Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Any news from kath and Mitch?

Going through old posts, I have realized we haven't heard from Kath in a long time. I hope no news is good news.... Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Your right it has been a long time. I hope Mitch is ok. Now I'm worried. :(

Mardi Northern Calif

Mitch is still with us but not so good. The last two months we have been waiting for the cellcept to hopefully kick in and do their job along with the pred. but with no improvement shown at all. He has hovered around 24 pcv platelets around 24 also. WBC also very low. His liver is not coping well with meds and his prednisolone was reduced as his liver was struggling and althiugh his liver improved we saw another dip in his pcv this week down to 15. He has failed to show response to anything that has been tried and we are just playing a balancing act between his liver and his evans syndrome. One or the other will be the end of him no doubt but we have accepted this although not given up. If he continues to go downhill then I doubt we would go through the blood transfusion again - this would only be a stop gap whilst meds kick in but no meds have worked over the last 4 months and we have tried all we can. Not mentioning also the financial impact of £6500. Still waiting to hear from the insurance re. that little lot. Thanks for asking after him. Best wishes to all the wee doggies and their owners on this horrible journey.

kath scotland

Dear Kath, my thoughts are with you and I will send lots of positive energy over the big pond for little Mitch. Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

I'm so sorry Kath. Poor Mitch. He's a little fighter. I know how you feel, as I've been there. Any chance that Milk Thistle could help with the liver? Your probably at wits end with all the different medications and all, but it is good stuff for helping to regenerate the liver. The cost is astronomical isn't it?! You do what you have to do though. Pups are our children. I will be thinking of you both, always, and will pray that Mitch will get on the right track and feel better soon. I'm so glad you were able to let us know how Mitch is doing though. I've been very worried. Take care. If you hear from Kathleen and Nollaig, let them know I am thinking of them always too. :)

Mardi Nothern Calif

Poor little boy. Extra thoughts, prayers and positive vibes for Mitch. Keep on fighting Mitch...mommy wants you better. Hugs, Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Thanks for all your good wishes. Mitch is being taken off the cellcept - it isn't helping any and is probably actually damaging his liver further. His pred has been put back up to try and halt his declining blood counts. Not including the cellcept he is on prednisolone, antepsin (stomach protectant), long term antibiotics, and two meds to help his liver. I have considred milk thistle but as he is already on the meds for his liver chose not to. He is a little fighter, he is still with us, I love him as I always have and yet grieve the lively tenacious little terrier he once once. If he gets better it will be a miracle thats for sure. The insurance have paid out without questions to the sum of £6000 (our limit) so luckily we are not too out of pocket. Thanks again

Kath scotland

Hi Kath. I was just wondering if you ever had the chance to get in contact with Dr. Dodds. I would HIGHLY recommend you get in touch with her if you haven't already. She's great at what she does and will work with your current vets if needed. Are Mitch's liver values still high? Do you give his meds with food? I always give ALL Tessy's meds with food. Makes it so much more easier on the body. I'm also curious as to Mitch's retic numbers. Is he regenerating RBC's at all? Give Mitch some hugs for me. Sending him some very special positive vibes from the other side of the Atlantic. Hang in there bud. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Kath, I am so glad that at least the financial burden is off your shoulders. At least for now. I agree with Johnny, that to contact Dr. Dodds would be a good step. After my vet talked to her, she just took a deep breath and said: she is an incredibly knowledgeable woman, what a woman! My vet loves to get advice and learn from her. Needles to say I love my vet for it. If the milk thistle is easily available to you, I would give it to Mitch. I got a tincture (not cheap) that is easy to put on food. It can't hurt. For the last 2 months I have given Kahlu Bio Preparation (an algae product). It could be coincidence that his liver enzymes dropped dramatically, but I think it would be worth a try. You can definitely not do any harm giving it. I ordered it directly from the manufacturer at www.bionutrition.ca Forgive me for asking, maybe this has already been done, has Mitch been on Azathioprene or Cyclosporin? Have his Thyroids been checked? Thinking of you and Mitch, best wishes, Brigitte & Kahlu

Brigitte BC Canada

Hi Kath, thinking of you and your little man. Sending you both lot's of prayers, Effie

Effie Melbourne Australia

Kath, I wondered too if Cyclosporine was tried. My dog was in a very sick state with liver values off the chart and the liver very swollen. Turned out it was due to the prednisone. We tried the Aza as it was cheaper but that only made the situation worse. He was on Denosyl to help the liver but that only made him sick. He has been on Cyclosporine now for over a year and his liver values have returned to normal. Even the vet is amazed. I wish the best for your little fighter. It sounds like you have both had a rough road. Hope things get better. Chris & Alex

Chris Pa

Hi, thanks for all your feedback again, I'm afraid the following is rather long! Mitch has been on cyclosporin,he was on this for the longest has the vets felt it would almost certainly work - it did nothing. He has also had epogen, human immunoglobulin, cell cept,doxycycline,granulocyte colony stimulating factor, vincristine and I'm sure more I can't remember. Thyroid checked also. Nothing has worked. If it was just an immune issue something almost certainly would have but the factot that is stopping any improvement is severe damage to his actual bone marrow. It's not even possible to get a bone marrow sample from him anymore as there isn't really any left. He has been treated at a top vet school - the whole team have been involved - the search has been worldwide for answers to his problems. I know we have done everything we can for him he is now under the pallative care of our own vet (with communication with the vet school). Unfortunately by the time we realised Mitch had an auto immune issue, (about a year after it started in hindsight) his bone marrow is so destroyed that even when his immune system is no longer attacking what small amount of blood components he has left he has hardly any bone marrow left. Unfortunately we cannot get him to regrow bone marrow - cellcept had been successful in a similar case to Mitchs where some bone marrow regeneration did occur which is why it was tried in his case. That has also shown no improvement. I am confident that everthing has been done regarding Mitch and his immune system but as far as having only minimal amounts of bone marrow and therefore few precurser cells nothing short of a bone marrow transplant can help now. To answer a couple of questions - Mitch always gets his meds with food except for the antepsin which has to be without. He was not initially regenerating when he first had his crisis in July but he is regenerating now but because his bone marrow is pretty non existant he has little to regenaerate from. His bloods took another dip recently as his pred was reduced slightly to help save his liver and his immune system kicked in again. When his immune system is adequately controlled due to the bone marrow destruction he can only manage to maintain both a pcv and platelet count of around 25. WBC around 2.1 I think? However once he drops clearly he finds it hard if not imposiible to raise the pcv higher again then where it dropped too. So it is actually a balancing act between his immune system, his liver issues and a lack of bone marrow. If I could afford a bne marrow transplant for him he would have one - in fact I don't think they actually do them in dogs, do they,or was it $40,000?

Kath scotland

Oh, Kath, I am so sorry that the news is not real good. How heartbreaking. You are doing everything you could possibly do. I am still very hopeful that Mitch will turn a positive corner. He is very, very, lucky to have such a loving, devoted, caring mom. You are lucky to have such a loving, caring, devoted, strong pup! My blessings are with you. Take care.

Mardi Northern Calif

So sorry to read that Mitch is not responding to treatment. You certainly have done everything available for him. I can relate to your experience as I lost my little dog at 9 months of age to bone marrow failure, which occurred with IMHA. There are so many mysteries that I think we can never really understand why this happens but at least you have excellent vet support and are a wonderful devoted and caring mum to Mitch. Take care. Julie

Julie Australia

Thanks, The cellcept was the best chance - a search for 'aplastic anaemia - mycophenolate mofetil' brings up a research paper where cellcept had helped in a similar case with regeneration of bone marrow but unfortunately not with Mitch. Julie sorry to hear about your pup, I have not heard of anyone else who's dog has developed bone marrow failure to such an extent with IMHA.

kath scotland

Hi Kath Sorry to hear your news regarding Mitch. It seems the knock on effect of IMHA is all the other problems it brings with it. Phoebe is back in hospital at Edinburgh and if Mitch's team are as dedicated as Phoebe's then he is in good hands whatever happens. I know you have been fighting for Mitch just like we all do and it really takes it out of you emotionally as well as financially. I have often said that I would remortgage the house to save Phoebe, but I think there comes a time when we have to face some real hard truths. My heart is breaking for you knowing that you would have tried everything on this planet to help Mitch. All our love, thoughts and prayers are for you and your family, especially Mitch. Kind Regards Gill & Phoebe

gill uk

Kath, where there's life there's ALWAYS HOPE. Keep fighting the good fight. I'm sure Mitch appreciates everything you're doing for him. If I can help in any way just ask. I'll continue ot keep Mitch in my thoughts and prayers. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Thanks Johnny and Gill and everyone for your support. All we have left is hope and we will continue for as long as Mitch has quality of life with the hope somehow he can turn this around. If he takes a downward turn we will make the decision not to prolong his suffering. He is very good at telling what he wants and I'm sure he will tell us what we should do when and if we get to that point. Gill - Mitchs team are Phoebes team! Although he is back under our own vet for blood tests all results are discussed with the dick vet hospital for where to go next and what to do re. meds etc. They have been fantastic all along. I cannot praise them enough for their care and support. Kath

Kath Scotland

Stay strong and know we are keeping you and Mitch in our thoughts and prayers.

Mardi Northern Calif

off topic somewhat. but did you have pet insurance before your pet came down with this or after. just wondering if its worth getting or even if you can once your dog is sick. thanks.

Pam Illinois

Pam, Mitch has been insured since he was a young pup, has have all my dogs. Insurance will not cover anything that is present before you take out insurance. Your vets have to disclose any previous ailments if asked by the insurance company. Having had two broken legs, a stomach bug, a cyst removal and now this - we have certainly had our monies worth. I think we have probably paid about £1000 on insurance for Mitch and claimed about £8000 back in total. For UK people - I have my dogs insured with Direct Line and they have been fab. Was previously with Petlan for my other two dogs but changed to Direct Line for them all when I got Mitch as it was cheaper although Petplan are equally good at paying out. My other two dogs are 10yrs now and Direct Line only insure till they are 11yrs so I may have to look at changing back or elsewhere. Kath

Kath Gudgin

This thread was discussed between 07/11/2009 and 29/11/2009

Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) forum index

This thread is from the Vetnet archive. The live Vetnet forum is active now.