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Valley Fever Questions


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Original thread is here.

 

So a quick update and a few questions - he's been on the fluconazole for 4 days now, and he's "brighter" and interacting more. The toy box was raided today, so another good sign that he's feeling better. He's also put on 5 pounds in the last ~2 weeks. He's still limping and still has a fever, however.

 

We did lung x-rays and his lungs are clear, but there was a lymph node on the x-ray that was abnormal - the vet explained that's common in a systemic fungal infection.

 

He's set to be on the fluconazole for 4 weeks. When should we expect the remaining symptoms start to resolve? If we don't start seeing improvement in the limping and fever after a certain point, should we change meds/approach?

 

Thanks :)

Edited by BauersMom

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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There are plenty of others who will chime in I'm sure,, I don't have much experience to add specific advice --- however

 

I would be adding a full range of herbal supplements for him to take. Lazer just went thru a long summer being really sick -- among other

things he tested positive for valley fever. VF was the least of my concerns,, but i added a anti-fungal supplement to his regime.

he did NOT take any fluconizole! VF is gone! GONE!!!

 

good luck with your boy!

lorinda, mom to the ever revolving door of Foster greyhounds

Always in my heart: Teala (LC Sweet Dream) , Pepton, Darbee-Do (Hey Barb) , Rascal (Abitta Rascal), Power (Beyond the Power), and the miracle boy LAZER (2/21/14), Spirit (Bitter Almonds) 8/14

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How much did the fluconazole end up costing? Where did you find it?

Donna
Molly the Border Collie & Poquita the American-born Podenga

Bridge Babies: Daisy (Positive Delta) 8/7/2000 - 4/6/2115, Agnes--angel Sage's baby (Regall Rosario) 11/12/01 - 12/18/13, Lucky the mix (Found, w 10 puppies 8/96-Bridge 7/28/11, app. age 16) & CoCo (Cosmo Comet) 12/28/89-5/4/04

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Guest azlorenz

Original thread is here.

 

So a quick update and a few questions - he's been on the fluconazole for 4 days now, and he's "brighter" and interacting more. The toy box was raided today, so another good sign that he's feeling better. He's also put on 5 pounds in the last ~2 weeks. He's still limping and still has a fever, however.

 

We did lung x-rays and his lungs are clear, but there was a lymph node on the x-ray that was abnormal - the vet explained that's common in a systemic fungal infection.

 

He's set to be on the fluconazole for 4 weeks. When should we expect the remaining symptoms start to resolve? If we don't start seeing improvement in the limping and fever after a certain point, should we change meds/approach?

 

Thanks :)

 

 

Fluconazole is the best and expect him to be on it for a while (approx 12 weeks). It's stubborn stuff just like any fungus so you won't see overnight results but over the next few weeks you should see the fever go away along with the limp. Just because the obvious symptoms go away don't stop the fluconazole for a few weeks after. It is easier to get rid of this fungus first time around than have it flair back up. You can add supplements to boost his immune system so it can help fight the fungus as well. I would assume he was in the Southwest at sometime during his lifetime and the good news is if he doesn't return he won't be re-exposed. That is one of the depressing things living here in AZ. It is hard to get rid of the VF because of re-exposure all the time. Good luck and I hope his progress continues and he's 100% in a few weeks.

 

I've had 2 so far with VF. I lost one at the age of 4 years to it and another who lived until the ripe old age of 12.

Edited by azlorenz
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Guest gurehaundo

Ace has been on Fluconazole since October and he is still the same. In December, his titer result showed a lower level of Valley Fever. The vet increased Ace's dose to 400mg per day. Shortly after the increase, Ace started urinating in the kitchen in the middle of the night even though my husband was waking up several times to take him outside. We've since halfed the dose to 200mg per day and the nighttime pottying has stopped. However, Ace still pretty much has the same symptoms. He's ultra skinny. Not so much of the panting and pacing anymore. We were also giving him Tramadol for pain, but stopped that as well. To answer your question, we haven't seen much improvement in our boy. (He also tested positive for Babesia Canis that we are not treating at this time.)

 

We were told to expect Ace to be on Fluconazole for at least a year so I'm thinking that four weeks has to not be right, too.

 

There are plenty of others who will chime in I'm sure,, I don't have much experience to add specific advice --- however

 

I would be adding a full range of herbal supplements for him to take. Lazer just went thru a long summer being really sick -- among other

things he tested positive for valley fever. VF was the least of my concerns,, but i added a anti-fungal supplement to his regime.

he did NOT take any fluconizole! VF is gone! GONE!!!

 

good luck with your boy!

 

I am extremely interested in knowing what supplements you are (or were) giving Lazer!

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Again, the length of time depends on how severe they are (isn't that true Shannon?) 12 weeks wasn't near enough for Tony (as I said we kept checking) however, Tony I believe was near death when I finally snapped as to doing the test. When I talked with Dr. Holland about his titre level, she told me he probably would be on the meds a year and she was right.

 

(He also tested positive for Babesia Canis that we are not treating at this time.)

 

 

Reason?

 

A tough combination with VF & babesia but both left untreated can kill.

Edited by Burpdog

Diane & The Senior Gang

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The 4 weeks is correct.

 

However, that doesn't mean that we're going to stop giving him fluconazole at that point. The vet may want to move him to a different dose, change meds, etc. It just means that we are going to give him this dosing (200 mg 2x/day) for 4 weeks. We expect him to be on it for longer.

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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Guest gurehaundo

The vet felt that because Ace's VF titer was higher that we should focus on treating it first. Dr. Holland is from Prota Tek, right? If so, then she spoke to my vet and suggested that Ace start VF treatment ASAP and that the Babesia could wait. The Babesia was a low positive, but still... I still question whether we are treating the wrong thing. The vet feels that we are heading in the right direction, but with no real physical results, it's hard for me to believe it. She also thinks that Ace's body may be too weak to undergo the injections. Ace is eating well, but is not gaining weight.

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The 4 weeks is correct.

 

However, that doesn't mean that we're going to stop giving him fluconazole at that point. The vet may want to move him to a different dose, change meds, etc. It just means that we are going to give him this dosing (200 mg 2x/day) for 4 weeks. We expect him to be on it for longer

 

I don't know what his titre is and hopefully your vet is in contact with Dr. Holland. She is very good.

 

Liza: if it's a low babesia titre it may not need to be treated at all. There are varying viewpoints on this and many us choose not to treat certain titres. Again, Dr. Holland is good and I'd go with her.

 

Tony had herbal supplements (I'll have to try & remember what or email vet) and also acupuncture every 2 weeks and then every 4 weeks. I jumped thru hoops to get him to eat enough. I could have opened a grocery people and dog store.

 

It is a very nasty disease.

Diane & The Senior Gang

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His titer was 1:4. Low, but we're obviously seeing symptoms that line up.

 

Thankfully, he eats like a horse and hasn't had any side effects from the meds.

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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Lost my answer grrrr..... Tony's original result was 1:16 Three months later 1:4 and 1:8 three months later 1:2 & 1:2 they said keep him on it another 3 months & retest.

 

He died 3 weeks after the last test (probably hemangio or cancer -- he was peeing blood). His blood work was good other than the VF.

Diane & The Senior Gang

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Lost my answer grrrr..... Tony's original result was 1:16 Three months later 1:4 and 1:8 three months later 1:2 & 1:2 they said keep him on it another 3 months & retest.

 

He died 3 weeks after the last test (probably hemangio or cancer -- he was peeing blood). His blood work was good other than the VF.

 

Cancer sucks, I'm sorry. :(

 

What dosing was he on - do you remember?

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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Guest azlorenz

Again, the length of time depends on how severe they are (isn't that true Shannon?)

 

Absolutely. Jeffrey's titer was 1:64 and we could never get a head of it. We lost him at age 4. Lexie's was 1:32 and we got her down to 1:4 however at the recommendation of Dr. Stack she was on Fluconazole for life. She was diagnosed at 7 years of age and lived to almost 13.

 

There is a supplement they sell down here called "Desert Defense" http://desert-defense.com/. Lexie was in an experimental trial for a time and I believe it was for this supplement before they put it on the market. It is sold online. We used it in combination with her Fluconazole. Since she was in the test group I have no clue if we had the real deal or a placebo.

Edited by azlorenz
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Guest azlorenz

 

Cancer sucks, I'm sorry. :(

 

What dosing was he on - do you remember?

 

 

Lexie was on 205mg X 2 daily. I think we could have gone to 255mg X 2 daily had we needed to. The odd number of mg is due to being able to get the Fluconazole at a compounding pharmacy.

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Absolutely. Jeffrey's titer was 1:64 and we could never get a head of it. We lost him at age 4. Lexie's was 1:32 and we got her down to 1:4 however at the recommendation of Dr. Stack she was on Fluconazole for life. She was diagnosed at 7 years of age and lived to almost 13.

 

There is a supplement they sell down here called "Desert Defense" http://desert-defense.com/. Lexie was in an experimental trial for a time and I believe it was for this supplement before they put it on the market. It is sold online. We used it in combination with her Fluconazole. Since she was in the test group I have no clue if we had the real deal or a placebo.

 

 

Our vet wanted to treat our poodle last year with flucozanole for VF with no positive titers. After consulting with U of A I refused to do so, however we did start him on Desert Defense figuring it couldn't hurt. He had been having a lot of automimmune issues prior to the illness that caused the vets to suspect a weird case of VF with no titer. His immune system has improved considerably in the year since. I can't be sure that the Desert Defense helped, but it didn't seem to hurt at all.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So we're ~three weeks in and we saw a definite improvement in his limping, etc... We have him on the fluconazole, and I added the desert defense supplement.

 

But this week it was like we were back at square one. His limping now may even be worse than the original limping, sometimes. He's still eating well, thankfully, and is at a decent weight now. But he's back to hobbling. I don't know what's changed?! The poor guy.

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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You might want to repeat the test and see if the titre is coming down. You can call Dr. Holland and ask her if it's too soon.

 

Good idea.

 

I also thought that maybe it would be good to have some x-rays of the legs that seem to bother him more - useful at all?

With Buster Bloof (UCME Razorback 89B-51359) and Gingersnap Ginny (92D-59450). Missing Pepper, Berkeley, Ivy, Princess and Bauer at the bridge.

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I don't know enough (i.e. anything) about VF but in some human diseases, progress can seem to be stalled or regressing when it's really the treatment starting to kick in & kill off the critters. I don't know if his meds are hard on the liver but even if they aren't, I'd want to help support it. His liver has to metabolize the drugs & any toxins released by the dying bugs. So in people, detoxing is really important. Just a thought from the clueless. Best wishes for him.

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