By the way, I'd be astonished if the heart
murmur had anything to do with cyclosporine.Also, your movement from one medication to another is the old-fashioned,
and largely ineffective, way of treating GME.Dr. Sisson (and other forward thinking vets and neurologists) use a
combination of medications, just like human autoimmune diseases are treated, to
treat GME with fantastically high success rates.Part of what we do in this group is to wean
owners off outmoded courses of treatment like Lucky has been on to newer and
more effective ones.Hence, the
pushiness about Lucky from me, the same pushiness we employ in most newcomers'
cases.
Alex
From:
NewGMEDogs@yahoogroups.com [mailto:NewGMEDogs@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mo_ny Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2009 1:44
PM To: NewGMEDogs@yahoogroups.com Cc: ee@... Subject: RE: [NewGMEDogs] gme
& cyclosporine
Hello Alex and thanks for your email,
Lucky is a 5 yr old, ~ 14 pound mini poodle that my wife and I adopted last
year from the Picasso Veterinary Fund here in NYC. http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/picasso/index.php
He was an
abused, abandoned dog that was diagnosed with GME after receiving his rabies
vaccination.
My wife and I
adopted him knowing that he needed a good home.
The vets
(NYC Veterinary Soecialists & West Chelsea Veterinary) had him on
prednisone.
But every time
we tried to reduce him below 5mg, he would have GME symptoms again.
So far we have
tried procarbazine, which did not seem to help at all, all of his symptoms
came back when he went below 5 mg of pred a day.
So then we tried
25 mg of Atopica (cyclosporine) twice a day, he had a UI, but the
therapeutic levels of cyclosporine were low, so his dose was raised to 50 mg
of cyclosporine .
But at 50 mg
twice a day, he is having UI, after UI, pee’ing in the house, loss of
appetite, loss of energy and very loose stools (sometimes in the house).
We have decided
to take him off the cyclosporine because the treatment is zapping his life
away, and we are thinking since his GME is controlled with 5mg of prednisone
a day, it may be best to just keep him on that. I am fully aware of the
long time side effects of prednisone.
But, I think
Lucky will have a better quality of life (while most likely a shorter life)
on the 5mg a day of prednisone, then having a longer life with constant UI’s
no energy, and very soft stools.
I know
this will sound a bit selfish and forgive me… The pee’ing on the rugs every
three to four hours and the very loose stools all over the house is a bit
much to take especially if his quality of life is so poor on cyclosporine.
He has
also developed a stage II heart murmur which did not show up until the 5th
week of being on the cyclosporine (may or may not be related).
We love this
little guy that we adopted, and are trying to give him every chance in the
world… for a long life…. But will trade that long life for a happier dog even
if it means he will not be with us as long.
Thanks for your
"ear"
Mitch & Joan
--- On Sat, 7/4/09, Alex Eisemann <aee@eisemannlaw.com>
wrote:
From: Alex Eisemann <aee@eisemannlaw.com>
Subject: RE: [NewGMEDogs] gme & cyclosporine
To: NewGMEDogs@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 2:44 PM
Hi (don't know your little boy's name, unfortunately) ,
Cyclosporine when given at too high a dose can cause soft
stool. I know so little about your boy's history that this is little
more than an educated guess but he should probably have his cyclosporine dose
reduced. How much does he weigh and how much is he taking (x mg y times
a day)? Has the dose been adjusted and, if so, when and how? If
his GI system is thrown off, that could cause lethargy but so could urinary
tract infections (I assume that's what you mean by UI's) or other types of
infections, which would be more what I'd look to. What overall
medications is he on?
Also, I would guess you're in NY, as am I. Can you tell us
who's currently treating your boy?
Alex
From: NewGMEDogs@yahoogro ups.com
[mailto:NewGMEDogs@ yahoogroups. com] On
Behalf Of mo_ny Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009
10:41 AM To: NewGMEDogs@yahoogro ups.com Subject: [NewGMEDogs] gme &
cyclosporine
Our mini poodle who has GME was put on cyclosporine ~ 4 weeks ago.
So far he has had two UI's and constant soft stool.
He is also lethargic.
Had anyone else had to deal with these side effects?
Thanks
Our mini poodle who has GME was put on cyclosporine ~ 4 weeks ago. So far he has had two UI's and constant soft stool. He is also lethargic. Had anyone else...
Hi (don't know your little boy's name, unfortunately), Cyclosporine when given at too high a dose can cause soft stool. I know so little about your boy's...
Hello Alex and thanks for your email, Lucky is a 5 yr old, ~ 14 pound mini poodle that my wife and I adopted last year from the Picasso Veterinary Fund here...
Mitch, Lucky should be put on other immune suppressors, leflunomide, cytarabine and, perhaps, lomustine. His cyclosporine dose should be checked by blood test...
Welcome Mitch and Joan to the group. Alex and everyone on here can help, give you ideas, and support. Lee Ann ________________________________ From: Alex...
Hi Mitch, Hi Joan Just wanted to say welcome to the group. I've fairly new to this myself. My dog Magic was obly diagnosed with GME in May. I can highly...
Hi Mitch and Joan, Bless your hearts for taking this little one in and loving him.....knowing all that you knew, your actions are those of very caring people....
wow. 50 mg twice a day is a large dosage of cyclosporine to be on for a 14 pound dog. It's obviously too high if it's making your little one sick. You should...
Hi Chelle, I have not heard of the ketoconazole before. Do you know if this is something Dr. Sisson has approved? We've had a rough time getting Patty's levels...
Thanks so much for the kind words and the ketoconazole info. I will ask my vet ... From: Ms Brooke Johnson <brookedanett@...> Subject: Re: [NewGMEDogs]...
When Lucky (13.5 pounds) was on 25 mg 2 x day of cyclosporine his therapeutic levels were way too low. ~ 136 And he did get an UI on that dose. but our vet...
Bailey never could handle the cyclosporine either and it was eventually dropped. However, he's done fine on the lomustine, leflunomide, and cytarabine...
Well, if he's holding at 5 mg once a day--which seems to be his plateau--meaning symptoms are abating or he's holding absolutely steady with whatever permanent...
Once again, thanks for the replies and your time..Just a bit more of Lucky's background Lucky was diag. a year ago with GME . He was a abused dog, Joan and I...
I didn't know if his symptoms were staying in check or if he was starting at that. It would be the difference. I haven't kept up the past few days and tried...
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