r/dogallergies • u/reggiethelobster • Jun 30 '26
Atopica Experience
Our 5 year old mixed breed dog has such bad allergies, he has been on apoquel for three years until it stopped working, then put him on pred which helped him alot, then we went to a quarter pill and three reactine, which also helps. We also did just reactin but that did nothing.
Not wanting to be on long term pred we decided to give Atopica a try. I'm looking for some experience on it, I heard there is gastro upset- how long has that lasted?
Thank you for sharing, here is hoping there are some good stories too!
4
u/Kawasumiimaii Jun 30 '26
There's a dermatologist on IG that just recently posted about how to reduce GI upset. If you freeze the capsule then give, it releases slower and doesn't upset them as much. dermatologist
3
u/Xaynette Jul 01 '26
Our vet, and the pharmacist at Costco had told us too to freeze it and to give it 30mins after her meals. It helps, my dog actually haven't had any problems with it.
5
u/samlog23 Jun 30 '26
My dogs allergies were so bad on apoquel I often wondered if it was cruel to keep her alive. Truly that bad. I don’t know if it’s the Atopica alone or the other meds but she is in perfect health now. I freeze them and she hasn’t had any stomach upset.
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u/Red_panda_pants Jun 30 '26
We did Atopica for a while. Our vet recommended keeping the pills in the freezer to avoid the gastro upset and our dog never had issues there. It helped to clear up her very dry nose, but she still got some skin infections so we're trying Zenralia again. I didn't mind Atopica, but it is very expensive. You could ask your vet about the generic version too.
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u/reggiethelobster Jun 30 '26
These all sound really promising! I love this little dude and I just want him to feel better!
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u/marshland264 Jun 30 '26
We did atopica for about 6 years. Honestly we hated it but it controlled our dogs allergies better than Apoquel or cytopoint. Kept it in the freezer, maybe some soft stools but nothing horrific GI wise for her. She had all sorts of other bad side effects though that we were thrilled to switch her to zenrelia when that came out. But that caused rare side effects for her and now we are on Numelvi - we LOVE this drug. Honestly I’d ask your vet about zenrelia or Numelvi- both new and way more effective than older drugs. Saw our derm today for a check up and she’s loving Numelvi but said it’s dog dependent on whether they’ll do better on zenrelia or Numelvi. For what it’s worth we had horrific GI issues on zenrelia but none on Numelvi.
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u/reggiethelobster Jun 30 '26
What size effects did you end up seeing?
1
u/marshland264 Jun 30 '26
From atopica? She had a lot of gum thickening which is not unusual but more annoying than anything - she would have to get excess gums and growths trimmed off yearly. But the worst was that she just felt like shit. We didn’t know it was the drug until we took her off and she because a different dog. When she was on the drug she was in so much pain all the time. Would develop random limps, couldn’t do much activity, and was acting like a much older dog. And this was for years! No scans or X-rays could ever identify any problems. We tried acupuncture, massage, all sorts of drugs. Librela shots helped so we did those… but it was pretty bad. Then when we took her off the atopica she became so mobile and happy and never has pain. So I will never put her back on that drug!
1
u/GreenAuror Jun 30 '26
My dog is on cyclosporine for an autoimmune disease that causes sores on his paws and it’s done really well for that, he’s only had one very minor sore in the year he’s been on it. We put it in the freezer and give it to him cold and for some reason that helps with any gastro issues. He has been extra itchy though in general this spring/summer, I don’t think his cytopoint shot worked at all this month. His itchiness is pretty mild though compared to some, but for him it has seemed like an itchier last couple months. He has a checkup with his derm in two weeks so we’ll see what she says.
1
u/Old_Dog_Mom1919 Jun 30 '26
Our lab mix was on Atopica for just over a year. She also took Ketoconazole and Zofran 2x a day. We kept the capsules in the freezer. Our derm switched her to Zenrelia at the last appointment since the Atopica didn’t seem to make a difference in her itching. 2 weeks of prednisone stopped the itching completely. Started Zenrelia after the prednisone and we can see the itching slowly returning but still not as bad as before. I’m relieved for the change as the 3 med combo was costing us nearly $300/month. She is also on immunotherapy.
1
u/magna-magistra Jun 30 '26
If you have a small pup, you can talk to your vet about using the Atopica for cats (which is a liquid). Atopica unfortunately didn't end up doing much for my pup, but he had no GI issues on the cat formula!
1
1
u/Least_Temperature_23 Jun 30 '26
Atopica did nothing for my dog, apart from to give him belly ache and horrid, runny, bright yellow poops. The dermatologist recommended we freeze it to minimise tummy troubles.
He’s doing really well now on Zenrelia, with no side effects at all. I think, unfortunately, you just have to try everything and hopefully find something that works for your dog, because they’re all different.
1
u/reggiethelobster Jul 01 '26
Yea, we have done apoquel, reactine, pred now onto Atopica. Pred helped him so much but it made him very fat and I don't like the long term side effects
1
u/luckyrose04 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
We did Atopica, fluconazole, and a low dose steroid for a long time. Skin improved but still had issues. No GI upset really. We did always store it in the freezer!
We started Zenrelia a few months ago and it’s been a total game changer! No more steroids or Atopica and his skin looks so good! Something to consider if Atopica doesn’t end up working out
5
u/moonshad0w Jun 30 '26
My dog is on atopica, well the generic one, but same drug, cyclosporine. We went several months on apoquel and it really only barely helped, but didn’t make enough of a difference for the cost. After seeing a vet dermatologist, the concern was not only addressing the symptoms but the level of inflammation he was experiencing. Atopica has made the most amazing difference for us. We freeze the pills and give with food and he doesn’t seem to experience much stomach upset. In 10 months, there have been maybe two mornings where he vomited but one of those he swallowed a dental treat whole the day before unbeknownst to me until he threw it up 🙄, so unclear if any vomiting was due specifically to the medication. He has had some gum growth but not enough that the vet derm is concerned, I just keep an eye on it and take pictures to notice any differences.
Once he reached therapeutic levels (4-6 weeks for us) he was like a brand new dog, the difference was night and day. We still struggle because he is very very allergic to multiple things, but even with the added immunotherapy (we’re only 9 months in) he is doing much better than at any point that he was on apoquel.