What Haley has in her mouth is called Gingival Hyperplasia, and it is caused by the long-term use of cyclosporine. My vet said it's particularly seen when using a combination of cyclosporine and ketoconazole - which is exactly the combination of drugs Haley is on. You might think, wait, why is she on ketoconazole - isn't that an antifungal drug? Wellll basically when you combo it with cyclosporine it increases the effect of it, which means we only have to do a half dose of cyclosporine and do not have to pay $300 a month for it.
Apparently gingival hyperplasia can often be solved by discontinuing drug use. However, that is not an option for Haley. This combo of drugs is basically our last resort after trying everything else, and it has been effective at keeping her immune-mediated polyarthritis under control. It's not typically used to treat this - it's more often used for allergies and dermatological conditions.
I am reading an article about introducing another drug that can help control the gingival hyperplasia when you do not have the option of discontinuing cyclosporine, so maybe that will be an option. There is also a surgery that involves trimming the gums back that will probably have to be done, but my vet needs to look into how quickly the issue will return after surgery.
This is the article about introducing another drug:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5644608/
A little info about gingival hyperplasia/overgrowth:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/gingival-hyperplasia
https://wagwalking.com/condition/gingival-hyperplasia
Haley's awful overgrown gums:















