Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Holly is sick again!!!

Not sure what is going on with Holly. Her last blood work was great on August 17, so per Dr Dodds we stopped the 1mg of prednisone as of August 18, that she was on once a week. This past week has been a nightmare!!! Vomiting, coughing, blood in her stools, refusing food completely, hives (sometimes just a few bumps on her head and twice all over her). Went down to the vet with her on Thursday, checked her briefly said she seemed okay, but was really wound up. Of course she had no hives at that time, and he said her lungs sounded clear. Then Thursday night, she got hives real bad, gave her 1mg of prednisone and called the vet Friday morning, he said give her Benadryl which we did one day, hives stopped, vomiting continued, so he said fast her for 12 hours then just blan diet of oatmeal, baby food, stuff like that. We did this all day yesterday, no vomiting, then about 4am this morning she started vomiting again, only just yellow flem. So gave her just a tiny bit of kibble soaked with water this morning to make soft, and also gave her sulcrate that we had from before, she is still coughing and getting just a few bumps on her head, they move from hour to hour which is really weird, no where else on her, just top of her head. I really doubt that she got stung outside and we have not changed a single thing in her diet up until this started. I just don't know what this could be??? At first I thought maybe the new can of dog food I opened maybe was bad. We give her Natural Balance, just 1 tiny teaspoon with her dry kibble at night dinner. I even contacted Natural Balance to see if any other problems, they said no. But did tell me sometimes dogs develope food sensitivities and the food needs to be changed. Do you think this could really be happening. She has been on the same dog food for about 1 year now. Now I am freaking out because thinking maybe heartworms! We really don't have a mosquito problem here, but I guess all it takes is one, and from what I have read could take 2 years. So sorry to go on so long, but just needed to vent. Linda

Linda Sapphire

One other thing, yesterday, her one eye was real bloodshot and oozing, of course the vet was closed, I used a tissue with some borac acid mixed with water on it, seemed to help a little. Could it just be like the flu or bad cold??

Linda Sapphire

I just found this post on terrific pets and now really freaking out, because we did notice on Holly yesterday that she has 2 little lumps on her chest and belly that were never there before, thought maybe part of the hives, but our other 2 dachshunds in Florida use to get the fatty cysts all the time, but these on Holly are just since yesterday that we actually noticed: I posted back in October about my dog getting hives. and i know a few other people posted too. If your dog has hives, or breaks out.. Please Please Please get them check. My 8yr pittbull, would randomly break out in hives, and we always took her to the vet. They'd give her a shot of steriods and benydrl and send her home. Well in october it got so bad, she was hospitalized for 3 days. And our vet had no clue what it was. We during this time.. she got a spot on her tummy. The spot kept getting bigger and bigger and we were told it was cosmetic and no need to worry. Well about 2 wks ago this "mass" popped. mind you it was the size of a 50 cent piece by now. After taking her to the one vet so many times. I was fed up. We took her to another vet and he removed it and bio'ed it. Well the test results came back. it was a cancerous mass. She just went threw her 2nd surgery, he removed about 10inches of skin from her stomach. and were waiting on the results to see if he removed it all. I pray he did. but im writing this as a warning. If u think there is something wrong with ur dog, there probably is. You know them best, and how they act. always go for a 2nd opinion. I wish, we would have caught this earlier, and maybe she would have only needed one minor surgery. Posted: 5:01:56 AM 7/22/2008 it's called mast cell tumors (cancer). One of the signs of a mast cell tumor metasticing is hives. Mast cells sometimes look like zits or moles. When they are hit it releases hystamine in there bodies which causes hives....if the cancer has got into there blood stream it can cause the vomitting and diarhea. check your dog over from head to toe for anything unusual looking. Look EVERYWHERE!!

Linda Sapphire

I am sorry that Holly is not feeling well. Try to remain calm until you find out exactly what is going on. It is easy to start freaking out and thinking the worst, but try not to do that. It's not good for you or for Holly. I have no experience/idea what could be afflicting Holly, I will leave the guess work to the people with more knowledge and experience. I will keep both of you in my thoughts and prayers and please be sure to let us know what the problem is. We are there for you.

Mardi Northern Cali

Linda, I can sense the panic in your notes. This is really a very unusual combination of blood in the stool and hives. I would ordinarily think hives would stem from an allergic reaction to something either tangible or airborne. I know you have quite a lot of land and perhaps varying plants surounding your resort. Is it posible she could have gotten into plants such a poison ivy? Is there anything like a dead mouse she could have somehow gulped down outside that might cause intestinal unflammation as well as an allergic reaction? Otherwise, I can't figure out the vomiting, coughing and blood in stool coupled with hives. You said she someties has a licking habit. Could she be licking something harboring some sort of chemical irritant? Also, small masses are not uncommon in older dogs. I wouldn't focus on mass cell tumors at this point. The fact that she was doing so well and then suddenly manifests these multiple systemic-like symptoms is very curious. Did the vet order a CBC? Please keep us posted. Thinking of you. Jan

Jan Philly

Dear Linda, I am so sorry that Holly is unwell. It must be very hard for you to believe that she was doing well enough to not need her prednisone anymore but now is feeling so poorly. You take such good care of Holly and I think everyone here would agree you are the perfect owner. Your description leaves me with a feeling that what you are thinking may be right. Of course, there are many many degrees of mast cell tumors. Some of them are significantly more treatable than others. I hope you can work closely with a veterinary specialist if you have one nearby. I am not a vet, but from my reading, one part of treatment is usually prednisone. So since Holly has been on it for so long, it will help to keep her on it now to reduce her symptoms and make her more comfortable until you can see your vet. Please let us know what happens. I will be thinking about both of you. my best patrice Here is one of the best websites I have found, the explanations are very detailed. http://www.kateconnick.com/library/mastcelltumor.html

Patrice NYS

Okay, last night was really bad! She had just a little kibble twice yesterday soaked in water to make it soft, once in morning and then dinner time, small amounts. Within an hour after dinner she vomited everything, few minutes later, more vomit with yellow mucous flem and a few little red spots in it. Very restless, scratching her head and ears and hives just kept moving all over her face, head & ears, no where else. It was like as she moved the hives would re-adjust, going from left to right, etc. Finally gave her 1mg of prednisone just to calm her down. Around 11pm before going to bed made her a little oatmeat and she turned her head and would not eat anything. Went to bed and she started coughing for about 1/2 hour and then calmed down. Usually at night she is tucked under the covers but while this is going on, she lays up top and is very cold to the touch at night. This morning got up and see no hives at all and seems fine, but that is the way it goes, plus we have 1mg of prednisone in her right now. Just called vet have 10:20 appointment, he is by no means a specialist and over the years have gotten very annoyed with him, which is why finally consulted with Dr Dodds and was also consulting with the Internist in Atlanta where she was originally hospitalized, but at least he can do some more blood work this morning. We checked her all over last night and other then these 2 little lumps on her chest and stomach, well actually the one on her chest is larger, she also keeps biting at her back end all the time and has NO fleas on her. Patrice, thanks for sending the link, so much of the symptoms is exactly what has been happening with Holly and I would think that the blood work today if it is this would show something. Jan, at first we just thought well she just got into something or it was the canned dog food, but has just gone on to long all last week, so at least 7 days now, maybe a little longer, trying to remember when the coughing started and the vomit of yellow mucous which was the first thing to start.As far as her going out, she basically just goes off the front porch to do her business and back inside, my hubby has a time just getting her to go to the back of the yard and watches her every minute. Our house has been closed up with A/c on and nothing changed inside. The licking she was doing was basically on the leather couch and in bed, and nothing new there. Okay, again sorry to be so long, will post more later if I find out something, otherwise we will have to wait for blood work to come back tomorrow. Thanks, Linda P.S., you guys are all the best, it always just helps to vent

Linda Sapphire

Linda, our thoughts and prayers are with you and Holly, we're hoping it's just an allergic reaction. I hope you can get to the bottom of this, Holly is such a tough little cookie, no doubt she will get through this with you by her side! Hugs, melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

Just got back from the vet. He wanted to keep her there at least today and possible over night. As of this morning she had no bumps on her head, but I had given her the 1mg of prednisone last night to calm her down. He is sure the one lump on her chest is just a fatty thing. He wants to keep her isolated from our enviroment, food, etc, to see if the hives come back down there. If they do then it will be something inside of her, if they don't then it will be something here. Which will be weird because NOTHING has changed here at the house or in her food. He said somethimes the manufacturers change products in the dog food. But she has been on Natural Balance for over a year now and we were at the bottom of the bag when this started last week. I even opened up a new bag yesterday just to make sure. It was so sad to leave her there, but I understand this is the only way to really find out what is going on with her. I will keep you all posted. Linda

Linda Sapphire

Linda, I am so sorry to hear about Holly, ask your vet about Histiocytosis, its an auto-immune disease of the skin, and see if they can rule this out. My brothers dog was diaagnosed with this, at first, they thought it was hives, the dog ahd little red splotches all over, then they thought he had gotten into a bees nest and stung,because it happened again and finally found a specilaist that diagnosed it http://www.histiocytosis.ucdavis.edu/faq.html hugs and prayers to Holly Laurie

Laurie CA

Linda, my thoughts are with you and Holly!

Wendi Ohio

Linda, Just wanted to send warm thoughts to you and Holly. I hope she gets better real soon!! Take Care, Layla & Tipsi

Layla Brantley Raleigh

Linda, I am so sorry your little Holly is having such a bad time of it. Hopefully the Vet will be able to figure out what is going on. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek calif

Linda, It does sound like Holly is having an allergic reaction to something. Darcy broke out on her belly one time after we'd been on a walk and crossed over a golf course. I believe it was chemicals they sprayed on the course that set off her reaction, so it could be a number of things causing Holly's problem. Darcy, too, has fat deposits. One is huge and the other is not so bad. They don't seem to bother her, so we've let them be. She has enough problems battling the anemia and doesn't need to deal with that unless they become uncomfortable. I know you hate being separated from Holly, but, hopefully, they'll be able to determine the reason for these reactions and it can be treated easily with something like Bendadryl. It will be interesting to see if they clear up while she's there and return after she gets home. If that happens, maybe you'll be able to determine the cause by eliminating things slowly, then reintroducing them. Does that make sense? Take care, Karen

Karen NC

Linda, I am sending ((hugs)) and keeping Holly in my prayers. I hope by now you have some news and know which direction you need to take! Jess

Jess BC

Thanks so much everyone, really missing our little girl tonight! Vet called around 4:30 to say that all was good, no hives seen, but then again, they had not fed her all day, and were just getting ready to feed her. They are keeping her overnight to observe her. He is suspecting that she is having an allergy induced stress related response. Being we stopped the prednisone, which was only on August 18 and this all started around August 22, so I don't think this is it. He said something about being on the prednisone her body was not reacting to something as it is now being off, but I don't think enough time gone by for this to happen. He is also going to do a smear on her bowel to check for bowel disorder and stomach I think he said, and wanted me to email Dr Dodds and see if okay to start her back on 1mg of prednisone every other day. I do not want to do this at all. When we had her on the 1mg of pred once a week she was fine and not even a week went by when she started having problems, so I think he is off base with this. Does anyone know how long the pred actually stays in their system?? And also has anyone ever heard that they can develop sensitivity to their dog food after being on it for a long time? This is what Natural Balance told me when I emailed them. She has been on the Natural Balance for about 1 year now. Thanks, Linda

Linda Sapphire

Hi Linda! You are one of the few names I recognize on here from back in 2007. I'm sorry to hear about Holly. I haven't been on here in some time as Monster was doing so well, but I'm beginning to think that we're having problems again. From what I remember Holly was doing better back then - could you fill me in as to her more recent history and what your experience has been. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! Jenelle & Monster

Jenelle Colorado

Hi Jenelle, Good to hear from you again, and yes I remember you also and Monster. How is Monster doing? Holly has been good last few weeks since her outbreak of hives and vomiting. We are still not exactly what caused it, we just switched dog food today becasue thinking that she had an allergic reaction to something. Went to all natural soap detergent, steam cleaned the carpets, got a new de-humidifier in basement, so all that is left is the dog food. She is still quite itchy, no fleas and no hives or vomiting. Still giving her 1/2 pill of Clemastine, but hopefully new dog food will take care of this. Went to Calf Natural Lamb & Rice which is for dogs with allergies. We might even go to a frozen raw diet soon. She is off prednisone now, this ended on August 18th, give or take, she had I think 2 1 mg pills the weekend after for hives. Gums are still nice and pink. After the last go around with our vet, I think we have found a new one, she practices Holistic as well as conventional and just a little bit further away. Let me know how Monster is doing. Linda

Linda Sapphire

Linda, I am doing a bit of guessing here. When has Holly's thyroid been checked last? i know there can be a connection with thyroid and skin problems. i can't remember if hypo or hyper. maybe worth looking into it? Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Monster isn't doing well. We were med free a little over a year, but I think we're having problems again. I'm taking her in this week to have her PCV checked to find out what's going on. I'd been telling my husband that she was losing weight for some time now and finally he agreed so we're off to the vet. Her gums and tongue don't look like they did last time, but I'm hoping that we've caught it a bit earlier and treatment will be a little easier on her this time. How lucky you are to find a holistic vet! Did Holly ever get med free? How long have you been battling this now? Thanks for the info! Keep us updated. puppy hugs to all. Jenelle & Monster

Jenelle Colorado

Linda, I'm not familiar with Natural Balance, but I do know that when you're feeding a dog a homemade diet, that the guidelines say to alternate the food so they don't develop a food allergy. This is on the sheet our holistic vet provides. I hope you soon get to the root of Holly's allergies. Take care, Karen

Karen NC

This thread was discussed between 30/08/2009 and 14/09/2009

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