Bulletin

Ketoconazole (Nizoral) Can Kill your Pet

I trusted my vet, and even when I called a week after treatment started to list the adverse symptoms my dog was showing (dark, almost black urine with orange highlights, trembling, skin peeling, skin turning dark, fatigue...), she did not recognize (!) what I have since learned are the signals 'imposing an immediate and definitive end to the treatment'. I kept on, on her advice, giving the ketoconazole, only cutting the dose in half, but it was still enough, after 13 1/2 tablets, to have caused irrevesible liver damage, and 34 days after the
start of treatment, my dog died, the autopsy shows from cirrhosis of the liver. I was able to find the list of signs of allergic reaction on the internet, on a site treating drug info for professionals (BIAM), but
accessible by the public (the info is in French, but seems pretty thorough, however it is uptodate only to 2001, and has received no government subsidy since, to keep it uptodate... a coincidence?). The same drug is given to humans, with the same risk, and normally under the responsibility of the doctor to warn about possible side effects, and which ones must be signalled immediately. I'm told that human patients are no more warned than are consumers with animals to treat. Normally, I have only ever given homeopathy to my dogs, the ketoconazole was an exception, and this lesson is not likely to encourage other exceptions in the future. The vets can keep their drugs and their cut/burn/poison approach to 'health', I'm sticking to natural treatments in the future, which at least follow Hippocrates's injunction to 'First, do no harm...'.

I am told that ketoconazole is not authorized for veterinary use in the US. I presume this is for two reasons, because (am I right?) dogs have more fragile livers than humans and also because there is no culture of suing over adverse drug reactions in France, particularly over adverse drug reactions involving animals. I had two dogs who were 'suffering' from a skin yeast infection (Malassezia) due to overindulgence in chewing bones made from 'bullalo skin'. I have since learned there have been many dogs who have developed this condition as a result of consuming these 'rawhide' bones, which are often not from bullalo skin at all, but produced in Thailand with the skin of dogs and cats that have been killed for their fur... Needless to say, I don't use this product any more and try to warn everyone I know against it. There have apparently been product recalls in the UK because of salmonella poisoning, too. I tried all the natural treatments I could think of for months to get rid of the problem, homeopathy, lotions and shampoos with chlorhexidine, and while the condition got better, it was not cured. I specify that neither of my dogs were particularly bothered by the skin condition (which basically involved flaking skin and lost fur), they did not itch alot, it was not contageous and not (as far as I know) life-threatening. But it was not nice to see their fur like that, so I wanted the problem gone, and made
an exception for the medicine proposed, not realizing that it can cause livier damage in susceptible subjects and has caused death, supposedly only in rare cases. The risks are the same for humans, and the symptoms of an adverse reaction are well-known. As I mentioned, there is a warning and the list of symptoms on the notice delivered with Nizoral in France (for human use) but no warning whatsoever on the notice delivered with Ketofungol (ketoconazole for animals).

One of my dogs, Ralph, presented the classic symptoms of adverse reaction :
violent intestinal upset (diarrhea, which did not last but his transit was speeded up)
skin peeling in large flakes, visible skin turned black
black urine with orange highlights
trembling
fatigue

My other dog, Missy, had no symptoms. However, she reached the end of the fourweek treatment (30 pills, one a day) and while her skin problem was improved, it was still there.

Ralph kept getting worse and worse, even after the vet told me to cut the daily dose in half because of the side effects (I think she must have been badly informed, she should have stopped the treatment immediately, according to the BIAM, an organization providing drug info to the medical professions on its site, which is also accessible by the public (but in French) here : http://www.biam2.org/www/Sub4207.html ). So I gave 13 1/2 tabs (out of 30 prescribed) to Ralph over 20 days, before I decided to stop the treatment on my own authority, but it was already too late. Four days later, Ralph presented symptoms of hepititis. A different vet gave him IVs for 9 days, trying to clean out his bloodstream, but he died, in great suffering (he was vomiting blood and had thick bloody hemorages). I didn't have him euthanized because I was told, up to four hours before the end that there was always a chance he could pull through, if the liver had even as little as 30% left functioning. The necropsy concluded he died of cirrhosis, which in dogs 'can' be caused by drug intoxication. He had enjoyed better than average health before ketoconazole, he was 8 years old, had years left to live, and a family that loved him very very much.
.
Based on my own experience, I think the 'rare cases of morality' mentioned by the BIAM may simply be because the vets, labs and other administrative bodies want to keep it that way. They have all been very uncooperative with me about recognizing Ralph's death as being due to ketoconazole.

You may also be interested to know that Missy's skin problem is finally going way. The only other avenue not explored was a thyroid imbalance, so I had her thyroid tested and sure enough the activity was extremely low (amazing as she is a hyperactive dog). Anyway, I want no more of pills, except homeopathy, from now on, so I have been 'treating' Missy for some weeks now with seaweed. Just seaweed. To stimulate her thyroid. And her skin problem is clearing up. If only I had tried that before trying the ketoconazole! My opinion on ketoconazole mirrors the feelings of most people for Rimadyl, another killer drug which nontheless continues to be marketed. The risks don't balance out with the possible good effects. Somewhere (not the Biam) I read that one dog died after only three doses of ketoconazole! Is it worth it? Try seaweed. Depending on why your vet recommends ketoconazole, maybe seaweed will work for you. It's available in any health food store or Asian supermarket, for pennies. And it doesn't kill.

If you, or someone you know, has had problems with ketoconazole, please contact me and let me know. Our combined pressure can make a real difference, when applied on the manufacturer.


	Ketoconazole (Nizoral) Can Kill your Pet I trusted my vet, and even when I called a week after treatment started to list the adverse symptoms my dog was showing (dark, almost black urine with orange highlights, trembling, skin peeling, skin turning dark, fatigue...), she did not recognize (!) what I have since learned are the signals 'imposing an immediate and definitive end to the treatment'. I kept on, on her advice, giving the ketoconazole, only cutting the dose in half, but it was still enough, after 13 1/2 tablets, to have caused irrevesible liver damage, and 34 days after the start of treatment, my dog died, the autopsy shows from cirrhosis of the liver. I was able to find the list of signs of allergic reaction on the internet, on a site treating drug info for professionals (BIAM), but accessible by the public (the info is in French, but seems pretty thorough, however it is uptodate only to 2001, and has received no government subsidy since, to keep it uptodate... a coincidence?). The same drug is given to humans, with the same risk, and normally under the responsibility of the doctor to warn about possible side effects, and which ones must be signalled immediately. I'm told that human patients are no more warned than are consumers with animals to treat. Normally, I have only ever given homeopathy to my dogs, the ketoconazole was an exception, and this lesson is not likely to encourage other exceptions in the future. The vets can keep their drugs and their cut/burn/poison approach to 'health', I'm sticking to natural treatments in the future, which at least follow Hippocrates's injunction to 'First, do no harm...'. I am told that ketoconazole is not authorized for veterinary use in the US. I presume this is for two reasons, because (am I right?) dogs have more fragile livers than humans and also because there is no culture of suing over adverse drug reactions in France, particularly over adverse drug reactions involving animals. I had two dogs who were 'suffering' from a skin yeast infection (Malassezia) due to overindulgence in chewing bones made from 'bullalo skin'. I have since learned there have been many dogs who have developed this condition as a result of consuming these 'rawhide' bones, which are often not from bullalo skin at all, but produced in Thailand with the skin of dogs and cats that have been killed for their fur... Needless to say, I don't use this product any more and try to warn everyone I know against it. There have apparently been product recalls in the UK because of salmonella poisoning, too. I tried all the natural treatments I could think of for months to get rid of the problem, homeopathy, lotions and shampoos with chlorhexidine, and while the condition got better, it was not cured. I specify that neither of my dogs were particularly bothered by the skin condition (which basically involved flaking skin and lost fur), they did not itch alot, it was not contageous and not (as far as I know) life-threatening. But it was not nice to see their fur like that, so I wanted the problem gone, and made an exception for the medicine proposed, not realizing that it can cause livier damage in susceptible subjects and has caused death, supposedly only in rare cases. The risks are the same for humans, and the symptoms of an adverse reaction are well-known. As I mentioned, there is a warning and the list of symptoms on the notice delivered with Nizoral in France (for human use) but no warning whatsoever on the notice delivered with Ketofungol (ketoconazole for animals). One of my dogs, Ralph, presented the classic symptoms of adverse reaction : violent intestinal upset (diarrhea, which did not last but his transit was speeded up) skin peeling in large flakes, visible skin turned black black urine with orange highlights trembling fatigue My other dog, Missy, had no symptoms. However, she reached the end of the fourweek treatment (30 pills, one a day) and while her skin problem was improved, it was still there. Ralph kept getting worse and worse, even after the vet told me to cut the daily dose in half because of the side effects (I think she must have been badly informed, she should have stopped the treatment immediately, according to the BIAM, an organization providing drug info to the medical professions on its site, which is also accessible by the public (but in French) here : http://www.biam2.org/www/Sub4207.html ). So I gave 13 1/2 tabs (out of 30 prescribed) to Ralph over 20 days, before I decided to stop the treatment on my own authority, but it was already too late. Four days later, Ralph presented symptoms of hepititis. A different vet gave him IVs for 9 days, trying to clean out his bloodstream, but he died, in great suffering (he was vomiting blood and had thick bloody hemorages). I didn't have him euthanized because I was told, up to four hours before the end that there was always a chance he could pull through, if the liver had even as little as 30% left functioning. The necropsy concluded he died of cirrhosis, which in dogs 'can' be caused by drug intoxication. He had enjoyed better than average health before ketoconazole, he was 8 years old, had years left to live, and a family that loved him very very much. . Based on my own experience, I think the 'rare cases of morality' mentioned by the BIAM may simply be because the vets, labs and other administrative bodies want to keep it that way. They have all been very uncooperative with me about recognizing Ralph's death as being due to ketoconazole. You may also be interested to know that Missy's skin problem is finally going way. The only other avenue not explored was a thyroid imbalance, so I had her thyroid tested and sure enough the activity was extremely low (amazing as she is a hyperactive dog). Anyway, I want no more of pills, except homeopathy, from now on, so I have been 'treating' Missy for some weeks now with seaweed. Just seaweed. To stimulate her thyroid. And her skin problem is clearing up. If only I had tried that before trying the ketoconazole! My opinion on ketoconazole mirrors the feelings of most people for Rimadyl, another killer drug which nontheless continues to be marketed. The risks don't balance out with the possible good effects. Somewhere (not the Biam) I read that one dog died after only three doses of ketoconazole! Is it worth it? Try seaweed. Depending on why your vet recommends ketoconazole, maybe seaweed will work for you. It's available in any health food store or Asian supermarket, for pennies. And it doesn't kill. If you, or someone you know, has had problems with ketoconazole, please contact me and let me know. Our combined pressure can make a real difference, when applied on the manufacturer.

		Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs : REVEILLONS-NOUS ! NOUS AVONS TROP DORMIS ! " Ne croyez jamais que quelques individus bien intentionnés ne peuvent pas changer le monde En fait, on ne l'a jamais changé autrement. "