 or 2 weeks to relieve some severe itching. He was 14 at the time and is now nearly 16.. however i do believe that the drug caused him to go deaf, it was too sudden to be just down to his age in my opinion. My vet did warn me there were some side effects to the drug but did not really go into what they were, she was convinced that the pros would outway the cons due to his age at the time. He was in a bad way for a couple of months around the same time as the itching.
He suffered horrendous toilet issues and was constantly licking at his paws which she advised was probably arthritis in his joints – I really thought he was not going to survive much longer. I changed his diet to Royal Canin Gastrointenstinal after a couple of months on boiled chicken and rice. He still takes a daily CBD capsule (my own research for his arthritis) and a B12 vitamin which she said he was lacking in. I think i have been very lucky after reading all of this. I’m so sorry to hear about all the other poor animals that have been affected or died after taking this drug.
My healthy 12 yr old chorkie had an itch allergy and was given apoquel, as soon as he was on the medicine he was thirsty, up in the night needing water and the toilet, he was then diagnosed with kidney disease, then pneumonia and he died… all within months. I hate this medicine! I truly believe apoquel killed him.
What are your thoughts on Cytopoint as an alternative to Apoquel ?
Cytopoint: High Tech Answer to Your Itchy Dog?
My shitzu was diagnosed with lymphoma after taking appoquel* and my vet informed me of a drug called fenbendazol (panacure C) and it took 3 months but the lymphoma is gone. This also works on people please research it.
Stay away from cytopoint.
My dog got fatty tumors within a month.
Beware af ANY meds you give your dog.
Try human grade diet and different protein.
Honestly I wouldn’t give and vaccinations I don’t have to, even rabies.
Nothing that’s put in your pets body is properly tested.
Beware. I lost 2 dogs after getting stuck in a hundreds of dollars a month battle, for years with apoquel, cytopoint among other “symptom” treating medications.
My sweet 4 year old GSD was put on apoquel and died 3 weeks later – she made this deep guttural noise and I had to drive over an hour to the only after hours clinic that would see her. By then she was passing melanic stool so I knew she had an upper GI bleed…she succumbed to hypovolemic shock because the vet wouldn’t give IV fluid in her vein…as an ICU RN I have been so guilt ridden for failing her – I miss her so much
I wish I would have done my research. I trusted the vet who was trying to help my miserable, itchy, pulling get hair out 8-year-old German Shepherd. She started it in October 2021. It’s not May 2022 and she’s had so many uncontrollable seizures that she has brain damage and is a shell of the dog she once was. It’s possible there is a tumor in her brain but a CAT scan for a dog in rural Arkansas is over $3,000. I am trying to make her last days as comfortable and loving as possible, but I know she won’t be here for more than a couple weeks more. Two different vets have told me there is absolutely no way that apoquel had anything to do with it. I don’t want to ever have another dog companion again, how could I ever trust another veterinarian again after watching my dog decline so quickly. From being the sweetest and cutest fluff butt, to legs so we can wobbly she can barely stand, she can’t see and she can’t hear. I’m devastated.
My little chihuahua mix Bella developed Pemphigus in January. Misdiagnosed as atopic derm she was given cytopoint and multiple courses of antibiotics…to no avail. Not the right diagnosis. A steroid shot helped immensely when we saw the on call vet but our regular vet would not give her steroids as he felt this was pyoderma. More antibiotic shots and hydroxyzine.. All frustrating as I practice human dermatology myself and initially I felt she had a blistering disease, like pemphigus. Fast forward to a Dermatologist Vet who biopsied and confirmed pemphigus. High doses of steroids rapidly cleared the active lesions and crusts. Now on steroid taper and apoquel BID for two weeks, just started the 3rd week. She was like a miracle dog last week, happy again running around. Her hair is starting to grow back. Overnight this little dog is completely lethargic, won’t get up for her food, and when she does get up she is limping terribly. We are stopping this drug today. Thanks for the wake up call….I know how the JAK inhibitors work in humans but they may not work for our pets. I hope I have stopped this soon enough.
Dear Dr. Falconer,
Thank you for this article and thank you for being a breath of fresh air in an otherwise horrible money-making industry that is our modern-day veterinary medicine. It infuriates me to see what has become of this industry, especially here in NY state (down state, LI).
I two have been down the apoquel train. Luckily my dog did not have cancer as a side effect however she did get diarrhea, ear infections and vomited. After doing research I didn’t like the apoquel and took her to a certified dog dermatologist. All vets said it was food allergies but the dermatologist did a test and found out she is allergic to human skin cells, every grass and pollen imaginable. The dermatologist put her on immunotherapy which take two three months to start working. That was 7 years ago now and I have an old dog now that is still loving life. Go see a certified dermatologist for dogs to stop the itch and scratch.
Our dog was on this medication for a couple months, we couldn’t figure out what was causing his itching and fur loss. We brought him to a dermatologist for dogs and they prescribed him this. However this didn’t not help us because he was still losing his fur and itching. So they upped his dosage. We finally figured out he was allergic to our birds. So we got the birds rehomed and he started to get better. We stopped his meds and all his fur started coming back. About 2 months later we found our dog freezing cold in his own vomit and feces. We rushed him to the vet and found out that a tumor on his kidney erupted. When they xrayed him they found that he had multiple tumors. We had to put him down that day.
Thank you for writing this article. My cattle dog mix Maxwell went on Apoquel in January 2020. He immediately developed a very rough wheeze/cough, and i took him off.
Unsure if the wheeze was caused by the Apoquel, we restarted it a couple weeks later when his itching resurfaced. The wheezing started *immediately* after he digested the pill. I took him off, and didn’t think any of it for a couple months.
Then, Max got a bump on his leg in March 2020. It was a malignant mast cell tumor. He had two surgeries to remove it, and was thought to be doing well for almost a year.
Maxwell then started limping in June 2021. Bone cancer. He was gone within two months.
He is the most amazing dog I’ve ever known. There will never be any better. I am sure that Apoquel caused his first cancer, and probably his second. Gone far, far too soon. He was only seven.
Been reading about the connection between Apoquel and cancer since he was diagnosed in 2020. I told my vet what happened, and was pretty much brushed aside because I’m not a veterinary professional.
But the evidence is obvious. Thank you for writing this article, I will be sending it to my friends so their pets’ lives aren’t cut short like Maxwell’s was. A total, complete shame on the vets prescribing this and the manufacturer for continuing to make it under the guise of their biased study.
My 7 year old German shepherd was prescribed Apoquel for skin allergies. I am usually very wary of all pharmaceutical drugs, but stupidly gave this drug to him because my Veterinarian said it was “safer than Prednisone.” 5 months later he had to have a splenectomy. Two months after that, he died of hemangioma sarcoma. Before Apoquel, he was healthy and his bloodwork was perfect. Aside from allergy, he was an active, happy dog. I didn’t know this until recently, but he was misdiagnosed by the Vet as having contact dermatitis and suspected allergy to chicken. Turns out he had Malassezia.
I’m 100% convinced Apoquel killed my dog. I am riddled with guilt for recklessly giving him that drug. I’ll go to my grave regretting that. 😥
My 10-year-old beagle started at the quill in October 2021. She would lick her paws constantly and the vet thought she had some type of allergy to something in the yard. I didn’t think anything of it and put her on this expensive medication but it immediately stopped the itching. By the beginning of January she had developed a large tumor on her leg and started limping. Pathology on it indicated it was benign. The vet removed it with an extensive surgery that included skin grafts and over 100 sutures along with three times weekly surgical wrapping at the vet. That also removed for tiny tumors right below the benign one that same day. That came back from pathology as sarcoma. Within two weeks she was covered and two weeks later she died. She was perfectly healthy even at Christmas. I have videos of her running and chasing my Doberman and opening Christmas presents. She went downhill very fast. I am now convinced it was the Apoquel.
Apoquel killed my beautiful Belgian x border collie.
From healthy to liver cancer within months.
I’ll never forgive myself for giving her this poison and if I hadn’t become disabled I Would have given her the salt baths that cleared her skin within 24 hours.
I’ll go to my grave riddled with guilt , hating the vet who misdiagnosed her and for giving my precious girl Apoquel. Please try salt baths !
I am so sorry for your loss
I too just lost my German shepherd who turned 7 on June 23rd 2023 and died July 1 2023
I am devastated same cancer same drug.
Apoquell should not have been used I thought her itching was bad enough but all the secondary infections she suffered through before her final demise was pure hell for her and myself. She was only on apoquell a few months when I noticed changes in her and actually did my own research on the drug. Yeah my vet said works great no mention of side effects cancers etc. I took her off it told the vet suppresses the immune system? Told oh no I’m wrong . So did the cytopoint shot and all he’ll broke loose fungal infection, bacterial infection. She was only off the apoquell for about 4 days before the shot and they still insisted I should be using both. The itching was from all the infections at that point not allgeries!
2 weeks of antibiotics baths and 5 days later she crashed! Emergency vet clinic , then sent to university vet hospital to find out one or more of the cancer masses had ruptured she had blood in her abdomen. There was no hope that hemangoscarcoma is fast growing it was on her spleen, liver and one lung.
Told common in breeds like german shepherds, golden retrievers, and pitbulls!
Maybe the cancer was there but using apoquell let the cancer run rampant!
Wish a professional t9ld me this but no still insist it does not suppress the immune sytstem!
My girl was still a trooper and lifted her head and her eyes told me she was ready to go, mamma had to make the call.
From a healthy high energy dog to this bad outcome 7yrs is not old!
Every vet should make clients well informed of this drug and possible outcomes, cancers etc!
Hi
Your story really touched my heart and I too have a dog(rescue) labrador, who came to me with £300 months vet bills mainly apoquel 16mg
I’ve had him 5 months and he’s had a period of 5 weeks prior to his 1st vet visit without any meds and I wouldn’t have taken him to a vet for the conditions he’s listed to have!
Is apoquel really that bad? I’m only learning this today
Please feel free to email me
Kind regards
Andrea
Cottrella249 at gmail dot com
We have owned Airedales since 1989 and our latest (4th) developed itching, licking and scratching when she was about 18 months old. She ended up with a backside like a Baboon and licked a strip from her back which looked liked raw steak. It was utterly heart breaking. Apoquel was prescribed and she has been on it since, 2 x 16 mg per day to begin with, but we have titrated that two half a tablet just before bed and half in the morning and her coat is now thick and glossy – zero licking or scratching. She is now a happy, inquisitive, loving, naughty and highly intelligent princess. Her diet is cooked veg, sardines and chicken, with potatoes, rice and pasta for bulk, she weighs in at 28kgs. She has no, repeat no doggy treats. I strongly believe dry food whatever the “quality, hypoallergenic etc” was the root cause of her problems with its’ super concentrated “stuff” in it. Having said that her aunt (our other older Airedale) eats dry food. The Princess gets no doggy treats at all however “natural” they claim to be. Will she ever be off Apoquel, maybe but if not I would never, ever, allow any dogs to go through what she went through. I am not aware of any scientific, clinical trials that have documented, demonstrable, credible links between Apoquel and cancer or any other life threatening conditions. If your dog is itching and scratching and simply won’t stop look at diet and environment for sure but do not dismiss Apoquel like some numpties still dismiss CVOID-19 vaccines !!
Ah, Airedales. I had one at home during my high school, college days, and what an amazing dog Jake was. Of course, in those days, he was barely vaccinated. It wasn’t the crazy “norm” we have now, where vaccines are often pushed yearly. He ate Purina Dog Chow (we didn’t know any better) and was never sick.
I blame the vaccines far more than the food, as the food can be changed to balanced raw food and a certain percent of allergic dogs still will suffer. I call allergies “immune confusion,” and there’s nothing like injecting foreign viruses (or mRNA for that matter) right into the body, bypassing all the natural defenses Mother Nature has provided for millennia, to confuse the immune system.
So, let’s hope the “other shoe” never drops for you and your buddy.
And, if you don’t think anything is real under there are double blind studies, you’ll wait a long time to find any like you suggest. I think it’s wiser to look at the mechanism of action of this drug and listen to the hue and cry from so many who’ve seen nastier diseases than the itch emerge after the drug started further messing with an already disturbed immune system.
I just had to put my dog down, it killing me,and to find out that it was probably the apoquel that did it, makes me feel like I did it
Oh, Wendi, I hear your pain. I just want to assure you that this isn’t about a decision you made for your dog. The vet you put your trust in made that decision for you. And why wouldn’t you trust your vet, right?
You did the best you knew to do and followed that seemingly hopeful veterinary advice to get your dog out of the downward spiral of chronic itchy allergies.
It turns out the vet was not telling you the risks inherent with Apoquel (which is wrong, but also all too common in vet medicine). And now you’ve lost a dear family member.
Bottom line, take time to heal from this horrible grief (see my free Bach Flowers for Animals course for some natural helpers, made for humans — it’s yours when you join the VA Pack, also free). And please, please: Don’t blame yourself. This was not your fault. Know this from the depths of your heart.
All my best, and may this loss spur you on to a more natural path. That’s the greatest tribute anyone can make to a loss like this. WF
My dog is on day two of apoquel and he’s getting so much relief. How do we get to the bottom of what is bothering him? He eats Answers raw food, drinks filtered water. We don’t give flea & tick meds and have decided no more vaccines. How can we figure out if it’s food, environment, etc?
Take him a certified dermatologist for pets. It’s literally their main field and they can help you figure out exactly what your dog is allergic to.
Hi Dr, can apoquel cause heart enzymes to go higher than normal, my dog has a heart murmur, and his heart enzymes were very high
Thanks Will. This will save me from the pain of unessasary loss
Wendi,
Please do not blame yourself for the loss of your family member. That blame falls on the veterinarian that you used. I was a veterinary technician for over 25 years and retired because I did not like seeing where the industry was heading. I am of old school thought process if it isn’t broke don’t fix it! Too many vets, like doctors, do zero research into the meds they prescribe. They get many incentives to prescribe those medications, fact! Like how I treat myself, I now treat my animals the same way, as holistic as possible. Research is now our best friend because we cannot rely on doctors and vets to look out for what is in our or our pets’ best interest. Just like you having to be your best health advocate, you must be your pet’s best health advocate as well. I got into veterinary medicine back in the 80’s and it has changed and not for the better sad to say. Sorry for ranting but I hate to see folks beat themselves up over something because they trusted someone that was supposed to do the right thing. Sometimes the hardest lessons are the best teachers. Hang in there and know that this was NOT your fault.
God bless.
Hello Wendi, I just had to do the same thing to my 3 year old boxer I got for my 50th bday. She was the heart of our life even though we have grandkids. She too was on opoquel for about a 1 1/2 year. I miss her terribly. I know the pain you are feeling right now and how I feel like I did it. That is something I feel like the vet should know as well b/c they recommend this medication and the fact that boxers are prone to cancer she should have know better then myself and it is probably the same for you too Wendi. Try not to blame yourself to much even though that is easier said than done. Bless both of our loveable pets.
I am so sorry you lost your dear Maxwell. Thank you for sharing your experience and thereby allowing him to save other dogs’ lives (possibly mine).
My dog is suffering from itchiness. You recommend that anti-inflammatory like Apoquel could be a remedy. Are there any side effects of using this drug?
Shaun, no, I clearly do NOT recommend Apoquel. Read the article thoroughly and read the many, many comments, the majority of which speak of cancer after use of Apoquel.
That “side effect” is worse than The Itch, don’t you think?
So what exactly should we do for our dogs then, sir?
Download the Apoquel Alternatives Report from this article.
I have a Yorkie that will be 16 in December. She is on Apoquel. I’d like that report. I have had similar experiences to those listed here. The most concerning is weight loss She is a tiny one to begin with. She has lost 1 pound (normal weight for her is 4 lb. She doesn’t eat much and has had bloody stools and vomits if she doesn’t eat. I believe she has a chronic stomach ache from the medication and the reason she doesn’t want to eat. Her labs are really good which surprises me. She is also deaf and nearly blind. It’s hard to know if that is age related or something else.
Go to a pet certified dermatologist discover your dog’s allergies and specify you don’t want any immunosupressant drugs as part of the treatment plan. Regular vets are cool, but you want heart surgeon not a brain surgeon to do heart surgery. Same applies to skin allergies.
We started our American Bully on Apoquel on Tuesday December 7, 2021. Exactly 1 week later he started vomiting. We got some antiemetic medication from his vet and got the vomiting stopped. He refused to eat but he was drinking some water. We were frequently giving him 10 ml’s of pedialyte and Gatorade as well. He seemed to start coming around. Wednesday night/Thursday morning he died in his sleep. After researching Apoquel, I blame it on them 100%. My family is devastated!
I wish I had seen this article before I started my 10 year old Golden Doodle on Apoquel. He was only on it for 3 weeks and started acting lethargic and wouldn’t eat. Then he would act fine and eat and then return to not eating. Blood tests revealed anemia and an ultrasound. found tumors in his spleen, bladder and possibly liver. Could Apoquel cause this cancer to form that quickly or was the cancer there and Apoquel caused it to spread? He was only on it for about 3 weeks. We are heartbroken. We couldn’t take the risk of a tumor rupturing and having him have a horrible death. Please let me know what you think. I would never give this drug to any dog!
Hi Donna, I’m so sorry to hear of your senior with cancer. This, like all cancers, began well before 3 weeks ago. You, your dog, and every mammal on the planet has cancer cells arising on a daily basis. That’s decades old understanding. Why aren’t we all filled with tumors and dying of cancer then?
A: we have immune systems whose job it is to ferret out “foreigners,” and that includes cancer cells.
Any drug or intervention that interferes with that well tuned, natural system that’s evolved over millennia is a risk. Apoquel is clearly aimed at stopping part of that system.
Thank you for. your quick reply. I am torturing myself thinking I gave him a drug that caused his cancer. If I understand correctly, he had this cancer already and this drug possibly caused it to spread more quickly. Is this correct? I was hesitant about giving it to him but he vet assured me it was safe. Now I feel I gave him something that caused this aggressive cancer.
Our boxer Tyson had allergies starting very early on, maybe around 1 year old. For a while, Benadryl was working well enough. After a year or two though, his allergies got worse. Apoquel seemed like a new miracle drug when the vet told us about it. At the time, we didn’t know any better, so we went along with it. Tyson ended up taking Apoquel for most of his life. About a year ago, the Apoquel seemed like it wasn’t working well anymore, and he was incredibly itchy all of the time, so we took him in to see the vet in December. That’s when the first mast cell tumor was discovered. I started researching Apoquel and immune suppression. I was in nursing school at the time, so the light bulb in my brain finally came on telling me that it was a bad idea for him to take this immune suppressant drug for so long. I immediately stopped giving him the Apoquel, and I was terrified, because I just knew that it was too late and the damage had probably already been done. He started receiving monthly Cytopoint injections right away to help with the itching. Tyson had surgery in January to have the mast cell tumor removed, and when biopsied, it turned out to be high-grade and very aggressive. He was still very itchy, even with the Cytopoint, and he had just been prescribed steroids as well, but I knew that steroids should not be used long-term either. So then I did what I wish I would have done years ago… what I WOULD have done if I had known any better… and I took him to see a dermatology vet for allergy testing. The dermatology vet gave him Temaril-P, a combo steroid and antihistamine, which did help the itching a bit. I had been on high alert for any lumps after the mast cell tumor was discovered, and I started to notice lumps all over his body. I knew it was his lymph nodes, and I began to worry about lymphoma. On the next visit to the dermatology vet, he checked the lumps that I had found… and I was right. Tyson had cutaneous lymphoma. We decided to continue the Cytopoint injections and continue giving him steroids to keep him as comfortable as possible, because we knew that he would only have a few weeks left at that point. Tyson ended up with lumps all over from the lymphoma, but what got him in the end were painful tumors on his front paws that opened up and began to drain and get infected. The last week that Tyson was alive, we had to change wound dressings twice a day and give him pain medicine regularly. But we also got to do everything that he loved. We took him for ice cream, for dinner at our favorite local bar that has a doggie menu, multiple trips to Petco. We fed him all of the cheeseburgers and fries that he wanted. And then we scheduled an appointment for at-home euthanasia. He passed away in my lap, in his favorite spot next to the window overlooking the backyard, with our cats and other dog and his favorite toys all around. I will never give another dog of mine Apoquel for as long as I live, and I will always tell my story and discourage as many people as I can from giving it to their dogs. I know that boxers are prone to cancer to begin with. But I just KNOW that Apoquel killed my dog. He was filled with tumors from not one, but two different types of cancer. He also had chronic ear infections and skin infections in his paws. He had constant GI issues. We also weren’t able to board him at all in the last 3 years that he was alive, because the last 2 times that we ever boarded him, he got so sick that I thought he might not make it. Looking back on it, I can’t believe that I didn’t put 2 and 2 together, that this drug was making him susceptible to infections, and that it was probably the reason for so many of his problems in the end. Tyson was 8 years old when he died.
Sending you love. We lost our 7 year old shepherd mix in a similar way (mast cell and lymphoma) last month. He had been on apoquel almost 3 years and we had no idea of the side effects until the tumors were visible, we immediately took him in and they immediately took him off apoquel. He lived for 4 months after that visit with Multiple interventions.
I’d put tumors way out in front of “infections” as the far more worrisome side effect of Apoquel’s suppression of dogs’ immune systems.
I bought my mom a French bulldog. She put her on Apoquel when she was about 8 years old. I was really against it. After this her dog started getting UTIs. I kept saying it was related to the Apoquel. My mom got mad at me and argued and insisted the dog needed it as it prevented skin allergies. I told her that’s not even what it’s for, it’s an anti itch pill. I told her they it suppresses the immune system. I asked her vet about it and he said he never heard of dogs getting more UTIs from Apoquel. Fast forward 2 years and her dog (whom I took over care for) now has TCC which is a form of bladder cancer. I’m very devastated. I should have trusted my instincts and pushed even harder for her to stop using it but she was so adamant about it. She still won’t believe me. So I’m now taking excellent care of the dog but she is dying of cancer and needs to be diapered as she lost complete control of her bladder and has blood in her urine every time she pees.
My dog was on this medication and became I’ll. Fever and now eating. It turned out her gall bladder had burst. Is it possible that Apoquel had any role?
I don’t know, Stacy, but it sure is unusual for a gall bladder to burst. Have you asked why it burst? Was a tumor involved? I’d want more information than this before you accept “burst” as the reason your dog is sick.
Anything that affects the immune system is going to affect animals differently. Trouble is we don’t know what is just waiting for a weakness in the immune system to attack the body. My 8 year old Beagle has been on Apoquel for about two months now. I see changes that are concerning from upset stomach to shedding on hair. Her moods are definitely affected as well. Sounds like the company did limited testing and now we as pet owners our pets have become the long term test subjects. I do praise the drug for doing what its suppose to do. My dog got so bad she practically chewed her paw off requiring a month with a cone. But if the risks are significant I don’t think this is a good long term drug.
6 yo cattle dog Lucy went on apoquel 2 weeks ago. She started acting weird. Today she attacked our senior boarder collie for no reason. Both have lived together for years with no incident.
My pit bull had severe allergies since he was a puppy. We tried everything them eventually his dermatologist put him on Apoquel. He said there was no data on any side effects at the time as it was fairly new on the market. It worked really well at first and then his itch slowly started to come back but we kept him on it as the Dermatologist said he would be worse off of it. We had tried everything else including immunotherapy.
In April 2019 my dog was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his hind leg. He halos has 2 masses in his abdomen. We removed the leg right away and did the 6 sessions of chemo to help kill the remaining cells.
He did well for 2 1/2 years until last month. The abdomen masses which we were told not to touch had grown a lot and were invading other organs and his rib cage. Within 6 days of our last Oncologist visit his health declined very quickly. We said goodbye to him last Monday. The hardest thing in the world. I believe it was the Apoquel that did it.
I started giving my American Bulldog…Duke …Apoquel on Friday, August 13, 2021. He weighed 134 pounds. Gave him 2 tabs a day for approx. 2 weeks. I tablet on Friday, August 27, 2021. Saturday, August 28th he woke up dragging and threw up about 4 times until he collapsed. We rushed him to the Emergency Vet in Greenville, SC. Got him there about 3:00 p.m. they immediately took him in, set him up on IV fluids, did bloodwork, X-rays of stomach, hooked him up to EKG machine. Heart rate at 200, blood pressure low. Finally stabilized him but kept him there overnight. He died at 12:50 am. Prior to this day, Duke was a healthy Bulldog with skin allergies but not sickly. We ALSO CANNOT HELP BUT BELIEVE THAT APOQUEL HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS. We have contacted the manufacturer. Now finding alot of information on line as well.
My Border Terrier was on 8mg of Apoquel per day for about 7 years since she was about 16 months. It controlled her itching pretty well. She had her upper ear canal removed when she was 3 due to constant infections, She had a terrible eye infection about 2 years ago. The vet said she had a low immune system. then last April she started taking seizures. The vet just couldn’t get them under control she was on about 8 epilepsy tablets a day and was like a zombie it broke my heart. I had to let her go in December as they were happening every couple of days no matter the dose, the vet suspected it was a brain tumor.
Not sure if it was the Apoquel or if she was just unlucky with her health.
Hey Keith, I’ll submit that health or disease, in any species, is never a matter of luck. It’s a matter of decisions we make. Always.
You don’t seriously believe this statement, do you?
It would imply that in a terminal cancer-stricken child, either the kid or their parents made a decision that resulted in said cancer?
What decision would that be; the parents choosing to conceive?
Agree. This Dr just lost any credibility I’d allowed him with that statement.
Amen Dr. Falconer!! I agree 100%. What we put in our and our pets bodies is vitally important. If you mess with your body, rest assured your body will pay you back. And chance are it won’t be good. I had a dog on Apoquel maybe 10 yr.s ago. As soon as I found out about that stuff I took him off of it. I have to add that the vets office was surprised when I said no more of that garbage for my dog. So much of what people consume today is worse than unhealthy, it’s almost murder or suicide. Sorry for the drama…. Some things that are supposed to be food, are not. The same for our pets. And when it comes to medicine, I hope people will research and learn more about what they use. It could be a matter of your pets life or death. I am not saying to not trust the vets and doctors, I am saying do your homework and learn as much as you can before you decide to take or give a medicine. Better to have wisdom than to cry later. Thank you so very much Dr. Falconer for all of your input and sharing your wisdom. Sure wish you were where in our area. I also hope that more vets will see the difference you make in the world.My dog Wilson thanks you too!!
He is not blaming the personal decisions of any kids or parents. He made it very clear already that dog owners are not to blame either. It’s the fact that we place our trust in professionals who assure us of safety, whether it’s a drug, lawn care chemicals, gmo foods, etc. When he says “decisions we make” I believe he is referring to decisions of humanity in general. That is my take on it. I really think that those offended by his statement have misinterpreted it. That being said, with the rise of the internet, it is now easier to share stories and dig deeper into some of the misinformation we are told. So how long can we keep denying any personal responsibility?
Our 11 year old dog was on Apoquel for a little over a year and a half before she ended up dying from lung cancer back in 2017. Quite a while before the cancer was diagnosed we took her to the same veterinary clinic that prescribed the Apoquel because she had a visible lump in her chest area. We were told it was “just a lipoma” and that she had several others around her neck. They never put two and two together that she was on Apoquel. Most normal veterinary practices also do not know according to the manufacturer’s package insert, animals should be monitored for things like tumor growth of any kind while on the product! I have learned the hard way there is no such thing as a magic pill and caution everyone to think twice before considering this for your beloved pet.
My dog was on it for a few years. Died at 8 years old from lung cancer as well. I can only speculate, but I think it was the apoquel. Dogs don’t just get lung cancer for no reason.
My 7 year old bulldog was on it for five months and then died of lymphoma. Horrible, I know better than to trust Big Pharma. I’m so sorry Scarlett.
I too believe apoquel caused my 8 year old yellow lab to get lymphoma. We need to get this drug off the market .
I have a dog that struggles with impulsive/compulsive behaviors that appear as aggression. I have done behavior modification on him for over two years and his major backslides appear after he’s gone on apoquel for his severe allergies. A friend mentioned that there was a link between the drug and aggression and it dawned on me that a recent increase in behavior coincides with a recent three week course of apoquel. The last time he was on it, he developed a large lump in his face, and prior to that he grew a large lump that had to be excised from his arm. I’ve been researching because I’m convinced there’s a correlation between excessive adrenaline outbursts and histamines as there seems to be a connection in the behavior related to it.
Really interesting, H. I wonder if, in addition to its known effects on suppressing immunity, Apoquel also creates gut dysbiosis. As you likely know, the gut-brain axis is well established, so behaviors can change when the flora gets disrupted. You’re one of a handful who’ve brought behavioral changes after using this drug to my attention. Likely more need to watch for this and report in, especially if they are periodic, on/off users of Apoquel.
Hi,
I also think that apoquel has affected my dogs behaviour. He is a sprocker, only 2.5 years old, was always very playful and submissive with all dogs and humans, but after being on apoquel for a month now, he has become aggressive to most dogs and some humans, and has become very territorial. I have an appointment with his vet next week so I’ll be asking for more information. I’ll also be taking him off apoquel as I’m sure there are more natural ways to stop a grass allergy. If it was ever that at all.
My pug/Boston mix is 13 and has been on apoquel for about 2 years. No physical abnormalities yet but she is a different dog. Extremely hungry all the time, aggressive and paces all
The time. She’s just not the same mellow girl I had. Apoquel turned my dog into a zombie. I’m done!! Thanks for posting everyone.
Thank you for posting— we’ve observed those very same behavioral changes in our 13 year-old mini dachshund. She’s so determined to find things to get into/ingest, we’ve found it necessary to ‘baby-proof’ our house.
My 12 year old Westie also became extremely aggressive after two months on Apoquel. Four days off the drug, he is returning to his normal self. We will deal with the skin issues another way.
Wow, interesting but unexpected. It appears this aggression is a more common side effect than we originally heard about. Thanks, Alan, and the best cure for skin issues is professional homeopathic prescribing.
Thank you for all you do. My 11.5 year old cattle dog mix has been on Apoquel for a couple years now and just this week had to be admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove his spleen which was full of masses and misshapen as such. During surgery they also found his liver to be covered in masses, 60% of them being on the left outer lobe, which they also removed. Biopsy results this week- praying it’s benign but I’m not feeling good about it. He’s super resilient. We adopted him at 4 months; at his 1 year checkup we found that he had heartworm that he likely came up from Georgia with but hadn’t shown on his initial evaluation since it can take 6 months to show up. The heartworm treatment triggered myasthenia gravis and he spent a week in the hospital. He refused to eat when we got home so I had to force feed him wet cat food so he could take his meds. He was on immunosuppressants for maybe 4 years after that until I insisted we wean him off. He did well for a bit and then developed horrible allergies to the point of licking his paws raw. We tried a few different things before he went on Apoquel 2 years ago. I am always skeptical of miracle drugs… but also at 9 years old, we figured if it gave him a few good years, that would be worth it. Well. Here we are a couple years later and I shouldn’t be surprised, yet I was in complete shock this week when his hind leg weakness and malaise on Tuesday turned out to be tumors on his organs rather than a myasthenia flare. His dermatologist upped his Apoquel dose two months ago. I didn’t think he had gained weight, but she said he had moved into a high dose class, and that that was likely why he was recently red and yeasty in his groin area. He’s on Heska allergy drops as well. I’m committed to never giving him the Apoquel again and am about to go look at your other page detailing what to do. He has many environmental allergies (including human dander 😳) so I’m not sure how well we’ll do, but I’m willing to try anything. Thank you so much for all your info provided here. Hoping for good news this week. Losing my best friend is no way to start 2021 (not that it’s ever a good time).
This is indeed a sad story, J, and perfectly illustrates the cost of conventional medicine: things get more serious the longer they are used. Your hopes for good news are likely to be dashed, I’m afraid. You’ll want to prepare yourself for the reality ahead, which is not going to be pleasant. With your permission, I’d like to excerpt some of your story to help others avoid a similar fate. As these stories of conventional failures are more widely known, perhaps we can save more animals from suffering like your guy did. I wish you both all the best with what’s ahead.
I wish had I found this website before my Sarge (German Shepherd, 8 years old) died suddenly and traumatically from hemangiosarcoma. He was insanely healthy (maybe a tad overweight) up until January 2020. He had his yearly vaccinations November 2019, including his 3 year rabies vaccination. All bloodwork came back w/shining stars. I thought I was being a responsible owner, doing the best thing for him. He was also on simparica & interceptor plus.
January 2020, he suddenly could not walk. After multiple tests a large mass was found under his groin area. It turned out be an abscess. When I say large, I mean, the size of a grapefruit. But you couldn’t see a thing from the outside of his body due to the location of it under his hind legs/up close to his spine. The specialists even thought he was originally suffering from degenerative myopathy – that’s how hidden this huge mass was. Thankfully, it turned out to be an abscess. Unfortunately, while the ER vet was draining it, it ruptured. He went septic and got pneumonia. He recovered – after $15k, oxygen for a week and 3 weeks at the ER! The weird part is, they tested the bacteria in the abscess (located INSIDE his body) and the results were skin infection. I can’t remember the exact name.
For about 2 months post-recovery, his nose, fur, etc all looked healthier than it had in years. My puppy was back…then a month later he was itching like crazy, crusty nose, hot spots galore, ear infections etc. Cytopoint shot didn’t help. I switched him to dry prescription food. Didn’t help. My vet referred me to a dermatologist who put Sarge on prednisone, Apoquel and an antibiotic. I WISH I had researched Apoquel. I spent thousands on Sarge; he was the other half of my heart. How could I not research it? I would NEVER have given him Apoquel if the dermatologist had said to me “this will wipe out his immune system”. It’s my fault for not researching, I know. But I trusted these people….
Sarge was on Apoquel for just over a month when he went from seemingly normal with tons of energy to unable to get up, heavy breathing, white gums. The ER vet said he had internal bleeding and hemangiosarcoma was the diagnosis. His heart stopped before he could undergo surgery to stop the bleeding.
I called his dermatologist on the way to the ER vet – never suspecting cancer, thinking it was an adverse reaction to the meds – and they said oh no, his meds wouldn’t do anything like that to him. The dermatologist called me after she got news that Sarge had passed to provide her condolences and she said “cancer, it all makes sense now”…insinuating that his skin issues were from pre-existing cancer. After reading up on Apoquel, and stumbling upon your website, I am so disgusted with myself and his dermatologist. I feel like I failed Sarge – I feel like I put him into the grave myself. Almost 2 months since his passing and the guilt is so overwhelming.
Thank you for your work – I have no doubt that you are saving the lives of countless animals….Animals who cannot advocate for themselves….Members of the family that are at the mercy of their owners. Thank you.
Dear dear Rachael, I am so sorry for your loss. And I understand why you are feeling so bad. Please don’t be so hard on yourself. Darling, you are beating up the wrong person. You were trying to help Sarge!! He had some issues that would be difficult for anyone to manage. You would have done anything to see him not suffer. What you have done, is learn a valuable lesson about medicine and some doctors. And you are helping others by giving your testimony. The responsibility lies with big pharma not alone but also with the doctors, vets in my opinion. You cannot tell me that the vets don’t know what is going on with this drug. There istoo much evidence of deathly sick dogs after using this medicine. So where do you go from here. I don’t have that answer for you. Not yet anyhow. I think these vets are taking advantage of people at the heart ache and expense of the life of their pet. Rachael if I may go one step further, please research medicine for yourself as well if you have been prescribed something. Especially if it is something you aren’t familiar with and even if you are, you can never have too much wisdom. I don’t care if it is an aspirin. You should know what it can do to you. Then you can have an educated conversation with the doctor about is the best for you. Also, the more you know about the medicine, the better you may be able to tell if it is working or something else. My heart goes out to you and Sarge knew you loved him. It will take time to heal the loss of Sarge. I pray you will have a chance to enjoy another love deserving pup one day. A Friend, Peace
Please don’t blame yourself. It was not your fault. You loved him with all you had.
I’m finding that conventional vets, as a rule, can not be trusted. Either bc they don’t care or they don’t want to do the research that they should, before prescribing meds. Especially medications that have not been on the market for at least 10 years.
I lost my English bulldog Lily on Oct 28th of this year to liver cancer..she was a week away from being 5 years old..she went from perfect at her Aug checkup, with normal blood work to sick in mid Oct..she had been on Apoquel on and off for 2 years due to allergies..even though the vet said it had nothing to do with the medication I have to wonder and will forever be cautious of that medication with any future furbaby!! ☹️
Oh, Tanya, I’m so sorry. No 5 year old should be dying of cancer in my reckoning. Not unless there’s been some immune system disfunction and that’s how Apoquel works, the Zoetis people admit that openly. They still, amid hundreds of reports of cancer after the drug’s use, aren’t interested. Likely too busy making profits to keep their shareholders happy.
Please remember Rescue Remedy can help with the stress and grief you may still be experiencing. I wish you all clarity when you decide to be a dog mom once again.
I too have a pet (14 year old Shih Tzu) who was started on Apoquel “for allergies”. He was having trouble breathing – no itching. Within 8 days he was found to have a “strange lump” under his left front leg during grooming. I took him to the vet and was told the lump was a lipoma and “nothing to worry about”. They told me at that time they needed to do a series of xrays to determine if his breathing issues were being caused by his heart and not allergies, so we scheduled them ASAP the next week. Upon taking the X-rays they noticed that he had “severe swelling in lymph nodes all over his body” in addition to cardiomegaly which had not been diagnosed prior. The prognosis is that it is most probably lymphoma and they give him 6-8 weeks to live. I took him to my prior vet whom I trust implicitly with my animals and was told at his age the process of diagnosis (aspirations/removals of lymph nodes all over his body) and the chemo treatments would be very hard on him and that it could likely cause a heart attack or stroke due to age and the condition of his heart. The swelling in his lymph nodes happened within a week of being on Apoquel! It had shut down his immune system allowing the cancer to run rampant in his body. Heartbreakingly, we have opted for palliative care so we could spend the remainder of his life loving on him as we are dealing with the sudden and certain loss of our beloved pet due to this drug. DON’T GIVE IT TO YOUR DOG IF YOU CARE ABOUT THEM!!!!
Oh, Tanya, this is indeed so sad and unfortunately, so common. I was immediately suspicious of the swelling’s location: there are lymph nodes in the armpits, and I’ve never found a lipoma there in 40 years of practice. Also, I don’t know anyone “removing lymph nodes” as a treatment for this disease (??!!). Might be time to explore a better vet practice…
Let me suggest adding powerful immune support to your palliative care: Canine Immune Complete. I had a Lymphoma dog who used a similar product (earlier, less powerful than our current one) whose nodes shrunk and had a nice 8 months of unexpected life, so worth a try. this is cancer of the immune system, so strengthening its ability to recognize foreign cells like cancer cells makes sense.
Your warning is sound, however: lymphoma appears to be the #1 “side effect” of this expensive, over used, poorly safety tested drug. And the company won’t be admitting that any time soon, as it’s likely their #1 profit generator. Happy stock holders, heartbroken pet owners. Spread the word, as every dog owner will benefit from knowing this.
My 8 year old chihuahua just died yesterday. We have to put her to sleep due to anemia and over enlarged spleen.
She had been in Apoquel for about 7 months, because she had severe itchiness in and around her ears, to the point of hair started to fall down in some places making her look like she had mange.
It was until last month when she went for her annual shots that she suddenly stop wanting to go out for walks and she went from an active and happy dog 🐶 to a bloating unable to move dog, who didn’t want to eat. doctor prescribed doxycycline and prednisone . After an ultrasound that by the way we didn’t see, he said that she had an enlarge spleen and some enlarged lymph nodes in her stomach. Vet told us that she needed a blood transfusion which will cost thousands and then a spleen removal surgery which I’m sure it cost thousands, too. Because the pandemic, we were not able to go inside the office with our dog which left me a bad feeling about the whole situation. I didn’t want her to die along so I arranged for her to be euthanized at home, also because I wanted our other dog to be there, they were very good friends. My ❤️ heart is broken and I missed my baby but if I learned something from this is that from now on I’m going to ask for all the literature that comes with all these prescriptions it is crazy that the vet just give you these prescriptions without any paper about second effects, overdose, etc.
Rest In Peace my sweet Angel, you will always live in our hearths.
Our 6 yr old GSD was put on apoquel for itching… she developed a tumor on her paw that was Benin. Her Vet increased the dosage which made me curious so I started doing research. We lived in India for years and believe in a more holistic ayurvedic approach. I took her off apoquel once I realised it was an autoimmune suppressor. She went through all the stages, incessant itching, yeasty ears with brown ooze, skin fungal infection (it has taken a year to clear that out with Ketoconozole and Apple Cider Vinegar & Olive core leaf) and tumors. The itching came back with a vengence after stopping Apoquel. Her first vet adamantly defended Apoquel, when I asked him if he would give it to his own dogs he replied that he would. My guess is his pets are not vaccinated every year and do not have these problems. We went to a new vet who started her on Cytopoint. She’s had 5 rounds of Cytopoint each one spacing further out. It’s been 24 weeks since her last shot. Progress considering at first they were 8 weeks apart. I’m hoping we are done with that for good. Currently she is taking pollen, ACV, Quercitin w/ Bromelien, Olive Core Leaf… Zyrtec and probiotics. This is almost a full time job. I think we have it under control finally. Thanks for your wise words and kindness towards our fur babies. If I am doing anything that you feel is anti productive please let me know. We did recently find more lumps near her mammary glands. I’ve started vibrational therapy and added chlorophyll to her water. She is too sweet to have gone through all of this.
It makes me sad that all of this was created by big Pharma to make more money and fuelled by Dr. Whitecoat to create more expensive procedures and pharmaceutical sales. What has our world come too? Is it all just for power and profit???
Noelle, you’ll want to read the Cytopoint article I’ve written (use the search box in the right column to locate it). Unfortunately, it’s another immune suppressive drug, so your hopes of cure are unfortunately misplaced. If you haven’t already moved off kibble (carbs feed cancer) to a raw diet, I’d do that ASAP. See both this page and listen to the podcast for help in that.
Equally important, I’d suggest powerful immune support teamed with a daily detox. All the best,
WF