I had started a thread about the possible side effects of comfortis in May as I was afraid to give it to my dogs. Well I thought that I just had to give it to my smallest JR, Shorty. She’s 12 yrs old, about 11 lbs & had been losing weight & having tons of skin problems. Her lab work was great & vets all thought that she was losing weight due to the fleas & irritated skin. So, I gave Shorty about 2/3 her recommended dose. Then about 4 days after giving it I wrote on COTH about how good she was doing BUT…it went downhill from there. She seemed to lose weight overnight, was horribly lethargic, depressed. No appetite at all. I took her to a wonderful DVM who practices eastern medicine. She said “we don’t like comfortis here. We’ve seen to many problems”. AAGGGG!!
She took more blood work & this panel showed elevated liver enzymes after just the one dose of comfortis. We are going to continue to check lab work. I’ve had to keep Shorty drug free, feed her a special diet, accupuncture, now herbs. She is looking & feeling better but basically just had to let this get out of her system. So see, it’s NOT hysteria on the internet that I read about. Some dogs are having horrible reactions to this stuff, more than you’d ever thing would.
My regular vet thinks I read too much but I don’t think you can. As an RN I’ve learned that the healthier patients are the informed patients. Now I just wish I’d followed my heart & not given anything like this to Shorty.
Of course I can’t go totally drug free, she still will have to have heartguard, my other dogs are getting frontline plus as usual (except for Shorty’s sister who has seizures), & I’ve had to have the yard treated twice for fleas. Using only natural flea control on the 2 Jack Russells now & finally have them under control. Being super careful with flea treatment on the yard & other dogs as don’t want the JRs to get near them.
Just wanted others to realize that these reactions are real & to please please please have your dogs lab work checked regularly while on these flea poisons.
Shorty’s not out of the woods yet so pray & jingle for her. She such a sweet little girl & I love her so much.
jimgles for miss shorty…i had once mentioned comfotis to my vet, and she was NOT pleased that i would consider it…ok, that was enough waring for me…but sometimes, the lack of results from other products just drives you nuts, and despiration takes over…
glad she is better, and continues on the path to healthy…sure wish the was a GOOD, heathy remedy for the damn fleas
jimgles for miss shorty…i had once mentioned comfotis to my vet, and she was NOT pleased that i would consider it…ok, that was enough warning for me…but sometimes, the lack of results from other products just drives you nuts, and despiration takes over…
glad she is better, and continues on the path to healthy…sure wish the was a GOOD, heathy remedy for the damn fleas
My cocker had a seizure problem, we think as a consequence of Lyme, she couldn’t handle the Frontline Plus, but didn’t have a problem with the regular Frontline. It’s tough to find, you have to order it online. Have you thought about Revolution? Covers the heartworm and fleas. Not ticks though.
I just turned down Comfortis again at the vets. We’re having a horrible flea problem this year. I tried Advantix II and it seems to be doing the job.
I prefer to stick with the topicals. If they’re having a problem, you can get a lot of it off with aggressive bathing with Dawn dish liquid.
Jingles for Shorty.
My 6 pound dog has a bad reaction to Comfortis. My vet recommended it. I told her I was nervous about it because she was so small and the vet assured me she was over the weight limit so it would be okay. I questioned her about the fact that she was just barely over the weight limit but the Vet said it would be fine.
It was not fine and I would never use it again. My dog became lethargic, shakey and just flat out not herself after I gave it to her.
This is the first I’ve heard of reactions to Comfortis, thanks for posting. My dogs get the Advantix ll, and it works well. I haven’t used Comforis, didn’t like idea of no antidote that I might have to give quickly in case of a reaction. Jingles for Shorty.
]Jingles! It’s tough, everything strong enough to have a good effect can have a bad one, and after a few experiences with medications that produced negative side effects, I now hate to start anything new.
Sending JINGLES for Shorty!!
I use Trifexis on my daughter’s 10# mini wire dachshund and have had great results. Prior to switching to the Trifexis, he had been on Comfortis for a year with no ill effects. Billy is terribly allergic to fleas and literally scratches himself raw and rubs all his hair out if he gets even one flea. The Comfortis/Trifexis has allowed him to have a much more comfortable life. I always give the pills with a full meal and crush the pills and sprinkle them on the food. Before I switched to the Trifexis, I gave the Comfortis and then waited a week before I gave his Heartguard.
I suppose the Comfortis is like any other med, works great for some, can cause adverse reactions in others. For example, penicillin has saved millions of lives but for those who are allergic to it, it can be deadly.
I gave comfortis two years ago to all three dogs, but my older dog developed old dog vestibular right after I gave it, so I am never giving it to her again since she doesn’t have flea allergies and does just fine with topical. It probably had nothing to do with it, but I am never taking a chance again.
I switched back to Frontline this year, thinking I was just imagining it didn’t work, after switching to Advantix last year. Again, I have noticed it doesn’t last and they are still scratching 4 days after application. What is up with Frontline?
Knock on wood, my dogs have not had problems with Comfortis. I will, however, be on the lookout for potential side effects. Thanks for the PSA.
I have a frind who lost a small dog to reaction,to comfort is and one of her bigger dogs was very sick. I won’t use it. To much controversy.
[QUOTE=wireweiners;6487165]
I use Trifexis on my daughter’s 10# mini wire dachshund and have had great results. Prior to switching to the Trifexis, he had been on Comfortis for a year with no ill effects. Billy is terribly allergic to fleas and literally scratches himself raw and rubs all his hair out if he gets even one flea. The Comfortis/Trifexis has allowed him to have a much more comfortable life. I always give the pills with a full meal and crush the pills and sprinkle them on the food. Before I switched to the Trifexis, I gave the Comfortis and then waited a week before I gave his Heartguard.
I suppose the Comfortis is like any other med, works great for some, can cause adverse reactions in others. For example, penicillin has saved millions of lives but for those who are allergic to it, it can be deadly.[/QUOTE]
You do know that the drug that is Comfortis (spinosad) is also the flea control med in Trifexis??
I use triflexis on my larger dog too and it works great for him, he’s super sensitive to fleas. But i was definitely leery leery leery using it because of the spinosad, just the idea of FEEDING him something that kills something else weirds me out…
Im glad to know that my worry wasn’t in vain and i hate how vets/ doctors will give false assurance without warnings of awful side effects… I personally ended up in the hospital for two weeks after being assured a drug was fine when my gut said aw HECK NO!
I’m jingling for Shorty and love the eastern approach :yes:
Thanks everybody for Shorty’s jingles. She needs them. She’s doing better but still not herself.
I’m beginning to really love the eastern medicine myself as I’ve seen it work wonders on dogs, horses & people.
[QUOTE=HappyTalk;6492870]
You do know that the drug that is Comfortis (spinosad) is also the flea control med in Trifexis??[/QUOTE]
Yes. I switched to the Trifexis because there were adverse affects reported when using comfortis in conjunction with ivermectin (Heartguard). I was using the comfortis then a week later using the heartguard. Billy has had no untoward side affects. I do think it helps to give the pill with a full meal. My vet says it gives the meds more time to get into the dog’s system and is easier on their stomach. I give the heartguard with meals also.
Not denying that some pets may have reactions to any drug, although honestly other than the occasional vomit we haven’t had many complaints in the office where I work regarding comfortis/trifexis.
BUT, spinosad (the active ingredient) is the only “natural” product for fleas out there, and is actually approved for use in organic agriculture. It is from a bacteria found in sugar cane. All the other flea products out there (Frontline, Advantix) are chemical pesticides. I decided to use Trifexis for my dog based on this alone (with no ill effects).
Just food for thought. OP, I hope your guy gets better soon!
So sorry to hear about your dog. jingles
It’s the first time I’ve heard Comfortis giving significant problems. In my personal experience, I’ve used it without any problems. I just don’t know what to do about flea products. It seems like if I’m online enough I find someone who had a dog react poorly to all the major flea products. Is anything 100% safe to all dogs?
