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[trun]

Ben is a beagle, and will be turning one on July 24.  Ben was diagnosised with blasto 5 weeks ago today.
He has had 5 IV treatments, takes the fungal pill one time per day, along with 2 pills per day to coat his stomach and also a shot to help control the fever.
This has been just devastting, I am not sure from one day to the next if he is going to make it.  Good and bad days, not sure what to expect.

Can anyone tell me if this is the usual process?  Has your dog survived?  I just feel so bad for Ben, it's heartbreaking.

Thanks so much for the responses in advance.

[evayola]

Hi. I am sorry about Ben. My dog Marge was diagnosed with blasto a month ago. When we found out we started her on itraconozol and did the iv once. Her condition declined very rapidly after the iv. My vet talked to a specialist and she suggested that we back off of treatment for 3 days and then start again but do the meds 1x every other day for a week. We wanted her to not be shocked by the aggresiveness. It definitely helped. We ended up changing her meds to fluconozol because it spread to her eye and this is supposed to be better for the eye. Where is Ben infected? Marge has lung, eye, and bone involvement. We put her on deramax which was one of the best things we could do. It is an anti inflammitory and fever reducer and pain reliever. We are also giving her subcue fluids at home (done through a needle and drip) every other day to keep her from getting dehydrated. Her overall well being right now is shocking to me. She's not even acting like she's sick except for getting winded faster. The vet said that she can hear improvement in one of Marge's lungs but we will not re xray until the two month mark so we don't get discouraged. I do not think that I am going to do the IV again because it was way too much on her. My vet is recommending it but I talked to my girlfriend's friend who is a vet and he said that most dogs who do the IV don't respond well because it is so aggressive. Your vet may know something different about Ben though. I am sorry again and you gotta stay strong for him because we are for Marge and what a trooper she has been.
I will be thinking of you
Eva

[trun]

Thank you for responding.  As far as I know, the fungal is only in Ben's lungs, the vet never checked anywhere else.  It doesn't seem to be affecting Ben's eyes.  We bring him to the vet every other day for him to check.  This am, Ben ate, which he wasn't doing until the evening,so I felt good about that.  It is just so frustrating, with the good and bad days.  I think one minute he is doing great and the next he isn't going to make it.

Ben does drink plenty of water, the medication must make him thirsty.  Do you experience Marge not wanting to get up in the morning?  Sometimes, we have to drag Ben from under the bed.  But once we get him up, he seems pretty good. 

[evayola]

I am really glad to hear that it hasn't spread anywhere else. Marge used to have days where she just would NOT get up. She is a saint bernard and weighs a lot so getting her up was not easy. She typically would push all her weight so she didn't have to get up. You have made it five weeks so be very proud of yourself and Ben. The first few weeks I hear are the hardest! Hang in there.
Eva

[boling12]

I HAVE A 7 YEAR OLD LAB WHO GOT THIS 4 MONTHS AGO . THE TREATMENT WENT WILL. IN A WEEK HE WAS ALMOST WELL.THE VET NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT EYES SO 3 WEEKS INTO TREATMENT HE WOKE UP BLIND.I WAS TO REMOVE HIS EYEBALLS HE WOULD NEVER SEE AGAIN.WELL I USED EYEDROPS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AND HE GOT BACK SIGHT IN HIS LEFT EYE BUT HIS RIGHT EYE IS NOT GETTING BETTER BUT ONE EYE IS BETTER THAN NONE. I DID NOT LOWER HIS MED AS TOLD AND USED DROPS 3TIMES A DAY INSTEAD OF 2TIMES A DAY.JUST KEEP A WATCH ON HIS EYES AND TERAT THEM BEFORE BLINDNESS COMES

[trun]

Ben's eyes seem clear.  What were the symtoms for your lab?  Is it from the medicine or the blasto?  Do you think it can happen after 5-6 weeks of treatment?

Thanks for responding. I hope your dog continues a successful recovery.

[boling12]

This blindness game several weeks after treatment. On friday he was fine and on saturday could not see anything.I took him to the vet and she said this was common and needed to take out his eyeballs. I said i needed to think about it first so I started treated his eyes for several weeks. He got his sight back in one eye.The vet said she never has had sight come back but was glad. The other eye is not getting any better so we might lose it if something dosn't improve befor to long. Blasto went to his eyes not treatment.I live in Tennessee and this is rare here. I went to vet three times before they found what was wrong with him.He got it from mulch i put in backyard.I did not know mulch had this in it and wasn't aware when he was playing in it that this could happen.  Jan

[Wilson3]

the blindness i am pretty sure would come from blasto
the meds effect the liver and kidneys
blasto can be found anywhere even in the pottying soil for your house plants
the info you are going toget about blasto is when you go to links and read everything and re-read the sites are loaded with info
also if your vet doesn't know much about blasto find one or your vet should be doing research sso he/she can help the most.
it is very important to trust your vet and be honest with them and ask them what question you might have. if they can not answer it right away then they need to tellyou they will check into it and get back to you
a good vet will help in any way if they are in it because they love the animals not the money
wilson and i are very lucky with our vet he is up front and honest and will answer anything i ask or get back to me

blasto is very scary and long lived in its host
it can be any where at any givien time and can be gone the next day but back the next that is part of the reason it is so hard to pin point hwere it is

i do know where wilson got his because he had gotten a pouncher woudn on his inner thigh and blasto entered his body that way
last july a year ago blasto starting to really show signs in late nov
aussies are know for hidden really welll when in pain or not feeling well part of being a herding dog because of this it took sooooo long to really find out what he had first sign not using leg all the time same one he hurt then well the rest came

at irst when i found out blasto can be anywhere iwant to protect everyone in the house not go anywhere but it could be in your back yard your house plants
we own 3 aussies 2 are fine 1 still on treatment but doing well!! )
we figure let them live to the fullest and be happy taking away the woods and the river from guys would kil tehm alone
so one day at a time
please do go to the links page on this site lots of very good info!!!read thhem all

good luck

[Jen]

Check out Dirtbike's story; we had some ups and downs too, but now she's fine.  The treatment was very hard on her at first, but now she's not only in high health (except for still taking pills), she's a different dog. Where she was mostly an unruly pup when she got sick, now she's a devoted and loving friend that grew up really fast.  Your dog is young too, and this is a plus for recovering from Blasto.
Good luck to you-
jen