[gdoza]

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Side effects like this seem to be rare, but obviously devastating when you are affected. My condolences.

 

[StormyPeak]

My condolences : (

I have a dog named Jaya, who's an Australian shepherd, with border collie, x probably chow mix (she has a blue tongue...so it's probably from chow or shar pei as they are 2 breeds that have blue tongues)

Jaya has severe summer time allergies that affect her skin...making it super itchy. She gouges holes in her skin from all the scratching. Once winter hits and the snow falls...within 3 days, she stops with the scratching and Loves to go roll out in the snow.

Each summer my vet gives her 3 to 4 steroid shots. I'm not sure what the steroid is called, even though she's probably told me once or twice...but I'll have to keep in mind the drug you are talking about, because it just doesn't ring a bell. My vet though, will probably just stay with what has worked so far....even though, she has told me the steroids are hard on a dog's body and in the long run would reduce her lifespan. So for me, it was either let Jaya live through miserable summers or allow the steroid shots that would shorten her life.

Again, I'm so sorry you lost your dog to a medication meant to help. As owners we try to make the best decisions we can in situations like that, and put a lot of trust into what knowledge our vets have on the subject....but even they can't foresee bad reactions to a drug that is usually helpful.

Please try not to feel guilty about this....you were doing what you thought was best to help youru dog, and sometimes when talking to a vet and there's a treatment right there, it's not often possible to do any research...or at least it feels that way. You feel like it should be ok to medicate your pet with something that is recommended by the vet.

Stormy

 

[sueffle]

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

So sorry for your loss. I also had a bad experience with what I strongly suspect was Cytopoint. My 6-yr-old Havanese, Chewy, had been given it for several months for repeated esr and eye troubles. she had her shot on Thursday and she stopped eating Saturday evening and did not eat Sunday or Monday breakfast. I took her to the vet Monday morning and the vet did a complete exam no temperature heart and lungs fine no indication of pain on palpation. she hydrated her and gave her ear medicine and we left. Hurricane Ian was predicted to hit the next day so I packed up the car…she was buckled in her car carrier and about 4 hours into the drive north, she suddenly screamed out…her head thrust backwards and she immediately died in her car seat. I was driving, crying and on a mission to immediately find a vet. The vet said it had to have been something within the last few days of her life. She had had Cytopint the Thursday before she stopped eating Saturday. She did an autopsy and said her stomach had a whole in it and had ruptured with severe inflammation of her intestines and blood throughout. There were no foreign bodies throughout her abdomen. She had been getting Cytopoint for several months prior. I returned to my original vet at home and asked why the emergent nature was not detected and why Chewy did not show any signs of pain. She said Chewy was ”trying to be good and brave”. I lost it. Please give careful consideration to the possible documented and undocumented side effects before agreeing to give your beloved pet Cytopoint.

 

[JenD]

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can b

 

[JenD]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your pup. Almost everything you experienced also happened to my 8-yr-old Rottweiler. She had always been a healthy, energetic girl with an occasional bout of itchy paws. After coming up lame one morning, we took her to the vet where xrays showed CCL tear. She underwent TPLO surgery and was a great success, was using her leg the first day! She was healing up up beautifully and off all pain meds by the fifth week. Six weeks post-op her paws began to itch like they normally did every so often, so we took her in to see if there was anything to help. (Over the years they would get itchy and then go away on its own, we never sought treatment. But this time I didn't want her to have the added discomfort along with healing from bone surgery.) She was given Cytopoint injection, which seemed to work great right away. But then four days after the shot she started panting, wouldn't eat, didn't want to go for walks, lethargic. Each day she got progressively worse, panting, not sleeping yet lethargic, and developed a limp in her other leg. She refused to lay on her side and would nearly fall asleep propped up on her elbows and holding her head up. Another vet visit revealed liver damage. She was put on antibiotics and Rx liver diet. But her symptoms continued to get worse, we were up all night with her for days, comforting her as she found it impossible to rest. Within 3 weeks she lost 22 lbs. I was terrified and enraged, took her to the vet and demanded more diagnostic testing. Her liver values had returned to normal, but imaging showed osteosarcoma in her non-surgical leg that had metastasized to her lungs. Our vet was as shocked as we were since she had had imaging done on both legs from the hips down before the surgery. He told us her lungs were destroyed and couldn't explain why it had spread at such an alarming speed. We put our baby girl to rest that same day, the day before Thanksgiving. I am 100% convinced Cytopoint took her life or at the very least accelerated her death. She was the sweetest most darling girl to everyone she met, our vet and staff loved her and are also heartbroken. They are being lied to and misled by drug reps out to make their millions. And when they get caught, the price they pay is miniscule compared to the millions they make until then. Such a small value is placed on our beloved pets. When lawsuits make it into the court system, the only price drug companies end up paying at most is the amount pet owners paid to buy their puppies or kittens. This needs to change, or as pet owners we will continue to watch our pets needlessly suffer and die to fill the pockets of evil, greedy, monsters.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Cytopoint is used, safely, by many owners and while side effects are rare, they do occur. Your dog presented very differently from the OP's dog; I hope your vet will report back to the pharmaceutical company if he thinks the drug was a contributory factor.

 

[Atb1]

My dog started having bad seasonal allergies in 2019. I took her to the vet who wanted her on Prednisone and Apoquel. I declined. Found an integrative vet that practiced both Western and holistic medicine. Had a great talk with her. She suggested Cytopoint. We did it and it worked great. Since then, we have been giving our dog two Cytopoint shots per spring, six weeks apart. So, 8 total in the last four years. She's almost 12 and I made the mistake last fall of getting her the Bordatella shot as well as Lepto and something else because we had a foster dog in the house. From that point on, we had problems... Ear hematoma, broken tooth, heart murmur, hurt back leg... Which meant Rimadyl, antibiotics and general anesthesia. Oh, and Prednisone which I stopped after six days. I found another holistic vet and we have been doing supplements and cold laser and she has been doing much better... But now it's spring and the allergies are coming back. Although I don't think we have had any negative experience with Cytopoint, I don't want it anymore. The question is, what can we do for the next two months so that she doesn't itch? That's what no one can tell us.

 

[JoanneF]

Some people find it helpful to wipe the dog with a wet cloth after being outside, to remove pollen etc.

 

[Nevermore student]

Sorry to hear that. everything will be okay.

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. We play dino game. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry to hear that. everything will be okay.

I'm curious, how do you know?

 

[lovepeacepitbulls]

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Side effects like this seem to be rare, but obviously devastating when you are affected. My condolences.

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down. I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

My dog started having bad seasonal allergies in 2019. I took her to the vet who wanted her on Prednisone and Apoquel. I declined. Found an integrative vet that practiced both Western and holistic medicine. Had a great talk with her. She suggested Cytopoint. We did it and it worked great. Since then, we have been giving our dog two Cytopoint shots per spring, six weeks apart. So, 8 total in the last four years. She's almost 12 and I made the mistake last fall of getting her the Bordatella shot as well as Lepto and something else because we had a foster dog in the house. From that point on, we had problems... Ear hematoma, broken tooth, heart murmur, hurt back leg... Which meant Rimadyl, antibiotics and general anesthesia. Oh, and Prednisone which I stopped after six days. I found another holistic vet and we have been doing supplements and cold laser and she has been doing much better... But now it's spring and the allergies are coming back. Although I don't think we have had any negative experience with Cytopoint, I don't want it anymore. The question is, what can we do for the next two months so that she doesn't itch? That's what no one can tell us.

Acupuncture, TCVM herbs, Benadryl, and prednisone is okay if used sparingly. Please don’t do cytopoint. It killed mun14 year old pit mix, too. I’m still devastated. It happened last august and I just feel like I murdered my best friend with my ignorance.

 

[lovepeacepitbulls]

I only wish I would have read about the potential effects of this deadly shot prior to agreeing to give it to my dog. My 5 year old Pitt has always suffered from skin allergies and we’ve been successful in controlling it with Apoquel. Other than the skin allergies he was a loving, strong, healthy, and very active dog. Early January of this year, he injured his rear leg playing ball. After a few days of him limping on it I decided to take him to the vet for an X-ray. On January 12th, after an examination, the vet confirmed that he tore is ACL in his rear left leg and would potentially need surgery. The vet asked if I would like to try Cytopoint to really clear his skin allergies up prior to him having the surgery. REGRETFULLY, I agreed to the Cytopoint shot. Wednesday January 12, 2022 the shot was administered. Within a couple of days, the shot did what it was supposed to do and his skin allergies really cleared up. THEN… the DOWNFALL started on Saturday (3 days post Cytopoint shot). It started with him seemingly to be unable to catch his breath. He would start panting even while laying down. At first I didn’t think much of it even as unusual as it was. I simply thought maybe he was hot or thirsty, or simply just panting because he was happy. Also, very strangely, he didn’t want to get up and was acting lethargic. The following day, Sunday (4 days post cytopoint shot), by nighttime things got way worse. The panting never stopped. His demeanor and body language totally changed to a look of fear and distress on his face as he struggled to try and catch his breath. He also would not eat. Something very was wrong. The course of Sunday night was a nightmare!!! At 11pm, he collapsed for the first time. I literally blew air into his lungs to help him breath. When he regained consciousness I stayed up the entire night trying to comfort him and keep him breathing. I rushed him to the vet first thing Monday morning. When I picked him up Monday evening he seemed much better. His lung X-rays came back unusual. We were sent home with a bunch of medicines and he started to get better throughout the course of the week. He was almost back to his usual self, although still not wanting to eat his regular food so we resorted to chicken breast. His energy levels had seemed to improve as well, although not nearly back to his normal extremely active self. Friday (9 days post cytopoint shot), we went back to the vet for a checkup and the decision was made to reduce some of the meds, also his lungs looked slightly improved. There was still no confirmed diagnosis but I was told that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I found this so strange bc he was always such an active dog and has never had any issue breathing outside of this event. We went home. By Sunday, his breathing started to become labored again and his demeanor became really depressed, so it was advised to crank back up some of the medicines. Monday (12 days post cytopoint shot), his breathing became worse. He would not eat his regular food so I would feed him chicken breast. He was drinking a lot of water. He was lethargic and the look of fear and distress was back on his face and his breathing became worse by Monday night. I also noticed that his lips and gums had turned to a pale whiteish color. I knew something was definitely wrong! The next morning we rushed back to the vet. An ultrasound was done and nothing of significance was found with his heart, liver, spleen, and abdomen looked normal. The vet said with his breathing the way it was and other symptoms he was exhibiting, things did not look good. He had also lost 15 pounds since January 12th (the day Cytopoint was administered). Euthanizing him was discussed. I was SHOCKED by all of this to say the least. I could not wrap my head around how my perfectly healthy dogs health had fell off of a cliff in 13 days time. I took him back home with one last hope for a miracle for the medicines to improve him over the next 24 hours. I stayed up the entire night with him. He eventually would not eat or drink anything no matter what I put in front of him. His gums were white and he had developed a foaming mouth. At that point, I knew it was the end. I could read the look on his face and knew it was time in order to prevent further suffering. The first thing next morning, Wednesday (14 days post cytopoint shot), I took him back to the vet to be put down.

I’m writing all of this to maybe inform and urge some of you reading this to please research the Cytopoint medicine (or any medicine) if you are considering it. I’ve read so much about how it targets the IL-31 gene (please excuse my interpretation as I am no expert) which is the part of the immune system that controls the skin and itching/skin allergies in dogs. I also read that it has some effects/functions on the dogs lungs, heart, intestines, and connective tissues. I also learned that by Cytopoint blocking the IL-31 gene, it can potentially cause a dogs immune system to attack the red blood cells (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) and platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia) amongst other serious autoimmune effects. After researching the symptoms of each of those, I realized that my dog had exhibited the exact symptoms of each! Throughout this whole nightmare, I spent hours reading about the Cytopoint shot and the IL-31 gene. This shot is the only thing that was new to my dog that could have caused this. I was wishing I had never agreed to administer it. Once it’s given, there is no way to reverse it!!! The half life of Cytopoint is 16 days, so its active in the dogs body for a long time! My dog died in 14! I know and understand that for some dogs Cytopoint may be a miracle drug and is extremely helpful to their quality of life, and that’s great. I just want to point out that it can potentially be deadly to others. I know that some of you reading this may comment back that I do not have proof that it was indeed the Cytopoint that caused this, and you’re correct, I don’t have 100% proof that it was the sole contributor to my dogs demise. But, I can guarantee you it was at the BARE MINIMUM a CONTRIBUTOR to his downfall! So please, take my advise, prior to agreeing to any treatment for your pet, ask the necessary questions to your vet, do your research, and consider all of the possibilities. Hindsight is always 20/20. I am now wishing I would have done my own research and asked the proper questions prior to agreeing to the treatment. I just know that if I knew then what I know now, my best friend would still be here with me just as healthy as he can be.

Sending all the love. My girl passed after her injection too. She was a 14 year old pit mix. I got her the shot, went on a small trip, came back and she was never her regular self again. She eventually crashed and had to be put down. That was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. She was like my child. I’ve had her all 14 years and was planning her quince ☹. This happened in august and I’m still absolutely wrecked. I feel so responsible for my best friends death.