![[Update] Apoquel: Dog Miracle Drug With a Dark Side](https://vitalanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Branded-howl-dark-storm-880x364-880x360.png)
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.
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 sold like hotcakes when it first appeared. Interestingly, there was quickly a shortage in supply, so the demand was heightened even further, as desperate dog owners sought vets who had some.
“We’ll buy any size you’ve got, we’ll cut the giant breed size to work for our Chihuahua, we just NEED TO GET THIS ITCH UNDER CONTROL!”
One might surmise that shortage was intentional, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.
The company’s research and the experience of many dog owners corroborate this: this wonder drug stops itching almost immediately.
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!)1
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
Source
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 about 15 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.
The third process is referred to as tumor immune surveillance, whereby the immune system identifies cancerous and/or precancerous cells and eliminates them before they can cause harm. The idea that the immune system, which so effectively protects the host from microbial pathogens, might also recognize and destroy tumor cells was first discussed over a century ago and has recently been reviewed in detail
source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1857231/
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 like 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
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.
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.
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:
Free Download (Click Here)
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.
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?
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 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.
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.
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
Our 7-year-old Red Golden died two weeks ago. She had a sarcoma tumor in her neck. She has taken Apoquel off and on consistently for the past few years. We didn’t know the side effects of this drug. I saw this article after she got sick. I wanted to post because I do not want this to happen to anyone else. We are so upset that we may have contributed to her getting sick by giving her this medicine. We know that Goldens are prone to get cancer, but we were shocked because she was still so young. We had another Golden that lived to be 13. So heartbroken and missing our beloved Sally!!
I believe most if not all itching is caused by the toxin overload in animals due to over vaccination and crummy diets-resulting in the immune system being overwhelmed. I used and am currently using advanced TRS zeolite spray topically and orally, and the itch is disappearing! Raw oozy wounds have disappeared. It truly is a miracle.
Thanks for this feedback, Karol. Sounds pretty amazing, and as my recent podcast episode revealed, we’ve used purified Zeolite as the basis of our latest all natural Vital Animal Detox, formulated by our own Dr. Scott Treadway. I suspect it’ll far exceed the TRS you mention, as it’s got a great synergistic component of well chosen herbs to assist in clearing toxins from the body. I look forward to hearing more feedback from our “skin cases” as more use our VAD product on a daily basis to “clean the machinery” of detoxification.
I lost my 4 year old healthy full pedigree Boxer after giving him Apoquel. He fought for his life for 2 months. We are heartbroken. Quickly developed autoimmune thrombocytopenia. Ended up on a cocktail of meds to try & combat multiple issues. To no avail in the end. Seek alternatives please!
Oh, Alison, I’m so sorry to hear this. How many doses had your boy taken before this developed? By any chance, had he had a vaccination or a HW “med” before he broke with the autoimmune illness that ended up taking his life? If Apoquel is associated with autoimmune disease, we need to catalog more cases. It makes sense that it could: it’s targeting the immune system to suppress it, that’s a given.
I applaud you for sharing this with us, as we need to hear more of these stories to better understand our risks out there.
Hi Will. Sorry I’m not sure what HW means. I’m happy to give you all the details if it’ll help anyone. He was in Apoquel for around 7 days. Went down hill rapid 1 day and I got him to emergency vet. He gave him IV antibiotics for a couple of days but his blood cell count was at dangerous levels. Eventually developed liver and kidney disease amongst other issues. A very distressing rime for our poor boy. Let me know if you need that info and I can share my email. Thanks for your response. I appreciate it. We are awaiting an autopsy too.
Oh, I’m sorry for the jargon, HW = heartworm “medicine,” also known to trigger autoimmune disease. If we can eliminate a recent dose of that and no vaccinations in the prior weeks, I think it’s fair to lay the blame at Apoquel’s feet. Or, more to the point, Zoetis’.
May 18 2020 I took my lab Mix, Roxy age 6 in because she was yelping when scratching her ears, or had been when I made the appointment the week before. By appointment time she wasn’t and they looked normal but she hadn’t had a checkup in a while so I figured why not. She’s always been a paw licker. She bites her nails. Never bled because Of this though. At her appointment the vet said she looked good. Noticed the lick stains on her pads and asked about allergies. He asked if I wanted to try something to improve her quality of life, so I said sure. He gave us Apoquel. She was to take it twice a day for one week then Once a day after that. We just got through the twice a day this past Monday. That night she started reverse sneezing. While I understand it’s normal for dogs, mine, and I have 4 dogs, very rarely do this, and never 15 times in a 12 hour period like Roxy has done. Took her back to the vet and they said that it couldn’t be a side effect from the meds because it’s not listed on the website. 🙄 So now we’re home. She’s still reverse sneezing though not as much. She’s still not acting like herself. He mentioned she had lost some weight since her last visit. 1.3 lbs in a little over a week. She almost sounds congested when she sleeps, but she’s always been one to snore. Have you ever heard of this as a side effect before? They actually suggested I increase her dose or add another allergy med on top of Apoquel when allergies weren’t even something I took her in for to begin with?! When I turned down another expensive drug and said Benadryl would be cheaper for me, they copped an attitude. Guess it’s time for a new vet. Her bloodwork was normal last week before she started on the meds. I’m just hoping and praying this isn’t something permanent.
My gsd age 4 was prescribed apoquel aged four for severe skin allergy August 15…. miracle skin allergy clear up… December 15 we discovered facial swellings and jan 16 Confirmed lymphoma… all lymph nodes swollen …. had to let her go before her 5th birthday May 2016 age 5….. will never ever endorse support nor allow this drug to be used on my dogs again which came highly recommended and with no forewarning of potential risks from our local vet
My 7 year old Jack Russell mix was at the vet all the time for skin allergies and infections from scratching so much. He was on prednisone as a puppy and it made him really sick so I wanted to stay away from that. So we tried Apoquel. He’s taken it on and off for the last few years, never really for more than a week or two at a time. Last week his lymph nodes swelled up and I was just informed today he has Lymphoma. I wish I had read more about this drug. He’s such a happy, fun, wonderful dog and now his life is being cut short but this drug and a very uninformed decision on my part. I was never made aware of any of the side effects but should have done more research myself on this awful drug!
My 7 year old bulldog has been on apoquel for a few years. I was told no side effects and have not seen any …until what seems like overnight. His lymph nodes under his jaw and on his hind legs became very swollen. The vet now says he has lymphoma and a short time to live. He is still eating, still getting around, somewhat playful at times. Do you think a holistic vet could do anything to give him longer?
Our Beagle was on Apoquil for 2 months now has interdigital cyst that will not go away in all four paws. Have tried heavy diesel of prednisone and 5 different antibiotics.
They need a lawsuit against them. My dog is suffering because of this drug
I just lost my best friend of 8 years. Bruno had severe allergies and had been prescribed Apoquel to help relieve him of his severe environmental allergies. Although the drug worked wonders and stopped him from itching, it caused him to develop large cell lymphoma. RIP Bruno! 🙁
I adopted my 12 pound Papillon, Jasper in the spring 2.5 years ago. I noticed right away that he was constantly licking his paws and he had goopy, watery eyes. I had him put on apoquel every spring into summer every year since to help relieve this. Four weeks ago, he was diagnosed with one of the rarest and aggressive forms of cancer in male dogs, prostate cancer. Less than 1% of male dogs get this type of cancer. I have been constantly asking …why him!? He is the sweetest dog I have ever owned, he’s earned his Canine Good Citizen Certificate and is a comfort dog to the elderly, he loves all people and pets. He is amazing!! He now has only weeks to live and he is only 9.5 years old. Papillon’s are suppose to live 15 – 16 years on average!! Now, I may have found my answer.
My story is not unique to many others on here. My little Yorkipoo suffered from horrible environmental allergies to the point of chewing his feet raw. After trying everything from steroids, OTC Benadryl, grain free food, prescription shampoo, fish oil and supplements to no avail, I too was prescribed Apolquel as an allergy medication and miracle drug. My boy was on a maintenance dose for about a year. Within that time he ran a high fever that the vet dismissed as a bug, he began gaining weight and the vet said I was over feeding him. Then he started getting warts and skin lesions and fatty lumps on his back near his hips. The vet said this was just an age thing. I didn’t buy it and started doing my own research only to find out that Apolquel isn’t an allergy medication at all, but an immune suppressant drug. I immediately took him off the drug, but the damage was already done. Within a year, he suffered from torn ACL’s that they determined were caused from Cushing’s disease, secondary hyperparathyroid disease, and renal failure. Yesterday I had to make the soul crushing decision to put him down. My heart is shattered and I feel like I poisoned my own dog. It is important to note that prior to apolquel the only thing my happy, healthy little dude suffered from was seasonal allergies. He would have turned 10 next month. This is a dog that had I not put on an immune suppressing drug could and should have lived to be 14 or 15 years old. I don’t believe in coincidences and all of these horror stories I’m reading have convinced me, although you won’t get a vet to acknowledge it, that Apolquel compromised my dog’s immune system and that is what let to him not being able to combat multiple irreversible diseases that left me no recourse but to put him to sleep and relieve his misery.
Now I’m the one suffering from the loss of my little companion and the guilt of putting him on Apolquel. If you are reading this and are considering putting your dog on apoquel, please, please I beg you to heed my warning, read, do research, ask questions and make the right decision, your pet’s life depends on it.
My dogs were siblings, beautiful, loving pitbulls..both started apoquel at the same time. Within two years, they died a month an a half apart. One from lymphoma, one from hermangio sarcomas on his heart. His heart. ( none of the other dogs from their litter have passed, and their mother is doing well )
I lost both of my babies just like that, it nearly destroyed me. I work in a clinic and was told “there are no side effects!” I hear this repeated to clients often.
Then I saw an ad on tv for Apoquel and the disclaimer about causing cancer made me sick to my stomach. My dogs would still be here if I hadn’t given them this medication, I have to live with that. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 11:14 PM UTC, Keith wrote:
No help needed. In nov 19 we took our corgi mix to vet for itching and were prescribed Apoquel. After 3 weeks she was feeling lethargic with mild pain trembles. Told we were giving her too much fatty food. A week later her liver was bad and gall bladder problems. Week later her gall bladder removed. Week after that it’s autoimmune disease. Apoquel isn’t worth it. She was much better with just an itch.
Our lab was trained to be a service dog. She is fantastic however, due to allergies the yeast on her skin and ear infections there are times she cannot accompany me, which is traumatic for her and for me. She was allergy tested, positive for an abundance of environmental allergens, dust, grass, trees etc. Failed attempt with allergy serum. Some success w/apple cider vinegar, nizoral shampoo baths, ovc allergy meds, and washing her feet after she had been outdoors etc.. Eventually had to resort to Apoquel. She has been on appoquel for 2 years w/breakthrough periodic yeast. We did this w/heavy hearts due to side effects however, a decision had to be made.
Put the blame where it belongs, not on the pharmaceutical companies that are attempting to help provide a better quality of life for our best buddies. Put the blame on the BREEDERS and the AKC for not monitoring, fining and shutting down the breeders who continue to breed knowing they will produce puppies who will be comdemed to an awful life. These breeders are only in it for the$$$$$. They do not care about the breed or the puppy.
Apoquel was a last resort. We continue using apple cider vinegar, nizoral baths and otc miconazole cream as needed. So far her quality of life has been dramatically improved. I know this will not last. We are attempting to provide the best quality we can for her while we have the pleasure of her company. I also found using a good quality baby wipe and wiping her down after we get home does help.
Hi there, I am not sure if its related but my 6 year old maltese/shi tzu x poodle was on apoquel for approximately one year before she was diagnosed with Endocarditis. She was misdiagnosed tho and was being treated for Immune Mediated Poly Arthritis. The dear little girl died in horrific pain as the lining of her bowels came away. This cost us $13,000 as the Advanced Vet Care struggled to bring her condition under control. I often wonder if it was the Apoquel that was responsible for her condition.
Oh, Nola, that’s horrible! The lining of the bowel acting like that suggests autoimmune disease was probably right after all.
I’m so sorry you had to experience this. Losing a 6 year old like this (who was likely only dealing with The Itch before this drug was prescribed) is so unacceptable! And I’ll bet you weren’t warned of Apoquel’s risk at all.
I wish you all the best in what has to be a horribly painful heartache about now. Thanks for sharing this sad take with us.
Our dog has been on Apoquel for several months now…once I found out how expensive the medication was I started doing research for cheaper alternatives or generic brands. Turns out, at least right now, there are no generic alternatives for the medication. I explained to my husband that the articles I DID find, were upsetting ( I found at least 3 articles) with revelations and warnings regarding this drug. We decided that our pup is 12-13yrs old and we just wanted him to be comfortable…the itching was getting worse and we were both losing patience with each other and our fur baby. So far…the drug has done everything that the article said it might…We’ve had to up his dosage and it does not seem to be working as well as it did. I am currently trying more holistic methods in an attempt to ween him off of the medication. Hope this helpful, best of luck to other pet parents…Don’t use this medication.
I was specifically told by my vet that Apoquel had “no side effects,” and I was desperate enough after trying everything else out there to believe it. My dog was on those damn pills for about 4 years and died in April of liver cancer. She was a 16-year-old Lab mix. I didn’t find out about the cancer risk until after she was diagnosed. I tried then to get her off Apoquel, but she wouldn’t go along with the herbal regimen I had found, and it was probably much too late anyway. I am angry at myself, angry at my vets, and angriest at Zoetis. I paid a lot of money to those greedy bastards to give my dog cancer. She did have several other issues, but there’s no question in my mind that cancer shortened her life. I should have known better than to have believed the snake oil.
I have a new dog now. She’d already had her shots when I got her from an animal rescue and she will never have another one. Or a heartworm pill. The only way I can even try to make up for my mistakes with my last dog is to do better with this one, and I intend to do just that.
They’ve been running Apoquel commercials on TV lately. No mention of the cancer risk. Shocker.
Still not sure what to make of all of this. First off, everyone’s guard should go up when seeing unequivocals and universal statements and generalizations bandied about. Homeopathy obviously has some good alternatives, but my gosh I’ve never seen so much science is bad sentiment (maybe I’ve seen it in the human anti vaxers but measles should thin out their ranks soon enough). Derogatory labels like ‘Dr Whitecoat’ and universal generalizations such as ‘vaccines cause immune problems’ should make anyone double check the information being provided. A good alternative is just that, an alternate path. My 4yr old Mini Schnauzer has been on Apoquel for 3 months. It has generally helped, but the underlying cause is still there and that is what I’m trying to resolve. My concern, as well as my Vet’s, is for the well being of my dog.
However one stop on this site and it’s not Apoquel ‘may’ not work for every dog, but instead it’s APOQUEL CAUSES LYMPHOMA!! Not surprising then that with my guard raised when I try and ‘square’ the advice being given on this page, my first search pulls up this very DVM being described as giving ‘egregiously dangerous advice’. So my search goes on. There may be some very good advice here, but now I have to process it through several ‘filters’ in order to verify I’m getting sound advice.
PS. If this site is purely a shill I’ll know by seeing this post being removed. But at least I can feel good that my common sense is well honed.
My boxer developed “allergies” shortly after her first rabies shot, at a year. We have run the gamut on dog foods, bathing aides, etc. After her 3 year rabies shot in 2018 she had simply an explosion in her symptoms. Finally in desperation we went to a new vet, she put Bella on Apoquel. We saw nearly instant results, itching stopped. 3 months after starting her on the Apoquel, she began to have neoplasms appear, 7 within just over a week. She began to display polydipsia, and polyuria. To the extreme. We immediately stopped the Apoquel. Her adrenal system is all screwed up, she is in renal failure. She is 7 1/2. She is such a happy girl, loves nothing better than being with my husband and I. Now we are looking at the loss of her. I am so angry that I didn’t ask more questions, and I am so angry that the vet didn’t offer any precautions about this drug. And I am incredibly sad to be losing my best friend.
I so hear your heartbreak, Lorna. It’s indeed a tragedy to lose a middle-aged dog like Bella, all from believing what you were advised to do by your vet. Your anger is entirely justified and hopefully, it’ll be the fire that sets you onto a new natural path so that Bella’s loss won’t be for nothing.
As I look at her history, the key point others can learn from this is that Bella suffered from her very first rabies vaccine with the commonest chronic disease in dogs: itchy allergic skin disease. It’s been the #1 reason dogs visit vets for well over a decade as I write this. To then battle that and hear that the vet recommended another vaccine while that sickness persisted is simply malpractice. ALL vaccines, rabies included, have a label in force saying the vaccine must be given “only to healthy” animals. She should have had a note added to her record: “Waived on all vaccines while ill.” Instead, her system went wild after the 3 year vaccination and the rest is history, all too often repeated in conventional medicine.
All my best to you and your family.
My 6 year old toy poodle cross has had terrible constant itch and sticky, waxy yeast smelling skin since I purchased her at 8 weeks due to bad breeding imo. She suffered with continual hot spots, hair loss and ear infections. She itched 24/7. We have had to regularly shampoo our carpets as she would caterpillar crawl on her tummy spreading her waxy stink. Was recommended Apoquel by vet around 8 months ago. It worked immediately and amazed us all. Her skin and coat returned to normal like a miracle and she and us could finally sleep through the night. Unfortunately her itching has returned along with her sticky yeasty skin, the poor love. I always wondered about this drug as it seemed too good to be true. After reading your article I’ll be taking her back to the vet and stopping this deadly drug as it’s not working anymore anyway. It all makes sense now. Just not sure where to go from here…
Bravo, Rebecca. I’m so glad you’re aware of the risk with this drug. Your best next steps are spelled out in my free Apoquel Alternatives Report (you can download it from this article, scroll up to find it). If this 6 year old has had this since 8 weeks old, I’d suggest seeing a bona fide homeopathic vet to get a true cure. I outline how to find one in the Report.
All the best to you and your dog.
My son’s GSD was healthy except for allergies. Got put on Apoquel for several months, which seemed to help for awhile. Then symptoms came back and took her to an allergy specialist. They do not like Apoquel and took her off of it and started her on allergy shots developed from her own blood. That seemed to really be working. Unfortunately, I think the Apoquel had already done its damage. She had to be put to sleep in October of 2018 at 7 years old. Was fine one day and the next she was super lethargic. My son took her to the vet and they determined that she was bleeding internally from cancer on her liver or pancreas. They did ultrasound to see if surgery would work, but said it was already spread and she would bleed out that night. So they made her comfortable so we could say our goodbyes and we gathered around her for a couple hours and loved on her and then they gave her a shot to put her to sleep. It was absolutely devastating. I truly believe that the Apoquel allowed her to get cancer that she wouldn’t have otherwise got.
Pat
November 12
My 5 year old mini schnauzer had been chewing his feet relentlessly for the past year and a half or so. We gave him benadryl once in awhile and sprayed his feet with vinegar, used a couple of ointments we saw on internet. We basically tried a lot of things without going to any kind of drug. Our vet had suggested if all failed that we try apoquel. Finally about 1 month ago he started taking apoquel. It seemed ok as he actually did stop going after his feet and did not seem to have any side effects from the drug. Last week he developed several lesions under the fur on his snout and I immediately took him to doctor. I questioned about auto immune and was told this drug would not effect his immune system. He has an ointment to put on his nose now and if it does not clear up a biopsy will be next. I have stopped giving him apoquel as of yesterday and now that I am reading this, my fears are pretty much confirmed. My prayer is that he has not been on this drug long enough for it to have caused irreparable damage. Is there anything we can do to help restore his immune system now? I am so sorry we ever put him on this drug. I am so glad I found this website today and so sorry for all the stories I am reading.
I have a six year old Pit mix, who suffered from uncontrollable skin allergies. I went crazy trying to keep it under control, switching food, paying for the tests, etc. My vet suggested trying Apoquel after a couple years of really bad atopic dermatitis. I had him on it for around a year. The Apoquel worked great, or so I believed. At first, it was like a miracle drug. No more skin or persistent ear infections. Last April he was diagnosed with Lymphoma, and I firmly believe that the Apoquel was the cause. Sure, his quality of life was much better than with the constant skin and ear problems, but I do wish I had never put him on it.
My 10 year old rough collie has taken APOQUEL on an off for about a year
On and off means a few days at a time and then I will stop as her itching (licking her feet continually) appears to quiet down.
She has also been having mini-strokes. I just last week connected the mini strokes to the APOQUEL. Each time she is on the Apoquel for more than 3 days, on the 4th day she has a TIA
At first I thought it was a coincidence and mentioned to my doc and the response was no . . . not a side effect. I STRONGLY disagree.
It appears Apoquel is effective if given once but given for a few days produces a TIA
What’s that look like, Suzanne? Sounds like you’re on to something.
My 9 yo Jack Russell has been itching her belly practically non stop for a week so I decided to get her to the vet. Previous to this itching, a few months back her belly pigmentation changed to black from pink. It’s now pink with slight darker areas. Anyhow I googled (as you do) and I read it could be a thyroid issue.
Mentioned this to the vet he said problems not and prescribed APOQUEL to relieve the itching.
While at the vet I also asked him to check over a lump on my girls chest, about the size of a sprout. That’s started small but has been growing, feels fatty when checked by a another vet a few months back and still feels fatty. But we don’t know for sure if it’s fatty or cancer.
So I booked her in to have it removed. By this point now she has been on APOQUEL for 3 weeks.
I took her in for her op app and they ran bloods beforehand and her bloods show a urea reading of 10.6 which the vet said indicate a kidney issue, Which can be made a whole lot worse by putting her under anaesthesia.
She’s had operations previously (around 4 years ago) and was put under anaesthesia and was fine, but bloods weren’t checked back then.
Now we have instead done a fine needle aspiration from the lump to see if it’s fatty or cancer.
I now worry that due to the vet prescribing APOQUEL, that if it is cancer it may have made it a whole lot worse for her. I also wonder if the APOQUEL could be responsible for the kidney urea reading.
My dog Sophie, an 11 year old West Highland Terrier was on Apoquel and it worked well on her itching when she first started taking the pill. However all of a sudden she had a seizure and then a few days later another one. I took her to her vet and they could not figure out why she had seizures after going through tests. I immediately stopped giving her Apoquel because I had a suspicion it could be the cause. The seizures stopped. Then about 6 months later on a routine checkup the vet discovered she had hard swollen lymph nodes. The vet drew a fluid sample from the swollen node in her neck and said she had Lymphoma. She was a fighter and lived 5 months after her diagnosis.
Now that I have read the comments of other dog owners that experienced similar results, I am sure that Apoquel caused my dogs cancer.
I found your article on Apoquel late one night while my dog was having seizure after seizure. He is 10 years old and has been on Apoquel for 8! He started having seizures almost 4 years ago and everytime he has seizures they increase his meds. He was on 5 phenabarbitals per day and I don’t have the second drug handy. When the worst bout of seizures happened 4 months ago (all night, 2 nights in a row) I did some reading and immediately stopped giving him Apoquel. I was told he would take it forever, had no idea it was supposed to be a short term solution. He was given Apoquel for serious hives and itching. Well within a few days I realized he wasn’t itching! I started weaning him slowly off his medications. He is down to 2 phenabarbital a day and still doing well (no seiaures). I am sure this has shortened his life. 6 months ago when he was at the Vet for seizures they xrayed his abdomen and said his liver is double the size it should be and his heart is enlarged. He has also put on 10 lbs in the last year. There was no reason for that I can think of except the added medications. I am currently looking for a Naturopathic Vet in my area. Your articles are so helpful! Thank you!
Wow, Sheryl, an amazing story of illness from drugging. And how adding more drugs often makes things worse. I’m so glad you’ve taken responsibility to stop the harm, and suggest your next step may be finding a qualified homeopathic vet, as the original itch will return, sooner or later. See my Resources page for the AVH list, and choose a vet who does 75% or more homeopathy and, if no one is near you, choose the variable of “telephone consulting.” That works very well with homeopathy. I did it for years successfully.f
Our Golden had terrible allergies. We tried a variety of options, but none got rid of all the itching. We finally found Apoquel and it was a miracle-no side effects! We had to keep her on it because every time we went off the itching came back. She was having a great life, until at age 6 she was diagnosed with lymphoma. We had insurance and were able to keep her going 17 months before it took her life last month. I will always believe Apoquel was a contributor to her cancer. I wish we would have tried harder to find another solution. We miss her everyday.
Can you just stop the apoquel or must the doses be slowly withdrawn?
AFAIK, it can just be stopped. It’s not like a steroid in that sense, but, like any drug that was just controlling symptoms, you need to be ready with a plan B when the symptoms return.
Our 2 year old Cane Corso developed a severe contact grass allergy at one year . We tried everything recommended by our vet who was very thorough but nothing worked . Prada cried and itched so bad she developed staph and her paws were swollen and she had blisters between her toes and ear infections , she also lost a lot of weight . We were extremely worried . Our prada was in big trouble over a contact allergy . We took precautions when letting her outside she had shoes to wear , she was bathed and rinsed thoroughly when coming back inside . We were so upset and just at a loss for what to do when our vet said we are going to try Apoquel . I had never heard of this medication and we had tried countless other allergy meds and many popular home remedies that work really well for a great deal of people, tea tree oil , coconut oil , apple cider vinegar , with no positive results we were extremely worried and had to try this option . I have to say within 2 days of taking the meds there was no itching !!! the vet also provided antibiotic for ears and staph . One week later she was running around the back yard like nothing had ever happened. Her ears cleared up her scabs healed her paws are completely back to normal and Just three months later she still does not itch and has had no side effects !! Absolutely No side effects !! and she is living a life I didn’t think would ever be possible for her , she gained her healthy weight back wants to play all the time and has endless energy . I’m am so sorry this medication has not worked for everyone but it has literally saved our dogs life !!! Best of luck to everyone . I hope this comment helps someone that is experiencing similar problems this is just our 4th month now taking med but it is working !!!!!
Scott, keep monitoring your dog. You will need to.
Our 8 year old Portuguese Water Dog has been itchy since she was 6 months old. She has limited vaccines since we don’t ever board her and she had a terrible reaction to the rabies vaccine in the past. We have done the grain free, poultry free, limited ingredient diet for years. Added fish oil and kids complained of her “smell”. After years of itchiness and prednisone every January we tried apoquel starting in January 2018. What a difference to have a dog that we could pet her head and relax vs insist we always scratch her bottom or see her scratching and chewing (no it’s not anxiety). 6 weeks ago, I scheduled a wellness exam and asked for a blood draw to check her overall labs since we hadn’t checked them since medication was started. She seemed fine – I just wanted to treat her like a human wellness check up. Abnormal labs were Calcium level elevated at 14.2 and liver value elevated at 563. Following the calcium abnormality vet asked for urine specimen to check kidney health. It was okay so recheck in 6 weeks. Labs on 5/8/2019 calcium 14.4 and liver value 921. After the labs 6 weeks ago I changed her diet to make sure it wasn’t linked to brand of food (figured some recalls take a while with dog food if diet was the problem). I did stop apoquel for maybe 3 total days mid way but didn’t want to change too many things to alter what was causing the abnormal labs and she was super itchy again. Vet called with lab results today and left message to do possible ultrasound or monitor labs.. I’m planning to stop apoquel and re check labs – after reading on this site . I’m not sure if apoquel is causing abnormal liver tests how soon they may decrease with discontinuing the med. Also, new in past year is a fatty mass on the side of her rib cage and warts (I was chalking up to aging but read this in others’ comments) Anyway, it seems we might be beginning the possible side effects of the apoquel journey and wanted to share in case others had tips to offer. Sad to see some have lost their dogs so soon after starting treatment.
Don’t ever put him back on Apoquel.
My dog has a mast cell tumor on his tummy after taking Apoquel for 3 weeks. I don’t think its a coincidence. I want the drug maker to take this stuff off the market. He’s never had anything wrong with him. I wonder if he’ll recover after we remove the tumor or are his cells damaged forever? I want to take the drug maker to small claims court, but after ready the one woman’s reply that they were threatening her, it sounds scary.
My dog just died of cancer after being on Apoquel for about 3 years. I had no idea. It worked for the itch great at first. Then became less and less effective. People are not able to make informed decissions because Zoetis is really good at deceotive marketing. My poor girl had to pay the price for their greed. I can only hope for karma.
Huge negligence, dogs with a history of tumors, lipomas, cysts, should not be on Apoquel. No dog should be on Apoquel.
My English Bulldog has been on Apoquel twice for what my vet calls “allergies.” It’s not itching, but rather he gets irritated ears from time to time. This second time my dog immediately starting showing strange side effects like licking the air, drooling, vomiting and panting. He even started licking bed sheets, and his own feet, (a lot of bulldogs lick their feet but mine never has). After witnessing this, I remembered why I took him off it the first time it was prescribed. He also has been diagnosed with very early stages of kidney disease (his kidney enzymes were elevated in his blood test, so we’ve put him on prescription food). So I wonder if it’s even safe given his kidney condition? My vet blames everything on allergies and it seems that the cure usually worse then the affliction. I would like to hear your thoughts… thank you.
I have a 16 year old miniature dachshund/beagle mix. He (actually, we) have been battling a sudden skin affliction that began 2 years ago. He had blood work done first to check for the possibility of Cushing’s Disease or a possible Thyroid issue. Fortunately, he didn’t have either issue. So, my vet felt that he had a yeast (full body by the way) infection possibly caused by his diet. We were feeding our 3 dogs Rachel Rae Nutrish for approx 3 years. We switched to a grain free dog food called Authority. We noticed that all 3 of our dogs had less of a bad breath issue after getting off of Rachel Rae as well as an indescribably strange odor my husband was certain he was starting to smell on our 2 younger dogs (both 5 years old). This whole issue with our older dog’s skin affliction came on fast & severe. He literally had patches all over his entire body that hair was coming off in large areas with the skin attached. The poor dear seemed to get relief when we would help him get the scaly patches of hair & skin off of him. In all my years of having dogs, I had never seen anything like this. He’s an indoor dog, so we even changed our laundry detergent to something for more sensitive skin to wash their bedding in. We bought some very expensive shampoo/conditioner from Pet Smart for dogs with yeast issues. That did help him improve quite a big but we haven’t been able to completely rid him of the problem this entire time. Two days ago, the yeasty issue spread to his penis & it seemed to have a bit of puss oozing from it. Took him to the vet yesterday & our dog was put on Apoquel for a 1 month trial. Our vet is very puzzled just as we are as to why we can’t completely clear our poor elderly dogs skin up. Right now it’s only on his ENTIRE left leg. He has no hair at all on that leg. Then suddenly his penis started flaring up with a rash all around it & a wee bit of puss I mentioned, not very much at all. But it was enough that I noticed it looked a bit like puss before I turned him over for a closer look. We trust our vet completely…..he has taken care of our dogs for 24 years now. Just like when humans have strange issues, it takes trial & error with different things to try to figure out the remedy. I trust that our vet has given us solid advice through this situation to attempt to figure out what we can do to fix it. He said that Dachshunds are prone to suffering from allergy issues as they get older. So, he’s thinking this is some kind of allergy that we need to try to treat from the inside/out instead of just trying to fix it on the outside. Because that hasn’t been 100% effective at all. I just went on line to look up info on this Apoquel pill. We’re at our wits end trying to figure this out. So, as I always have, I’m putting my trust in my vet of 24 years. At this point, taking into consideration that our elderly dog is 16 now, it’s a roll of the dice I’m willing to take. The vet just wants to try it out for 1 month & see if there is any improvement at all. With the negative things I’ve read about this drug, if it were my 6 year old Chihuahua having this issue, I’d be reluctant to try it…..but if she were in as bad of shape as the 16 year old dog, I still might give it a try but keep a very careful watch for the side effects I’ve been reading in the comments. At 16, he doesn’t have a whole lot of life left anyway. So, if this drug causes some insane illness that ends up being the demise of his life…..I don’t think I’ll feel like it’s all my fault that his life was cut short. He’s so old & I’m so tired of seeing him have this issue. I’m not tired of trying to help him, just tired of nothing seeming to fix this weird problem. He starts his first dose today, so all I can do is hope & pray for good results. Sorry if I seemed to ramble on, it just gave me a bit of comfort to spill my guts about my frustration that I can’t fix this as well as my concerns about possible side effects. Maybe he’ll be one of the success stories & I’ll be able to leave another reply later with all positive results. I can only pray!!
My dog just started Apoquel and it’s been a bit effective. My 50lb 14 year old dog was on 2.5mg of pred for 3 years with no side effects until he had a random case of pancreatitis. He couldn’t take it for a few weeks and we were contemplating putting him back on pred or trying Apoquel for the itch. Curious to hear which you think is worse 2.5mg of pred everyday or Apoquel. He needs be on one or the other and am now inclined on giving him 2.5mg of pred a shot again. He never had an itch ever until he had a rabbies vaccine at 11. We tried homeopath with a few vets. The best one recommended just keeping him on 2.5mg bc at his age, healing would be really slim. He’s on a homemade diet with a lot of free radical fighters. Curious on your thoughts of which you think is worse. Btw, the itch is unbearable for him and us so we have to try either.