Thanks, Robert. I'll definitely know what to ask for if it comes to that. Curly is still eating a significant amount of the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers twice a day and she ate quite a bit of canned tuna last night. We'll be starting the Winstrol tonight and will be waiting on the Doxy until Monday because of our holiday schedule. I'm a little concerned about her respiration rate which has crept up into the 40s.
On Wed, Dec 21, 2016 at 1:52 AM, ROBERT CHAPEL <bcha...@optonline.net> wrote: > Randy.... > > I'm not sure if the dosages of prednisone and Winstrol Curly will be > getting are in the range that were formerly used for appetite stimulation > in Kitties...( yes in the " old " days Corticosterioids AND anabolic > Steroids were the go to drugs for appetite stimulation but often did more > harm than good if not used judiciously..... The other drug that Ardy was > referring to was likely Cyproheptadine... an antihistamine that has since > been replaced by Mirtazapine ( an antidepressant in humans) in part due to > an easier dosing schedule( Daily to Q3days vs every 8 hours or so for the > Cypro//// There are many who still swear by the Cyproheptadine( I'll > write out the full word rather than cause the confusion of mixing it up > with the antibiotic_ Cipro. All of the above have worked a " little " > for my different cats over the years. Most recently I used Mirtazapine > for my boy Yogi ( who has been on no less than 10 different Meds in the > past few months and it worked well for a couple of days... but then not at > all..... Fortunately the crisis passed and he went back to eating on his > own when the pain in his eye subsided ( Now he appears to be developing > Nasal complications due to all the damn Eye Drops I have to give him to > keep his Uveitis at bay and clear up the Ocular Herpes that caused the > whole mess..... FeLV can be a challenge for some unlucky Kitties for > sure.... Have any of the folks here who have used he combination of > Prednisolone and Wintrol noticed increases in appetite?? > > > On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 10:46 PM, felvtalk-requ...@felineleukemia.org > wrote: > > Send Felvtalk mailing list submissions to >> felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felinel >> eukemia.org >> >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> felvtalk-requ...@felineleukemia.org >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> felvtalk-ow...@felineleukemia.org >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of Felvtalk digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. Re: Bogey's Blood Test Today These look worse PG 2 >> (Sherri Godschalk) >> 2. Re: FW: Questioning FELV diagnosis (Ardy Robertson) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 20:25:39 -0500 >> From: Sherri Godschalk To: Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Bogey's Blood Test >> Today These look worse PG 2 >> Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> Well I am not sure he noticed some of the increases on page 2 here. It >> seems >> like all of these are going the wrong direction. She isn?t showing any >> jaundice and her gait is much improved but still having some issues with >> balance. I ask them to run the full battery of blood tests today but it >> doesn?t look like they did. Do you all agree that these numbers are not >> better but in fact worse than when they released her on Dec 14th? >> Scale 20-Dec 14-Dec 12-Dec >> GLU 74-159 122 125 178 >> BUN 16-36 21 14 23 >> CREA 08-2.4 1.1 0.8 1.3 >> BUN/CREA 19 18 18 >> PHOS 3.1-7.5 4.5 >> CA 7.8-11.3 9.8 TP 5.7-8.9 8.1 7.9 8.7 >> ALB 2.2-4.0 3.4 2.9 3.1 >> GLOB 2.8-5.1 4.7 5 5.6 >> ALB/GLB 0.7 0.6 0.6 >> ALT 12-130 581 192 237 >> ALKP 14-111 81 42 39 >> GGT 0-4 8 TBIL .0-.9 27.2 27.9 >> CHOL 65-225 170 AMYL 500-1500 842 >> LIPA 100-1400 255 >> NA 150-165 158 K 3.5-5.8 3.4 NA/K 46 CL 112-129 114 OSM >> CALC 318 Sherri >> >> >> From: Felvtalk on behalf of Randy >> Henke Reply-To: Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 4:54 PM >> To: Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Bogey's Blood Test Today >> >> That is phenomenal, Sherri! I'm hoping for a repeat of that performance >> with >> our girl, Curly. >> >> On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 3:48 PM, Sherri Godschalk wrote: >> >>> Bogey is still improving. The Dr came out to talk with me himself >>> instead of >>> sending out a tech. Never does that. He said everything looked good >>> except her >>> red blood cells have gotten smaller but there are more of them. As well >>> as him >>> being concerned about infection since her WBC and NEU are elevated. I >>> read >>> that can be from pred and he gave her a shot of it before he sent her >>> home >>> last week when normally I gave her a pill each day. He wants me to start >>> her >>> back on the Doxy and Winstrol but not the pred yet. I still feel like it >>> might >>> be soon on the Winstrol since she hasn't been out of the hospital for >>> even a >>> week yet. I will post the 2nd page of the blood test later if anyone is >>> interested. But LOOK at the Platelet count...go Bogey! >>> >>> Range 20-Dec 12-Dec 26-Oct 30-Sep 16-Sep 24-Aug >>> RBC 6.54 12.2 5.57 4.99 2.54 2.9 2.57 2.43 >>> HCT 30.3 52.3 30.9 35.1 14.8 17.9 15.3 15.3 >>> HGB 9.8 16.2 10.2 10.4 5.2 6.2 5.5 5.3 >>> MCV 35.9 53.1 55.5 70.3 58.3 61.7 59.1 62.6 >>> MCH 11.8 17.3 18.3 20.8 20.5 21.4 21.4 21.8 >>> MCHC 28.1 35.8 33 29.6 35.1 34.6 36.2 34.9 >>> RDW 15 27 23.8 22.2 24.5 25.2 23.7 23.9 >>> RETIC 3 50 37.3 27.4 89.9 82.1 78.1 61.5 >>> WBC 2.87 17.02 22.34 8.59 13.05 12.01 14.47 13.46 >>> NEU 1.48 10.29 15.82 5.42 3.97 3.96 4.07 4.03 >>> LYM 0.92 6.88 3.98 2.21 7.8 6.81 8.83 7.75 >>> MONO 0.05 0.67 1.89 0.87 1.16 1.17 1.52 1.58 >>> EOS 0.17 1.57 0.49 0.08 0.11 0.06 0.004 0.01 >>> BASO 0.01 0.26 0.16 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0 >>> PLT 151 800 295 122 28 53 88 50 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> 0 >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >>> >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 21:46:37 -0600 >> From: "Ardy Robertson" To: Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Questioning FELV >> diagnosis >> Message-ID: <012c01d25b3c$d67ac0a0$837041e0$@centurytel.net> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >> >> Best of luck to you with Curly ---- just wanted to mention there are >> appetite stimulant pills available. One that I remember that I used with >> Tigger was Mirtazapine and I only had to give a small part of a pill every >> 3 days. Amani knows of another one but I can?t remember the name of it. >> >> >> Ardy >> >> >> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of >> Randy Henke >> Sent: Monday, December 19, 2016 8:10 PM >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Questioning FELV diagnosis >> >> >> Our vet must be one of the good ones. He approved both Winstrol and >> Doxycycline even though he has never used them for FELV positive cats. >> We'll be adding those onto Curly's Prednisone as soon as we get them. So >> far she is hanging in there. She only eats Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers (about >> a small can every other day) but her weight is holding around 7 pounds. >> About a half pound below her best weight before she got sick. She still >> gets up to get drinks of water and use the litter box and she is still >> grooming herself. She wants very little social interaction which is not >> like her at all and she has very little energy, preferring to stay on the >> bed almost all of the time. Her breathing is also fairly rapid and has been >> for quite a few days. >> >> Hopefully this will be another success story for your kitty cocktail. >> We'll owe you much if it works. >> >> >> On Mon, Dec 19, 2016 at 10:19 AM, Amani Oakley > wrote: >> >> Randy >> >> >> I really don?t know. I have only had experience with the pills which I >> found very effective. As a compromise option, I would take if that is the >> only way the vet will agree to proceed. >> >> Amani >> >> >> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org ] On Behalf >> Of Randy Henke >> Sent: December-19-16 9:46 AM >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Questioning >> FELV diagnosis >> >> >> Hi Amani, >> >> I have a call in to our vet now about the Winstrol and Doxycycline. I've >> read that there is also the option of getting a weekly shot of Winstrol as >> opposed to the pills. If our vet balks at prescribing the pills but would >> be willing to give her the shot would it still work as well? >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 7:12 PM, Amani Oakley > wrote: >> >> Wishing you luck. >> >> >> Amani >> >> >> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org ] On Behalf >> Of Randy Henke >> Sent: December-16-16 8:12 PM >> >> >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Questioning >> FELV diagnosis >> >> >> Thank you, Amani! I'll see what I can do to convince the vet on Monday. >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:54 PM, Amani Oakley > wrote: >> >> 1 mg 2 times a day. >> >> Amani >> >> >> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org ] On Behalf >> Of Randy Henke >> Sent: December-16-16 7:52 PM >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] FW: Questioning >> FELV diagnosis >> >> >> That is information that is definitely useful to me! Thanks so much! Do >> you know what dosage of Winstrol I should ask for for a 6.8 pound cat? I >> want to have as much info as possible when I talk to my vet on Monday. >> >> >> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 4:25 PM, Amani Oakley > wrote: >> >> No Randy, Winstrol is an anabolic steroid (unlike prednisone which is a >> corticosteroid) so it does not have a dampening effect on the immune >> system. What you need right now is something to stimulate red cell >> production. If your cat has FELV, then the problem is that the progenitor >> cells in the bone marrow will have been infiltrated/killed by the virus and >> thus, the red cell production is down. Red cells have a life span of 120 >> days in circulation, so once that is over and they die, then they must be >> replenished by a steady supply of new cells from the bone marrow. >> >> The only thing I have found that will do that is Winstrol. However, I use >> it in a cocktail with Doxycycline which has been found to retard the >> reproduction of viral RNA, and prednisone. This is the only combination of >> drugs that worked when my cat was in FELV crisis and had a haematocrit >> result of 5 (with the reference range being something like 25 to 35, off >> the top of my head). I had tried LTCI and interferon and even though I >> tested his blood weekly, I saw no change/improvement at all in his red cell >> count, haematocrit, hemoglobin, platelets, etc. It was only when I stumbled >> upon the use of Winstrol (he was already on prednisone and Doxy, but they >> don?t work without the Winstrol), that I saw a steady and sustained >> improvement in his haematology numbers. >> >> >> The scandal, Randy, is that Winstrol is one of the steroids often >> implicated in athletic doping scandals, so vets seem to be gun shy about >> prescribing it. Also, some years ago, a very poorly conducted experiment >> was published where cats where given 10 times the recommended dose of >> Winstrol as a ?loading dose? and developed liver problems. So between these >> two driving forces, you have a lot of uneducated vets who will either think >> you are ?unethical? for asking for the Winstrol, or believe it is a harmful >> drug thanks to the stupid scientific study that was published. Plus, even >> where they are willing to prescribe it (like in Sherri?s case) they don?t >> recognize the need to couple it with the Doxycycline, and thus, you do get >> a weak boost of the red cells, etc., but the virus is reproducing >> rampantly, so in the end, the virus wins. (Then, of course, not recognizing >> the need for the Doxy, those same vets will view the use of Winstrol as a >> failure and not likely use it again.) >> >> >> Other medications that might increase red cell production are >> erythropoietin and related medications, but erythropoietin does not >> encourage bone marrow growth and development as Winstrol does. Thus, if the >> progenitor cells in the bone marrow, which produce red cells, white cells >> and platelets, have been killed by the virus (or converted to infected >> cells, spewing out more virus) then the erythropoietin will not be >> effective because it simply encourages those progenitor cells to produce >> more red cells. However, because they can?t and thus cannot respond to the >> stimulation by erythropoietin. (If your cat doesn?t have FELV, and has >> anemia because of some other cause, then the erythropoietin might work.) >> >> >> Winstrol stimulates bone production (experiments have used it effectively >> in older adults for osteoporosis), and I don?t anything else which fits the >> bill. >> >> >> Cats with FELV often also have lymphocytes lining the intestinal walls, >> or other problems with moving food through the intestines. My cat did, and >> that resulted in (a) loss of appetite (b) vomiting and (c) slow bowel >> movements. I therefore found it necessary to add a ? tablet of >> metoclompromine (Reglen) before meal times twice a day. Worked like a charm. >> >> >> This cocktail then brought my baby back from the brink of certain death. >> I had given him blood transfusions with his anemia, but that is only a >> short-term solution and he wasn?t producing any red cells (reticulocyte >> count was basically zero ? this is a measure of new red cell production and >> should be increased in cases of anemia to demonstrate that the body is >> producing red cells to compensate for the reduced red cell count). He had >> had a reaction with his last blood transfusion, and so no more transfusions >> were possible since the next one would kill him, and I was all out of >> options as I watched his haematocrit level drop lower and lower, week by >> week. It had dropped to 10 when I ?discovered? an old bottle of Winstrol in >> my drawer. >> >> >> Whew. Guess how many times I have given this speech?? >> >> >> Amani >> >> >> From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of >> Randy Henke >> Sent: December-16-16 9:15 AM >> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Questioning >> FELV diagnosis >> >> >> It's interesting that our vet was very hesitant about even prescribing >> Prednisone because he is afraid it will suppress her immunity to secondary >> infections. I know that is a risk. Would adding Winstrol suppress her >> immune system even further? I'm very confused about how to proceed. >> >> >> On Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 10:23 PM, Ardy Robertson > wrote: >> >> If I can chime in on Winstrol, it did wonders on my Tigger to get his >> bloodwork up. I only wish I had started it sooner, along with the >> prednisolone and doxycycline. >> >> Best of luck! >> >> Ardy >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mail >> man/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mail >> man/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mail >> man/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mail >> man/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> ------------------------------ >> >> Subject: Digest Footer >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Felvtalk mailing list >> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org >> http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> End of Felvtalk Digest, Vol 32, Issue 41 >> **************************************** >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org >
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