Cytopoint, miracle drug?

Before you jump on the train of a new drug, make sure you have exhausted all other options.

You want to try other non-invasive methods, before diving into medications that your beloved dog could possibly be on long term.

As for how we got here, (well, that isn’t really the point of this particular story. But if you are interested in it please go to Hercule’s Story.) we had tried Apoquel, Temaril-P, Steroids, cortisone and many other lotions, sprays and shampoos.

Not to mention, all the food trials we’ve been through. Everything from Z/D diet to changing the proteins to no grains, raw food, even a brand that uses only whole foods.

Honestly, I would review each of the brands and see all of the great reviews that they had. I was so hopeful that soon our scratchy, chomping and licking, boy would be more comfortable and doing all those horrible things a lot less.

Well, here’s to getting off topic again!

Anywho!

After, everything that we have gone through and basically ending up in the same spot we started. I thought, why not!

What do we have to lose?

I really wanted to test him and run a full panel on him to see what he could possibly be allergic to. But, the price of that being $410, or just doing a food panel, which I knew wouldn’t give us all the answers we needed was $205. I wouldn’t be able to afford that.  Also, with the possibility, of having to do the shot any way, we were all on board, crossing fingers, and hopes high!

So, we went in for our appointment. Easy enough, two shots due to his weight and we were out of there. Basically no side effects, and within 2 to 3 days should be itch free. You go back in 4 weeks, for another round and then you watch until they start to have a flare up. Then, you go back for another shot. Ideally, the shot should last 6 to 8 weeks, or even longer depending on the dog.

Well, we got home and watched him closely. Day Two, I was unsure if this “miracle drug” would even help Hercules at all. It wasn’t until day 3 that he was really improved. He was running around the yard with the other 2 dogs. He seemed more vibrant and comfortable in his skin again. Very limited licking or chewing of any kind. We were happy and pleased with the way things were going. We finally had our dog back!

Then, 9 days later you could tell his stomach was getting red bumps again. Soon, to have widespread redness on his tummy and then slowly the scratching, licking and chewing returned.

We kept him on the same food during this time. This food he has been on for a little over 3 months now.

So here we are almost at the 4 week mark. Do we get the second shot and hope that it will help and maybe give way to an option that we can turn too?

For us, the risk outweighs the reward here. Cytopoint didn’t deliver what we thought it would. We have decided not to continue with cytopoint or any of the other routes we have tried in the past. They provided him either with very short term relief or no relief at all. We continue to try to find a long term solution for our boy. Do you have any experiences with cytopoint? Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.