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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Bone Marrow Biopsy? please help! Gracie Update
| I decided not to do the bone marrow biopsy, despite the numerous calls and pressure from the specialist since she was nonregen... I went with the advice of my vet and held off and am glad I did. Last thursday her retic count had dropped again to 7600 but her PCV went up from 25 to 27. Just received the results from her Saturday blood work- her retic count jumped up to 80,000 and her PCV up to 29, so that is great news. She is still only on the prednisone. Her vet was trying to keep her off the cyclosporin as long as she could. She goes back for blood work wednesday so hopefully she keeps getting better. Not sure what will happen next or what I need to do, but for today, we are on a high (which is nice after being almost hopeless a week ago). |
| Morgan Chicago |
| Morgan, It's so good to hear that Gracie's numbers are looking so much better!! And only on prednisone too!! Congrats on the improvement, and I hope she continues to do beautifully....enjoy that sweet pup :) Sally and Bentley |
| Sally Louisiana |
| Hi Morgan, That is great news. Very happy for you that your choice to not do the biopsy seems to have been the best choice. Glad to see the steady imrpovement. My vet and I never did use Azathiprine, or Cyclosporine, as Dylan immrpoved quickly on prednisone alone. Dylan was only on prednisone and I appreciated that approach throughout her treatment. It is not to say that I would not have added and immunosuppressant if necessary, as I would have, but in trying to keep Dylan's meds as simple as possible to more easily know what removing prednisone was doing later was very important to us and Dylan's success in getting off prednisone recently. Again, they may be necessary if prednisone does not work, or the trigger and attack are chronic, preventing removing predniosne in a timely manner, but in my opinion, I was not prepared to use them unless necessary. I hoped to spare her liver and improve her recovery by keeping things more simple as well. Combinations of drugs produce complex interactions which I hoped to avoid. On the other hand though, I have now seen many cases where they are needed too. Each case is unique, just as the attack is and the recovery too. So glad to hear some positive news for you, and hoping for a lot more in the near and ongoing future. Richard and Dog Dylan |
| Richard Burnaby |
| I have not been giving Gracie her flea and tick or heart guard. Should I continue to keep her off these things? I have read that many people stopped these things once their dogs got sick. Any advice? |
| Morgan Chicago |
| Morgan, I would definitely ask the vet about whether or not to give these at this point in time. It may still be a delicate balance. HOWEVER... My cocker spaniel Beau was diagnosed in October, 2010. At that time I stopped both the flea and tick (Frontline) and heartworm preventative (Interceptor) for both Beau as well as my German Shepherd. My German Shepherd contracted heartworm sometime between October and April when she tested positive. We are in the process of treating that now -- and it's a rough treatment. There but for the grace of God... it could just have easily been Beau who got bit by the mosquito since the two dogs are always together and I don't know how that could have impacted his recovery. Moral of the story... given the choice, the risk of heartworm (and the nasty treatment for it) is just not worth it! As long as your vet agrees, I would at the very least keep up the heartworm preventative. Sharon p.s. So glad you are now getting the results we've hoped for - and without having to do the biopsy! |
| Sharon PA |
This thread was discussed between 01/08/2011 and 02/08/2011
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