Here's another little Billy update. I got a call from Dr. B (our regular vet)
Last Saturday we took him up to Dr. B vet for a full CBC (complete blood count) and to have them check his cyclosporine level (the only way they can keep track of it is to monitor it in the blood).
Test came back today and Dr. Bailey called me -- he was REALLY pleased. Some of the liver values are a bit high -- but honestly with all the steroids he's on that's expected -- but they aren't 'badly' high -- just a BIT high. And it's exactly the levels they would expect to be high.
Ok, I gotta get a wee bit technical here and some day those reading this can 'show off' their knowledge courtesy of me, ok?? Cos it's medical-babble but it will make this all make sense.
You've seen me talk about "PCV" = "pack cell volume" -- that's the easy way to tell how many red blood cells he has per 'unit' of blood. They 'spin' the blood in tiny tubes and then put it against a 'scale' and read it. It's not super precise -- it's simply read by a scale they measure.
The other term you hear all the time is "hematacrit" = SAME THING as PCV **except** it's not guesswork at all -- it's literally measured/cells are counted by a machine. So the PCV and hematacrit measure the same thing -- one is just more 'precise' and machine read than the other.
"CBC" = "complete blood count" (you've heard this on medical shows before "What's his CBC?") -- you've also heard folks say on here "have a blood panel run" -- a CBC isn't just one thing that's tested but the whole array -- but it's going to give you this whole list of 'values' (which is Greek and beyond to 99.99999% of us) -- but because it gives you this whole list of stuff -- it isn't just a few numbers that are bad or good, but they actually look at how one will 'relate' to another. That's why I said above that the values that are a bit high are ones they EXPECT to be high 'cos it's predictable but they also know what 'range' that needs to stay within ... and it is!
Back to Billy (and yes, you'll need to refer to the above like a cheat sheet to translate this)-- Interestingly -- his PCV last Saturday was 36/38 (typically they'll use a couple of these teeny glass tubes just in case something's off so often the PCV is an 'average' of two numbers). So let's say Billy's PCV was 37 last Saturday.
SAME DAY -- same syringe of blood pulled in fact -- they sent a large quantity of the blood out for a CBC profile among other things.
Same blood, pulled at the same time, - the hematacrit came back 43.6 -- that's a pretty big jump from 37!! (normal is like 35 - 4
. Why the difference? No one really knows. But his gums LOOK like the 43 -- the 37 reading suprised all of us, but that's still an ok reading anyway.
The iron and calcium (two values we were concerned about) were FINE. (that means the veggies and the Knox NutraJoint are doing what we want them to do diet-wise and doing it naturally so he doesn't have to take more pills!) In addition the Nutra-Joint is going to help fight the side effects from the pred messing with the cartilage in the spine.
The cyclosporine (that's the super steroid drug he's taking that's the big guns to keep the immune system from over-reacting and destroying the blood) level was WAY DOWN. (not just 'lower' but far lower than the 'target' they need it to be at). That's an "oops".
Hmmmm -- at this point they're going to have me put back up the cyclosporine a bit so it doesn't continue to fall -- I've got an email in to Dr. Goldkamp because I'm wondering if the number is so important because they are WANTING to reduce the prednisone badly enough to use the cyclosporine to compensate for it. See Cyclosporine (although far more expensive to be honest) is going to cause far fewer side effects than the prednisone.
But this isn't 'bad' in any event BECAUSE he's been at this low low level of cyclosporine and his blood is still 'holding'. Meaning -- the immune system isn't over-reacting. That's a GOOD thing.
The whole cyclosporine thing is a mystery -- of why it absorbs sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. strange strange!!!
But that's the Billy news anyway. He LOOKS good!!!
And yes, we have been 'determined' to do the best for him, but I have to emphasize -- you can't just "be determined" and win at IMHA. The odds are SO stacked against you, all you can do is the best you can and be super vigilant and take it day by day. I'm so grieved that so many do NOT survive this. And as a buffy coated cocker the odds were way against him. My precious vet admitted to me today that he truly did not think Billy would make it this far -- and he's THRILLED that he is.
I keep saying I think the Alpha of all Alphas has a plan for this -- I don't know what it is but we're trying our best, and since the Alpha of all Alphas has to help make sure this is affordable for us, the ball's been far more in HIS court than anyone knows. Prayers and good thoughts have been SO integral in this. I have to turn this back around once again and say THANK YOU FOLKS!!!! With all of my heart!! You've kept Billy and I both encouraged -- and yeah, every time he gets a post that calls him by name I READ IT TO HIM!!! He **loves** hearing his name!! The tail just goes crazy - nubbin tho it is.