Linda and Bear Man
Member Since 2009
Last week: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19440&p=192862#p192862
Bear man started his Darbepoietin (Aranesp) shots on Thursday. The vet gave 6.25 mcg, which is the max dose I have come across in my reading. He also got a shot of iron dextran. His blood pressure and PCV (packed cell volume) were checked before the shot. The PCV was down to .18, down from his hematocrit of .19 one week earlier, so that confirmed for me that we were doing the right thing by starting shots. His heart rate is still crazy high at 240 bpm.
I didn't expect to see results so quickly, but I *think* he is doing much better! He is venturing out of his bathroom bed and walking around the house a bit. This morning he is sitting in his old favorite bed in the den. I haven't seen him do that in weeks. I think he is churning out red blood cells in that sweet little bone marrow of his. I am keeping paws crossed for a nice slow and steady increase in PCV.
Unfortunately, the vet also had bad news in Emily's cytology report. Two of her suspicious masses are likely lipomas, but the third is a mast cell tumour. The vet is removing it on Monday. Due to her age (17) and renal disease, the vet hopes to do it under local anesthesia and light sedation.
Emily's report: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0Bwg ... y=CInU7oMI
I am so thankful to everyone on this board who has sent vines, snowflakes, and words of support. My heart is filled with sadness for those who have lost their babies, or whose loved ones are going through difficult times. Please keep the blizzards (of red blood cells) coming for the Bear Man. Next week, we will be marking the three year anniversary of his diagnosis with diabetes.
Bear man started his Darbepoietin (Aranesp) shots on Thursday. The vet gave 6.25 mcg, which is the max dose I have come across in my reading. He also got a shot of iron dextran. His blood pressure and PCV (packed cell volume) were checked before the shot. The PCV was down to .18, down from his hematocrit of .19 one week earlier, so that confirmed for me that we were doing the right thing by starting shots. His heart rate is still crazy high at 240 bpm.
I didn't expect to see results so quickly, but I *think* he is doing much better! He is venturing out of his bathroom bed and walking around the house a bit. This morning he is sitting in his old favorite bed in the den. I haven't seen him do that in weeks. I think he is churning out red blood cells in that sweet little bone marrow of his. I am keeping paws crossed for a nice slow and steady increase in PCV.
Unfortunately, the vet also had bad news in Emily's cytology report. Two of her suspicious masses are likely lipomas, but the third is a mast cell tumour. The vet is removing it on Monday. Due to her age (17) and renal disease, the vet hopes to do it under local anesthesia and light sedation.
Emily's report: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0Bwg ... y=CInU7oMI
I am so thankful to everyone on this board who has sent vines, snowflakes, and words of support. My heart is filled with sadness for those who have lost their babies, or whose loved ones are going through difficult times. Please keep the blizzards (of red blood cells) coming for the Bear Man. Next week, we will be marking the three year anniversary of his diagnosis with diabetes.
...for him, this was a treatable condition, and did not interfere with his quality of life at all. He also had lipomas, and most times when they appeared we would remove both the lipomas or the mast cells. As he got older, and surgery posed more risks, we stopped removing them altogether and he did fine. Cats can 'apparently' do better with mast cell disease than dogs, from what I have been told. For Thomas, it was just another of his chronic conditions that he soldiered through. He had them for around 8 years as I recall. I hope that for Miss Emily, that they will not present too difficult an issue for her, either. 
