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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Calcium deposits
| Hi Thanks for all your replies after Billy's good news, they were much appreciated. He had his Christmas bath yesterday and did quite well, so now he looks a proper little smarty-pants!! Just a quick one. These calcium deposits are along the length of his spine and about 3 to 4 cms wide. They are raising his skin and his fur is standing up on two particularly big ones and it would appear that his skin is breaking (although it may just be where it is sore). Will they break down as his meds are reduced, stay the same or worsen and effect his mobility? To me, it's like arthritis (as a sufferer myself), and I just wondered if anyone else has had this problem or heard about it? Thanks again Steph |
| Steph Gloucestershire UK |
| Hi Steph. Duck suffered from the same thing - oddly enough as his prednisone dosages were decreased. It is called "calcinosis cutis". My vet decided just to leave it and they eventually flaked off and cleared up on their own. Duck definitely had iatrogenic cushings disease (from the prednisone) and calcinosis cutis is a symptom of that illness. If these bumps aren't bothering Billy, I would just wait and see if they disappear. I'm trying to remember how long it took for Duck's to clear up - maybe three weeks? Here is a link that gives a picture of the bumps for you to compare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcinosis_cutis Good luck with this! deb and Duck |
| Debboe BC Canada |
| Hi Steph, Happy to hear BillyBob is on the road to recovery. I have an older dog, Winnie, who developed Iatrogenic Cushings while on a low dose of Pred for terrible allergies. Her spine looked like it was popping out of her back and all of her hair fell out, and it was so sad to see. After weaning her off of the medication, within a month she looked like a different dog! I'm not sure if this is exactly like what BillyBob has, but, if he is being weaned off of the drugs, it should subside hopefully. Best wishes! melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
| Hi We've hit a problem this morning. When Billy got up this morning, it looks like some of one of his calcium ridges has come off in the night along with his fur. He has a very sore bald patch about 4cm long - its not bleeding, looks like a severe graze. Also when he went for his wee it was orange again, I checked his gums when he got up and they were nicely pink, and again within 10 mins and they had gone pale with a yellowy tinge (but his nose is nice - cold and damp). I have rung the specialist and she will get back to me when she's free and I have rung the vet and he will ring back when he's finished consulting. Billy is now on 12.5mg pred per day, Azi eod, Ab's twice a day and milk thistle. Any ideas? Thanks Steph |
| Steph Gloucestershire UK |
| hi steph, try not to panic- easier said than done I know! but sometimes, their gum coloring can fluctuate throughout the day, depending on what they are doing. hopefully that's all it is after you talk to the doc, and you can get an ointment for his back. Our best, melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
| Steph, The patch that looks like a graze could be a staph infection. Very likely because the high doses of prednisone are suppressing the immune system enough that opportunistic infections can take hold. We all normally just throw off staph bacteria without any effort, but in Billy's case, his body just doesn't have the power to do that. There is a very good antibiotic for this and your vet can prescribe it for you. To ensure that you don't pass anything to him or him back to you, keep your hands clean when you touch him, keep that area on his back clean but use mild soap. I would avoid exposing him to any human with a compromised immune system for the time being until you know for sure. And avoid exposing Billy to dogs outside your household as well. How orange was the urine? I would keep my eye on that for the rest of the day. Hemolysis, or destruction of red blood cells, releases a lot of yellow coloring into the body. The body must try to eliminate it and it ends up going into the urine, feces and into body tissues like the gums or eyes. If you can get in to see your vet before Christmas, it might be a good idea to do that. I may be very wrong and I hope I am. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Hi Our vet rang us straight back more or less straight away and ask me to take him down. His back is the deposits coming away - it looks like a scab has been lifted off a cut. Checked his heart which was sound, lungs and temp normal. Took bloods for a pcv spin - that had dropped 0.3 from 33.8 to 33.5 during a two week period. His gums were pinkish again by the time we got to the vet. He is already on Ab's for his liver, so couldn't do anything there, but the vet has said to drop him to 10mg pred per day. It was only the one wee which looked orange and his poo is the correct colour(!!) We'll play the wait and see game again. All the best for Xmas Steph |
| Steph Gloucestershire UK |
| Sounds like good news...is there any chance he is dehydrated making the pee orangy? .3 isn't too big of a drop statistically, and that's fantastic it's not an infection! Staph would have been very scary stuff. Have a good holiday, and hoping he's doing well! melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
This thread was discussed between 19/12/2008 and 23/12/2008
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