Can't be more frustrated

I suppose we'll agree to disagree on the taking it personally. There are times where sudden onset diseases happen. We put our own cat down due to acute renal failure (There is kitty kidney transplant, but availability and price were beyond my means). Of course it costs money. The testing requires human level equipment and we all know with ITP what that expense can be each year. There are a lot of things we can do for pets. I think you'd be surprised at the sophistication of our medicine.

Fun TedTalk if you're a veterinarian. www.ted.com/talks/barbara_natterson_horowitz_what_veterinarians_know_that_doctors_don_t

As for Lupus in dogs. Correct in it not being curable, but is more or less treatable depending on form (discoid > systemic). I'd recommend this site: www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/Lupus/Treatment.aspx

Agreed with you on the need for more research. I'm sure there are multiple causes/inductions (chemical/viral/idiopathic... hate that word), but the overall antibody response would be the same. IgM to IgG conversion and B/T cell mediated. The body is a hard one to beat, but I still think there has to be something.

So far after Rutuximab the only thing that seems to be maintaining me at 30k is prednisone and that for a lack of a fancier term... SUCKS. Still reading on the N-plate like drugs, but both local and the Mayo clinic are hesitant given unknown long-term (at age 35). Will likely go for more opinions as I can afford. I'm not to into the splenectomy both with the permanence, failure rate, and my job puts me at risk for a lot of bugs they worry about post removal.

Ok, we'll agree to disagree....but I'm not arguing with you, just trying to make you feel better about blaming yourself for the death of an animal. It's nice to know that you have such compassion. I'm sure that is very hard at times. I have a pretty good idea of the medical tests and treatments available for pets. We've had dogs for years and have had many procedures and tests over the years.

As far as Lupus in dogs, I meant systemic. The treatments for people are severely lacking and it's worse for animals. I understand the costs involved and why that is. Ha, my 8 year old dog needs a tooth pulled next week and it's going to cost $750.00. We're going to do it though because our 3 dogs are our family. Whatever it takes! Between the 3 of them, we are at the vet quite often. Our vet hugs us when she walks into the room. She is kind and good at her job....seems that you two have something in common!

What I meant by the antibodies affecting everyone differently was of course, B cell and T cell mediated, but I was also including the antibodies that affect production and sometimes platelet function. Because of those things, the treatments work differently for people and symptoms vary depending on how each individual is affected. It can also make a difference if a person has primary or secondary ITP, and sometimes you don't find out that it is secondary for a while. Mine became secondary eight years after I was diagnosed with ITP.

Good luck with your treatment decision. I know it's a hard one. So far, N-Plate has not shown any long-term adverse affects. It has been a great choice for many and has allowed them to return to a normal life. I'm surprised Mayo isn't on that bandwagon. I'd have used N-Plate instead of Rituxan if I'd had that choice back in 2003 when I had Rituxan. Rituxan hasn't really been around all that long either and I consider it to be fairly toxic. Good thinking with the splenectomy; it could cause problems in your line of work.

Kyndig our dear cat was a kidney cat diagnosed in the fall of 2002 at 4 1/2 years old, we gave her sub-Q until the end - just shy of 8 years past diagnosis. Her quality of life was right at 100%.

If you ever have a feline patient with CKD send their parents to this site, it's really good:
www.felinecrf.org/index.htm
The support group is here:
www.bigtent.com/groups/tckd