Keep that vet! ---- Randy Henke <[email protected]> wrote: > Amani, you asked what our vet thought about Curly's improvement. He was > very pleased but I think he was also a little surprised. He is an > incredible vet and always goes the extra mile to listen and explain things. > He was also very open to letting us try the Prednisolone, Doxy and > Winstrol, even though he'd never treated a FELV cat in that way. I think he > thought it would help put my mind at ease that we'd tried everything we > could and he's right. It would have done that even if the treatment hadn't > worked. He was very concerned about the Prednisolone opening her up to > secondary infections but once he saw the numbers start to improve he was > convinced we were doing the right thing and told us to keep it up. I am > going to talk to him about continuing the Doxy. > > Robert, that's a great idea about crushing the Doxy, mixing it in broth and > administering with a syringe. We'd tried mixing it in her food once and > that did not go well. Obviously it's a very nasty tasting medicine. > > Ardy and Katherine, thanks for your support. I really wish that more vets > were open to trying novel treatments that hold so much potential instead of > assuming that they know everything. > > Randy > > > > On Thu, Jan 19, 2017 at 9:11 PM, Amani Oakley <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Oh Randy, I am so THRILLED to hear of your positive response to the > > medications, and that your vet was so helpful. (What does your vet think of > > the response?) You may think that 15% haematocrit is still very sick, and > > it is still well outside the normal range, but you’ve basically had a 60% > > increase in haematocrit in 3 weeks. That is quite amazing and wonderful. It > > is as good a result as you would have had with 2 units of blood being given > > as a transfusion, only it is much better than a transfusion because Curly > > is producing her own cells, rather than temporarily filling up with someone > > else’s blood. > > > > > > > > With respect to the Doxy, I am not sure. If it were me, I would probably > > want to continue if you can. You’ve had a very good result. Why mess with > > the formula? I can’t say definitively, one way or the other, since I very > > much figured things out by running weekly blood work and if I saw a dip or > > a reversal in the numbers, I would adjust the medication accordingly. I > > don’t know if I am right about my Doxy theory (and it is just pure > > conjecture on my part, based on my non-vet research) but I really think > > that the Doxy is part of the effective package. I feel that the Doxy holds > > the virus in check – perhaps slowing down its reproduction by inhibiting > > RNA synthesis – enough to allow the body to make some progress with the > > Winstrol. I don’t think that the Winstrol on its own is enough. > > > > > > > > With the Doxy, I used to scrape the quarter tablet into a slab of butter > > to coat it with butter, to help it slide down better, since the quarter > > table it very dry and scratchy. I also posted recently that the Doxy we get > > from vets (and even from our doctors) is the same as what you can get to > > treat fish or birds, in a pet store, and that is sold in powdered packages > > of 100 mg (same as 1 tablet). A prescription isn’t needed for it, and > > because it is powdered, it can be mixed into food or liquid. > > > > > > > > Great news, too, with your success in getting her to eat more and put on > > weight. > > > > > > > > I love to hear good news on this front. Let’s hope she continues in the > > right direction. > > > > > > > > Amani > > > > > > > > *From:* Felvtalk [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf > > Of *Randy Henke > > *Sent:* January-19-17 9:53 PM > > *To:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* [Felvtalk] Curly's gradual improvement > > > > > > > > It has been a little over a month ago that I asked for advice on this > > forum for our little girl, Curly. > > > > At that point, I had little hope. She was so lethargic and her hematocrit > > had dipped to a critical 9%. I took everyone's advice, especially Amani's, > > and asked our vet for Predisolone, Winstrol and Doxycycline. > > > > According to her latest CBC two weeks ago, she is still a very sick kitty > > but her hematocrit rebounded to 15% which I know is still very low. All > > other numbers are improving slowly as well. That was after less than three > > weeks of treatment. > > > > She is due for another CBC next Tuesday and I am hopeful we will see more > > improvement. I've noticed her gums are more pink which I believe is a good > > sign. > > > > We were still having problems with getting her to eat. She would have her > > good days and her bad days but her weight was still creeping down. Last > > week I asked our vet about Mirtazapine and our vet agreed to give us a > > prescription for it. I have to thank Robert for mentioning this in one of > > his posts. > > > > One day last week she didn't want to eat so I gave her a quarter pill > > (3.75 mg) which is the dose our vet prescribed to give her daily. The > > result was phenomenal and almost a little scary. She was bouncing off the > > walls within a few hours and eating everything she could get her paws on. I > > almost felt a little sorry for her because it was like she couldn't sit > > still for more than a couple of minutes. But it was like getting our old > > Curly back again in just a single day! > > > > The effect tapered off after a couple of days and we didn't feel > > comfortable giving her another dose until she stopped eating again because > > of how dramatic the change was. I've read online that a smaller dose could > > be effective if given every 72 hours so we are going to try doing that so > > she keeps eating. It was incredible to see her weight go up by a quarter > > pound in just a couple of days. > > > > We are continuing the Prednisolone and Winstrol at the recommended doses > > but our two week Doxycycline prescription ran out over a week ago. She does > > appear to still be making improvement without it but I'm wondering if I > > should ask for another prescription to keep that going as well. > > > > I always worry about giving her the quarter pill of Doxy because I know it > > can cause esophageal damage if it isn't followed by liquids. I was > > following the pill with the liquid Winstrol solution but wasn't sure if > > that was enough. > > > > Many thanks to everyone who gave us advice. It looks like we might have > > our Curly back for at least a while yet and it's all because of you people. > > > > Randy > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > >
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