I also never saw your original post on Lydia, so I don't know what her condition is or what led you to have these tests to begin with. My Fuji had an HCT of 17 about 8 weeks ago. I was very concerned she would need a transfusion. She has since bounced back and hasn't had the anemia since. She does get chemotherapy for lymphoma, but because of a low wbc/neu count cannot get treatments. She has only had two treatments since the beginning of August. At the point where her HCT was so low, I was convinced it was non-regerative because it had been steadily declining. It seems that wasn't the case! Don't give up on your kitty yet! I personally believe that each one has their own special ability to fight.
On Oct 2, 2010, at 5:09 AM, jbero tds.net wrote: > Anndrea, > > First, my greatest sympathy for your current situation. > > Second, this is the first email I've seen concerning Lydia so I don't know > anymore than what's in this email. Here's what I can tell you: > > 1. felv, especially in younger cats and kittens can be horrible. > > 2. The main problems Lydia has, according to lab work, are severe anemia > (hematocrit of 16%) with a very minimal to almost non regenerative anemia > and a lymphocytosis (lots of lymphocytes) > > Anemia is defined as low red blood cells - red blood cells carry oxygen and > carbon dioxide, without them you're in trouble. > > Regenerative anemia is when your bone marrow is making new red blood cells > (this is evidenced by the presence of nucleated red blood cells i.e. > NRBCs). > > The problem Lydia has is that her red blood cell count is very low and her > bone marrow is not effectively making new ones. The hard part about felv is > that the virus infects the cells of the bone marrow and basically kills > their ability to make new cells or causes them to make cancerous cells. > > Red blood cells only live on average three months. If Lydia does not make > new rbcs her old ones will die and she will become more anemic. This is why > some people chose to do blood transfusions. You will have to do > transfusions multiple times and unless there is some way to inhibit the > virus or kill it, the bone marrow will continue to not make healthy rbcs. > There are some variations on this theme and nothing in medicine is one > hundred percent, but I have seen this stage in a felv cat more than once. I > have never successfully beaten it for any decent period of time. > > 3. The additional remarks at the end of your lab work are really just > describing features of rbcs or platelets. Rouleax means the rbcs are > sticking together, poikliocytosis means the rbcs are irregular in size and > shape. > > 4. The elevated lymphocytes suggest either they are attempting to kill the > virus or that there could be a lymphoma. > > 5. The bilirubin levels are barely elevated. If higher they could suggest > liver problems or a process of hemolytic anemia (felv cats often get this > from a hemobartonella infection that infects the rbcs and destroys them) It > is barely elevated and there was no mention of agglutination of the cells so > I don't think she has this infection. > > 6. How you chose to proceed is a difficult question. Different people have > had different experiences, but mine have never been good once they have > gotten to this point. You could try all kinds of things like LTCI > injections, mannitol, transfusions, epogen, anemoaid, pet-tinic and others > people in this group could suggest. For me, I believe we have to try > something new since theses seem to only sporadically work. If they work > for Lydia that would be absolutely fabulous and I would love to know, step > by step, exactly what you did. > > 7. There is something that hasn't been tried, to the best of my knowledge, > by anyone in this group. It is an herbal tonic comprised of four herbs > known to fight cancer and have multiple other medicinal properties. There > is no guarantee, but I don't think it would hurt to try. Unfortunately, you > don't have a whole lot of time to come to a decision. She is at a low > hematocrit and will need some form of intervention shortly. > > I am sorry I don't have more to offer than this, but I pray that it helps > you in some way. God bless you in this one and if I can help you in any > other way, please let me know. > > Jenny > On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 12:12 AM, Anndrea DeLozier > <unspecifie...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> I asked some questions a couple days or so ago, and got some wonderful >> responses! However, I have not figured out how to reply to messages on >> here, >> so I am starting a new thread.hope that's ok. >> >> >> >> I got Lydia's lab work and it reads as follows (I am only posting the tests >> that came up outside the normal range): >> >> Globulin=2.8 (should be between 3.0-5.6) >> >> Total Bilirubin=0.5 (should be between 0.0-0.4) >> >> Direct Bilirubin=0.4 (should be between 0.0-0.2) >> >> Cholesterol=68 (should be between 82-218) >> >> Glucose=153 (should be between 70-150) >> >> Potassium-3.6 (should be between 3.9-5.3) >> >> A/G Ratio=1.2 (should be between 0.4-0.8) >> >> RBC=3.44 (should be between 6.0-10.0) >> >> HCT=16.0 (should be between 29-45) >> >> NRBC=5 (should be between 0-2/100 WBC.WBC=9.1 - should be between 4.2-15.6) >> >> Neutrophil Seg=18 (should be between 35-75) >> >> Lymphocytes=57 (should be between 20-55) >> >> Monocytes=5 (should be between 1-4) >> >> Eosinophil=20 (should be between 2-12) >> >> Auto Platelet=70 (should be between 170-600) >> >> >> >> Then there's these, I have no clue what these (and most of the above) are. >> >> Poikilocytosis - Slight >> >> Platelet Comments - Platelets appear moderately decreased (50,000-120,000) >> >> >> >> Remarks: WBC Corrected for presence of nucleated RBC's >> >> Acanthocytes - slight >> >> Rouleaux >> >> Slide reviewed microscopically >> >> >> >> Absolute Neutrophil Seg = 1638 (should be between 2500-12500) >> >> >> >> Everything else showed as in the normal ranges listed with them. >> >> >> >> At the top of the first page it says: >> >> Reticulocyte count=0.7 (should be between 0-1) >> >> Absolute reticulocyte=24080 (should be between 0-50,000) >> >> "An absolute reticulocyte count greater than 50,000 of blood is considered >> evidence of regenerative anemia." >> >> Degree of regeneration: (aggregate reticulocytes) >> >> <15,000 - NONE >> >> 50,000 - SLIGHT >> >> 100,000 - MODERATE >> >>> 200,000 - MARKED >> >> >> >> FeLV antigen (ELISA) - POSITIVE (result has been duplicated) >> >> >> >> I hope this isn't too long to post.I had no idea what people would or >> wouldn't want to know. These results are of blood that was drawn on 9/17, I >> have no idea what her numbers are now. >> >> >> >> I did get her eating some stage 2 meat baby food. She's only eaten half a >> jar, but that is more food in the last 24 hours than she probably ate the >> few days before that.and before the baby food her food mostly consisted of >> water. I am not force feeding at this time, since she sniffs it and eats on >> her own, and drinks water on her own when she's thirsty. >> >> >> >> She does seem to have some difficulty swallowing, but she is still getting >> food and water down. >> >> >> >> Also, what is the correct dosage of Pet Tinic for her? She is MAYBE 5lbs, >> and the bottle says : dogs and cats 2.5 ml per 25lbs of body weight. So she >> should get a fifth of that, which would be 0.5ml, right? >> >> >> >> Thanks to anyone who has helped and might help in the future.and sorry >> again >> for making this so long. >> >> >> >> ~Anndrea >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
