Negative reaction to allergy shot

[Amy Amos]

Our labradoodle, Stella (now about 14 months old), started on immunotherapy, allergy shots at the end of August. (Yes, we did have her allergy tested by a vet dermatologist after months and months of itching and licking). The first, "lower dose" shots went fine with no problem. Tonight, I gave her a "full strength" dose, which she is supposed to get every 2 weeks now. 45 minutes after giving her the shot, she definitely is having some negative reactions. She's thrown up 3-4 times, is itching to boot (especially her face/snout) and panting. The area around her eyes looks a little pink, too. The poor thing is miserable. I'm guessing this is a reaction to the higher dosage of allergens in the immunotherapy shot...? I will definitely call the vet dermatologist in the AM, but has this happened to anyone else who gives their doodle allergy shots? Does it warrant taking her to the emergency vet?

Thank you, in advance -
Amy & Stella

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, JD had an allergic response after his testing. He was pacing, drooling and panting in addition to itching like crazy. I did take him to the ER, but it was 7 or 8 years ago and I can't remember what they did for him. 

And yes, it does sound like a reaction to the higher dose of antigens. It's relatively common, that's why they tell you to give the shot at a time of day when you will be home for an hour afterwards.

If it were me, I'd take her to the ER. I'd definitely monitor her and if things don't improve or get worse, I'd bring her in. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree, you never know how serious a reaction can get and the emergency vets have the right medications on hand.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And once things settle down, please join the Atopic Dermatitis Support Group here on DK. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Hope things calmed down.  How is Stella this morning?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Please update us.

[Amy Amos]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and thoughts about Stella.  I got a hold of our primary vet last night who was very helpful.  We decided to take the "wait and see" approach since Stella's symptoms did not appear to be getting worse over the course of 1-2 hours and she did not appear to be in any serious respiratory distress - just very itchy and uncomfortable. She recommended giving her Benadryl, which may prevent the allergic reaction from getting worse.

This morning Stella was back to her batty, energetic self with all of last nights symptoms resolved. I'm still waiting to hear back from the vet dermatologist about our "next steps" as I'm sure some adjustment to her antigen shots will be needed.

We would have never expected such bad reaction from these shots that are supposed to be making things better!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The way that they "make things better" is a gradual process that involves desensitizing the immune system to the allergens that are in the environment by exposing it to small continuous amounts until a tolerance builds up. Or as it was explained to me by a human doctor "it's increasing the threshold of exposure required for Jack's body to notice it & have probs with it (at least that's the theory behind it) so eventually the amount of allergen naturally found in the environment will be smaller than his threshold to respond to it".

But in the meantime, you are in fact introducing into his body the very same proteins that cause his allergy symptoms in the first place. So it makes sense that some dogs do have an allergic reaction. In JD's case, since he had a reaction to the testing itself, his dermatologist used 4 dilutions of the antigens instead of the usual three, and we took an extra week to build up to the full dosage.