Re: [Felvtalk] New to List
Lisa Cannata wrote: Please visit www.imulan.com This is new treatment for FeLV and FIV cats. My cat Carl has been on this med for about 2 weeks. And while it is really too early to tell how much it will help him he is doing better! The study was very positive and hopeful. The cost was $900 which included 3 injections (he has had 2 so far and will be getting 4 in a row) xrays, 2 blood panels, and the doctors charge. I am sure a transfusion is at least this much. Hi Lisa, I assume that since you made a reference to transfusions, your reply was sent in response to my New to List post, so I've gone ahead and changed the subject line (you replied to the digest). I am so happy to hear Carl is doing better. My vet did discuss the Imulan product LTCI with me and I have reviewed the information on the Web site. My vet does not recommend using LTCI (nor does our internal medicine specialist). There are several reason for this. There appears to have only been one small, short-term study. There is no information provided about how many of the cats in this study were FeLV positive. (The study contained both FIV and FeLV positive cats. Also, apparently the company will not release any data from the study (other than the very general results they published in their brochure and other literature) to veterinarians. If my vet were able to review the study data, she would probably be more willing to try the product (unless the data did not support the product claims). My vet quoted me $400 for a blood transfusion and said that the LTCI runs about $100 per injection. I hope you will keep us posted about Carl's progress. I would be especially interested in knowing how much improvement you see in his lab work (CBC in particular). My kitty, Shane, is severely anemic and his neutrophil count is well into the danger zone. He is still active (though napping more), eating pretty well, maintaining his weight, and dashing around the house. In other words, other than subtle changes in his behavior, you would never guess that according to his lab work, he is at death's door. My vet has placed him on prophylactic antibiotics, pulsing them one week on/one week off. Thanks for your help and please let us know how it goes with Carl. Sue T. and Shane ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] New to List
Hey Susan, It is a tough choice. In my experience when felv positive cats start with bone marrow suppression (low RBC,WBC and platelet counts) things progress downhill fairly rapidly. Not always, but often. This is only from my experience. I have given the transfusions, and they are life saving - for awhile. The first transfusion is kind of a free bee in that there generally isn't a tranfusion reaction (potentially deadly reaction with transfusions). Subsequent tranfusions are more risky. It boosts the numbers transiently, but inevitably you end up low again. I have read that if you have the option and decide to transfuse, use the blood of a cat that has been vaccinated for felv as it can transfer some immune response to the virus in the recipient cat. This may temporaily help. I am still looking for a good antiviral against felv, but as of yet they are only stories. Some people suggest interferon, some imulan, some Carrisyn (Acemannan). I haven't heard overwhelming support of any one of them in particular, personally. So in the end, you are treating the symptoms not the disease. You will certainly help the situation now with a transfusion, but you will find yourself facing this situation again. I do not mean to be negative I just want to tell you what I have experienced. I am still investigating the virus and will let you know if I hear of even a whisper of success on treatment. Alternatively, there are some holistic drugs that are thought to help boost the immune system and reverse anemia. If you are interested I can send some more specific information. I personally have not found them exceptionally effective. Good luck Jenny Susan Tillman still...@sedona.net wrote: Hello Folks, I was on the list for a while several years ago when my kitty Shane was first diagnosed as FeLV positive and then I dropped off due to time constraints (and because he was doing so well). For the past four years I have been treating him for ocular herpes, and then this past summer he was diagnosed with the additional eye disease, eosinophilic keratitis. He has been under the care of an eye specialist and those conditions are currently completely controlled by medications. He also has issues with his teeth and gums (he had a dental two years ago but things are pretty inflamed again). I have been monitoring his lab work every six months and everything had been looking pretty good for the most part. His neutrophil count was a little low about a year ago and when we checked it again last summer, it had actually rebounded a bit. There was no anemia at that time. However, I took him in for his routine lab work last week and he is now very anemic and his neutrophils have dropped well into the danger zone. My vet feels that he will soon reach a point where he will require a transfusion in order to live. He looks very good--his weight is excellent, he is eating (though he is a little pickier than usual), and he still does mad dashes around the house. I am very torn about the transfusion issue. This guy really stresses out over vet visits and procedures. If we were transfusing in order to buy enough time for some super cure to kick in, I wouldn't hesitate, but under the circumstances, I just don't know. I'm sure many of you have been in the position of having to make such a decision and I guess I'd just like to hear from some folks who have done transfusions (or decided against them). My vet says the effects of the transfusion would most likely last about a month. By the way, he was tested for hemobartonella several years ago (negative). My vet is retesting for it via PCR, but thinks it is highly unlikely and that the anemia is simply a progression of the FeLV. I look forward to hearing your experiences. Sue T. Shane - Manx mix, approximately 5-7 years old, diagnosed as FeLV+ 12-06 ___ 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
Re: [Felvtalk] New to List
Susan, I didn't want to answer because your case sounds problematic. Once you get to transfusions you are in deep water. I hope someone with more experience chimes in. tonya jb...@tds.net wrote: Hey Susan, It is a tough choice. In my experience when felv positive cats start with bone marrow suppression (low RBC,WBC and platelet counts) things progress downhill fairly rapidly. Not always, but often. This is only from my experience. I have given the transfusions, and they are life saving - for awhile. The first transfusion is kind of a free bee in that there generally isn't a tranfusion reaction (potentially deadly reaction with transfusions). Subsequent tranfusions are more risky. It boosts the numbers transiently, but inevitably you end up low again. I have read that if you have the option and decide to transfuse, use the blood of a cat that has been vaccinated for felv as it can transfer some immune response to the virus in the recipient cat. This may temporaily help. I am still looking for a good antiviral against felv, but as of yet they are only stories. Some people suggest interferon, some imulan, some Carrisyn (Acemannan). I haven't heard overwhelming support of any one of them in particular, personally. So in the end, you are treating the symptoms not the disease. You will certainly help the situation now with a transfusion, but you will find yourself facing this situation again. I do not mean to be negative I just want to tell you what I have experienced. I am still investigating the virus and will let you know if I hear of even a whisper of success on treatment. Alternatively, there are some holistic drugs that are thought to help boost the immune system and reverse anemia. If you are interested I can send some more specific information. I personally have not found them exceptionally effective. Good luck Jenny Susan Tillman wrote: Hello Folks, I was on the list for a while several years ago when my kitty Shane was first diagnosed as FeLV positive and then I dropped off due to time constraints (and because he was doing so well). For the past four years I have been treating him for ocular herpes, and then this past summer he was diagnosed with the additional eye disease, eosinophilic keratitis. He has been under the care of an eye specialist and those conditions are currently completely controlled by medications. He also has issues with his teeth and gums (he had a dental two years ago but things are pretty inflamed again). I have been monitoring his lab work every six months and everything had been looking pretty good for the most part. His neutrophil count was a little low about a year ago and when we checked it again last summer, it had actually rebounded a bit. There was no anemia at that time. However, I took him in for his routine lab work last week and he is now very anemic and his neutrophils have dropped well into the danger zone. My vet feels that he will soon reach a point where he will require a transfusion in order to live. He looks very good--his weight is excellent, he is eating (though he is a little pickier than usual), and he still does mad dashes around the house. I am very torn about the transfusion issue. This guy really stresses out over vet visits and procedures. If we were transfusing in order to buy enough time for some super cure to kick in, I wouldn't hesitate, but under the circumstances, I just don't know. I'm sure many of you have been in the position of having to make such a decision and I guess I'd just like to hear from some folks who have done transfusions (or decided against them). My vet says the effects of the transfusion would most likely last about a month. By the way, he was tested for hemobartonella several years ago (negative). My vet is retesting for it via PCR, but thinks it is highly unlikely and that the anemia is simply a progression of the FeLV. I look forward to hearing your experiences. Sue T. Shane - Manx mix, approximately 5-7 years old, diagnosed as FeLV+ 12-06 ___ 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 ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
[Felvtalk] New to List
Hello Folks, I was on the list for a while several years ago when my kitty Shane was first diagnosed as FeLV positive and then I dropped off due to time constraints (and because he was doing so well). For the past four years I have been treating him for ocular herpes, and then this past summer he was diagnosed with the additional eye disease, eosinophilic keratitis. He has been under the care of an eye specialist and those conditions are currently completely controlled by medications. He also has issues with his teeth and gums (he had a dental two years ago but things are pretty inflamed again). I have been monitoring his lab work every six months and everything had been looking pretty good for the most part. His neutrophil count was a little low about a year ago and when we checked it again last summer, it had actually rebounded a bit. There was no anemia at that time. However, I took him in for his routine lab work last week and he is now very anemic and his neutrophils have dropped well into the danger zone. My vet feels that he will soon reach a point where he will require a transfusion in order to live. He looks very good--his weight is excellent, he is eating (though he is a little pickier than usual), and he still does mad dashes around the house. I am very torn about the transfusion issue. This guy really stresses out over vet visits and procedures. If we were transfusing in order to buy enough time for some super cure to kick in, I wouldn't hesitate, but under the circumstances, I just don't know. I'm sure many of you have been in the position of having to make such a decision and I guess I'd just like to hear from some folks who have done transfusions (or decided against them). My vet says the effects of the transfusion would most likely last about a month. By the way, he was tested for hemobartonella several years ago (negative). My vet is retesting for it via PCR, but thinks it is highly unlikely and that the anemia is simply a progression of the FeLV. I look forward to hearing your experiences. Sue T. Shane - Manx mix, approximately 5-7 years old, diagnosed as FeLV+ 12-06 ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
