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[luvmyjacks]

Will is still being hand fed home cooked meat and slowly gaining back the weight he lost - from 25lbs to 16lbs.  But, the vet cut back the Itra from .5ml  2x daily to .2ml 2x daily and now I am worried that the blasto is getting a firmer hold on him.  He is coughing a lot more, and more often and since the cough and shortness of breath were his major symptoms I am worried they have cut him back too much.  What type of dosage is everyone else giving?  Is it based on weight only? Or do they factor in the amount the liver can manage?  I'm very worried again as I met a fellow at a horse show who lost his golden after taking five weeks off work to stay home and treat the blasto - never leaving his pup.  I have a gut feeling it has to do with the dosage.
He was in the same area of Georgian Bay we were in May and had heard of two other dogs contracting the disease so now Ihave a better idea of where Roxy and Will were likely to have been exposed.  At this same horse show I have also heard that blasto has taken some horses.  I am going to investigate that info more thoroughly as I think several of the people on this forum have horses and the information might be quite useful.

[Wilson3]

how long has will been on meds?
what i have found out about the dose is that for the 1st  7 days they will give it 2x's a day (wilson did 10 days 2x's a day and i was told no more then that) and then once a day after that
there is a "safe" zone for the weight of the dog/animal wilson was on 125 mg. the after a few months raised up to 175 mg. but that was has high as the dose to go for him at his weight other wise the meds will kill them
there where times i felt wilsons breathing was getting worse but my vet told me that i should look at it all the time because you start seeing things that are not really there he wasn't trying to be mean but it made sence being soooo worried the change in weather can also make  a diffference
why was the meds cut back did your vet tell you? also if will is feeling a bit better he may be a bit more active and it is harder to breath i had to watch wilson color of his gums all the time to make sur ehe wasn't over doing it and make sure he would take it a bit easier sometime they to forget they start feel sooo much beter and are happy
did you talk tyo you vet about it?

let us know

give will a big hug and tell him hes not going any where your not going to let him
wilson3

[luvmyjacks]

Thanks Wilson3 for your input.  I don't ask the vet much as I actually think the people living through this illness have more knowledge in many ways.  My vet obviously thought twice a day at .5ml was good then after precribing a bottle of Itra she called and cut him back to the .2ml twice daily.  She didn't say so but I guarantee his liver toxicity tests were a factor.  My concern now is that she went too much the other way.  I do however agree with you that Will feels better and he is getting more interested in play time with his little sister Sadie and brother Harry so that is part of the issue.  I try to keep him leashed in the park and then his play time is in the house or our yard where I can monitor his activity but he does get going pretty hard.  I'll wait to see if anyone else can give me an idea of their dosages and then put in a call to my vet armed with some questions and suggestions.  Thanks again for your reply.

[Jen]

As far as I knew, it was weight-based.  DB was on 150 mg. powdered capsules 1x daily from April until we tapered her off. She was 66 lbs (down from 85) when diagnosed.  Now she's at least 100, so she's a big girl.
 We didn't have liver testing done.  She did cough a bit initially, as though she was going to yark something up but couldn't.  There hasn't been any coughing since. 
   I'd definitely ask the vet about the coughing, cuz I sure wouldn't want a relapse because the dose was lowered too soon. 
  best-
jen

[evayola]

I dont know if it is weight based because Marge seems to be on a higher dosage than others here. She takes 300mg of fluconozole tablet 1x daily. Marge is actually doing really good! Now that it is cold outside she only wants to stay outside. It is so cute seeing her laying in the yard with the wind blowing through her shaggy ears! We need so badly to give her a bath but the vet says that she shouldnt be taken to the groomers because of the moisture. The blasto really feeds off of it and we can't give her the kennel cough shot! Marge is no longer coughing. When she was coughing she did sound like she was going to get something up and sometimes it was phlem. I would definitely talk to your vet again because why lower the dosage unless the liver tests came back with some problems? I would think that is something she would share with you as my vet always shares everything with me! You definitely don't want to go backwards in your treatment.

[Wilson3]

so how is will?
did you talk to your vet? your vet will answer any question the more i asked the more i found out plus looking on line and emailing vets that have study blasto for years like the vet in wisconsin told we the dose to how many mg per pound but of course i can not rember it i do know wilosn was on the right dose for his weight he weighed around 50'ish  his blood work was done ever other visist to make sure everthing was going the way it should
so how is will?