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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Help need feed back
| I posted last night about my standard poodle and he is showing progress. His PCV went from 18 to 19.5 last night. The hospital is wanting him to stay a couple more days and to be honest I cant afford it. Can I treat him at home ok? As I mentioned in my last post I lost his mother to the same disease. Charm never made it out of the hospital. |
| Suzy and Darrell AZ |
| My little Ernie was originally diagnosed with A PCV of 15. He was never hospitalized and he had no transfusion. He was treated at home with me right from the start, although I had to take him to the vet daily for the first 4 days. After that it was weekly, and gradually increasing the gap between visits. I suppose it depends a lot on what sort of condition your dog is in. Is he able to breathe ok without oxygen? Is he eating and drinking ok? Is he on his meds in tablet form or is he having them injected? In Ernies case they felt that they couldn't do any more for him by keeping him in that I could do for him at home. Another big factor in the decision was that someone was able to be with Ernie pretty much 24 hours a day, and we are only about 20 mins from the vets should an emergency arise. Sue |
| Sue Northants UK |
| Suzy & Darrell, I am so very sorry to hear you have a second dog diganosed with AIHA/IMHA. None of us on this forum are vets so it is impossible for us to tell you whether you should take your Simon home now or not. It might be very wise for you to ask the vet why he/she wants to keep Simon longer, do they want to give IV fluids, give IV meds or shots or do they just want to keep him for observation. Once you learn the answers to these questions you will be able to make a better decison. We gave our Meisha IV fluids at home after our vet taught us how. On many occasions when she was ill we would take her home at night when the clinic closed since there was no one to be with her overnight and return her to the clinic first thing in the morning, sometimes for just blood tests or sometimes to be left all day for observation. These are a few options you might want to consider. If you have not read my Web site on AIHA/IMHA as yet: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ you might want to do so when you can. Be sure to follow the links on the first page to many other sites on AIHA/IMHA that will be very helpful to you and do read the SUCCESS STORIES pages. They will show you what has worked for other dogs in terms of treatment options as well as give you a lot of HOPE. While AIHA/IMHA is very difficult disease, dogs CAN and DO survive it and go on to live happy healthy lives. I pray that this will be the case for your most beloved Simon |
| Joanne MN |
| Thank you both for the nice comments. I am picking up Simon at 6 tonight.. I will update you all on what is going on.. |
| Suzy and Darrell AZ |
| Suzy...I agree with Joanne, if they don't have to give the dog fluids or a transfusion, you should be able to nurse the dog at home. My dog was sent home with PCV level about where your dog is. I slept in the same room with the dog for several weeks, and my wife was with her during the day. They seem to require reassurance from you and of coarse they have to go outside almost every 2 hours from all the liquids they drink from the Prednisone. The dog sleeps in our room and one of us still has to get up one or two times throughout the night. It is like having a newborn again... You will be better at monitering eating habits and subtle changes in your dog. If you are close to your vet you can always take her in for a blood test. Good Luck, Ron |
| Ron B San Mateo |
This thread was discussed between 07/01/2008 and 08/01/2008
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