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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Emma
| Hi, everyone. My Shih-Tzu/Pomeranian, Emma, was diagnosed back in March with IMHA at 8 months old. We were finally able to get her PCV stabilized at 43 in May. After that, we began weening her gradually off her original Prednisone dose of 10mg per day. We would decrease her dose by 2.5mg, test after one week on the lower doseage to ensure her PCV was not crashing, and then recheck again after a month on the lower doseage. Each time we decreased her doseage for a month, her PCV would drop between 2-4 percent. After having her on 5mg of pred per day (1/2 of her original dose) for a month, her PCV went down to 37. The vet became concerned that this was a downward trend. She recommended adding 10mg of Cyclosporine per day so that we could hopefully stabilize her PCV to allow us to continue to ween her off the prednisone. We began giving her 10mg of Cyclosporine per day, in addition to the 5mg of Prednisone. After about two weeks on this medication, she began biting at her tail and licking in that area excessively. She would frequently stop mid-walk to do so. I made an appt with her vet to get a checkup when I noticed this. But the night before her appt, she got a very bad case of bloody diarrhea. I took her to the emergency vet and they cleaned her anal glands and gave her metronidazole. I was surprised since I had just had her glands cleaned in April, but they said that could be her problem as they were full. The blood and diarrhea were gone by the next afternoon and she continued on the Metronidazole for a week. Meanwhile, we had her rechecked after 3 weeks on the Cyclosporine. She was up to 41 again from 37. We decided to decrease her down to 2.5mg pred per day, while continuing on the 10mg of Cyclosporine. Her PCV was tested again a week later, and she is back down to 39 from 41. A couple days later, she had blood in her stool again. Not nearly as much as the first time and it was not quite diarrhea. Mucous was also present. This lasted only one stool and then the blood was gone. However, she now occasionally has diarrhea and then goes back to her "normal" stool later that day. "Normal" for her has been on the soft side ever since probably April. Has anyone had any similar issues as a result of Cyclosporine? I am not sure if it is just a coincidence that it started around the time she started Cyclosporine. She had never had blood or severe diarrhea before that. I don't even know if the Cyclosporine is helping her given her recent drop. Her vets don't seem to think the blood is from the Cyclosporine, so is there something else I should be testing for? I can't help but feel there has to be a cause, even though her vets don't seem overly concerned. I've found that to be one of the hardest parts of our battle with this disease - never knowing the cause. I would really appreciate any advice anyone has to offer! Thanks in advance, Michelle |
| Michelle IA |
| ABSOLUTELY... my dog cannot handle cyclosporine whatsoever... this happened to her on 2 seperate occassions even before ever being diagnosed with AIHA... she was given large amounts of cyclo for her really bad skin allergies she used to get, and after months of being on cyclo this began happening very violently and she would squat every 5 months and it was all runny and liquid blood. it got to the point where it was uncontrollable too because i let the initial diharrea go for the first few days hoping that it would run its course... well that was a mistake and sway had to be hospitalized for a weekend and fluids had to be ran multiple times, all meds were stopped for the recovery period... since she handled it for the first couple months before it began to happen i then put her back on it because we didnt think that the cyclo was causing the problem. as soon as cyclo was added back to her meds, it began happening a day later and continued until the med was discontinued. luckily the 2nd time, i knew the signs to look for and immediately pulled her off cyclosporine for good. i actually created a thread about this issue about 3 years ago on another site if you wanted to check it out i can email the link to u for most people this med is a great help and really does some good things, for whatever reason it can cause really bad digestive tract issues with dogs with sensitive insides like mine apparently has. |
| josh california |
| My dog hasn't had any real problems with Cyclosporine. However, many dogs can have intestinal problems with it (like just about any medication). Sometimes, it can be helped with meds that soothe the stomach. Sometimes not. Sierra gets her cyclsoporine right after meals, maybe this is why she doesn't have a problem (I'm not recommending this is your vet says on an empty stomach, but it works for us). Josh, I went on Sway's blog. She looks great in her picture from March. |
| Ronda So Cal |
| Thank you both for the comments! I am so glad that I found this site. Emma is going to get rechecked in two weeks and, if I don't see any drastic improvement in her PCV, I am going to ask about taking her off of the Cyclosporine and see if that helps her issues. Hopefully we can find another medication that will be gentler on her system. Josh, my email address is EmmaLou0707@yahoo.com. I would love to take a look at your website. |
| Michelle IA |
| Just my opinion, but anything in the 40s is a good number. Early on in Sierra's journey, her vet said that high 40's - low 50's is preferable in a young dog (Sierra was 15 months when diagnosed), but also said that stability in the low-mid 40s was just fine in a dog with her condition. Sierra has never hit 50 since her diagnosis 5+ years ago. She generally hovers between 40-43 probably 95% of the time. |
| Ronda So Cal |
This thread was discussed between 19/08/2008 and 20/08/2008
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