First Dose Of Trifexis....Not Good.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well I finished out my supply of Interceptor which the Vet hooked me up with when she knew it was going to become very scarce, and I had to give the Doods a different Heartworm med.  The Vet thought that Trifexis was the next best alternative.  I was reluctant because of some of the things I've heard here on DK and elsewhere on the Internet, but she said that most of her patients were now using it without any reported problems.  I gave them each their dose last night and watched them for a few hours...they were fine.  This morning they wouldn't eat their breakfast which is a problem because they vomit bile if their stomach stays empty for very long in the morning.  I did convince them to eat some chicken which Murphy vomited up a short time later along with some of what must have been last night's dinner.  They have both been sleeping most of the day....they clearly don't feel well.  I took the remaining three doses back to the Vet this afternoon and told the Tech what happened.  She credited me for all of the doses and we switched to Heartgard for next month (considerably less expensive than Trifexis).  Hopefully they'll be able to eat and hold it down tonight.  I just wanted to share this.  I know that there have been other Doodles who had the same reaction.  There are lots of different reactions being reported on the net along with one Vet who seems to be trying to put together some data.  Does anyone know why the Interceptor has been unavailable for the past several months....my Vet Tech didn't seem to know.  Also, has anyone had any issues with Heartgard?  I know that's been around a lot longer than Trifexis, and there doesn't seem to be the same type of issue with side effects.

[Doris]

Bodi gets an upset stomach with Heartguard. (he has a very sensitive stomach).  We just switched to an injection that lasts 6 months.  So far, so good.

[Karen & Lucy]

My Vet is using Iverhart Plus in place of Interceptor.  Lucy had her 1st. dose last month.  At the same time she had all of her yearly vaccinations, had her anal glands expressed and flea/tic med applied.    The next day she started scratching and biting herself terribly.  I started giving her Benedryl immediately, that was on a Sat.  Called the Vet on Mon. and they said they didn't think it was from the Iverhart or the vaccinations.  They referred me to the Iverhart Co.  I called them and they also didn't think it was from the Iverhart.  They said the side effects are generally vomiting and diarrhea.  I had to give her Benedryl, 50mg. 3x's/day for about a week and 1/2.  The itching has greatly diminished and is now time to give her the Iverhart again.  The Co. wants me to call them if she has the same symptoms after this dose.  They took down the expiration date and lot #.  SO, after all of that, maybe you should call the co. as well and see what they say.  Have you or has anyone used the Iverhart Plus product and have you had any problems with it?????  Thanks for input.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I'm unsure of exactly what the brand is... it's the 6 month injection though. Darwin hasn't had any problems on it. We used to use the heartgard tablets and he also had no issues on those.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack has been perfectly fine with the Heartgard Plus, even though the conventional wisdom is that IBD dogs must not have it, because it contains beef-flavoring. To me, this is a very good indication that it is well-tolerated, even by dogs who have myriad health & G.I. problems.

I've been using Heartgard through three dogs now, so way more than 25 years, and no problems whatsoever. 

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

When Haley managed to ingest some of his spot on a month ago I went to the vet to get something else for feas and ticks.  As I also needed his monthly heartworm preventative they offered Trifexis.  I turned it down because I think I read some thing bad about it.  Here it is: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/caution-trifexis-heartworm... And, there are other discussions on DK about it.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Fudge and Vern have no trouble with Heartgard Plus. I am sorry to hear the Irish Brothers are not feeling well and hope tomorrow is better. Hugs to all!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Murph just vomited all of his dinner...so far Guinness is okay.   Poor guy....this is so frustrating.  I should have gone with my instinct and avoided the Trifexis.   Thanks everyone for the input.  Karen, I think Heartgard is the answer.  If it doesn't cause problems for Jack with his IBD, then it should be fine for my guys.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Poor Murphy, I hope he feels better soon!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Hope they feel better soon. It's just crazy that a medication that is supposed to help dogs is making them sick. But thank you for making me aware of Trifexis. We are almost out of the Interceptor pills so I will make sure we get Heartgard from the vet the next time.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Jarka, these are not 'medications', they are chemical pesticide poisons designed to kill things. Many of the symptoms dogs get from them are the same symptoms as poisoning. The trick is to find which poison your dog can best tolerate. Each dog is different and multiple dogs in a household may need different ones. But the dogs bodies are getting no direct benefit from the products.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

SO SORRY about poor Guinness...geez....

We have been using Heartguard and let me tell you, if Taquito doesn't have issues, your dood probably won't have issues.  Tacky has the most sensitive tummy on earth - literally a table scrap of meat can upset him for days.  Heartguard does nothing to him.  So try not to worry G should do FINE with it.

[Gail and Bailey]

Jane, when you gave them the Trifexis last night did you feed them anything with it?  I use Trifexis and I have been told to make sure the dog eats something substantial (like dinner) with it.  I have read bad things about it as well but I have had Bailey on it for 7 months now and (knock on wood) she does okay with it.  I always give her dinner and in the middle of her eating it I give her the Trifexis tablet coated with peanut butter, then she finishes eating dinner.  So far so good.  Sorry your boys got ill! Hope they feel better soon!