any side effects from Atopica

[Racingsnake]

Hi all
just been to the vet with Alba, thought I would go before her itching became unbarable for her again.
She has been prescribed Atopica,and I was wondering what other peoples thoughts are regarding it and side effects if any?

[Nicola]

Has Alba had allergy tests, do you know what is causing her itching? Has she been diagnosed with CAD (chronic atopic dermatitis)? Atopica (cyclosporine) is an immunosuppressant so it basically works by shutting down the dog's immune system enough so that it doesn't react to allergens. It can carry quite a few side effects, the main ones being vomiting and diarrohea, muscle weakness and coat changes and importantly it only works for CAD so if the itching is caused by something other than this then Atopica won't have an effect.

Rodaidh is/was very itchy, he had allergy testing last year and he does have CAD and is allergic to various things and when we were going over treatment options for him last year Atopica was one of them; however my vet advised against it in his case and in fact said that it would be his last resort choice of treatment along with long-term corticosteroids. In the end we chose to put Rodaidh onto monthly injected immunotherapy which is a tailor-made vaccine containing everything he is allergic to which works by stimulating his immune system to build up a resistance to his specific allergen triggers. So far it seems to be working for him and the big plus of it is that it has no side effects (other than a small amount of localised itching at the injection site for a few hours after each jab). This is his allergy thread http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=66044.0

[Racingsnake]

Alba had all the tests done about 18 months ago but they said there was nothing conclusive
allergic to willow and grass seed I think it was
altough I am convinced that it is seasonal as in the winter months she is fine but during the spring summer shes itches terribly and wants to lick her tummy which then in turn breaks out and thats something else we need to try and stop
the vet did suggest getting the tests done again as she is now a bit older and something  might show up this time but i am unsure
Would it be worth while getting her tested again to see if they can get a vaccine for her ,my thoughts are that they were just wanting to test again to get more money
we have also started her on Viacutan   

[Nicola]

Rodaidh's allergies are also worse in the spring and summer as he has pollen and harvest mite allergies as well as house dust mites and food storage mites. Personally I'd have her retested to see if they can find specific triggers, environmental allergy testing is generally very accurate (unlike food allergy testing). I don't think I'd be happy about putting her on an immunosuppressant drug potentially long-term without having the most accurate diagnosis I could get, as said if her itching is being caused by something other than CAD then the Atopica won't be any use anyway and if she does have a break out and it gets infected from her licking/chewing (as Rodaidh's paws often have done) the Atopica could make this more difficult to treat as it compromises ability to fight infection.