Thank you for the info. He gets bloodwork next week. I am nervous, he started sneezing yesterday. He is a healthy and pretty hefty eater. He refuses soft food but he is eats hard food and loves cat milk. He probably weights about 16-17 pounds. I am just trying to help him before he gets sick. The iFA test was positive also. I only had him since February when he strayed in.
From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Amani Oakley Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2016 3:05 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Interferon Ardy >From my research, I see that Doxycycline is found to interfere with RNA >replication, which is how viruses reproduce. Thus, my theory (based on my >observations of what happened with my FeLV little boy AND weekly blood work) >is that with the combination of Doxycycline/Prednisolone/Winstrol each does >something different and leaving out one of them will often not give you good >results. The Winstrol pumps up red cell production, promotes bone cell reproduction (that's why it can be used in older adults with osteoporosis), which in turn eventually increases white cell, red cell and platelet numbers since the progenitor cells (those that make these three cell lines) are all found in the bone marrow and are all attacked by the FeLV virus. However, the problem is that since the Winstrol does nothing to the virus itself, the virus will continue to attack both bone marrow and white cells, ultimately killing the cells it attacks, or diverting them from their normal activities (producing cells lines or attacking intruders) and instead turning them into virus-making machines, causing a greater and greater load of viruses in the body. This obviously will eventually overpower the good that the Winstrol is doing, since the viruses will keep attacking the new cells being promoted by the Winstrol. The Doxycycline does not kill the viruses. It is an antibiotic, and is unable to kill viruses. However, it blocks the virus replication. It is my theory that by doing this, it slows down the virus reproduction, allowing the Winstrol to pump up the numbers of red cells, white cells, and platelets, without having to outcompete the rampant virus reproduction. Once the body gets back to a safe zone in terms of red cells, white cells and platelets, it is able to withstand and/or fight the viruses more effectively. My view, though, is that there are still viruses in the system, and this battle will be waged pretty near indefinitely. With Zander, I kept him on the Winstrol/Doxycycline/Prednisone combination for almost a year before I was able to wean him down and not see a drop in red cells when I did so. For the rest of his life, I watched him like a hawk and any time I felt that his gums were looking a bit paler, or his ears or pads were, I would put him back on for a period of time - maybe 6 weeks - until his colour returned to normal or I tested his blood and was reassured he was okay. Over the years, I found I didn't need to do this as often, so whether the body finally is able to win the war on the viruses, or the viruses ultimately begin to die off, I'm not sure. I think that the Doxycycline also interferes with virus cell wall development, and without an intact viral cell wall, the virus will die. Thus, I think that using Doxycycline over time will (a) interfere with viral reproduction, keeping viral numbers at a lower level and (b) the viruses that do reproduce will have cell wall defects which will mean they will die. To complete the medication picture, as far as I understand it, the Prednisone or Prednisolone works to protect the liver, but also dampens down the immune response and the virus can cause problems in the areas it attacks (like the intestines, for example). I think the Prednisone helps with that. With respect to the gut, I also learned that the stomach and intestines are attacked by the virus, and initially, even when I could get Zander to eat, he would often end up throwing it up. I learned that the intestines aren't acting normally and the food doesn't move properly through the intestines, and when it stagnates in one spot, it can cause inflammation in that area and other problems with the intestinal walls. I therefore added Metoclopromide to Zander's regime - just a tiny tiny 1/5 of a table. This helps increase the peristaltic action of the stomach and intestines, moves the food through more rapidly, thus making the cat feel better, preventing vomiting and avoiding the danger of the stool stagnating in one spot and causing or contributing to inflammation and other problems in the intestines. I think I was successful with Zander, pulling him through a several serious life-threatening crises, because I used this combination. I didn't start with this combination, but as I learned more about the disease and what caused it, and how the cat body reacted to it, I would discuss my theories with my vet, and she was good enough to agree to my attempts to address each of these problems in turn. Amani From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Ardy Robertson Sent: October-28-16 10:45 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Interferon I did use Interferon for my Tigger. I also gave it 7 days on, 7 days off, for about 2 months. I did not notice any improvement from it at all. When I finally started the Winstrol (other name is Stanizolol) along with Prednisolone, we got a very marked improvement in his blood work. I have found out that there is strong evidence that Doxycyclene added to this treatment regimen can inhibit the duplication of the FeLV virus. Amani could explain this much better than me. Ardy From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Armstrong-Brown, Sheila DDS Timonium Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 6:35 AM To: 'felvtalk@felineleukemia.org' <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org<mailto:felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>> Subject: [Felvtalk] Interferon Has anyone used this Interferon before on an FELV cat? I started Skylar on that. he is not sick but since the IFA test was also positive, I wanted to give him a booster to his immune system so he will hopefully not get sick. I heard it wasn't as effective after 3 months use. It's 7 days on and 7 days off. We are in the 3rd series. I am having blood work taken in 2 weeks. His gums were very white so I hope he isn't anemic. HOOT Sheila Armstrong-Brown Administrative Aide Psych Pool
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