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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Brandi update
| Well the er vet called about 3. He was mr gloom and doom to say the least. I knew in a heartbeat I did not like him. Now I am a realist but I don't give up. Brandi's pcv has dropped to 16. I jumped in the car to go see her. Her gums are practically white. She was very lethargic but I did get a little wiggle of the tail. So the vet comes in and starts talking about the medication, not responding, blah blah blah. He wasn't aware I knew as much as I did. I even told him about this forum and he had the gall to say that if there was a forum about aiha dogs then the dogs must be dead! My mouth dropped to the floor and I set him straight right then. I had spoken to my internal vet on the drive up to see Brandi. Told her what Dr Doom was saying. She gave her input and said if it were her she would not do a splenectomy because Brandi is not stable enough. Dr Doom suggested the splenectomy. She said she would give more blood to give the meds more time to work. I would just like to get your thoughts. PCV 16, platelets 135,000. She's on oral steroid, atopica and azathiprine plus the tummy meds. Also Dr Doom said Brandi does not have some of the other classic things they see in AIHA dogs. She is not jaundiced. No idea where the bilirubin is going. She is not autoagglutinating red blood cells. And, get this, Dr Doom did not know who Dr Dodds was but he does get his blood from Hemopet. He goes off duty at 7 thank goodness. Sorry for the rant but even though I'm a realist I still like to hold out hope. |
| Teresa tjordan@mcloudteleco.com |
| You are right not to give up! 16 isn't a terrible number considering she's just been diagnosed! Wow, what a wonderful vet he sounds like. I'm so glad you have found us here; the best thing we can do is support each other, give each other hope and comfort, and arm each other with knowledge to advocate for our furkids! Hmm...how can he not have heard of Dr. Dodds if he's heard of Hemopet? Very interesting... Well, I don't know the answers to some of your questions, but it sounds like she's on the usual med regimen. Did they do a Coombs test on her? Is the 'oral steroid' Prednisone? If so, at what dosage and remind us of her weight again? It seems to me that waiting on the spleenectomy might be the right thing though I'm certainly no expert, but everything I've read shows that this is inconclusive as far as being the best treatment. Patrice might have other info, she's very well read, and I believe her Chance had his spleen removed. We did not have Tiggs' removed, and his PCV was 10 at diagnosis. It definitely yo-yo'd for a few weeks before it held and climbed, so it could be a little while before you really see the number change, though hopefully, if they do a transfusion, it will rise significantly, though probably temporarily. Best of luck Teresa, Brandi is in our thoughts, I know she can do it with your help! melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
| PS. You might leave a sticky note on Dr. Dooms desk with a link to the SUCCESS STORIES on Joanne's website, clearly he needs some continuing education! |
| melissa slc |
| Teresa I am sorry your vet is such a dr doom. I have a wonderful cocker baby my little( not so little anymore all the pred weight gain) Molly that I am fighting this with too. I am keeping Brandi in my prayers too! Amy |
| amy txgoldenhorse@yaho.com |
| Melissa - I'll have to get those dosages. I tried to get them over the phone before I went up there and he hemmed and hawed around. Then I forgot to ask when I was there. I do know she's not on pred but on dexamethasone because he said it was stronger. Dr Doom admitted he is a pessimist but would love for Brandi to prove him wrong. What a kook. I even went so far as to ask him if he was a pet lover or just a pet owner and did he have dogs and cats. Basically I wanted to know if he is in the vet profession just for the $. He said he did have dogs and cat and he is a pet lover. Not sure I believe him because what was he supposed to say to that kind of question? We just don't jive. You know I might just give him the website to Meisha's Hope. That's a great idea! But only when I know he won't be treating Brandi anymore. Amy - thank you for your prayers and I'll add Molly and Tiggs and all the dogs here to my mine. Teresa |
| Teresa tjordan@mcloudteleco.com |
| Theresa, Email coming your way, don't let it go into spam. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Thank you, I got it. I have forwarded to my vet as he is the one I trust the most plus my internal med specialist is out of the office next week. I really appreciate it. Thanks! Teresa |
| Teresa OK |
| Teresa, It is really a sad state when we have to try to educate the people who should know better than us. I cannot believe the professionals who still think a diagnosis of AIHA is an automatic death sentence. We had a Vet that we confered with while treating our dog that when I told him about Joanne's Meisha said "well it couldn't have really been AIHA, because she wouldn't have lived that long" Pretty astounding statement. Unfortunately its like some of them just shut down the learning process after getting their licenses. I guess it is the God complex that seems to permeate the medical field. You go Brandi, make Dr. Doom open his eyes and mind. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
This thread was discussed on 20/12/2008
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