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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - 9 week old puppy- PCV is 9
| We have a nine week old female malti-poo puppy who came down with diarhea the day after her first shot, she was 1.4 lbs on the day of her shot. I tried to treat the diahrea with albon and panacur but she continued with diarhea and stopped eating. I took her to vet a couple of days later, her weight had dropped to 1.25 lbs. The vet gave her anti-diahreal gel, checked for parasites and coccidia. She was negativefor both, he told me to treat the diahrea, keep her fluids up and sent us home. She stopped having diahrea, but continued to lose weight. 2 days later we were back at vet she was 1.14 lbs. Vet did chem check and PCV. Everything on chem panel normal but PCV at 12. He then did a HEMO panel, her white blood count was very low also and her retic was so low that he felt she was not regenerating her red blood cells. He said that it could be her bone marrow ,but gave her another wormer med for possible hookworms, told us to take her home for the weekend for supportive care and bring her back in a few days for a new PCV check. She started eating alot over the weekend, gained back to her original 1.4 lb weight and was doing very well, but not alot of energy. Took her back and her PCV had dropped to 9! The vet was very concerned and called the specialist, the specialist felt that it could be a hypothalmus disorder that was causing the bone marrow not to regenerate RBC and gave us three options. 1. to bring her in for bone marrow aspiration (which has its owns risks with such a small dog)and some other testing 2. to try prednisone treatment first or 3. to put her to sleep if she continued to decline. What a choice! My vet has warned us that if I take her in for the bone marrow testing, it would cost over $1000.00, they still may not be able to determine the cause, and it may not be treatable. We decided to try the prednisone first, but I really don't know if this is the right decision. She has been on it for 2 days, is maintaining her weight and seems to be gaining some energy (anything for some hope!) The vet really believes that it is congenital instead of something she just came down with since she has been able to adjust to the low PCV, he does not hold out much hope for her. This is so hard to hear when I look in this precious puppies eyes. HAs anyone else had this same experience? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and sorry for the long story. |
| Peggy North Carolina |
| Hi Peggy. I'm sorry you have had to join us here on this site but you have come to the right place for support and information. Joanne's site: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ is a great source of information. I can't give you advice specific to your situation but can offer my story in hopes that you find some parallels or something that may be of use to you. My dog was 7 months old when he fell ill with AIHA and his PCV dropped to 5. My vet was very responsive and suspected that he had AIHA even though she had never had a case of it in her clinic. She immediately started him on prednisone and we had to give him an emergency transfusion to save his life. It bought him time, but his red cell count started dropping again. At our vet's recommendation, we took him to a veterinary teaching hospital at Washington State University. It was there that they ran several tests: ultrasound to rule out ingestion of a coin; blood typing and cross match; a packed cell transfusion; and a bone marrow biopsy. It was the bone marrow biopsy that made their diagnosis conclusive. He was diagnosed with Pure Red Cell Aplasia (which is a form of AIHA). It was then that they were able to put him on a regime of medications that saved his life. Unfortunately I can't find the invoice for that visit but with all the tests they ran (including the bone marrow biopsy) plus the transfusion, and a good supply of medications, the total was $1400. That was almost two years ago and my dog is in reimission and living a great life. Peggy, I hope this helps you in some way. I'm sure others will offer their support and advice that will help you. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers and hope for the best for you and your pup. deb and Duck (my dog!) |
| Debbie BC Canada |
| Peggy, I am so sorry to read about your poor puppy. If you haven't gone to Joanne's site please do, http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ The thing you need right now is a Vet that is well versed in treating AIHA. It is possible that the puppy shots may have brought this on but you will not get anyone to confirm that. I would hold off on the bone marrow aspiration right now just because it is so traumatic especially in such a young dog. Read through Joanne's site and these threads and learn as much as you can. What is your little girl's name? Thinking of you and hoping for the best Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| there is more than a very good chance that the vaccine shot brought this on. your vet might be adamently opposed to that being the cause but there is much information out there that shows otherwise. i hope you guys are able to get past this and your lil guy recovers.. |
| josh california |
| I agree with Josh in that there is a very good chance this was brought on by the vaccination. Whe my Hunter was diagnosed 4 1/2 years ago my vet was seeing one case very 1 to 1 1/2 years and now he is seeing several a year. He believes this is due largely to over vaccination. He also believes the rise in canine cancer is also due to ove vaccination combined with heartworm meds--which is a MUST here on the Texas coast--and the flea/tick stuff we apply. Seems our dogs get a stead stream of drugs injected, swallowed or apled to their back to be absorbed. I am so sorry that your puppy is sick and I hope things get turned around for her. |
| Sandra |
| Thanks so much for the emails and posts! I really appreciate all of the information,concern and prayers. Zoe, (that is the puppies name) has had a ton of energy today, I can't beleive it, she has more energy than she has had since she got sick! She was jumping up and down, barking and even biting my toes, what a joy it is to see her like that! I really don't understand it though. This is her 3rd day on Prednisone, I am continuing her antibiotics, vitamins, nutrical, as well as her a/d dog food. I will be taking her back to the vet on Tuesday to get her PCV level checked. Has anyone seen such energy in a pup with a PCV level of 9? I am trying not to read more into it than there is, but it is hard not to get my hopes up just a little! Peggy |
| Peggy North Carolina |
| Peggy, I am so sorry to hear about this sudden illness with your new puppy. Can you tell us if the vet did any x-rays? I would be highly suspicious that this puppy could have eaten a coin containing zinc. This might cause very sudden and severe anemia. If the coin has passed through, unknown to you, the symptoms may subside very quickly. Blood smears studied with a microscope could have determined if this might be the case. The next thing you should do if it is possible is to contact the breeder of this dog and request a complete health history of her pedigree. Does the breeder know if any of her other puppies have had this sudden severe anemia? How are the dam and sire? Vaccinations can sometimes push the immune system to this kind of reaction, but even Dr. Dodds believes in responsibly vaccinating puppies. Can you remember who did the first series of shots? Is it possible the breeder administered the shots and then they were accidentally administered a second time by your vet? Responsible breeders will not release a puppy this young without any shots. Often a good clinical response is the best indicator of what is happening and it's often a good way to gauge what your next decision should be about treatment. All that gobbledygook means if she's acting better, she just might be better. I am hoping the best for you patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| yea ^^^what patrice said about the accidental double vaccination sounds very plausible... i wonder if that could be the case? |
| josh california |
This thread was discussed between 22/01/2009 and 24/01/2009
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