Friday, December 9, 2011

Iris waits at the Rainbow Bridge...did Trifexis kill her?

My family is grieving. Iris left us suddenly this week after a sudden and brief illness. This is her story as told by our Mom. Nothing will bring Iris back, but please give a second thought before you switch to Trifexis, a new heart-worm preventative that just came on the market this year.

from Pam Monahan: Iris suddenly became very ill last week with intestinal issues. She was treated twice at our regular vet; once for diarrhea and then for vomiting, lethargy, not eating. Her lab results came back normal except for her thyroid, which was very low. She started medication for low thyroid, but then starting vomiting. She had been at the emergency vet for two days of tests. She had many tests performed there, including 2 ultra sounds and a barium swallow. They could find nothing wrong; no blockage, no foreign object, nothing. She lost 6 pounds in a week. She worsened overnight and when we visited with her this morning we made the decision to let her go and were with her when she passed. We had given Iris and Ivy a dose of Trifexis, a heart-worm preventative/flea control medication on November 29 and Iris became ill the next day. That is when we took her to our vet. So, a week and a day later, a dog that was fine and loving life, is gone. The ER Vet initially was skeptical of my concern about this heart-worm preventative medication, but did immediately perform a necropsy, at our request. She saw no evidence of advanced cancer, but did send off tissue samples for analysis. And, she herself contacted the manufacturer of Trifexis and Iris has a case number. It certainly would have been easier if she had been eaten up with cancer or even swallowed something. So, now we are involved with a pharmaceutical company, Elanco (Eli Lilly). Just want to ensure that this does not happen to other dogs.
We are broken hearted.

14 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh. I am so sorry. We recently (3 months ago) switched Milly and Shelby to Trifexis. Is this the first time she had taken it? I am truly sorry for your loss and greatly appreciate your sharing this horrible event with us.
    ~Maggie

    ReplyDelete
  2. We are so very sorry for your loss, I cannot begin to imagine how you all must be feeling right now but please know we are thing of you all and keeping you in our prayers

    With love
    Momma Tea, Izzy, Uji & Ronnii
    xxx xxx xxx xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are so very sorry Iris has journeyed to the Rainbow Bridge. We will light a candle for her tonight.

    Molly, Taffy, Monty and Winnie

    ReplyDelete
  4. We are so incredibly sorry for your loss. We have become increasingly skeptical over the years of the chemicals we use to treat ourselves - human and canine - so we understand your fears.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so very sorry for this loss. If it turns out to be something related to the drug, I hope you know that it was nothing you did. You were trying to keep your babies safe and healthy. We do things like this every day. Regardless, Iris had a wonderful home full of love. Our prayers and thoughts go out to you and to Ivy.

    Painter Pack

    ReplyDelete
  6. We are all so very sorry for your loss. It's hard enough when there is a long illness involved and the end is expected. It's harder when the loss is unexpected and sudden. But to lose a pet because of a medication that didn't agree with them has to be the worst yet. The blame has to lie somewhere, but nothing will bring back sweet Iris.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So very very sorry for your terrible loss.
    Dachshund Nola

    ReplyDelete
  8. We are so very very sorry for your loss. We used Trifexis for the first time last month. We won't be using it again. There has to be a better way to protect our pets from fleas and ticks. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers.

    Hugs and kisses,

    Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so sorry. How terrible - I wish I could say something or give you a hug, something to make it different. Our thoughts are with you.

    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  10. My heart is breaking for you. I know all too well the immense pain of losing a companion 'out of the blue'. It is a shock to your entire system. Please know that there are many of us out here lending support to help ease your pain and sadness.

    ReplyDelete
  11. We are VERY sorry to hear about your loss of Iris. Such a shock. Our thoughts are with you all.
    Ernie and Company

    ReplyDelete
  12. So sorry on the loss of your furry family member. - i am going to pick up my sisters cockapoo in a few hrs from the animal hospital where she spent the last 3 days in critical care for intractable vomiting - lethargy - dehydration - hemorrhagic gastroenteritis - we were convinced she was going to die. They say she is better i hope so - but at the same time know we are not out of the woods. TRIFEXIS in my opinion is POISON. i am letting everyone i know not to use it and asking them to pass it on to their family and friends. I am so so so sorry about IRIS

    ReplyDelete
  13. My 8 year old German shepherd was taken to the vet with a flea infestation. The vet took blood panel tests and recommended trifexis because Frontline was not working for him.
    The blood tests came back normal. I gave him his first dose on Sep 9, over the next week he became lethargic, and stopped eating. When I took him back to the vet on Sep 24 his gums were pale with no color as if he had been poisoned. The vet said the dog was critical. He died that day and I am sure it was trifexis because he was a totally healthy inside dog with no exposure to any poisons other than the one that I gave him called Trifexis. This stuff needs to taken off the market NOW!

    ReplyDelete