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 <aoak...@oakleylegal.com> 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 <aoak...@oakleylegal.com> > 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 ¼ 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 > <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 <ar...@centurytel.net> > 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/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > >
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