The Highs and Lows

I haven't updated in a long time, but trust me that means good things. Less good news has brought me to add a new post to Pierre's blog.

Almost a month ago, we lowered Pierre's dose of steroids for the first time since we switched him to Triamcinolone... I've been very optimistic and happy about the decision to switch drugs and lower the dose. I'm trying to continue being so, but it was very hard to keep my smile tonight.

For the past week or so, Pierre has been showing signs of another outbreak on his face. The lesions formed in his tear area, which makes it hard to tell if it is a result of his pemphigus, or a result of his feline herpes. I have decided to wait and see if it would heal on its own, because this seemed to happen right after we switched him to the new drug a few months ago. It could easily be a result of herpes, which might have come about because of the stress of traveling to the vet.

Tonight I gave Pierre his nightly dose of medication, and as I administered his pill, I brushed away a loose scab on his nose. The slightly large scab came away to reveal very pink and raw skin. I have no words to really express how disheartening it is to see something like that. I can say that I love Pierre like he is a member of my family, and seeing something like this on someone that you love is really hard to deal with. It is just like having a child who is sick a lot, and whenever they start to show more symptoms, you are at a loss on how to explain to them that it will be ok, and you can't explain to them that you don't know why bad things are happening to them. I can just kiss Pierre and distract him with fun toys and lots of love.

I have great hopes that Pierre will heal on his own again, like he did last time. I really do not want to adjust his medication, because the whole goal is to have him on a safe dose of steroids, and he is not quite there yet. I ask for prayers and love for Pierre, in hopes that his lesions to not get worse. He's such a beautiful baby, and anyone who has met him knows this. Hopefully those of you who still have not can still know how important and special he is...

Love to all,

Linds

Pierre Update 5/17/09

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I've posted on here, but I guess no news usually means good news, right?

Well Pierre has been doing really well lately. About a month ago or so, he had a small relapse.  (You can see the aftermath in the above photo..sorta bald underneath his eye, and a sweet superhero bald spot on his forehead) He broke out with some new scabs under his eye and all over his nose. Dr. Crothers decided to take Pierre off his chemo type drug called Chlorambucil and start him on a new drug called Cyclosporine. This is paired with his high dose of Prednisilone. The idea is that they will work together and we can slowly decrease the amount of Prednisilone that he is getting. Right now he gets one Cyclosporine pill every other day, and 10mg of Prednisilone every day. In a couple weeks I get to lower the Prednisilone dose to 10mg every other day. Once we start lowering the steroid levels, it gets scary. Last time we did this, Pierre had a relapse. The cyclosporin is supposed to help prevent that from happening. As always, I just pray for the best and give Pierre all the love I can. He also has an upper respiratory infection right now because of his lowered immune system thanks to all these drugs. He's on a twice daily dose of Clavamox right now for that. (only a few more days though). I have to monitor Pierre closely with weekly or biweekly blood tests at the vets office since he is on so many drugs.

I entered Pierre in a contest to be the new cat face of a pet hotel in Sacramento and San Francisco! If you would like to vote for him, you can go to his profile for the contest and click on the contest link from there. You will have to register if you want to vote, but its quick and painless. 

Pierre and I are also coming back east in 10 days! We will be flying to Chicago with Nic to adventure there with his family for a week. On June 3rd Pierre and I will be in BALTIMORE!! wheeee. So, if you have been keeping tabs on this blog and would like to see Pierre while he is home, please do :) Hopefully the stress of traveling won't have any kind of influence on his health. The vet thinks that he should be fine. 

Thanks for viewing his update, and please, as always, pray for him when you can. I think we may have finally found a good drug combination, but everything this pretty uncertain. Trial and error. 

I love this boy more than anything. 

We've been through a lot together, but it just makes me want to fight even harder. I'd never give up on this little guy.  This photo below was taken yesterday before we drove to the vet. His hair is all grown back on his face again :)

and some recentish photos below

Pierre is a feisty kitten again

Well, I suppose he's not so much a kitten anymore, but I guess since he's so small and adorable, he'll always seem like a kitten.

Anyway, sorry this blog update is so delayed! The internet situation at my house has been less than reliable. 

So a quick update, because i'm sure the signal will cut out again...

Pierre has been doing very well. He went back to the vet on January 20th for another checkup. His disease is in remission at the moment, and hopefully it will continue to stay that way forever. That is asking alot, but I am going to hope for the best. He was on 10mg of Prednisolone, but on the 20th, since he was improving so well, they bumped him down to 7.5mg. On February 20th, as long as he is still doing well, he'll go down to 5mg. Hopefully this slow road of of decreasing his dosage will continue to keep his disease in remission but help him get onto a lower, safer dose of steroids. 

He is back to his normal self. He is super loving, snuggly, feisty, crazy, and hilarious. He either wants to sleep on you or play with his toys...well I guess now, thanks to the steroids, he likes to eat alot too. He never used to try to eat people's food before (unless it was maple syrup or popcorn), but now he'll pretty much steal anything you are eating if you're not looking. He stole a big chunk of cheese off my roommate's pizza today, but we grabbed it back from him before he could eat it. Cheese = not good for kitties.

Anyway, i'll keep this posted periodically. Keep our fingers crossed that he continues to improve and stay healthy. Thank you all for your support... Pierre is my best friend and an important member of my family and I'm so completely amazed and happy that he is feeling better.