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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Bone Marrow Test
| I have scheduled Darcy for a bone marrow test tomorrow. She had a second blood transfusion yesterday. Her PCV was 8%. After the transfusion it was 38%. Her blood panel is okay, according to the internist, but her bone marrow is not producing any RBCs. I am consulting with my regular vet about sending blood to Dr. Dodds so that she can perform the thyroid test she suggested. Dr. Dodds said that beagles are prone to autoimmune thyroiditis, which is difficult to detect in a thyroid test unless the person who conducts the test knows what to look for. Our vet has said all along that we should do the bone marrow test, so, after speaking with her yesterday, I decided to go ahead and schedule the test for Darcy. I don't know what else to do right now. I'm just searching for answers and treatment. Am I right to go ahead with the bone marrow test, knowing that it might not tells us anything? Darcy has been on the Prednisone for three weeks and the Azathiprine for two weeks. Unless the meds start producing some good results, it looks like Darcy will be requiring a transfusion every two weeks. I can't keep putting her through that. I know that there have been many success stories and I'm sorry to sound so negative, but nothing seems to be working for my little girl. Karen |
| Karen NC |
| Hang in there Karen. You are doing the right thing. The treatments take time unfortunately. I don;t know if you read my email to you yesterday under "for Patrice", but I understand precisely what you are going through. The bone marrow test is fairly easy on them. My practice is very big on pain control so we added in a fentanyl patch for Lola 24 hours before testing and I do believe it helped with post test pain. |
| Courtney SLO |
| Hi Karen We are keeping you and Darcy in our thoughts and prayers. I do remember the Azathiprine took a while too kick in maybe four weeks or so. Has your vet ever mentioned Cyclosporine in addition to the other 2 she is on? I hope everthing goes well tomorrow. Cheryl & Ginger |
| Cheryl & Ginger Pineville PA |
| Thanks, Cheryl. Yes, the specialist talked to me about the Cyclosporine. She said that it was very expensive, but it worked faster than the Azathioprine. She seemed to think the Azathioprine would be enough along with the Prednisone at that time. At our last visit (before yesterday's transfusion) she said we might have to look into adding in another drug. She hasn't mentioned it again, so I don't know what she was thinking. As I've mentioned, I plan on adding throxine if my regular vet agrees to that and am also going to ask about Doxycyline. Thanks for your good wishes for Darcy's bone marrow test. Karen |
| Karen NC |
| Karen -- My husband and I lost our dear beagle, Wiley, to IMHA in May 2005, so I have followed your sweet Darcy's case. Can you provide any additional insight into what Dr. Dodds meant when she said that "beagles are prone to autoimmune thyroiditis." My Wiley was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Spring 2003 -- is that the same thing? Good luck with the bone marrow test. The criticare vets who treated Wiley during her week-long fight with IMHA raised this once or twice, but they also didn't push it. Wiley's regular vet, who provided guidance throughout the ordeal with the specialists, said it was a painful test. Toward the end, when Wiley's systems began failing after she had seemed to turn around, we thought about it, but she had lost use of her legs from some kind of "event" and we decided to let her go, because we didn't think it would be right to try to go to extraordinary means if she couldn't live the life she'd loved. Please keep us posted on Darcy. We're rooting for her. |
| Brenda VA |
| Hi Karen Maybe you can ask Dr. Dodds if she would recommend Cyclosporine at this time and also mention it to your vet. I know that not all dogs respond to medicine the same way but I really noticed a big difference in Ginger in about 3-4 weeks after starting the Cyclosporine. We are continuing to pray for Darcy. Cheryl & Ginger |
| Cheryl & Ginger Pineville Pa |
This thread was discussed between 10/09/2008 and 11/09/2008
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