Abdominal pain after Milbemycin Oxime (Interceptor) in dogs

The FDA has received 96 reports of abdominal pain in dogs after Milbemycin Oxime. That is 0.3% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 0.4% across reports for all dog medicines.

96Reports

25%Marked serious

7.3%Recovered

18%Died or euthanised

2 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

5 36%

1–2 days

3 21%

3–7 days

1 7.1%

1–4 weeks

2 14%

Over a month

3 21%

How the animals did

Recovered

7 7.3%

Still unwell when reported

10 10%

Died

10 10%

Euthanised

7 7.3%

Not known

62 65%

Problems reported at the same time

52 54%

48 50%

47 49%

30 31%

20 21%

17 18%

17 18%

16 17%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Milbemycin Oxime prevents heartworm and controls some intestinal worms (monthly).

Products with this ingredient include Interceptor. The FDA hides brand names in its public data, so these reports cover every product with the same active ingredients.

Some herding breeds (for example Collies) carry the MDR1 gene variant and can be more sensitive to this drug class at high doses.

Questions owners ask

Can Milbemycin Oxime cause abdominal pain in dogs?: 96 reports link the two, but a report alone does not prove the medicine was the cause: other illnesses, other medicines or coincidence can be involved. Your vet can judge it for your animal.
How soon after a dose was it reported?: In half of the reports with dates, it started within 2 days of the first dose.
What should I do?: Don't give another dose until you've spoken to your vet, and keep the packaging so you can tell them the product and dose. Your vet can also report it to the FDA (or you can, through the manufacturer or FDA form 1932a).

Abdominal pain with similar medicines

Abdominal pain after Ivermectin + Pyrantel (Heartgard Plus) 222 reports · 0.2% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad (Trifexis) 301 reports · 0.2% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Moxidectin (ProHeart 6) 193 reports · 0.4% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Milbemycin Oxime + Praziquantel (Interceptor Plus) 48 reports · 0.2% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Selamectin (Revolution) 55 reports · 0.2% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Ivermectin (Heartgard) 47 reports · 0.4% of its reports
Abdominal pain after Ivermectin + Praziquantel + Pyrantel (Iverhart Max) 22 reports · 0.3% of its reports

All reported side effects of Milbemycin Oxime in dogs · Medicines most reported with abdominal pain