Hey Marissa, Epogen is basically the same thing as Procrit for humans. You can probably do Epogen and/or Winstrol while also transfusing. I don't know about doing Epogen and Winstrol at the same time; I imagine it's probably ok. But I do believe you can do the transfusion with the other treatments. I think it takes Epogen a while to work if it's going to. Maybe two weeks? I'm not sure about that. Repost your questions about Epogen with Epogen as your subject line, and those who've had experience using it will be more apt to read the message and reply. Lots of people here in the past have used it. I don't know enough about Winstrol to know if you could use it with Epogen, but your vet should know that. And you might also be able to find info on the internet about the combination. Some vets don't use Winstrol anymore because they link it to kidney failure over extended periods of use, but for short periods, it's ok as far as I understand. Time will be of the essence with anemia. Transfusions are sometimes viewed as a waste of time, other times not. If Slinky cannot start making red blood cells again, then the transfusion can only draw out the inevitable. Slinky being able to produce red blood cells depends on if his anemia is regenerative or non-regenerative. If it's non-regenerative, meaning that he has no reticulocyte count at all, then that's not good. But if he does have some reticulocytes, then that means that his body is trying to make rbc's, and the Epogen and a transfusion might help. If your vet doesn't know what reticulocytes are, find a new one. An Internal Vet or Oncological vet will be your best bet in fighting anemia. If it were my kitty, I'd start the Epogen asap, and if you can afford the transfusion, because it will probably be $200-$400, do it. However, if you think your vet knows what he is talking about, and doesn't think the transfusion or Epogen will help, then you might have to consider letting Slinky go. I know you don't want to think about that; it's so hard. I am so sorry that Slinky's rbc is down. I lost my baby to anemia and I know what you are going through. I didn't have the resources that you have now though. I got a lot of info. after it was too late. I didn't have Cricket on Epogen because I didn't know about it. Only you and Slinky will be the right ones to make the decision. I'm praying for wisdom and peace for you. Please keep us posted Marissa.
:) Wendy ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html
