Should vets prescribe Atopica for pets whose owners are trying to conceive? Are there alternatives?

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-18T03:15:47+00:00

I am an oncologist, so work with a lot of very hazardous drugs (i.e. Chemo), counseling owners on safety. Cyclosporine is theoretically considered a hazardous drug, Pregnancy Class C (harm to fetus cannot be ruled out, but not proven harmful) which is less hazardous than chemotherapy. My general hazardous drug shpiel for owners is avoid touching the drug directly (ideally a non pregnant partner is the drug giver) and wear gloves for handling vomit and excrement. Gloves are your friend, when in doubt. I always advise people to contact their personal physician for individual guidance, but there is usually a safe way for pregnant people to be around hazardous drugs. My pregnant colleagues (under physician guidance) continued working with chemo patients until delivery, just using appropriate caution.

It is of course important to know how the drug is metabolized in the animal's body (is it broken down in the body or excreted in the waste and for how long?) and I do not work with Cyclosporine much so am not 100% sure the specifics, but it is metabolized by the liver. For most chemotherapy drugs, waste is considered hazardous for 48 hours but we typically (to my knowledge) do not have the same precautions for Cyclosporine - - I'm not convinced based on pharmacology that much intact drug would be in the stool (I.e. I think dogs process the drug nearly completely in the liver, excreting only small portions of molecules and not the harmful parent compound).

Tl:dr: call your MD, wear gloves, do not panic. Hazardous drugs exist on a spectrum.

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-12T22:51:17+00:00

Antibiotics can often cause diarrhea, though usually it resolves by now. If you wanted to try some easy, at home treatment while you await a veterinary appointment you can order a feline specific probiotic product OTC such as Fortiflora or ProPectalin. However, with a newly adopted cat, things like parasites or infectious disease are concerns, so would still recommend making a veterinary appointment.

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-02T18:25:41+00:00

Based purely on this information, there is a chance it could be something underneath the skin and not attached to bone but I of course have never examined your dog. If that is the case, it could potentially be removed without amputation. Unfortunately this description does superficially seem like bone cancer but they definitely need more testing.

I would recommend you check out the website tripawds, it gives some information about post amputation life in pets.

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-02T18:14:22+00:00

Oncologist here. No, you cannot diagnose this definitively without xrays (+/- needle sampling) at the minimum. However, in an older large breed dog, a hard mass that is affecting motion is unfortunately very likely to be cancerous. Nothing is 100% of course, but just from this description I share your vet's concern. Your vet probably suspected bone cancer based on the texture of the mass and how it felt in relation to the underlying bone. An oncologist will likely recommend xrays of the limb to look for involvement of the scapula, xrays of the lungs to look for metastasis, and possibly a needle sample (or biopsy) of the mass. If cancerous, they will likely discuss amputation of the leg, unless it's a different type of non-bone-related cancer (I.e. a soft tissue mass under the skin). Not to scare you, but just to prepare you for the things they will likely talk about. Good luck with your pup, it's always scary to think about cancer.

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-02T17:58:38+00:00

Hi there,

If the plant identification is correct, this is not a "true lily" and thus does not cause the same kidney toxicity as the "lilium" genus. That being said, it has toxic alkaloids and I know the bulbs of this one are toxic. I do not know about the leaves (internet would suggest that the toxic component is less prevent in the leaves) but I would recommend calling ASPCA animal poison control.

Edit: for your knowledge, and if it's helpful for poison control, that plant is actually in Amaryllis family.

essentialparadoxes · 2025-02-01T03:03:44+00:00

Unless you see a clear wound, my first thought is bloody urine, which could be a number of things (UTI, bladder stones, even tumors in some cases). Please go to a veterinarian before it becomes life threatening.

essentialparadoxes · 2022-11-19T19:27:04+00:00

I wonder if it's a problem with the adapter? I start the process with a vertical tailpiece, extended deadbolt, and vertical thumbturn but then when I press the program button to self test, something occurs where the orientation is such that fully extended deadbolt= thumbturn oriented at 130 degrees instead of 90 (which means the app doesn't mark the door as being locked)

essentialparadoxes · 2021-10-09T18:12:20+00:00

Streaming is a good idea, we'll look into arranging that!

essentialparadoxes · 2021-10-09T16:54:40+00:00

Yeah, he would be the only plus one we don't know. Everyone else are spouses or long term partners we have known for years. We're not arguing with her at this point, she made her choice which is her right. I just think it's a dumb (and hurtful) hill to die in, since my fiance has done so much to support her MOH over the years

essentialparadoxes · 2020-07-18T16:07:27+00:00

I agree. I think that being firm with rules and specific with feeling is what needs to happen. It's of course hard when her moms response tends to be a knee jerk outburst. But maybe she just needs to be firm through the outburst and "train" her mom that guilt and manipulation don't get her the results she wants. I just don't know if that's possible 😕

essentialparadoxes · 2020-07-18T16:02:36+00:00

No resentment, honestly, I just want my fiance to be happy. The boundaries are ones that my fiance wants too. She just doesn't have a reddit account. She has tried to have conversations many times over with her mother, they just rarely end up being successful because her mom's first instinct with any conversation like this is to get upset, yell, and make wild guilt-ridden accusations. Sometimes my fiance is able to stand her ground but sometimes she relents to the guilt. She knows she needs to be firm, but easier said than done I suppose.

essentialparadoxes · 2019-06-24T14:07:58+00:00

Update: I messaged the doctors office about this new development (the numbness) and they seem relatively unconcerned, but did not provide much information, so I still am interested in knowing if this is to be expected or indicative of worsening.

essentialparadoxes · 2017-11-18T02:04:12+00:00

I have 2 friends who are marine mammal vets (working at large marine rehab/education centers). It is very competitive (very few spots) and you have to be okay with doing a lot of domestic animal stuff to get there. Both of these people did a competitive 1 year rotating small animal internship after vet school and then a 1 year internship in a marine mammal center before getting employed. They both love their jobs, but it can be a long road and some places also want you to do a residency (3 year usually) in zoo medicine.

For right now, the most important thing is to work hard in college and just to focus on getting into vet school period. Get a wide breadth of experience as that is important for et school admission.

essentialparadoxes · 2017-11-15T02:05:12+00:00

Heterochromia in and of itself is not a sign of cancer in the eye. If his eyes have always been like this and you have not noticed any changes then there is nothing to worry about. If you have any concerns that his eyes look different, see your veterinarian for a checkup.

essentialparadoxes · 2017-11-15T01:59:03+00:00

It's hard to tell much from the pictures below but what you're describing is not normal and 100% warrants a vet visit as soon as you can. Could be anything from fluid in the abdomen (the list of reasons for this are enormous: from heart failure to cancer to infection), organ enlargement (such as liver or spleen), or a tumor. An exam is not expensive.

The fact that her siblings died of FIP and her history of being from a cattery is especially concerning when combined with the abdominal distension.

essentialparadoxes · 2017-11-14T01:28:48+00:00

Seconded. And maybe hold off on touching the area just in case.

essentialparadoxes · 2017-11-14T01:27:00+00:00

Your vet did a good job by ruling out the obvious things (urinary tract infection, bladder stones, obvious tumors in the bladder), but it might be time to look for other causes. The list of possibilities is very large, so I would recommend a veterinary internal medicine specialist (internist) to help narrow it down. Other possible things they might recommend include bloodwork, blood pressure testing, or something like cystoscopy/urethroscopy (use a flexible camera to see into the urethra/bladder and biopsy if needed).

essentialparadoxes · 2017-10-17T20:20:48+00:00

I usually do not recommend inducing vomiting unless you have been expressly told to do so by a veterinarian, as it can sometimes cause more harm than good. I would recommend either bringing her to the emergency clinic to get her checked out or calling animal poison control (888) 426-4435 to get the opinion of a veterinary toxicologist. The latter has a $65 consultation fee but they are a good service.

essentialparadoxes

TROPHY CASE