Tapering down Zyrtec?

[Critter]

So last year I discovered my mare had allergies…testing revealed some environmental and some possible food allergies. Her worst time of the year seemed to be summer into fall (head tossing, sneezing, coughing when riding, rubbing her nose, and general itchiness were the main symptoms).

She’s been on zyrtec for the last year…14 tabs twice a day. We also started allergy shots…she is just about finished the first 3 vials (which are ramp up doses)…so almost 1 year on shots. The shots were mostly uneventful with some causing her to be more itchy overall for a day or two. The last set of shots which was the first max dose of the highest concentration did cause some big welts at the injection sites. Consultation with my vet and the immunotherapy vet means we are going to adjust that dosing for a bit to avoid her having a worse reaction next month.

Her symptoms have improved very significantly. I was wondering if I can/should start to taper her off the zyrtec? I would love to show next year and she has to be off it to show. This is also her least allergy season, so make sense to taper now. But we are still dealing with a bit of a reaction to the last set of injections.

Do I try and cut down the dose but keep twice a day? Cut her to once a day? Not mess with it yet until she is totally maxed on the injection dose and okay? Part of me hates to cut her down and have her symptoms come back since she’s been so good…but this is also the time of the year she is less symptomatic anyway.

[Djones]

It’s so cheap I’d just stay with it. I would not taper unless the vet who knows her agreed with the plan.

[StormyDay]

@Critter

So last year I discovered my mare had allergies…testing revealed some environmental and some possible food allergies. Her worst time of the year seemed to be summer into fall (head tossing, sneezing, coughing when riding, rubbing her nose, and general itchiness were the main symptoms).

She’s been on zyrtec for the last year…14 tabs twice a day. We also started allergy shots…she is just about finished the first 3 vials (which are ramp up doses)…so almost 1 year on shots. The shots were mostly uneventful with some causing her to be more itchy overall for a day or two. The last set of shots which was the first max dose of the highest concentration did cause some big welts at the injection sites. Consultation with my vet and the immunotherapy vet means we are going to adjust that dosing for a bit to avoid her having a worse reaction next month.

Her symptoms have improved very significantly. I was wondering if I can/should start to taper her off the zyrtec? I would love to show next year and she has to be off it to show. This is also her least allergy season, so make sense to taper now. But we are still dealing with a bit of a reaction to the last set of injections.

Do I try and cut down the dose but keep twice a day? oncea day? Not mess with it yet until she is to maxed on the injection dose and okay? Part of me hates to cut her down and have her symptoms come back since she’s been so good…but this is also the time of the year she is less symptomatic anyway.

You can show on Zyrtec. You fill out a medication report form and can’t feed it for 24h before your class. However most of the time it works for longer than that for allergies anyways. My mare lives on the stuff (she’s allergic to the whole world)

[Critter]

I didn’t realize it was allowed with a med report form (maybe I am thinking FEI where it is banned?)…but good to know!

[StormyDay]

@Critter

I didn’t realize it was allowed with a med report form (maybe I am thinking FEI where it is banned?)…but good to know!

With FEI it’s a controlled medication with a 4 day detection time.

[IPEsq]

I continue to give Zyrtec with the maintenance allergy shots. It has been easier for my horse to manage the withdrawal times to show. The allergy shots made a huge difference in skin symptoms, but the Zyrtec still helps his breathing. I think some of it is particulates which he is sensitive to and not exactly treated by the shots. I sometimes can back off in winter, but when riding in the indoor, he needs Zyrtec at least once a day and possibly nebulizing due to a little more dust being indoors. We are going to be going south shortly, and I might try reducing it at least until the allergy triggers pop up in the spring.

A tip on the shots - make sure you are doing sub-q and not getting it INTO the skin, as this will cause more of a reaction. You may also need to do 1/2 cc on each side instead of 1cc in a single site. My vets recommended not reducing the total dose, though. Aside from the very first shot of the initial series, my guy didn’t really have any reactions until we got to the maintenance vial (which is the same as vial #3 for the first series). He’d get big welts that would be itchy, then sore, but gone in about 2 days. When changing administration to split the dose, that meant 2 medium lumps instead of 1 huge lump, which wasn’t much better. The last 2 shots have been lump free though. I think if he’s tense or a little dehydrated, it’s a bit too easy to get the needle into the skin versus under it, so I have to be sure I am not at too steep an angle.

[Critter]

The vet that works for the Immunotherapy company gave me a new dosing schedule to follow…which does back down the ramp up on the third vial.

I don’t want to split the dose as she already gets 2 injections each time…so that would mean going to 4 injections. Unless I could delay one of the vials over time so that she got them spaced 2 weeks (so still a monthly dose, but 1 vial then 2 weeks later the other vial). If she gets welts again the next time, that might be worth considering as an alternate approach.

I had reduced her from 14 to 12 tabs zyrtec over the past 2 weeks and today (2nd day on 12 tabs) I noticed she was rubbing on the hay net a lot more (prior behavior that had been mostly gone). So, back up to the 14 tabs today and just going to leave her be. Especially while we are still sorting out getting her on the max vial dosing.

And thanks @StormyDay…knowing we would just have to do med paperwork and the withdraw times makes me less concerned about her staying on the zyrtec all the time the rest of the year. Before the allergy shots and zyrtec she got almost unrideable the one summer…and that’s all gone, so I hate to mess with what’s working so well for her.

[IPEsq]

Coming back to add that another horse at my barn was able to taper down and eventually stop Zyrtec after completing the allergy series. He still gets the maintenance shots. Something triggered him this fall, and he had to go back on Zyrtec for a bit. While he is allergic to a lot of stuff too, I think it’s case dependent, and some horses will be sensitive to things that aren’t being addressed by the shots. And horse that could stop the Zyrtec does not have asthma even though his allergies to affect his breathing or coughing, whereas my horse does have asthma.

[SonnysMom]

The farm I work at had a boarder pony that at the farm he was at prior would always have a reaction to his allergy shot. The BO started to give the shot in his pecs and he had no more reaction.
We currently have 2 horses on Zyrtec they both used to be twice a day. But for the last year have gone to once a day. One was 12 pills twice a day and is now 12 pills once a day. The other was at 15 twice a day and now 15 once a day.