Acadie Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Well shoot! Neurologic symptoms in some pets from isoxazolines: https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=50328 Our mini-poodle has been on Nexguard for several years whenever the weather gets above freezing. I've been so happy to have consistent flea and tick prevention without the mess and toxicity of topicals, and he hasn't had any problems so far. Actually now that I think of it, possibly loss of appetite for a day a few times. He does tend to be sensitive little guy food-wise, so after reading about this alert (albeit a bit late, since it came out last fall) I'm wondering if we should switch to something else. Posting this both as a PSA to pet owners and to start a discussion. Positive or negative experiences with your pets? Has anyone quit isoxazolines due to side effects or to the FDA alert, and have you found a good alternative? Amy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) Oh no. I was just thinking that even though it is winter my dog is acting like he is having fleas, and to give him a NexGard He gets extremely bad flea allergy reaction. To the point of staph infection and fur loss. He also tends to be sensitive and allergic to all sorts of things. Nexguard was seeming okay. And our human family can’t handle topicals. It May still be the least bad alternative I have found - but maybe I’ll hold off and not give it today. Edited March 8, 2019 by Pen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Our dog (25lbs) has been on this for, oh, three or four years now and has shown no side effects so we will keep using it. If we see any signs of trouble, we will stop. The topical stuff literally burned her so this was a wonderful replacement. I would think that any med has the chance of side effects so unless your animal reacts to it, I would continue to use it. (I'm not an expert, nor do I work with animals... I'm just a pet owner) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I'm sorry to hear that. We've used Nexguard for 2-3 years, mostly during warm months and into the fall. It's worked well, and I haven't seen any neurological issues, but now I'll have to think through the risks and benefits again. My biggest concern has always been that I want to minimize toxicity not just for our dog, but for dd as well, since her face *will* end up in the dog's fur. So, topical treatments and collars just seem riskier to me, though I'm not sure that's accurate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) FWIW--My little guy has had multiple issues with chemicals. He reacted horribly to Advantix (neurological reaction). Two vet visits, steroids, Benadryl, a full two weeks before he was back to normal. He has reacted to two vaccines, one not unusual (leptospirosis) and another one for which vaccine reactions aren't so common (rabies). We now titer for everything other than rabies, and avoid any vaccinations possible. All that to say--he's a bit sensitive to "stuff." But he does fine on Nexgard. He's been on it for (I think) going on three years. I've discussed this with two trusted vets in the group I use , both of whom advised "if it's working fine for him then don't rock the boat." And I'm good with that advice. Because after the Advantix reaction I didn't have him on anything for awhile, and despite my diligent daily checking he managed to get a tick borne disease. And that was no picnic. This was also discussed (last fall, when it first came out) on another board I'm on. There is a vet moderator whose opinion I hold in high regard. The alert wasn't anything that raised any alarm bells for him, and he said these alerts are much more common than most people realize. His advice was also "if your dog is on it and doing fine then don't worry about it." ETA: I don't think there's anything wrong with Advantix. It just wasn't right for my dog. I know other dogs who do fine with it, and have for years. Edited March 8, 2019 by Pawz4me 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 We had a horrible flea infestation two summers ago. My daughter's cat began having mini-convulsions. DD thought her cat was dying and finally figured out that it was the flea medication--and then my dh didn't believe her. Dd and I insisted that he use different medicine on her, and the convulsions stopped. Unfortunately, I'm not able to remember which medicine gave the negative effect. I was the one who chose the replacement med, and I did it based on active ingredients. If we need it again this summer, I'm sure dh or dd will remember. It was really awful seeing the cat convulse like that at random times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 32 minutes ago, ThisIsTheDay said: We had a horrible flea infestation two summers ago. My daughter's cat began having mini-convulsions. DD thought her cat was dying and finally figured out that it was the flea medication--and then my dh didn't believe her. Dd and I insisted that he use different medicine on her, and the convulsions stopped. Unfortunately, I'm not able to remember which medicine gave the negative effect. I was the one who chose the replacement med, and I did it based on active ingredients. If we need it again this summer, I'm sure dh or dd will remember. It was really awful seeing the cat convulse like that at random times. That does sound awful, and very scary. I'm glad to hear your cat recovered. Do you remember if it was an oral or topical flea med? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Acadie said: That does sound awful, and very scary. I'm glad to hear your cat recovered. Do you remember if it was an oral or topical flea med? The new med was definitely topical. I'm not sure what the old one was. It was something specifically potent though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 32 minutes ago, ThisIsTheDay said: We had a horrible flea infestation two summers ago. My daughter's cat began having mini-convulsions. DD thought her cat was dying and finally figured out that it was the flea medication--and then my dh didn't believe her. Dd and I insisted that he use different medicine on her, and the convulsions stopped. Unfortunately, I'm not able to remember which medicine gave the negative effect. I was the one who chose the replacement med, and I did it based on active ingredients. If we need it again this summer, I'm sure dh or dd will remember. It was really awful seeing the cat convulse like that at random times. That does sound awful, and very scary. I'm glad to hear your cat recovered. Do you remember if it was an oral or topical flea med? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 11 minutes ago, Acadie said: That does sound awful, and very scary. I'm glad to hear your cat recovered. Do you remember if it was an oral or topical flea med? I’m also glad your cat recovered. Where I am NexGard requires a prescription (and was only for dogs, I thought) if that’s generally true for flea medication in this class then a vet would know what had been used. I am interested in what would be best/least bad for cats too since it is generally the cats who bring the fleas to our dog. So they need treatment too. They had been getting a topical outdoors in summer. But could use a different answer for now. I was considering taking them to a vet and trying to get them a 6 month or 3 month lasting treatment if that’s possible here - Revolution or ? I heard there’s some injection that lasts 6 months. Because they are very hard to dose with anything and also lick each other which worries me for topicals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 10 hours ago, Pawz4me said: FWIW--My little guy has had multiple issues with chemicals. He reacted horribly to Advantix (neurological reaction). Two vet visits, steroids, Benadryl, a full two weeks before he was back to normal. He has reacted to two vaccines, one not unusual (leptospirosis) and another one for which vaccine reactions aren't so common (rabies). We now titer for everything other than rabies, and avoid any vaccinations possible. All that to say--he's a bit sensitive to "stuff." But he does fine on Nexgard. He's been on it for (I think) going on three years. I've discussed this with two trusted vets in the group I use , both of whom advised "if it's working fine for him then don't rock the boat." And I'm good with that advice. Because after the Advantix reaction I didn't have him on anything for awhile, and despite my diligent daily checking he managed to get a tick borne disease. And that was no picnic. This was also discussed (last fall, when it first came out) on another board I'm on. There is a vet moderator whose opinion I hold in high regard. The alert wasn't anything that raised any alarm bells for him, and he said these alerts are much more common than most people realize. His advice was also "if your dog is on it and doing fine then don't worry about it." ETA: I don't think there's anything wrong with Advantix. It just wasn't right for my dog. I know other dogs who do fine with it, and have for years. Super helpful to hear about a sensitive dog and also the vet moderator's take. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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