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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - 'BAILY, MY LITTLE MAN': NEW DIAGNOSIS
| ON FEBRUARY 26, IT BECAME UNDENIABLY CLEAR THAT MY "BAILY" HAD SOMETHING WRONG. IT SEEMED AS THOUGH ONE DAY HE WAS FINE & THEN SUDDENLY HE STOPPED EATING & BECAME VERY LETHARGIC. UPON BEING SEEN @ THE VET, BLOODWORK WAS ORDERED & A URINALYSIS COMPLETED. THE LABWORK CAME BACK REVEALING A HCT OF 31 WITH PRESENCE OF SPHEROCYTES ON BLOOD SMEAR. MY VET SUGGESTED I BRING MY BEAUTIFUL BOY (LABRADOR 7 YRS. OF AGE) BACK IN THE MORNING FOR FURTHER TESTING. BAILY CONTINUED NOT TO EAT IN THE INTERIM. BY THE TIME WE ARRIVED BACK AT THE VET THE NEXT DAY BAILY HAD A TEMPERATURE OF 103.6 WITH PALE/GRAYISH GUMS. HE RECEIVED IV FLUIDS AND UNDERWENT AN ULTRASOUND FOR WHICH HE HAD TO BE SEDATED. MEANWHILE, HIS PCV WAS NOW AT 26 FROM THE DAY BEFORE. A TICK-BORNE PANEL WAS DRAWN AS WELL AS A COOMB'S TEST. ABDOMINAL XRAYS WERE ALSO DONE. BAILY WAS STARTED ON DOXYCLINE IN CASE SOME STRANGE UNIDENTIFIABLE VECTOR MIGHT BE THE CULPRIT. THE NEXT DAY PCV DROPPED TO 22. MY ONCE SWEET, PLAYFUL, ANDENGAGING "LITTLE MAN" (AS WE CALL HIM) WAS NOW LETHARGIC, DISTANT, & CLEARLY ILL.ALL THE LAB RESULTS CAME BACK AS NEGATIVE. HIS DIAGNOSIS: "AIHA". LAST WEEK BAILY WAS STARTED ON PREDNISONE 30MG 2X DAILY WITH PEPCID 2X DAILY. A BONE MARROW ASPIRATE HAD REVEALED THE CAPABILITY OF REGENERATING NEW RBC'S BUT THE REPEAT CBC STATED THE OPPOSITE : NON-REGENERATIVE AIHA. AFTER 3 DAYS OF PREDNISONE, THE PCV WAS 19. NOW CYCLOSPORINE IS BEING ADDED INTO THE POT OF DRUGS AT A DOSAGE OF 150MG 2X DAILY. ALL OF THIS HAS COMPLETELY KNOCKED THE WIND OUT OF HIS SAILS. HIS LIFE IS NO LONGER ABOUT CHASING THE "BALL", "MAX"(HIS LITTERMATE, AND EATING. INSTEAD, HE SLEEPS, VOMITS, AND HAS ORANGE-COLORED DIARRHEA. WHAT KIND OF LIFE IS THIS FOR MY "BELOVED DOG SON"? WE ARE NOT SCHEDULED FOR ANOTHER PCV FOR 1 WEEK. IN THE MEANTIME, I AM AWAITING LAB RESULTS TO SEE WHETHER "MAX" HAS THIS CONDITION AS WELL. THIS DISEASE IS RUTHLESS! THE "WHAT IFS" & THE "WHAT'S NEXT" ARE ENDLESS. MY POOR BOY HAS BEEN SOUND ASLEEP FOR THE BETTER PART OF 24 HOURS. HE GETS UP TO HAVE DIARRHEA ONLY. EVERYTIME I GIVE HIM HIS MEDS , I FEEL AS THOUGH I'M POISONING HIM. HIS LIVER ENZYMES ARE ELEVATED SINCE WE STARTED THE DRUGS. PLEASE PRAY FOR BAILY & PUT OUT SOME GOOD KARMA THAT WE DON'T DISCOVER THAT HIS BROTHER, "MAX" HAS THIS TOO. |
| SARAH IL |
| Sarah, I am so sorry your Baily was diagnosed with this awful disease. Be assured you came to the right place for advice, compassion and have questions answered. Everybody here has been through the wringer of AIHA/IMHA and has experiences that can help you in some way. I will try and start with a few things. First, try and educate yourself. You will become your dogs advocate! it sounds as if your vet is experienced, doing all the right things. Please go to Joanne's website: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ You will find a wealth of information there and best of all, there are LOTS of success stories of dogs that survived this ordeal! Please read as much as you can and you will realize there is hope. It is a roller coaster ride, but dogs can overcome this disease. In my opinion, waiting for a full week for the next blood check seems a bit risky at this point. You don't know if the medications have kicked in. Please let us know how much Baily weighs and what medications he is taking. Also, make sure you get printouts of all the lab results. When that was suggested to me I did not really see the point, I was so confused. But believe me, you will become an expert! Having everything in writing will make it possible to see trends and connections and also easier to have people here help you. I know the feeling of thinking you are poisoning your dog. Just think of it that way, if you would not feed him these pills, he would be dead. There is no alternative. I started feeding my dog lots of good stuff, like fish, sweet potatoes, kale etc. That made me feel so much better. Check out this diet: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Liver%20cleansing%20diet.htm Since we are talking liver, Baily would benefit for Milkthistle, to support his liver, also SamE. Bring it up with your vet, rather sooner than later. all the medications are hard on Baily's liver. Petinic would be a good supplement to kick start Baily's blood building. I am pretty sure you don't have to worry about your other dog getting ill. Even though they are related, the chance is pretty small. One more advice, ask your Dr. if he would be willing to consult with a specialist or better even with Dr. Dodds. She has saved many dogs with this disease and has a heart of gold!!! Best wishes, you are NOT alone in this! Brigitte |
| Brigitte BC Canada |
| Dear Sarah, My heart goes out to you and Baily because I know this is not easy to deal with. I am also new to this forum. My Rex was diagnosed with IMHA a month ago. Like Baily, he was experiencing many of the same symptoms. At diagnosis on 2/18, his PCV was 20%. As of this past Monday, he is at 40%. The first two weeks were the worse...ups & downs, then holding steady, and then surprisingly increasing almost 5% at each visit. Although Rex is not quite his "old self", we're happy to observe many behaviors we hadn't seen in weeks. He still seems to tire easily, his hind legs seem weak and he's not as affectionate as he used to be, but I'm hoping as we reduce the meds, this will change. I can say that it was a huge relief to see him eating and drinking again, breathing easier, moving around a little faster, and most of all to see the "life" in his eyes again. I realize all of this can be confusing and overwhelming...the emotions, concern, waiting, the vet appointments, medication regime, special diets, financial responsibility, etc....but hang in there! There's lots of hope! At one point, our vet told us that we should be prepared to make some decisions, and a month later...our vet says Rex is in the "normal" range. What I've come to terms with is that we have a 6-1/2 yr old "son" who has a disease and needs special care. I've been given some great advice by "friends" on this forum that I think helped and would like to share...like Brigitte mentioned, feeding them good food/snacks that they like is not only good for them, but makes you feel good to give them something other than "pills", keeping a journal of meds, behaviors, and questions, and creating a peaceful and calming environment for Baily. Although I'm no expert, a few things you mentioned I wondered about is..if Baily's PCV was at 19 at your last appt and seemed to be decreasing with each visit, I would probably want to go back to check sooner than a week and see if the meds are at the right dosages. You also mentioned that Baily is a lab. How much does Baily weigh? Rex is a cockapoo and weighs between 35-40 lbs (lately) and was put on the same dosage(30mg 2x/day)of prednisone to aggressively treat the IMHA. From what I've read it's somewhat normal to be put on a higher dosage in the beginning, but then should be tapered off SLOWLY. However, Rex was never prescribed cyclosporine, but prescribed Azathioprine and Pepcid in addition to the Prednisone. We will be keeping you in our thoughts and prayers, Kapri & Rex |
| Kapri Arizona |
| Dear Sarah, I am so sorry to hear about Baily's diagnosis with AIHA. It is very normal for dogs to need to rest a lot when diagnosed with AIHA. The anemia along with the high doses of immune suppressants make them very lethargic and tired. Let Baily get the rest he needs, this is an important part of the healing process. I would personally go for another PCV sooner than a week. If the level continues to drop, then a blood transfusion might be necessary. Is Baily definitely non-regenerative? This is more difficult to treat than regenerative AIHA, however there are many owners on this forum who have had dogs that have survived with non-regenerative IMHA. I second Brigitte in saying a consult with Dr Dodds at Hemopet would be in order. I am hoping someone can post her email address for you, I think their website is www.hemopet.org Has Baily had thyroid testing done? You should consider having this done. Milk thistle for the liver - it works wonders! Keep us posted on Baily's progress, Sam and Millie. |
| Samantha Geelong |
Our thoughts are with you and your beloved. My advice is to become as informed as possible on the condition and dont be afraid to speak up for Baily. You are his mum and you know what your boy needs. I would also go back to your vet for a PCV much sooner than a week. Take care and dont give up. |
| Joanne Teesside |
| I have really no more advise for you...the others have all the angles covered! If I were you I'd ask the vet for a product called Denamarin. This will help hte liver to heal. Very important thing in this stage of liver damage! If you can you should give us his weight. Also, get copies of the blood work. I'm interested in why they are saying nonregenerative AIHA. I will keep Baily in my thoughts and prayers though. Johnny & Tessy |
| Johnny |
This thread was discussed between 18/03/2010 and 19/03/2010
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