# Riley



## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Just thought I'd give an update on our Riley. Went to dermatologist last night and they have determined that immunotherapy isn't working for him. We do have hope though. A new drug was released in January, but demand has been so high it's hard to get hold of, but we are on the waiting list.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I bet your on a first name basis with your vets.
Here's hoping he gets to try the new drug, and it helps him. He's been through so much. I'm like you in believing there has to be something that will make things better for him.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I haven't been keeping up with Riley's conditions...but as another member with a total allergy boy to the extreme I'm interested in learning what's going on. Was he getting shots that are not working for him? Is that what immunotherapy is? Is the new med you're thinking of Apoquel? I've been told of that new drug and I'm thinking of giving it a try for Dozer at the end of the year when he has another check up in case it will enable us to decrease his pred dosage as his liver enzymes are becoming elevated from long term use (which we knew would be an issue).

I feel for you and your boy as far as allergies are concerned. Dozer hasn't had a full body of fur in at least two years and it breaks my heart everyday.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Have you tried any holistic care solutions? I'll admit I get a bit skeptical when I hear jargon about energy alignment and elements and things, but if conventional medicine hasn't been working it might be worth a try. Just a thought. 

I hope the new drug works!


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Well Riley got tested about a year ago and of the 82 things they tested him for allergies of, he had 62 come back as having allergies. Molds, tree pollens, yeast, dust, dander, corn you name it. His worst area is his face. He's always so red he looks like he's been on an all night bender. We did try the shots and although they didn't perform a miracle, they did help. He also is on a pulse therapy to keep all the yeast at bay. He takes that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and that is helping keep the secondary infections at bay. Well he decided to not play nice with the shots anymore (just too many medical procedures) so we went to the allergy drops. 2 squirts under his tongue twice a day. He's been on that for the last 4 1/2 months or so, but his specialist said that he's just not shown a lot of improvement that they had hoped to see. And you're right Dozer, it's the Apoquel that is our next step! I've already read some material on it, but as I said before it just came out in January and now EVERYBODY wants it. I guess they only make it in Europe. Same company that makes Rimadyl. But even though he's a very itchy boy, he's very happy. I just wish there was more we could do. All of these allergies have made him so susceptible to stuff. We also just got done treating him for Giardia. He had no symptoms but his yearly fecal came back positive. We treated Chuck too, but he never did come back negative. Doesn't help that it's been a very wet, snowy winter.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Emily, Boris has very similar allergies to Riley. He was on Atopica the past 6 months and was good on it, but had to have antibiotics for minor things that he should have fought off on his own. He came off the Atopica the past month and was pretty OK for 3 weeks but being out gundog training on stubbled fields and all the trees are in flower at the moment so his skin was becoming itchy again, and chewing his feet which he had never done before. 

Talking with his dermatologist, she recommended switching to Apoquel, which was recently licensed in the UK. I was rather reluctant as they obviously don't know the medium to long term effects of this new drug. My vet has several dogs on it and the results are amazing. As it does not suppress the immune system she feels it is a better options than Atopica or steroids, especially as he is a young dog.

So Boris started Apoquel last week and the itching stopped within 24hrs and his skin is back to a normal colour and no itchy feet. The only side effect I have noticed so far is an increased appetite!!!

It would certainly be worth your while trying it on Riley.


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Oh it's awesome to hear a success story on the Apoquel!!! It's such a new med that even the dermatologist wasn't sure on its success rate!! We actually tried the Atopica before we even went to the dermatologist thru our regular vet and it make Riley sick and didn't seem to help at all. And like you, before the yeast pulse therapy and other allergy treatment we were constantly on antibiotics for treatments for something and everything! Does Boris have a lot of problems with yeast? This is one of Riley's worst problems. Always getting yeast in his jowls and ears. I'm being told that the Apoquel is actually reasonably priced. Not sure on how it converts, but the shots and drops range from $200 to $400 a vial.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Emily - When I spoke with my vet I was concerned about the cost of Apoquel as well. Dozer is 43 lbs and after all the math it seems like about $35/month would be our cost. Not bad at all in my opinion. We live in VA and this is a veterinary medicine only so most likely you will have to purchase directly from your vet's office. That's why I didn't think this price was that bad as usually the one's directly from the office are outrageous.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Emily, no Boris doesn't seem to suffer from a yeast problem. 

My vet did say that a lot of dogs have diarrhoea and or vomitting with Atopica. We did introduce it gradually as it is best fed 2 hrs after a meal. So we started at 30 minutes for 5 days adding 30 minutes every 5 days and fortunately he was fine.

Now I did ask my vet if there were any side effects with the Apoquel and she said some dogs have diarrhoea and vomitting - so lets hope that it doesn't have that effect on Riley.

Re the cost, I am not sure exactly what it costs as it goes through on my insurance. However, I do know it is a lot cheaper than Atopica which my vet charges £85 per 15 tablets!!!! Given time Apoquel will be available on the internet with a prescription so should be a lot cheaper then.

SCD - Boris is 66lbs, as of next week he will go down to 1 x 16mg tablet a day. For the 1st two weeks they are on 2 a day.

If either of you do try the Apoquel I would really be interested to hear how good or bad you find it. Any side effects, etc


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

I agree that the Atopica was absolutely ridiculously priced. We had to pay outright too. We tried the gradual introduction, but it just made him so sick and there was no improvement at all. Just wasn't worth it to us. I'm very anxious to try the Apoquel. This morning Riley's eyes were running everywhere and he's just plain red. I'm going to cross my fingers that this med will be the right one!


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## Iwantavizsla (Apr 15, 2014)

Sha baby


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