Re: what would you do?
coincidence or not, she also seems to be eating less since I gave her the dex. Perhaps because of the congestion. Michelle
Re: what would you do?
the thing that's so crazy-making here is that there are SO many possible things going on, and so many medications involved, that it's really impossible to know what's causing what. in every creature--human included--some will have idiosyncratic responses to medications, no matter how many experts say it can't happen. on the other paw, for all you really know, the dex has nothing to do with her fevers--she may have been getting night-time low-grade fevers for years as part of her own body chemistry, and you just had no reason to notice it so hard to know what to do. i personally prefer to go with dex usually, partially because my cats take injectibles much more gracefully than pills, and dex seems to be so quick-acting. but i guess you have to weigh WHICH option has the GREATEST chance of sucess--the interferon, or the epogen? is feeling better temporarily to be preferred over GETTING better? (would her healing be better served by letting her stay eating and purring and less active?) in other words, i only have more questions for you, no answers. continuing to send GLOW On 2/2/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: coincidence or not, she also seems to be eating less since I gave her the dex. Perhaps because of the congestion. Michelle -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
Re: what would you do?
no, I have been very attentive to her temperature since this whole thing started a few weeks ago, and she definitely has not been getting fevers in the past week at least except after getting dex. I specifically waited days between dex shots to monitor this, and she did not get feverish at all the night she did not get it. as for the other questions, I have no idea... thanks for responding, michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 10:15:34 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: the thing that's so crazy-making here is that there are SO many possible things going on, and so many medications involved, that it's really impossible to know what's causing what. in every creature--human included--some will have idiosyncratic responses to medications, no matter how many experts say it can't happen. on the other paw, for all you really know, the dex has nothing to do with her fevers--she may have been getting night-time low-grade fevers for years as part of her own body chemistry, and you just had no reason to notice it so hard to know what to do. i personally prefer to go with dex usually, partially because my cats take injectibles much more gracefully than pills, and dex seems to be so quick-acting. but i guess you have to weigh WHICH option has the GREATEST chance of sucess--the interferon, or the epogen? is feeling better temporarily to be preferred over GETTING better? (would her healing be better served by letting her stay eating and purring and less active?) in other words, i only have more questions for you, no answers. continuing to send GLOW
RE: what would you do?
Michelle - I think steroid destroys all her immune systems and she may not have enough of her own to fight against URIs - so watch out.. Dharma and Naomi both got sicker as their URIs (green discharge) came back form their nose and couldn't get rid of it and that was towards the end of their illness - Lucy WILL need a good immune system to fight off - what she has if she has FIP, extreme unbalance of good and bad immune systems.. as steroid may kiil bad ones and may kill good ones too.. and they develop secondary illness due to that and their body is not strong enough to fight against and sometime that's what kill them, too.. _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 7:42 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: what would you do? So through yesterday Lucy continued to purr and eat and occasionally slowly walk to the litterbox or another room. She is very fatigued, probably from her anemia. Hideyo had said that giving the feline interferon every day seemed to help Dharma feel better, so I gave Lucy the feline interferon for the second day in a row yesterday afternoon. In the evening, she was much more out of it. Still no fevers though. So at about 10 pm I gave her a dexamethasone shot that I got from the vet. I was planning, if I thought she definintely has fip (which is seeming more and more likely) to put her on steroid shots to make her more comfortable. Well, this is the second time she got a dex shot, the other time being Tuesday after getting some fluids drained. Last night, like Tuesday, she got a fever about an hour after getting the dex shot, and all the congestion came back to her nose. Although it does not really make sense according to the vet, I am positive now that the return of fevers and congestion comes from the dex shots. But, like last time, when I got up in the early morning she was at the top of the 6 foot tall cat tree, and purring. She has been there all morning. She has meowed a few times, which she normally did a lot while healthy, and purrs, and has eaten a little, but generally looks the same as she did before getting the additional feline interferon and dexamethasone, only at the top of the cat tree rather than on a cat bed on the floor. Clearly she got some burst of energy, but I think it is rather temporary. So I am trying to decide, now, whether to switch her from oral prednisolone to dexamathasone shots. I did read in the archives of one of the FIP lists that a cat with presumptive dry FIP (all the signs and lab work, but no tissue biopsy) was put on strong dexamethasone instead of pred and after a couple of months went into remission and is still in remission 2 years later. And dex gives Lucy at least a small period of energy, clearly, a few hours after getting the shot. And another potential upside is that if it reduces her fip-induced inflammation more than the pred, it could give the epogen more of a chance to work, as epogen apparently does not work well if there is a lot of inflammation because inflammation causes sequestering of iron, even when iron is added (I am giving pet tinic and folic acid). And anemia may be what is likely to kill her first. Those are the potential upsides of giving dexamethasone instead of pred. Here are the downsides: She seems to get temporary fevers from the dex, and she seems to feel pretty miserable while she has the fevers (and I need to give her some fluids, which may increase her belly effusion, and put ice on her, which she doe snot like). So far she had fever last night for a couple of hours. Last time the fever came back the following afternoon, so I will need to see if that happens today. Also, she looks a little bit wired-- her expression. Then, she seems to get some of her URI symptoms back from the dex, like some congestion in her nose. Finally, she is still on clindamycin in case this is toxo. It is looking less and less like toxo, but I can not find a way of telling for sure and sometimes the antibiotics do not make a big difference for a few weeks. Even high doses of pred like she was on is bad for treating toxo, but dex is the worst-- when lab researchers induce toxo in animals to study it (horrible, I know), they bring out the clinical symptoms (most animals do not actually get sick just from being infected with toxo) by giving them dexamethasone. So giving dex is a definite giving up on the abx doing anything. Also, Lucy is on feline interferon, and it is unclear what being on dexamethasone would do to the chances of the feline interferon helping her in any way, whether prolonging life or just making her feel better. Feline interferon is normally given with some prednisone, but lower dosage of pred than Lucy has been getting, much less dexamethasone. They do not know why the feline interferon helps sometimes with fip. In one theory it is anti-viral, which means that increasing steroids would decrease its
Re: what would you do?
Hi Michelle, I tend to lean toward pred. and FOI as her best chance, but I have no experience with Dex., so I really don't know. Is the Dex a daily shot? Can you try it one or two more times and see if she continues to get that burst of energy from it, and if the fevers/congestion get worse stop it and switch to pred? Hugs, Beth
Re: what would you do?
Keep in mind too -- dexamethasone is ten times stronger than prednisone... elizabeth On 2/2/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no, I have been very attentive to her temperature since this whole thing started a few weeks ago, and she definitely has not been getting fevers in the past week at least except after getting dex. I specifically waited days between dex shots to monitor this, and she did not get feverish at all the night she did not get it. as for the other questions, I have no idea... thanks for responding, michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 10:15:34 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: the thing that's so crazy-making here is that there are SO many possible things going on, and so many medications involved, that it's really impossible to know what's causing what. in every creature--human included--some will have idiosyncratic responses to medications, no matter how many experts say it can't happen. on the other paw, for all you really know, the dex has nothing to do with her fevers--she may have been getting night-time low-grade fevers for years as part of her own body chemistry, and you just had no reason to notice it so hard to know what to do. i personally prefer to go with dex usually, partially because my cats take injectibles much more gracefully than pills, and dex seems to be so quick-acting. but i guess you have to weigh WHICH option has the GREATEST chance of sucess--the interferon, or the epogen? is feeling better temporarily to be preferred over GETTING better? (would her healing be better served by letting her stay eating and purring and less active?) in other words, i only have more questions for you, no answers. continuing to send GLOW
Re: what would you do?
i'm thinking that she might have been getting low-grade fevers for YEARS before any of this happened--i do, every night, tho i never realized it until i actually got sick with something and started monitoring it! at other times of the day, my body temperature drops down to 96 or lower. i know you've been really aware of it since this started recently, but there might be a natural fluctuation that is being enhanced by whatever current processes are going on. and if fever hadn't been a part of this to start with, how many people would even CHECK to see if a shot of dex was affecting their cat's body temperature? usually when i'm giving dex, that's about the last thing i've ever thought about what i'm trying to say is that the fever might NOT be as huge a problem as some of the other things to consider at this point. On 2/2/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no, I have been very attentive to her temperature since this whole thing started a few weeks ago, and she definitely has not been getting fevers in the past week at least except after getting dex. I specifically waited days between dex shots to monitor this, and she did not get feverish at all the night she did not get it. as for the other questions, I have no idea... thanks for responding, michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 10:15:34 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: the thing that's so crazy-making here is that there are SO many possible things going on, and so many medications involved, that it's really impossible to know what's causing what. in every creature--human included--some will have idiosyncratic responses to medications, no matter how many experts say it can't happen. on the other paw, for all you really know, the dex has nothing to do with her fevers--she may have been getting night-time low-grade fevers for years as part of her own body chemistry, and you just had no reason to notice it so hard to know what to do. i personally prefer to go with dex usually, partially because my cats take injectibles much more gracefully than pills, and dex seems to be so quick-acting. but i guess you have to weigh WHICH option has the GREATEST chance of sucess--the interferon, or the epogen? is feeling better temporarily to be preferred over GETTING better? (would her healing be better served by letting her stay eating and purring and less active?) in other words, i only have more questions for you, no answers. continuing to send GLOW -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
Re: what would you do?
but it's not that low grade. It's not that I know she is feverish because I take her temp. Hear ears get hot and she gets really out of it and does not want to be touched or to move. I would have noticed this for sure. In a message dated 2/2/2007 10:40:58 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: i'm thinking that she might have been getting low-grade fevers for YEARS before any of this happened--i do, every night, tho i never realized it until i actually got sick with something and started monitoring it! at other times of the day, my body temperature drops down to 96 or lower. i know you've been really aware of it since this started recently, but there might be a natural fluctuation that is being enhanced by whatever current processes are going on. and if fever hadn't been a part of this to start with, how many people would even CHECK to see if a shot of dex was affecting their cat's body temperature? usually when i'm giving dex, that's about the last thing i've ever thought about what i'm trying to say is that the fever might NOT be as huge a problem as some of the other things to consider at this point.
Re: what would you do?
I agree with what Hideyo says. I am no doctor - but I do know for a fact that long-term use of steroids will render the body unable to fight off infection and basically destroys the adrenal system. Long term use of steroids leaves the body unable to produce its own cortisol. On 2/2/07, Hideyo Yamamoto [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Michelle – I think steroid destroys all her immune systems and she may not have enough of her own to fight against URIs – so watch out.. Dharma and Naomi both got sicker as their URIs (green discharge) came back form their nose and couldn't get rid of it and that was towards the end of their illness – Lucy WILL need a good immune system to fight off – what she has if she has FIP, extreme unbalance of good and bad immune systems.. as steroid may kiil bad ones and may kill good ones too.. and they develop secondary illness due to that and their body is not strong enough to fight against and sometime that's what kill them, too.. -- *From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Sent:* Friday, February 02, 2007 7:42 AM *To:* felvtalk@felineleukemia.org *Subject:* what would you do? So through yesterday Lucy continued to purr and eat and occasionally slowly walk to the litterbox or another room. She is very fatigued, probably from her anemia. Hideyo had said that giving the feline interferon every day seemed to help Dharma feel better, so I gave Lucy the feline interferon for the second day in a row yesterday afternoon. In the evening, she was much more out of it. Still no fevers though. So at about 10 pm I gave her a dexamethasone shot that I got from the vet. I was planning, if I thought she definintely has fip (which is seeming more and more likely) to put her on steroid shots to make her more comfortable. Well, this is the second time she got a dex shot, the other time being Tuesday after getting some fluids drained. Last night, like Tuesday, she got a fever about an hour after getting the dex shot, and all the congestion came back to her nose. Although it does not really make sense according to the vet, I am positive now that the return of fevers and congestion comes from the dex shots. But, like last time, when I got up in the early morning she was at the top of the 6 foot tall cat tree, and purring. She has been there all morning. She has meowed a few times, which she normally did a lot while healthy, and purrs, and has eaten a little, but generally looks the same as she did before getting the additional feline interferon and dexamethasone, only at the top of the cat tree rather than on a cat bed on the floor. Clearly she got some burst of energy, but I think it is rather temporary. So I am trying to decide, now, whether to switch her from oral prednisolone to dexamathasone shots. I did read in the archives of one of the FIP lists that a cat with presumptive dry FIP (all the signs and lab work, but no tissue biopsy) was put on strong dexamethasone instead of pred and after a couple of months went into remission and is still in remission 2 years later. And dex gives Lucy at least a small period of energy, clearly, a few hours after getting the shot. And another potential upside is that if it reduces her fip-induced inflammation more than the pred, it could give the epogen more of a chance to work, as epogen apparently does not work well if there is a lot of inflammation because inflammation causes sequestering of iron, even when iron is added (I am giving pet tinic and folic acid). And anemia may be what is likely to kill her first. Those are the potential upsides of giving dexamethasone instead of pred. Here are the downsides: She seems to get temporary fevers from the dex, and she seems to feel pretty miserable while she has the fevers (and I need to give her some fluids, which may increase her belly effusion, and put ice on her, which she doe snot like). So far she had fever last night for a couple of hours. Last time the fever came back the following afternoon, so I will need to see if that happens today. Also, she looks a little bit wired-- her expression. Then, she seems to get some of her URI symptoms back from the dex, like some congestion in her nose. Finally, she is still on clindamycin in case this is toxo. It is looking less and less like toxo, but I can not find a way of telling for sure and sometimes the antibiotics do not make a big difference for a few weeks. Even high doses of pred like she was on is bad for treating toxo, but dex is the worst-- when lab researchers induce toxo in animals to study it (horrible, I know), they bring out the clinical symptoms (most animals do not actually get sick just from being infected with toxo) by giving them dexamethasone. So giving dex is a definite giving up on the abx doing anything. Also, Lucy is on feline interferon, and it is unclear what being on dexamethasone would do to the chances of the feline interferon helping her
Re: what would you do?
Michelle, It sounds like a very hard decision to make. I have no idea between the two which sounds better. When I have a choice to make and have no idea which way to lean, I pray. Praying never fails me. I hope it will help you too. Continued prayers going out for little Lucy and for you as well. You are such a wonderful kitty 'mom'. :) Wendy --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: So through yesterday Lucy continued to purr and eat and occasionally slowly walk to the litterbox or another room. She is very fatigued, probably from her anemia. Hideyo had said that giving the feline interferon every day seemed to help Dharma feel better, so I gave Lucy the feline interferon for the second day in a row yesterday afternoon. In the evening, she was much more out of it. Still no fevers though. So at about 10 pm I gave her a dexamethasone shot that I got from the vet. I was planning, if I thought she definintely has fip (which is seeming more and more likely) to put her on steroid shots to make her more comfortable. Well, this is the second time she got a dex shot, the other time being Tuesday after getting some fluids drained. Last night, like Tuesday, she got a fever about an hour after getting the dex shot, and all the congestion came back to her nose. Although it does not really make sense according to the vet, I am positive now that the return of fevers and congestion comes from the dex shots. But, like last time, when I got up in the early morning she was at the top of the 6 foot tall cat tree, and purring. She has been there all morning. She has meowed a few times, which she normally did a lot while healthy, and purrs, and has eaten a little, but generally looks the same as she did before getting the additional feline interferon and dexamethasone, only at the top of the cat tree rather than on a cat bed on the floor. Clearly she got some burst of energy, but I think it is rather temporary. So I am trying to decide, now, whether to switch her from oral prednisolone to dexamathasone shots. I did read in the archives of one of the FIP lists that a cat with presumptive dry FIP (all the signs and lab work, but no tissue biopsy) was put on strong dexamethasone instead of pred and after a couple of months went into remission and is still in remission 2 years later. And dex gives Lucy at least a small period of energy, clearly, a few hours after getting the shot. And another potential upside is that if it reduces her fip-induced inflammation more than the pred, it could give the epogen more of a chance to work, as epogen apparently does not work well if there is a lot of inflammation because inflammation causes sequestering of iron, even when iron is added (I am giving pet tinic and folic acid). And anemia may be what is likely to kill her first. Those are the potential upsides of giving dexamethasone instead of pred. Here are the downsides: She seems to get temporary fevers from the dex, and she seems to feel pretty miserable while she has the fevers (and I need to give her some fluids, which may increase her belly effusion, and put ice on her, which she doe snot like). So far she had fever last night for a couple of hours. Last time the fever came back the following afternoon, so I will need to see if that happens today. Also, she looks a little bit wired-- her expression. Then, she seems to get some of her URI symptoms back from the dex, like some congestion in her nose. Finally, she is still on clindamycin in case this is toxo. It is looking less and less like toxo, but I can not find a way of telling for sure and sometimes the antibiotics do not make a big difference for a few weeks. Even high doses of pred like she was on is bad for treating toxo, but dex is the worst-- when lab researchers induce toxo in animals to study it (horrible, I know), they bring out the clinical symptoms (most animals do not actually get sick just from being infected with toxo) by giving them dexamethasone. So giving dex is a definite giving up on the abx doing anything. Also, Lucy is on feline interferon, and it is unclear what being on dexamethasone would do to the chances of the feline interferon helping her in any way, whether prolonging life or just making her feel better. Feline interferon is normally given with some prednisone, but lower dosage of pred than Lucy has been getting, much less dexamethasone. They do not know why the feline interferon helps sometimes with fip. In one theory it is anti-viral, which means that increasing steroids would decrease its ability to work. In the other theory it modulates the immune system and therefore controls inflammation when the immune system is out of control like with fip, in which case steroids would work in conjunction with it rather
Re: what would you do?
Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina So what would you do? Switch to dex or keep her on the pred? I have never had a doubt before about this when I thought my cats were in their last stages that it was the right thing to give heavy doses of steroid shots. It has always clearly made them feel so much better, even, or perhaps especially, with my cat Buddy who probably had dry FIP. But it is less clear for me with Lucy, both because it is unclear if on the whole it makes her feel better, and because it may work against some of the other meds she is on (feline interferon and abx). Then again, it might help the epogen to work. Without the dex, on 12.5 mg/day of prednisolone, Lucy was still eating and still very purry and seemed comfortable, just incredibly fatigued. Part of me feels like it is better to try to help her stay like that, if possible, than give her something that brings on fever and congestion, even with a small temporary surge of energy. But part of me feels like, wow, she climbed to the top of a 6 foot tall cat tree-- how can she not feel better? Please let me know what you think I should do. Thanks, Michelle
Re: what would you do?
.5 cc. It is not giving her so much energy-- she is still just laying in the cat tree, and not eating. If I am going to give her less dex, I think I should just go back to the pred. I am really scared that she has now stopped eating for good. she ate 3 jars of baby food yesterday before I started giving her all this stuff. I should have just left well enough alone. Michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:02:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina
Re: what would you do?
Don't panic, Michelle. Since she began to eat again after the last dex shot just assume she will start again after this one. Give her a hug from me. Will continue prayers. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:.5 cc. It is not giving her so much energy-- she is still just laying in the cat tree, and not eating. If I am going to give her less dex, I think I should just go back to the pred. I am really scared that she has now stopped eating for good. she ate 3 jars of baby food yesterday before I started giving her all this stuff. I should have just left well enough alone. Michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:02:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina
Re: what would you do?
The last dex shot actually made her eat MORE the next morning, despite the congestion, not less. Since I wrote she ate a little more baby food. But, again, no more than 1/5 of a jar and probably not even that much. In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:13:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Don't panic, Michelle. Since she began to eat again after the last dex shot just assume she will start again after this one. Give her a hug from me. Will continue prayers.
Re: what would you do?
Well, darn. I misunderstood. It is so frustrating when we so want them to eat and they just won't. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:The last dex shot actually made her eat MORE the next morning, despite the congestion, not less. Since I wrote she ate a little more baby food. But, again, no more than 1/5 of a jar and probably not even that much. In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:13:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Don't panic, Michelle. Since she began to eat again after the last dex shot just assume she will start again after this one. Give her a hug from me. Will continue prayers.
Re: what would you do?
The fact that she's eating at all is a very good sign, esp if she is congested. I know you don't want to waste a minute that could be spent helping her, but it looks like you don't have any choice than to take a deep breath and wait and see. Try to take some quiet time, out of panic mode, and give the subtle voice of intuition a chance to get through to you. Go take a shower, I get some of my best ideas when I'm relaxed and not dwelling on outcomes. Believe me, I understand just how hard it is to relax when you're going through this, but it might help both of you to take a break from all the turmoil. Light a scented candle, listen to some soothing music and just be. Nina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The last dex shot actually made her eat MORE the next morning, despite the congestion, not less. Since I wrote she ate a little more baby food. But, again, no more than 1/5 of a jar and probably not even that much. In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:13:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Don't panic, Michelle. Since she began to eat again after the last dex shot just assume she will start again after this one. Give her a hug from me. Will continue prayers.
RE: what would you do?
Michelle - you are doing everything possible you can to help her ---don't question it - Lucy knows it --- she knows your bond are much stronger than anything you can see on physical level... I gave accemmanan to JoJo and he stopped eating since then, I question the same thing naturally - but believe that she will want to eat again soon - stay positive. Even if she stopped eating, it does not mean that she will only get sicker.. remember, Dharma stopped eating and took her a couple of weeks before she can eat on her own again after FOI treatment.. you just never know...don't give up _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:03 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: what would you do? .5 cc. It is not giving her so much energy-- she is still just laying in the cat tree, and not eating. If I am going to give her less dex, I think I should just go back to the pred. I am really scared that she has now stopped eating for good. she ate 3 jars of baby food yesterday before I started giving her all this stuff. I should have just left well enough alone. Michelle In a message dated 2/2/2007 12:02:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina
RE: what would you do?
I can't remember for sure why.. but Dr. Ishida and Dr. Addie recommended the use of dex as a single dose and use predisolone instead if you are giving on going . .must be something to do with the fact that it may not impair any liver functions.. with FIP, their liver eventually get damaged and maybe that's why.. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nina Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:01 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: what would you do? Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina So what would you do? Switch to dex or keep her on the pred? I have never had a doubt before about this when I thought my cats were in their last stages that it was the right thing to give heavy doses of steroid shots. It has always clearly made them feel so much better, even, or perhaps especially, with my cat Buddy who probably had dry FIP. But it is less clear for me with Lucy, both because it is unclear if on the whole it makes her feel better, and because it may work against some of the other meds she is on (feline interferon and abx). Then again, it might help the epogen to work. Without the dex, on 12.5 mg/day of prednisolone, Lucy was still eating and still very purry and seemed comfortable, just incredibly fatigued. Part of me feels like it is better to try to help her stay like that, if possible, than give her something that brings on fever and congestion, even with a small temporary surge of energy. But part of me feels like, wow, she climbed to the top of a 6 foot tall cat tree-- how can she not feel better? Please let me know what you think I should do. Thanks, Michelle
RE: what would you do?
Michelle - when you say pred - do you mean predisone or predisolone? I would recommend that you use predisolone -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Hideyo Yamamoto Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 11:05 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: what would you do? I can't remember for sure why.. but Dr. Ishida and Dr. Addie recommended the use of dex as a single dose and use predisolone instead if you are giving on going . .must be something to do with the fact that it may not impair any liver functions.. with FIP, their liver eventually get damaged and maybe that's why.. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nina Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:01 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: what would you do? Michelle, How much dex are you giving Lucy? Could you try to lower the dose significantly and see if it still helps? Nina So what would you do? Switch to dex or keep her on the pred? I have never had a doubt before about this when I thought my cats were in their last stages that it was the right thing to give heavy doses of steroid shots. It has always clearly made them feel so much better, even, or perhaps especially, with my cat Buddy who probably had dry FIP. But it is less clear for me with Lucy, both because it is unclear if on the whole it makes her feel better, and because it may work against some of the other meds she is on (feline interferon and abx). Then again, it might help the epogen to work. Without the dex, on 12.5 mg/day of prednisolone, Lucy was still eating and still very purry and seemed comfortable, just incredibly fatigued. Part of me feels like it is better to try to help her stay like that, if possible, than give her something that brings on fever and congestion, even with a small temporary surge of energy. But part of me feels like, wow, she climbed to the top of a 6 foot tall cat tree-- how can she not feel better? Please let me know what you think I should do. Thanks, Michelle
Re: what would you do?
prednisolone. In a message dated 2/2/2007 1:11:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle - when you say pred - do you mean predisone or predisolone? I would recommend that you use predisolone
Re: what would you do?
I just don't know Michelle... I wish I could help, but I just don't know! I will send her positive energy and peaceful thoughts, and hope for her remaining time to be happy times! Phaewryn http://ucat.us Adopt a New England FIV+ cat: http://ucat.us/FIVadopt.html Special Needs Cat Links (and feline info library): http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html Declawing Creates SUFFERING, Please don't declaw! http://www.pawproject.com/kona.html
Re: what would you do?
Have you tried getting her to eat some lunch meat type stuff? Moogie ate that even when she was very near the end... boiled ham was her favorite. Phaewryn http://ucat.us Adopt a New England FIV+ cat: http://ucat.us/FIVadopt.html Special Needs Cat Links (and feline info library): http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html Declawing Creates SUFFERING, Please don't declaw! http://www.pawproject.com/kona.html
