Comments on Apoquel Side Effects: Short Term Fix, Long Term Nightmare

Thank you!

I started apoquel for my dog two weeks ago for itchy skin and paws. While it has reduced hisn itching, I have developed an allergy to My dog. He's an Australian
Labradoodle bred for the low to no human allergy. And after 9 Years I have never had this reaction to him like Now. I can't even pet him on his head nor be around him
If he's waging his tail. Anyone else? Having a similar situation? I'm taking him off today and will be looking forward to hearing from you others recommended solutions.

My 14 year old min pin took this medication for around 1 to 2 weeks. Then 2 to 6 months later she got a cough. Which turned out to be a heart murmur. Vet was shocked because she never had heart issues. It was stage 6. I mentioned the Apoquel. However she fluffed it off. Started her on the recommended heart meds. But switched to a natural treatment. She is doing better. I just can't trust the pharmaceutical ways to kill our pets for profit.

My beautiful German shepherd Molly was diagnosed with “seasonal allergies” and was prescribed Apoquel. As your article mentioned she was raw and oozy and we never slept due to the constant scratching and biting. It was a miracle drug that gave her immediate relief. I kick myself every day for not researching the side effects. After being on it (and then taken off when her digestive system broke down) she had years of physical problems. She died at the young age of 7 of a brain mass. I will never forgive myself for doing this to her.

My dog just turned 11. About 4 years ago she went to the vet with acute pancreatitis. She had had allergies on and off, but the food ones were the front and center all of a sudden with the c pancreatitis. We adjusted food. We were aware she probably had environmental allergies. It was around that time she started Apoquel. This poor crazy mixed breed rescue FINALLY seemed happy, calm, restful, and just peaceful. Life was good. Yearly checkups =great doggie health. This past August she started having a cluster of seizures once a month. Doctor put her on 4 anti-seizure meds. Seizures still were coming. Doctor added phenobarbital. This has been TERRIBKE. Especially in the beginning when she was so over medicated she couldn’t walk.The seizures came but not nearly as bad. It has been a month since her last seizure. Last week I noticed her chewing herself to death. Angry red paws. Swollen vulva (which I am currently monitoring to make sure not UTI). I started reading and researching because she was close to being out of Apoquel. I read some quick tiny blurb buried in an article that prolonged use could cause seizures! I felt literally sick to my stomach. I immediately researched and bought a CBD oil that in 4 days has allowed her paws to heal, zero chewing and licking. Her vulva is the only thing still looking angry. Again - monitoring because it is possibly just a Yeast infection due to her having so bladder control issue from seizure meds and things are starting wet all the time. I will contact vet in next couple days if that doesn’t look better. I gotta say though she is finally acting peaceful and resting. But I feel like this ALL could have been prevented. Thank you for sharing your stories.

Last February my sweet girl was prescribed apoquel for an itchy patch. A tiny 12# mixed terrier. She took it for 2 or 3 weeks. In July she stopped eating. I took her to her vet and he said she had critical anemia and sent us to an emergency vet for transfusions. We were told she had an autoimmune disease. We were told repeatedly it was "idiopathic, which means we don't know why." Over a period of about a week she was treated. Improved a little. We took her home to recover. The next day she jumped off the sofa and fell on her face. We had to take her back. They kept her over night again, did some more transfusions that did not work. Many other meds were also used during this period. We went to see her the next day. It was obvious she was in great pain. She didn't seem to recognize us. The vet said it was unlikely they could help her. So after nearly a week of futile treatment and thousands of dollars, we had to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. I strongly believe it was a result of the apoquel.
I hope one of these days there will be a class action suit for autoimmune disease.
I pray this vicious poison is taken off the market before anyone else's Furbaby is taken from them.

How do you proceed to remove a dog from Apoquel after its use for 5 years?

OMG I had no idea I was supposed to wash my hands after handling Apoquel. My dogs been on it for at least 2 years.

Dr. Falconer,

My nine year old golden was on Apoquel for about three years for hots spots. Seems to have worked well. She was in peak condition and could chase a ball non-stop for 20+ minutes running circles around my five year old goldens. But she died in my arms three days ago about four hours after an apparent seizure, stroke or cardiac event.

My question regards the published and manufacturer concerns or contraindication of other JAK inhibitors in humans age 65+. If there are concerns for similar drugs for elderly humans, should not that concern also be a warning for older dogs?

While pre-clinical animal studies generally lead to approval and dispensing consideration in humans, the widespread use of JAK inhibitors in humans should now appear to lead to prescribing limitations in man and woman’s best friend, too.

At a loss for words,

Patricia Beckmann, PhD

My dog was on Apoquel for 6 years. I repeatedly asked the vet if it was safe for long term use. They reassured me it was. It began not working and he became lethargic and would not eat so I went to another vet who ran blood work and gave him an allergy shot. Blood work showed a low white blood cell count and he referred me to a specialist. His lymph nodes were enlarged and they took a sample and it turns out he has cancer (lymphoma). Because he is now 10, I did not want to put him through chemo so he is on Prednisone. He has bounced back but the specialists said it is an aggressive cancer so I am taking it day by day. I would like to notify the makers of Apoquel, not to accuse them, but to make them aware of this development. I think it should be listed as a possible side effect with long term use. If it's not reported, no one is aware, right?

I just lost my 12 yr old mail Shih Tzu to cancer of the liver and spleen. Threw up all day long one day. Dead within a week. He had skin allergies the vet treated with daily doses of apoquel. Seemed to work for a while with his coat returning to normal. Then came back and seemed to be unaffected by meds. She was then going to switch to a monthly injection of cytopoint but we never got that far. My question is there a relation of the cancer to the medication?

I feel I must chime in. Ollie is a 9 year, 7 month old tri-color English Springer. Sweet as silk and beloved as pie. Adopted from a litter of 13 with mom/dad on premises; spitting image of dad who also had the soulful eyes and sweetest temperament. Oliver picked me to be his mom, twice actually, out of the 13. Maybe he knew who would be the one to pick a field spaniel and allow him to be King of the Castle instead, who knows the answer, maybe I smelled like a friend.
Oliver has always had my heart and always had the itch. Allergies to fleas was the first clue. He's only had ONE but it drove him insane until it was caught and exterminated. He has been on chemical treatment since, including Trifexis. He has had all of the 'regular' vaccines required for doggy daycare and training programs to be a good socialized doggy citizen. He has been on Bravecto... This one rips at my soul to give him, he and I both know it is poison. He has to be forced to take it and is ill for a day afterward with lethargy and a runny nose, sick stomach and just pure misery. Yet, we are riddled with ticks with lyme disease at our weekend home and so far, he is negative for lyme. And he is allergic to fleas, ticks and mosquitos.
5 years ago he had a sudden neck lymphadenopathy that was initially diagnosed as lymphoma. We were discussing euthanasia. It came back as a histoplasmosis of some type that is seen in cats... so random and weird but obviously an autoimmune/immune dysregulation issue of some form.
He has also had a horribly itchy mouth... scratching to the point of bleeding and infection with crusting and sometimes even green moldy looking formations in the corners. We call it "facetiming" when he drinks as whoever hears him drinking has to call it out and whomever is closest dashes to wipe off his mouth dry. We do this in order to prevent moisture around the mouth and thus hopefully limit/prevent more scratching or another infection.
Oliver has also been prone to sebaceous cysts. Having had some removed only to return plus more. He now has multiple along his body and a very large fatty cyst under his armpit we are monitoring for continued growth. Some open and expel fatty, waxy substances, like sebaceous cyst pimples, only they do not go away. Some get infected and require removal.
Oliver has been on Apoquel for the tortuous itch for probably 2 years now. It has worked, somewhat. I despise giving it him every day; He runs to the sound of pills and anticipates receiving his white tablet wrapped in a small section of honey ham. I cringe watching him swallow it greedily, as I know the side effects. I have watched the cystic tumors increase in numbers, size and frequency. I have watched him increasingly scratch and rub himself even on the medication and/or require additional Benadryl for really rough seasons.
He has been allergy tested and is allergic to .... well a LOT! He is limited in food choices and grass types, allergic to trees, cotton, feathers, chicken, beef, duck, eggs and even nearly allergic to humans, only a few points off of 100.
All this to say that as he has been aging, developing cataracts and those things folks have been telling me were signs of an 'aging dog'... I have been watching changes in him and his behavior that have told me it is more than that.
As his dog-mom, I can see it in his eyes and I know it is Cognitive decline or doggy dementia. And it is occurring along with more frequent but random bouts of what I call acid regurgitation.... which if you read the literature, doesn't occur often in dogs. These bouts of 'reflux' are so miserable that if he cannot get outside to eat grass (to which he is allergic) he will literally EAT THE CARPET trying to feel better. He is riddled with anxiety and misery. I try to help with coconut oil, yogurt, apples... anything to get his stomach to settle and help him feel better. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes and sometimes hours and vomiting. He is now taking an antacid supplement before morning meals, eating probiotic yogurt at noontime and his meals are spread to three times per day from two.
Recently his panting and pacing have increased. His nighttime wandering has increased and he appears confused. I have stopped the Apoquel. I have started home cooking a pork loin based meal to feed him once per day with Dr Becker/Mercola meal mix, Krill Oil, Ubiquinol, RX Zyme and Nutrigest added in. I am concerned that his previous long term intake of a salmon based kibble meal does not provide enough (or too much in the form of toxins) for my little man. I am afraid that he cannot detoxify these medications any longer and that he is building up free radicals causing early decline and/or cancer somewhere in his system. I am probably too late to the game but here I am trying to undo what I have done to him for over 9 years :(
I continued to allow him to be on these drugs. Worse yet, I am an RN and have recently become a wholistic practitioner, although I am not an anti-vaxer. I have seen what not vaccinating can do to a community as well, I still believe in medical science and clinical study. Yet, I also know big pharma and businesses have their hands way too deep in the pockets of most clinicians and healthcare systems, including veterinarians.
It is time for the people to take back healthcare, for people and the animals we love. We are not minions of the white-coat dictatorial rule, we are consumers of their services and required to our part of the work of making informed decisions. We can, and MUST, demand transparency, ethics, and accountability on their part; yet we are responsible to work to become knowledgeable and accountable for our own care and decisions at the same time. It is the same within the wholistic world of supplements. This arena is unregulated and there are a lot of 'snake oil' salesman here as well. Not everything is smoke and mirrors, however, not everything is a miracle cure just because its on the internet that it was used in China in 1425 AD.
There is a responsibility and accountability on all sides to provide honest information based in fact, on solid ethical principles of business and scientific practice and with the foremost integrity to do no harm to the innocent domesticated pet who is at the mercy of benevolent pet owner who is only trying to give them the best love and life possible.

Hi,

I just wanted to say that we have 2 Lurchers. The smaller one (1st cross Beddlington/Whippet) is currently on Apoquel. She has been for over 12 months, and we have worked to reduce the dosage to minimal amounts (currently half every other day). It's working.
The other dog (think Santa's Little Helper from Simpsons) has recurrent inflammatory bowel issues.
Prior to receiving a particular prescribed/injected flea treatment quite a few years back, neither of them had these issues (Bitch is 12 years old now, and dog is 11).

We have kept vaccinations and medications to an absolute minimum. They were originally our son's dogs but came to us permanently about 18 months ago due to a change in his circumstances. We've ditched the 'specialist' food that promises the world and only irritates the bowels of one and the skin of the other...

Apart from getting old, they are in good health. We often overthink the flea-ing and worming...don't we?

Interestingly, and strangely, I had missed 2 days of Apoquel...Today she has been limping. I did some research and discovered that in some cases it seems to ease the inflammation associated with arthritis. I gave her half a tab about 45 minutes ago. Guess what? The limping has eased somewhat. It's still there, but she has been able to put that foot to the floor whereas she was previously unable to do so.

Perhaps it's all things in moderation? I do believe that we over-subscribe to pharmaceutical drugs for our animals and ourselves; the Big Pharmas are intent only on filling their coffers regardless of whether that is through human or animal sales of medications that often cause horrendous side effects and require further medications to alleviate said side-effects (e.g. recent and ongoing opiod crisis).

Even homeopathic remedies can go wrong. :-)

It's fine and dandy to push homeopathy veterinarian care but the problem lies in the fact that the average person can't afford this type of treatment. It's no different than traditional veterinarian medicine, the only way a Veterinarian will be available is if you have the money. Bottom line. Who has thousands of dollars to spare without going into deeper debt. And as in all medical fields, animal and human, there are many who would deceive you just to fleece you. Nobody can be trusted.

Here in the province of Ontario, in Canada, it's difficult to find a veterinarian who is solely involved in homeopathy as most of the few who exist blend both fields of homeopathy and traditional. To compound the matter there are horror stories how these vets rip people off, all at the expense of the pet. There's so much money to be made in the pet industry it's no wonder this happens with regularity.

And to push a raw food diet is irresponsible. All raw meats are full of antibiotics, hormones and steroids, unless you can find, and afford, grass fed-free range meats. In many cases, it's these things the pet has allergies to, and even with a perfect immune system, none of these are good for life. What animal, pet or human, has the perfect immune system? Nobody. And there's no way to make an immune system perfect. You can improve it to a point where it's optimal, but never perfect.

I live in Pennsylvania, I know a long cry from the west coast, but I am experiencing the allergy problems with my 12 yr. old English Springer Spaniel. The allergies didn't really flare up until about 3 years ago. We knew that in EARLY spring there would be a visit to the vet (high time for hot spots). We suspected that she was allergic to flea bites. We used Frontline for flea and tick control. But it didn't seem to work all the time. Appointment time. So there were antibiotics and steroids to clear her bacterial skin infection. Then it became chronic. The skin infections were smelly. We nick named her "corn chip" I was given shampoo and to bathe her twice a week. ..the vet that I had been working with at the time tried to send me to specialist vet to see my dog. We didn't have the funds to take her. The initial visit to the specialist was $150 and there wasn't going to be any testing done that day. So after we tried a new vet and 3 more visits we broke down and went to the specialist. She was nearly 10 yrs old at the time. First visit the s.vet sent us home with the same medications that our regular vet gave us. Then at her follow-up appointment we were told due to my dogs age that they couldn't perform allergy tests. That more than likely she had environmental allergies and the only way to "quel" to itch was to give her this medication (Apoquel) and to follow dosing exactly. 2 pills per day for two weeks then 1 pill a day to manage symptoms...4 hours after the first dose we saw results.
I WISH I NEVER WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT TO HER
She's been on it and off it. And when she comes off it for only a few days things only get worse...To control the itch we are up to 2 pills per day, that's $160 a month $1,900+ a year!! She can't breath out of her nose. The NexGuard that we switched to from Frontline (because of all the bathing) and the Apoquel: her body now has a reaction...discovered by stopping the flea and tick and then reintroducing. It's a non stop train of mucous thick and yellow coming out her nose. Can't breath and looks miserable!! She's been on Apoquel for long enough now that I'm almost certain that it has jacked up her immune system so much so that whatever she really is allergic to that Apoquel can no longer block. So...I mentioned to my vet that we couldn't keep doing this to her. It wasn't fair to the dog or the family. Asked my vet about putting her down...I was told that since she was not in pain that they would not, but could "re home" her. She's 12! When will it be enough? There next avenue of suggestion is Cytopoint...not much better than the Apoquel...but is there much of choice??

The fact that you link vaccines to autism immediately discredits everything else on this website. The link between vaccines and autism is literally non existent. It was fabricated to begin with and it has been repeatedly proven that there is no link. Shame on you.

My puppy has been itchy for a year. I've had her on a raw diet and THEN she got super itchy. The vet put her on a hydrolyzed protein diet but it did not help. She's on apoquel now but getting itchy again and has been vomiting once a day or every other day for the last week. Any thoughts on the hydrolyzed protein diet? She has had all her vaccines as this is my first dog and I thought I was doing the right thing. I've read your Apoquel alternatives but not really getting much out of it. What am I missing? Looks like I just need to find a different vet?? I appreciate the help - I'm reading all your documents but I think I'm more confused than I was before.

My itchy pup is currently on her first month of apoquel, the first two weeks we sawa huge difference now that we are on the 1 a day the itch is back still better than before it though. We have tried different foods and taking elements out of her diet. Do you recommend an allergy test to figure out the cause as well? Know of any homeopathic vets in Boise Idaho area?

Its extremely unfortunate that this nonsense has such a high ranking for the search terms "apoquel side effects." Homeopathy is absolute giberish, garbage, nonsense.

I have a 5year old pug and we're fighting supposed allergies and staph in her feet and ears...nothing works. Apoquel, TrizChlo4 shampoo, Trizulet's+Keto for her ears. I'm pouring sand down a rat hole. It's nonstop meds that do nothing. Plus Science Diet DD dog food. Any suggestions I'm open for anything. I was even told I need to rip my carpet out.