I really wish I could see the initial posts..I've been complaining about this for a while and not gotten any suggestions....
On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 12:07 PM, Amani Oakley <aoak...@oakleylegal.com> wrote: > I don't disagree with that sentiment, but I have to tell you that Winstrol > is not "big pharma". In fact, one of my frustrations is that there is a > medication out there which has proven itself to be extremely beneficial in > treating a lethal condition in cats, and yet most vets either don't know > about it or don't prescribe it. Winstrol, and other anabolic steroids, have > been blackballed by the scientific community because they hane been used as > a performance enhancing drug by athletes. Some of you who follow these > things will recall that it was Winstrol (Stanozolol) which was found in > Canadian Ben Johnson's samples which got him stripped of the gold medal in > running in the 1988 Olympics. Frankly, I don't understand why this > association with illegal use in athletes should mean that the scientific > community as a whole refuses to look at the effectiveness of this group of > drugs. Moreover, looking at the scientific studies that do exist makes it > clear that there are no solid studie > s linking the use of these drugs to the many scary side effects the > public always hears about. Even if side effects do exist (as they do with > virtually every drug out there) athletes abuse these drugs by using them in > huge doses and "stacked" in combination with all kinds of other drugs, so > this is hardly reflective of how these drugs are supposed to be used, or > would be used in a medical context. > > We aren't professional athletes, and many cats the world over are > suffering from lethal conditions like leukemia, and yet, instead of being > told that there MAY be a medication that could help (and I'm not of course > saying it always does), we are instead routinely told there is nothing we > can do but watch our babies fade away from the infection. > > It is obvious that Winstrol is not on the "Big Pharma" approved list > because it is difficult to obtain, even from the vets, and they are pretty > skeptical about it, so it certainly isn't a medication which is being > "pushed" or promoted by "Big Pharma". With Zander, when he recovered from > what was clearly a death spiral (his PCV was 5% and he couldn't move, and > couldn't breathe without an oxygen tent over his head), and even though I > had meticulously run and collected his blood work both before and after the > use of Winstrol, some vets started to question whether he had had leukemia > in the first place. So, when the medication works when it isn't supposed > to, then the vets start saying that maybe he wasn't dying after all. > > I tried Winstrol on Zander out of sheer desperation. When we were told he > couldn't have any more blood transfusions because he had reacted to his > second one, we were giving him the LTCI injections and following his blood > work closely. The LTCI was doing nothing and I was watching his PCV drop > lower and lower again. When it reached 10 (after a high of only about 16 > after the blood transfusions), I knew I was going to lose him soon with no > other options available (after scouring the internet and speaking to > experts everywhere). I literally went through the drawer I keep all the cat > medications for all the emergency cat fostering I do, and I found Winstrol. > It had been given to me years before by another vet for a cat with FIP, but > the cat had passed away so quickly, I had had no time to even try the > medication. I remembered that the vet had said that the Winstrol MAY help > to stimulate appetite and make the cat feel better. I had nothing else so I > figured, what the hell, and use > d it on Zander. I expected NOTHING. Three days later, I noticed this very > very slight blush on his so-pale gums, and I was pretty sure I was making > it up because I was so desperate. I showed my husband. He too thought he > saw something but both of us figured we were just so desperate for a > miracle that we were hallucinating. We took Zander to the vets that > Saturday for bloodwork, and his PCV came back at 12. We couldn't believe it > and obviously remained skeptical. But week after week, the PCV climbed > steadily until it was in the 30's, and he was eating and playing long > before that. > > I don't think it is a miracle cure at all, but I do think it is a very > good option for leukemia, and I remain frustrated that this option is not > being offered in most situations where a cat has leukemia. It makes no > sense to me, and doesn't to this day, that most people are not even told > about the option of using it, when there are really no other decent > treatments out there and the odds of the cat surviving this infection are > really really poor. Because I had such an amazing response with Zander and > his leukemia, I have used it in other situations where again we are told > the vets have no answers, and the results continue to be pretty impressive, > although unlike in Zander's case, I have not confirmed them as thoroughly > with serial weekly blood work. > > I shall now dismount from my soap box! > > Amani > > -----Original Message----- > From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of > Lorrie > Sent: September-22-15 8:23 AM > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Big Pharma > > On 09-21, dlg...@windstream.net wrote: > > > I am sorry if I sound so negative on modern medicine, but have had > > some bad experiences and it leaves me a bit suspicious of modern > > medicine. I have had a lot of luck with alternatives in cleaning up > > the side effects of it using an alternative salve and tonic. > > > > Can't say I blame you for being negative. Big Pharma is in it for > the almighty dollar! > > Lorrie > > _______________________________________________ > 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 >
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