lThanks for the info. Next question, how long is it's shelf life. n otherowrds, can I order some for just in case?
---- Marsha <[email protected]> wrote: > I just got information from one of my vets on where to get Winstrol / > stanozolol in the US. Roadrunner compounding pharmacy does an oral > liquid version. $98 for a 60 day supply. The vet has to order it for > you from the compounder, but if you want it shipped directly to you, > then you pay the pharmacy directly. Some vets only work with one > specific compounding pharmacy due to a contract with them. I assume > that gets them special deals on prices, but I don't know. I will be > checking around some more, because I don't think they use Roadrunner > where I am taking Peaches to see the oncologist. > > Marsha > > On 10/31/2015 11:56 AM, Amani Oakley wrote: > > Hi Jane > > > > The Winstrol is not expensive. It is usually about 50 cents a pill. You > > give 2 pills a day usually - 1 mg doses. > > > > It is given long term and the cats can stay on it for months if needed. My > > first cat, with FeLV, was on it for more than 8 months before I felt like > > he was out of the woods with very good red cell counts, haematocrit levels > > and good platelet numbers. (His white cells were affected as well but not > > as dramatically so this wasn't a big concern for me, but others will may > > see a bigger effect in white cells or the component neutrophil/leukoctyte > > numbers.) > > > > You don't NEED to do weekly serial bloodwork as I did if you don't want to. > > I had blood work done weekly because I was basically trying to figure out > > what was working with Zander. When he got his blood transfusions, I had to > > track where he was in his haematocrit and RBC numbers, to see when he > > needed more blood. At the same time, though, I was giving him Interferon > > and the weekly bloodwork also allowed me to analyze if there was any kind > > of response to the Interferon. There wasn't. I therefore moved on to > > giving him LTCI. Again, no response in the bloodwork. When I put him on the > > Winstrol, I saw an immediate response, and I was able to track it to > > confirm that it wasn't just an initial blip. If I would have graphed his > > haematocrit and RBC levels, the graph would have shown a beautiful steady > > gradual increase in both those levels until his values crossed into the > > normal threshold and stayed there. I was also watching his reticulocyte > > count which had been "0", showing NO b on > e > > marrow production of red cells. That slowly began to rise with the > > Winstrol. > > > > Unfortunately, the downside to monitoring the blood work so closely is that > > invariably, the Winstrol will likely cause an elevation in liver enzymes. > > Because the vets have all been told that Winstrol will cause liver damage, > > this causes a knee jerk reaction and they immediately respond by advising > > that Winstrol should be discontinued. I never listened to them. With > > Zander, there were no other options so if the Winstrol wasn't going to > > work, he was clearly going to weaken and die. With my other cat with the > > nasal sarcoma, who again had her liver enzymes peak on the Winstrol, she > > was going to stop eating if not on the Winstrol and I would lose her > > anyway. I therefore refused to discontinue the Winstrol when the liver > > enzymes went up. What I did do for the cat with sarcoma, was temporarily > > stop the Winstrol to allow the liver enzymes to drop, and then started her > > on it again. Though the enzymes increased once I re-started, they didn't go > > up to the high levels we had seen ini ti > al > > ly. > > > > With Zander who remained on Winstrol for most of his life after his severe > > anemic crisis, I never had any liver problems - just the rise of the liver > > enzymes which would subside upon discontinuation of the Winstrol. I would > > wean him off and let him go for several months without the Winstrol and > > start him on it again if I noticed his ears, gums and pads were looking > > pale. I also used it on him when he injured a ligament in his knee when he > > was about 6 years old, and the vet was recommending surgery. Again, I got a > > good result with the Winstrol for that. (Repair of muscles and ligaments is > > one of the reasons athletes use this stuff.) The knee was never 100%, but > > it was say 85 to 90% better with the Winstrol (just a slight limp remaining > > which could be seen only from time to time) but Zander avoided the surgery > > which isn't always effective). > > > > I would recommend that you do monitor your cat's bloodwork to confirm that > > the Winstrol is actually working, but you don't need to do the bloodwork > > weekly as I did, unless you want to. Though I am obviously a fan of what > > the medication has done for several of my cats, I expect that it may not > > work in every situation. However, don't give up immediately if you don't > > see a bump up in red cells or reticulocyte count, etc. I would give it for > > at least a month before I would conclude it is not working, and I would > > only conclude that if the haematology results show no improvement from the > > initial set of results. Also monitor your cat's food intake and mood, since > > I also found an excellent effect on those things from the Winstrol. > > > > Without the close observation of the haematology values, you can still > > track the effect of the Winstrol on things like your cat's food intake and > > general well-being, and check the colour of his pads, gums and inside of > > the ears for signs of pinking up (unless yours is a black cat, in which > > case, you are probably limited to checking the gums). > > > > There are some comments from others on this chatline, indicating that with > > anemic cats, you want to be careful of the amount of blood that is being > > drawn for tests. I agree with those comments, but generally speaking, the > > amount of blood removed for testing, even weekly, should not have much of > > an effect on a cat - even one that is anemic. For me, it was important, > > with Zander to closely monitor the bloodwork, because though I gave each > > medication lots of time to show a response, I didn't want to keep Zander on > > stuff that wasn't actually helping. In my view, he didn't have much time to > > respond, and so I didn't want to be misled into believing that one of the > > other medications was helping just because he might appear to be looking a > > bit better or eating a bit more, but his blood counts were not improving. I > > was just as prepared to move to something else if the Winstrol wasn't going > > to have any effect. Note, however, that unlike the Interferon and the LTCI, > > I didn't put Zan de > r > > on the Winstrol because I actually thought it would help in anything > > other than appetite stimulation. The effect I saw was entirely unexpected. > > I therefore thought I had stumbled on something unknown when I got this > > great response to the Winstrol, and that's why I was so annoyed when I > > found out a year later that the vets knew about this stuff but were not > > suggesting it, despite the fact that the alternatives for FeLV were very > > expensive and not particularly effective in most cases. > > > > I also think that having done this close monitoring of his bloodwork helped > > to convince my vet that the Winstrol was actually helping, rather than my > > subjective observations. Seeing the steady rise of the red cells, the > > haematocrit, PCV, reticulocyte and platelet values, that started just days > > after I put Zander on Winstrol, was extremely persuasive evidence that I > > wasn't crazy when I reported that Zander was doing better. I think this is > > one of the main reasons my vet now gives me great support regarding > > treating my cats. She will ask for my input and is not surprised when I > > want to try the Winstrol in other situations, and when I report to her that > > it has been helpful or effective. > > > > Please keep us informed of your own experience with Winstrol, so that we > > can figure out if it is generally effective or whether I just have been > > particularly lucky with its use. > > > > Amani > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
