Hi all,
My little man Melo is a Boston Terrier, 3 years old, 11.2kgs, and overall in good health. He is lively, energetic, and beyond loving. I have had him since he was about 8 weeks old. Around one year, Melo starting exhibiting signs of allergies - itching, hot spots, redness, you name it. We tried elimination diets, home cooked diets, different proteins, limited ingredients, medicated shampoo, environmental changes, benedryl.. nothing seemed to work consistently.
In June 2017 I took Melo to his vet because his allergies were starting to immensely affect his quality of life and he was scratching nonstop to the point of rashes and open wounds. The vet [well-reviewed and promising a stance of transparency with his clients] recommended Cytopoint, a biological injection {ref 1}. His explanation of the shot was brief and it was stated that side effects were practically nonexistent, it worked well, and after-effects were only limited to lethargy 24-48 hours after receiving it.
The vet did state that Cytopoint was fairly new on the market but, being a novice dog owner, I did not think too much into that.. the only concern was to improve Melo's condition. As with any medical professional, for animals or humans, you want to have good faith in them and hope that their recommendations will have more benefits than costs.
Melo began his Cytopoint injections in June 2017 and at first, the results were miraculous [I have seen this to be a commonality in this thread] and his symptoms reduced by 80% almost immediately. He was asymptomatic for almost 12 weeks before needing his next shot. Melo has been on Cytopoint since, and never exhibited any behaviours that were abnormal to his daily routine after getting it.
However, things have taken a turn since. Melo received his most recent Cytopoint shot in November of 2019. His symptoms after were typical - reduction in scratching and some lethargy. By the evening he was still quite sleepy, and was not drinking water or interested in food or treats. Three days after his shot, it became clear that something was very wrong - Melo was in a stupor-like state, unresponsive to stimuli, not eating or drinking, had abdomen tenderness, and had watery diarrhea with blood. Most of his day was spent sleeping and intermittently getting up to walk around and relieve his obvious discomfort.. it was heartbreaking to watch.
Thank GOODNESS, 48 hours after his really negative symptoms began, his stools, appetite, and energy levels have improved. He is being closely monitored for changes in tongue/gum colour or dehydration, but we are hopeful that the improvements will continue until he is back to himself.
The relief that was felt is indescribable.
After taking the time to read through this entire thread, I have seen countless stories of other dog parents who have watched their dog suffer or lost their pet after receiving this shot. Funny enough, hardly any 'scientific' research exists on all the negative reported side effects of Cytopoint - except these anecdotal community posts.
PLEASE take the time to read the links below about Cytopoint and how the studies that were conducted to prove its efficacy and safety to the FDA were disgustingly insufficient, at BEST. I hope that this increased awareness will reach Zoeitis and they will have to pay consequences for the illegitimacy and obscure descriptions of their products.
Reference 1:
https://www.zoetisus.com/products/dogs/cytopoint/
Reference 2: https://vitalanimal.com/cytopoint-answer-itch/
