Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Hair Loss

Hi Folks, Henri, our Westie puppy, is doing very well with the medications reductions. He diagnosed 02/28/09 with vaccine-induced IMHA. Initially, he was on 50mg/day cyclosporine, 10mg/day prednisone, and 25mg/every other day AZT. Now her is off cyclosporine, on 2.5mg/day prednisone, and continues the 25mg/every other day AZT. His hematocrit has been checked 2 weeks after each medication reduction and is holding steady at 40-43%. My question is about 1-month ago, Henri lost 1/2 his fur, seemingly all at once, it just fell out. His coat is very thin. Which drug may be causing this? Will it return? And if so, how long will it take? Thank you so much for your assistance. Furhugs, Ella

Ella Seattle

Ella, it was so good to hear from you. We haven't heard from you and Henri in such a long time and I was wondering how the little guy is doing. I was happy to hear he is doing well. I am no help with the hair loss issue. I know it is not uncommon. Kahlu's coat looks pretty pathetic right now and I was wondering the other day how long it will be until he has his shiny curls again. He has started to loose hair about 4 weeks after diagnosis and it is still coming out after over 4 months. Their coat is such a mirror of their over all health and I would love to see it get nicer again. My guess is that the prednisone is doing it to them, but some more experienced people might have more insight. It was incredibly hot here over the last few days (over 85 degrees!) Kahlu was probably happy his coat is very thin. I took him to a cool river and he was so happy to chase a stick in the cool water. Best wishes to all, Brigitte & Kahlu

Brigitte BC Canada

Hi Ella Good to read that Henri is doing well. It's the Pred that makes their hair fall out, or stop growing. When Billy was being treated he lost a lot of his fur and where he was shaved for bloods, scans etc it never grew back. Towards the end of his time and the pred was reduced he grew wispy hair (we called it his chemo hair). But it always grew on his chin so he had a permanent goaty beard which I had to keep trimming. Keep up the good work Steph

Steph Gloucestershire UK

So happy to hear Henri is recouping so well! Tiggs hair started to fall out and it turned out he developed Hypothyroid, which is very common in IMHA dogs due to the meds and the disease. So, you should definitely consider having a thyroid panel run, he may need thyroid supplements, which are inexpensive and have little to now side effects. Also, Pred will stunt hair growth. Tiggs front legs were shaved when he first became ill, and the hair took 6-8 months to grow back, AFTER he was on very low, low doses of Pred. Please keep us posted! melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

Ella, Sorry you are going through this. It's very difficult to watch your dog go through the body and hair changes that comes from high dose prednisone use. I can assure you that it does get better once the dose of pred is lowered and finally eliminated. Check out the first three photos of Chance's gallery to see how badly he looked and how much better he looked by the next year. http://www.flickr.com/photos/patricel/sets/72157602714279765/ I haven't done a picture of him this year, but it's due, and you would be amazed at the shiny coat he has now. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

Hi Ella, Yup, it's the pred that causes the hair loss. Brindle lost some of her coat too but it all came back in beautifully when she was off the pred. Good luck on a continued recovery, Christina

Christina Campbell River

Thanks so much! Henri's prednisone was reduced from 5mg/day to 2.5mg/day, last week. In a few weeks, the prednisone will be reduced again. Hopefully, we will start to see his coat thicken. I must tell you, that our puppy, only this past week seems to have returned to his normal playfully self. Henri has started to unload the toy box when he wants to play, scattering the toys all over the house. We thought maybe he had just grown out of his playfullness but it appears to be the illness/medications. It has been a long journey but Henri has done very well, being a puppy seems to have been his advantage. Keep your fingers crossed!! Henri sends lots of terrier kisses! Sincerely, Ella

Ella Seattle

Ella , We have a couple things in comman. Cooper, an Airedale, was diagnosed on 2/28/09 just as Henri was. And I can affirm that Cooper has lost almost all of his rich rust colored dense outer coat. I am happy that you asked the question and equally pleased that Patrice is "guarenteeing" that their original coats will return in due time. Congratulations on having Henri's HCT in the low forties. Cooper is right on his tail(excuse the pun) with his PCV at 40 as of todays vet check. Ron & Cooper

Ron Fl

Ron, Thank you for your comment. Henri has lost all his outer coat, as well. The only remaining hair is the soft downy undercoat. He looks dirty all the time because his skin is darkening in the sun and he has very little white hair on his back right now. Henri had been being stripped rather than cut to bring in his outer coat--his outer coat was coming in very well until his crisis. I am happy to hear that Cooper is doing well, too. Healing thoughts, Ella

Ella Seattle

This thread was discussed between 05/06/2009 and 06/06/2009

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