Bear Man's second week on Aranesp

Bear was due for his weekly Aranesp shot today, but his PCV was up to .28. That's a much more comfortable PCV for him (up from .20 last week, and .18 the week before), and it's nice that he is responding to the Aranesp (many kitties show no reaction in the first couple of weeks), but that is way too fast. The recommended rate of increase is 1 - 2% per week, or there is risk of high blood pressure and stroke. His BP was a bit higher this week at 157/103. I wasn't comfortable with giving Aranesp with this rapid rise in PCV, so we skipped it and will recheck PCV on Tuesday (long holiday weekend coming up here). I think the dose of 6.25 mcg may be too high for him. I am working in the dark here, and don't know if the correct response was to skip a dose, as I did, or give a lower dose. Going forward, my questions will be about what dose to give, and at what frequency to give it.

Link to post about week one on Aranesp: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=20534&p=205291#p205291

Link to post about starting Aranesp: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19350&p=193466#p193466

 

Come on Bear man you can do it ..What a hero he is Angels & prayers coming to his house Bless his little heart Kath

 

thanks for the update. I looked at the photos you posted and watched your videos -- Bear Man is gorgeous. I especially like the photo of him enjoying the sun on his face. On the kangaroo picture, are his feet really that big or is it just the angle?

I'm glad his PCV is up, but how is he feeling? Has he been able to be more active? Eating well?

And how's Teddy's health? I enjoyed that video of him rolling around on the coverlet. He reminds me of my Min.

laur

 

Hi Laur,
His feet just seem to look that way lately. I wonder if his muscles have atrophied so much that he just lies with them sticking out rather than tucked in. He felt better on week one than on week two, in my opinion. He has been able to walk around upstairs a bit, and lie in his old favorite bed, but still sleeps in the bathroom next to his water dish a lot. He has had some vomiting this week. He is eating normally for him (he is a very light eater).

Teddy is a lymphoma kitty, and he is going through a pancreatitis flareup this week. Add in my senior kitty who is recovering from surgery to remove a mast cell tumour, and it has been a busy week.