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[Lolasmom]

Lola is doing well.  I called the vet yesterday and probably switch to Fluc on Tues.  We are hoping to have the x-ray results back from the Auburn radiologist by Tuesday too. If the results are inconclusive we are going to send another sample to Mira Vista.

The meds the vet gave her for the diarrhea have helped a lot.  She was still having some tummy cramping (my vet said that could be from the meds or from Blasto).  He suggested giving her some buttermilk a couple times a day and with her meds.  We have to give it to her with a turkey baster, but it REALLY seems to be helping her a lot.  She is resting in comfort, very peacefully all day long.  And tonight she acutally came into the kitchen (on her own accord), waited for dinner and ate it without any encouragement. (Thank you Lord). 

Her eyes are still watering a little bit.  Sometimes they look like they are improving and then an hour later they look bad again.  We are watching them carefully.  She is still sneezing quite a bit but her breathing and coughing seem to be getting better and better with each passing day. 

[Sadie123]

So glad to hear that Lola is hanging in there and getting better!!   Keep up the great work.     And she ate on her own - that's fantastic news.  I was worried about that part because you took her off the steriods.  So glad for you both!!!

[Nuala]

Glad to hear she is doing better.  It is so good when they perk up a little. 

[Cosmo]

Good news about Lola.  Hope that the eye responds to the fluconazole.  Glad that she came in to eat on her own.  I remember being so happy when Cosmo started playing ball again.
Jacci

[Wilson3]

what wonderful news! so glad to hear 
 Keep up the positive energy give that girl a bug hug from us
wilson3

[Lolasmom]

Thank you Wilson.  She loves hugs.

Last night I brought home dinner from Olive Garden.  Took out some Parmesan cheese, sprinkled it on my skettie, took one bite and the phone rang.  My son was ready to come home from ball practice.   So I left everything on the counter and went up the street to get him.  When we returned we found our dinner (well the boxes our dinner was in) on the kitchen floor.  Standing there, proud and peacocks, were 3 Bassets with marinara all over their face, but no mama Lola.  We found her behind the ottoman with her tongue in the can of parmesan and a noodle on her nose.  I have never been so happy to see her be so bad.

We still haven't got the x-ray results back from Auburn yet, probably the holiday set them back. I will update ya'll as soon as I hear. But considering she is eating now and responding so well, I am pretty confident this isn't cancer and that we are indeed dealing with Blasto.  I talked to the vet about her eyes and about switching meds.  He said the heartworms shouldn't be an issue with the meds and that her eyes didn't look to bad.  He said I eye problems don't usually happen AFTER medication is started (which I'm not so sure about).  So we decided to "not rock the apple cart" and stay with the Intra.

We had some compounded locally this morning.  It cost me $95.50 for 30 days of 125mg, which was a lot better than the $195.00 for 30 days of 100mg which would have only lasted me about 3/4 of  a month.  I picked it up this afternoon and was a little concerned because it was powder form instead of little beads.  The pharmacist told me that the main/active ingred. in Spornax, generic Spornax and compounded Intra is the same, its Intraconazole.  But that the Spornax and some generics are beaded to help them become water soluable.  And it is the beading that makes them costs so much money.   When I got home I went here and used search and found the posts on compounded Intra by Wilson and other.   I guess I shouldn't be concerned?   This is the same stuff that Wilson and so many others used successfully....right? Any advice would be appreciated.  I understand I should give it with butter or marg.  Is a spoonfull enough? How much acid do I add to her diet?  Should I give her the acid with the butter or seperate?  Do you think my "miracle" buttermilk will do as an acid?

Oh...by the way...I did find out a couple of things today.  First,  Prednisone or any other immune suppressing therapy will throw the Antibody test.  Which is probably why her test came back negative.  I forgot to ask if the sam is true with the Antigen test until I left the office.  But I will find out.

Also, something eles which I found out from the Pharmacist, was that the lack of appitite, the tummy aches and loose bowels are attributed to masses of dead fungus in their guts and the buttermilk kind of cleans it out (removes intestinal fila?? or something like that  ie: bad stuff).  So, you could look at it as the lack of appitite is a good thing, it means its working.  He said thats why some people will attribute it to the drug and others to the Blasto.   Its dying/dead Blasto fungus, somethimes from the drug and somethimes just from an overloaded body working overtime to clean it up.  Oh...and the pharmacist DOES subscribe to the 3rd day theory and belief that it gets worse before it gets better.  Can't wait to tell my vet.  He is so amazed at all the information I have found on this forum.  He wrote the site down himself.   I am going to post something on their bulletin board about it too.   Thank you all so much for all the great information and support.  I don't think we could have made it this far without ya'll.  You are all etched into our hearts.

[benniesmom]

When Bennie stole my sandwich I was beyond thrilled that he had his appetite back! YAHOO!

[Ty823]

Great to hear Lola is doing well!

Lucy had some of the same eye symptoms you described. I was cleaning the gunk out of her eyes daily for a few weeks, but the watering/gunk has subsided. Could it be a side effect of the itra?

I'm kind of curious about how much "fat" people are giving with their Itra dozes too. My vet originally was giving half a stick of butter per day, but I have since downsized that to just a tablespoon of butter because we switched to an extreme energy dog food that is really high in fat, and she has been licking her bowl clean every meal, so I assumed she is getting enough fat through the dry dog food.

If you are going with compounded Itra, have your vet check out road runner pharmacy in Arizona. We are paying $39 for 30 doses at a time (150 mg i think). It takes about a week for delivery. I was also concerned that some have said that the powder itra doesn't work as well as the beaded stuff. My vet's explanation was that the beaded stuff was developed for human use, and therefore goes through more testing, approval, etc. and needs to be more expensive. It may or may not be better than the powder stuff which is intended for dogs, but there isn't enough data to say for sure either way.

[Lolasmom]

I LOVE the picture of your dog.  That is so adorable. 

Lolas eyes seem to be doing a little better day by day too.  To be honest with you, my vet never said anything about giving it to her with fat.  He just said to give it to her with a meal.  But then originally she was on Spornax and if I understand correctly the coating on the beads is NOT for time release but to make the Intra more bioavailable (absorbable).  I know when human are taking this they suggest that they take it with a cola (I think acid is more important than fat).  Now the pharmacist who I just got her compounded powder intra from told me that I should give it to her with a little fat (butter, cheese, etc...) and then feed her right away.  I have been giving her a slice of american cheese with a tablespoon of butter and her Intra wrapped inside.  She seems to like it so far.  The biggest problem I have had with Lola is stomach cramping (which I can litterally see) and diarhea.  Her appetite is pretty good now but it was bad for a few days.  Although, I cannot get her to eat any dog food.  She will eat cat food, stew meat, deer meat, chicken (or Twinkies - which I have just found out are not good to give her with the Blasto)....but no dog food.  I am thinking about getting her some vitamins tomarrow.   When her tummy is cramping she is reluctant to eat anything until she has a bowel movement.  I hope this gets a little better soon.  I am kinda confused about the acid.  I've read some posts about giving them apple cider vinager in the water.  Do they need that in addition to the fat?

I am a little concerned tonight because she seems to be walking a LITTLE funny and I have noticed her licking her back legs a few times.  I don't see anything on them but I am worried they might be swelled a little bit.

But her breathing is getting better and better with every day.  When she is resting (which she does very peacefully now) you wouldn't even know she had any problem at all.  I can see her lungs expanding more and more each day.  But she still breaths a little rapidly and gets out of breath easily.   

I called the pharmacist today and gavee him the third degree about the powdered Intra. He promised me that this Intra was just as good the other and that I would have no problems.  I asked him about all thee stuff online about compounded Intra and he said that the Mfg of Spornax wants you to by Spornax or the generic which is also mfg by the same company.  There is no representation of compounded Intra, so there is no one out there to defend it against Spornax.  Makes sense.   Thanks for the tip on Road Runner Pharmacy.  Thats really cheap.

[Wilson3]

good to hear Lola is doing so well!

this is what I used for Wilson's loose poop
animal essentials - plant enzymes and probiotics this helped with his immune system and digestion
I used the powder gets into the system faster

I used Pet Health Pharmacy
175mg costed $80.40 for 2 months (this was back in 2007)

compounded drugs can be brand name or generic
compounding a drug is needed to get the right dose
itra comes in 100mg (brand or generic) only so if you need a smaller dose or larger then they compound the drug

must will be surprised/ not even know they are using the generic or powder they only know if they open the pill up and the color of the capsule brand name is one color the rest another

they only difference between generic and brand name is the fillers not the drug itself
so if an animal or humane has a problem with different companies it is the filler that they are using

and yes the powder should be given with a fatty food and at meal time I gave right before eating

When Wilson was sick I was also very concerned so I went and asked the pharmacists at work (I work in a hospital)

the loose poop cold also be caused buy the change in diet  the plant enzymes and probiotics helps with this but it may take a few days it brings balance back

the apple cider vinegar people use to fight yeast infections and with blasto turning into a yeast once in the body it is believed that the cider may help fight blasto or when healthy keep the spores under control (when first exposed) so the bodies own immune system can fight

it seems many get the upset tummy on what ever brand of itra they decide on in the beginning but dogs are tuff they usually adjust in time your vet could also give you something for the poop and tummy
try to keep food in Lolas tummy as much a possible little snakes all the time it helps nothing spicy and try to get her off the cat food it is better then nothing if she will not eat at all but cat food will also give the runs
your doing great!
Lola is very lucky to have you
wilson3

it is normal also for the swelling in the legs to come out know .This happens to many but not all. She may also develop lesions. Blasto is nasty and does anything to try and live

[Lolasmom]

Thank you for the great information Wilson3, you are a wealth of information.   I ordered some Plant enzymes and Probiotics this morning.  Lola would be doing great if it weren't for the nausea (licking and smacking her lips, tummy spasm) and the diarhea.  Maybe this will help some.  Thanks again.   

[Sadie123]

Glad to hear Lola is doing so well.  Have you tried canned (wet) dog food?  Also, I bought some chicken with rice and vegetables and Sadie loved that too.  When she was turning down dog treats, she usually went for these.

[Nuala]

Glad to see she is doing better. I hope she enjoyed the Parmesan.  Sounds like the Intra is working.  Just for comparison sake, up here the pharmacist makes up the Intra into a solution for Nuala, and it costs about $70.00 for a month for her, but of course she is smaller so probably doesn't need as much.  I am not sure if the pharmacist goes from a powder or beads, I will have to ask next time. 

[apope43]

So glad to hear that Lola is doing so much better!!!   Having the appetite up is great!  Izzy was most interested in the canned food (the thicker version, prescription i/d is what we used to prevent the diarrhea), and if she turned her nose up at that, scrambled eggs with cheese, and what we called 'puppy jambalya,' no salt can of green beans, a 1/2 cup of rice, and some plain ground turkey.  She really loved that stuff, and we tried to always add a little dry dog food as well.

One thing I wanted to note -- I was surprised to hear your vet say that there usually isn't any eye involvement once the drug therapy starts...maybe I'm a bit more sensitive to eyes, but we were pretty firmly told again and again to watch Izzy's eyes.  The blasto can move anywhere at any time...when the medication starts working the blasto is fighting to hang on wherever it can...and I'm not sure the eye would be precluded from that. 

I know you're watching her.  Like I said, I'm probably overly sensitive to eye issues. 

Izzy had swelling on one leg where the blasto gathered up.  It eventually started to eat through the skin and she had a pretty good draining lesion that we were working with for a while.  There still seems to be a tiny bit of swelling, but I think these days that I'm just noticing shadows more.

[Lolasmom]

Well....the radiologist at Auburn could not distinguish between Blasto and cancer on the x-rays.  Although the radiologist did ask if the dog was still alive and was stunned when my vet told him she was doing well and was completely off steroid and eating good. Which was a little encouraging to me.  We are going to do another Mira Vista test on Wed. (urine from a cath).  She hasn't had ANY steroid or anything for almost 3 weeks now so we shouldn't have any problem.  I think this is the worse part for me.  We KNOW she is improving but this still makes me so uneasy.

Her eyes are no longer running and her breathing is still good.  Still a little fast but slowing slightly every day and not labored at all.  She actually RAN up a flight of stairs yesterday and was fine.  My vet once told me I could see the rapid breathing for a few months.  Does anyone know if this is right?  How long does it take for the breathing to get back to normal?  About three days after we started the meds her breathing was up to about 70-90 breaths a minute.  Right now we are down to about 40-50 breaths a mininute.  Does that seem normal at about a month into treatment?

She is eating good, but still no dog food.  Lately, she has been on a bologna kick.  She can't get enough of it, we have went through 3 packages in 2 days.  Bologna has a lot of fat and we will put the butter and itra between a couple slices and she loves it.  She seems to be doing good with the compounded Itra.  She's seems to still be improving, so I guess it works.  It seems a little easier on her system too.  The loose stools seem to be getting better.  We have had no problems or meds for almost 4 days now. She seems to be sleeping a lot, but I think she is just resting so much more comfortably.  I'm not used to it yet.   She is still licking that back leg some but it doesn't look as swollen. Also, I was cutting her toenails yesterday and noticed some dried blood at the bed of one of her nails.  It didn't look bad, but I  wondered....


PS:  I don't think my vet was correct about the eye thing either.   I am still watching them carefully.