JUST TO LET EVERYONE KNOW I AM WATCHING, JUST GOT HOME FROM HOSPITAL ---- Amani Oakley <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, Sherri. There's no question this is a frustrating, devastating disease, > made far far worse by vets lacking in knowledge, and committed to just > putting down FeLV cats. Sherri, Zander's haematocrit was actually down to 5 > initially, and he had to be placed in an oxygen tent because his haemoglobin > was so low his body would have had trouble transporting oxygen to the cells > in his body. I gave him blood transfusions initially, but could see that they > were only temporary stopgaps, and after the second one, he had a reaction, so > I was told he couldn't have any more transfusions, as the next one would kill > him. As a former medical technologist, I knew that to be true. (In Canada, > they didn't test for blood type at the time - don't know if they do now.) > > After trying Zander on a course of Interferon and a course of LTCI (or > whatever it is called - I always mix up the letters), I totally by chance, > opened up my drawer and rummaged through it in desperation because his > haematocrit had dropped from a high of 16 after his second blood transfusion, > back down to 10, and I knew I was going to lose him soon. He was on > Doxycycline and Prednisone, but it wasn't doing a thing for his cell lines, > which were all depressed - with the most critical being the red > cells/haematocrit numbers. Imagine my total surprise when, after I gave him > some old Winstrol I found in the drawer, I started noticing his ears and gums > taking on a pink hue and when I tested him 3 days after starting the > Winstrol, the haematocrit had gone up instead of steadily down. > > My surprise grew, and finally overcame my skepticism (I mean, really, what > are the odds that I discovered a cure???) and Zander's results kept slowly > but steadily rising for months and months until he was finally out of danger > and then into the normal reference range for all his results. > > Then, after a year, when I told the internal specialist who had very kindly > told me there was no hope with this disease, imagine my shock that he KNEW > about Winstrol and said that I had gone "old-school" and this has been > something they used to use for this disease until "word" spread that the drug > could cause liver damage! > > Frankly, after reading about all the experiences of so many people in this > situation, I realize how lucky I am. Because of my background in health care, > my very long relationship with my vet clinic (which I would often diagnose > things before them and/or I would identify problems they hadn't seen) AND > very likely, my prickly personality/refusal to take no for an answer, my vets > were good enough to back off and let me do my thing. They recognized that, > OBVIOUSLY, they had nothing to offer me if the Winstrol didn't work. They > faithfully tried the Interferon and the LTCI at my request, and ran the > weekly bloodwork, and agreed that there were no positive effects. They saw > the positive effects with the WInstrol. They tried on a few occasions to talk > me into discontinuing or reducing the Winstrol when the liver enzymes > increased, but after what Zander had been through - being on the brink of > death - I was not open to discussing this option. On a few occasions I would > reduce the Wi nstrol briefly, only to see his haematology drop. I would then hold my breath for a few days or weeks, to let the liver enzymes settle a bit, before getting him back on the WInstrol. However, I don't think any of the vets were prepared to argue with the obvious success. They had seen the unbelievably low haematocrit and red cell count, for themselves. > > I just don't know how we can get this message across to mainstream vets. This > is NOT an evil drug which must be avoided at all costs. I wish I could > address a vet convention. If I had LITTLE TIME, I would write a paper and > submit it for publication in a vet publication. > > I get angered when I hear about all the trouble everyone has, getting some > Winstrol for their cats, despite the desperate circumstances the cats are in. > > Sherri, the odd thing for you is that your vet is okay with the Winstrol but > not the Doxycycline. Really bizarre! > > No wonder underground markets flourish. It just shouldn't be this hard to be > at least given an opportunity and a bit of hope to save our cats. > > Amani > > From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > Sherri Godschalk > Sent: September-30-16 5:53 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Continued Improvement for Bogey on Stanzolol > > Thanks Amani. > > I called the vets office right after I read what you wrote below and asked > again for the Doxycycline and he insisted she did not need it. I am just > going to have to hope that Bogey continues to get better on the regiment we > are on. I feel very thankful for my vet that he prescribing the Winstrol. I > hope it is enough. > > Your boy Zander must have been one strong cat to recover from how sick he > was. It sounds like you really monitored him and gave him the best treatment. > Your advise and knowledge of this awful disease and the benefits and pitfalls > of trying to treat it is invaluable to all of us who are caring for these > lovely creatures. > > I read this messaging board and feel so bad that cat owners who desperately > need this drug cannot get it. I believe without a doubt that as fast as > Bogey's counts were dropping, she would probably not still be with me today > without it. I am sure the stigma attached to it keeps a lot of vets from > prescribing it or maybe they are just uneducated about it. My other vet > wouldn't even discuss a transfusion as she was certain that nothing could > help us for very long. She was quite intent on me putting this cat down and > just wanted to wash her hands of us it seemed. So the stigma isn't just about > this treatment, it is around the disease itself. Her statement "There are > plenty of other healthy cats that need good homes" is proof enough of that. > > How frustrating for all of us. > > Thank you again for your insight. > > From: Felvtalk > <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> > on behalf of Amani Oakley > <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> > Reply-To: <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> > Date: Friday, September 30, 2016 at 2:29 PM > To: "[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>" > <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> > Subject: [Felvtalk] FW: Continued Improvement for Bogey on Stanzolol > > Hi Sherri > > Keep up with the bloodwork. Good for you. Because I did Zander's bloodwork > weekly, I was able to watch his counts very carefully as well, and this is > why I am so firm on what I saw that worked and what I saw that didn't work. > Keeping a close eye on the bloodwork will help you immediately point to the > effects of the medication, and I am sure that the stall you got on the > improvement of the bloodwork is solely because he removed her off the > Winstrol. I saw this drop or stagnation every time I even tried to wean > Zander down from 2 mg a day to 1 mg a day, for the first 10 months, but I was > starting at much worse blood results than you were. Zander's haematocrit was > 10 when I started the Winstrol. > > Interesting about your vet's background. That may well explain his openness > to using Winstrol where so many others refuse. Those in athletics are well > aware of the amazing body building, muscle building, strength building > properties of Winstrol, and the fact that the rumoured side-effects are very > very exaggerated - probably to try and scare off athletes from using the > stuff. Once you use it, you find out it really doesn't have all those > terrible side effects, and it makes a real difference to improving body > strength. That is why I have come to the conclusion that, very sadly, we are > being denied access to Winstrol, not because it doesn't work or because it > has bad side effects, but because in the media it is BAD to take steroids if > you are an athlete. Why that should affect cats, or elderly people with > osteoporosis for that matter, is way way beyond me and very frustrating. > > With respect to the platelets, my concern remains that the low platelet count > and the high lymphocyte count show that the virus is still actively attacking > cells. My theory is that while the Winstrol is working to build up bone > marrow and allow it to regenerate the lost red cells, the virus is still > attacking. That is why I believe that the Winstrol on its own will not be > enough, and you need to double-team the virus with the Doxycycline on the one > side, interfering with the ability of the virus to reproduce and the Winstrol > on the other hand, working to repair some of the damage caused by the virus. > > I don't think there is anything that directly will give you a boost on the > platelets, and my concern is that when the platelets drop so low, you have a > real risk of internal bleeding. I don't know what else to suggest. > > Amani > > From: Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > Sherri Godschalk > Sent: September-30-16 2:11 PM > To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Continued Improvement for Bogey on Stanzolol > > > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
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