My bearded has been on itraconazole oral liquid since December 1st. The vet has her on the following regimen:
2 week cycles of .10ml , then 3 days off.
I'm just curious how long it's safe for her to be on this medication? Its currently the 6th cycle of medication. I'm keeping her well hydrated, and have made a LOT of progress with the fungus clearing up, but it still shows up here and there. The lesions from it have healed.
That is quite a few cycles. How bad was the yellow fungus case?
How long did the vet foresee her being on the treatment? The treatment cycles are a little close together. Normally, it is a better idea to medicate for 2-3 weeks, then allow a 2 week rest period. It is very hard on the liver so personally, I would space the treatments out further in between than just a few days.
Unfortunately, most of the time, with the yellow fungus, it can take 6 months to 1 year for a complete clearing of the fungus, internally as it does continue to manifest externally for awhile. It is basically a yeast infection & it takes time to dry out.
It was pretty bad, she had some nasty lesions on her hind legs and tail but those have healed. When I asked the vet about doing the kind of cycle you mentioned, he simply said he didn't want her to be off it too long because the blood serum levels of the itraconazole would drop. Maybe I should give him a call and see if I should switch up the treatment cycles yet....