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[ckeller]

We have a 5 year old Vizsla named Reed who was diagnosed in December with Blasto, I am a Respiratory therapist so I have dealt with Blasto in humans.  I have done alot of ressearch and gotten alot of wonderful information from this site.  When my husband questioned the vet last week on doing a test to check for Intaconazole levels to make sure we had Reed on the right dose  she said there is no such thing and reading the posts it appears there is,  What exactly should we ask for?  I feel like we are leading the vet and that she is getting upset with us when we ask these questions   Thanks for all the advise and support this site has given us

[Judy]

Hi I'm sorry about Reed, and glad you found this site. Go to Mira Vista  http://www.miravistalabs.com/  and  http://www.miravistalabs.com/files/pdf/aboutMV.pdf. What I did was print off the requisition - you can do this and/or call them on Monday and have them fax it over to your vet. Your vet needs to draw the blood and it takes about 30 minutes to spin it down, Mira Vista does the testing on Tuesday and Thursdays, so if you get it done on Monday, you could overnight it for them on Tuesday. I've made it simple for my vet by overnighting it myself- but I'm in the medical field so this may only be possible in my situation. My vet's suggestion was the best, to have it drawn about 22 hours after the last dose, so you can see if it is still in your dog's system at that time.  Mira Vista will fax results to your vet, I think the next day (or possibly sooner?).

The level is important, and your vet can read up on Mira Vista - it was started by Joseph Wheat MD who is a Infectious Disease MD, and one that is highly regarded in the MD world.  It is important to have the right levels of itra - let us know if you need any help, with your background, this is a big plus since you have seen it in humans.  Most vets have only seen 1-2 cases, so this is not something they have totally down with protocols, however, most vets seem to be willing to discuss options. If yours does not, you may want to talk with another - this is way too important.  Many of the vets have seen this in school but was told that it was very rare - it is becoming more of a problem. Best of everything...read as much as you can here - and hugs to Reed.  Francie's mom.

[Jen]

Glad that you found us, but sorry it was this way. 

   It's discouraging that vets are still not educated about MiraVista Labs.  It is fairly new technology, but they do need to be aware that now you CAN test for med levels and more. They've saved lots of lives.
  It was just becoming available when Dirtbike and Wilson were being treated - it could've helped so many here if their vets had been aware.
   
   We're entering a promising phase where we have the opportunity to use these new tools and report the results, thereby maybe pinning down more exact information about what is most effective, proper dosages, etc. Many here now have lots of experience with MiraVista's testing facilities and they're having much better results monitoring the efficacy of treatment. 
   It was very hit/miss 2 yrs. ago, and we've come a VERY long way.  Use everyone's experience; it's invaluable, and you'll find people here who will go to extremes to help.  You've come to the right place.
jen

[Wilson3]

we still go buy the blood test
the urine test is fast but still has just as many wrong and right testing as any other test out there do a couple testings if you can
we have never done pe not sure we ever will use it i know everoen here says its the only way to go and for them it is but for us we do not use itto many "ifs"
wilson3