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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Hope for now
| Hi -- I've been hanging around here since October, when my 5 year old Cocker, Penny, was diagnosed with AIHA. Although I haven't contributed much to the discussion, it has been helpful to read about the issues everyone has -- especially the good news. So I thought I'd share with you our good news. We are now 4-1/2 months into this thing. Penny started out with a hematocrit of 7, and spent 7 days in the hospital. We've been doing all of the drugs, bloodwork, food etc. that everyone else has, and there have definitely been ups and downs. Last Friday, Penny had her regular blood test and her hematocrit is finally up -- to 38! We cut the prednisone again (she started at 40mg/day, and is now down to 5mg/day). What a change after a week! She is running again, really alert and paying attention to what's going on. Maybe she'll start playing again soon. Penny developed Cushing's syndrome from the pred, and it looks like that too is starting to improve. I just wanted to let everyone know that there is hope. It's hard work, and requires commitment and emotional stamina from the owners, but it is possible for our pets to have a good quality of life again. Hang in there, Christine |
| Christine N. CA |
| Christine, Great news! It is really good to read that there are those that survive this ugly disease and go on to have a good life. Congratulations! Gail |
| Gail SD |
| Christine, I just reread your note and am wondering about Cushing's Disease. If you read my update on my dog (Jennie Update) we're trying to find what is causing her to have this outrageous WBC. How did your Vet diagnose the Cushings? My vet is going to call me this evening to let me know if Jennie is responding at all to the antibiotic and I want to ask him about this. Thanks for your attention. Gail |
| Gail SD |
| Gail, Unfortunately, all dogs taking high doses of prednisone for long periods of time develop Iatrogenic Cushings Disease. This means that by flooding the adrenal glands with high amounts of cortisol (prednisone) the body responds with the same kind of side effects that would occur if the adrenal glands began to do this themselves. This is a very well written web site about Cushings Disease in dogs. http://www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html Generally in most cases of Iatrogenic Cushings Disease, when the prednisone doses are reduced, the adrenal glands will begin to re-awaken and begin to function normally. I have already seen this happen with Chance so I assure you that the side effects will go away in most cases and there will be no lingering problems. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Patrice, I have just been reading the link you posted: The most common symptoms include.....(Cushing's disease) It would seem that AIHA has the same symptoms: Increase in water, pop belly, over eating, hungry all the time etc etc. I don't quite understand Cushing's disease, if I have , so is it not the AHIA that's causing all these symptons but Cushing's disease? Tricia Sorry but I'm a little confused now |
| Tricia UK |
| Hi Tricia! You and me both are confused! I JUST DON'T WANT MY DOG TO DIE YET and I'm really grasping too. Gail |
| Gail SD |
| Ladies don't jump to the wrong conclusions. I interpreted what I read that the pred can cause a form of Cushings that is reversible once the pred is lowered/stopped. That this can be a side effect of the pred. Maybe Patrice can explain it better. Evelyn |
| Evelyn So Jersey |
| Evelyn, Good deal! You are right on. Indeed, Iatrogenic Cushings is caused by the high doses of prednisone and it does diminish as the dosage is reduced. So the side effects of high doses of prednisone are panting, hair loss, high liver enzymes, muscle wasting and weakness, incredible thirst, constant peeing, reduced ability to resist bacterial and viral infections either on the skin or in the body, abnormal hunger, pot belly etc. I think that the web site link I put up explains it so much better than I can. Remember, this woman's beautiful dog had the real Cushing's Disease and that is not reversible, only treatable. Dogs with Iatrogenic Cushings have a reversible condition. In most cases when you remove most of the prednisone, the adrenal glands "wake up" and respond by going back into business on their own. They moderate the amount of cortisol sent to the body so that only the amount needed is made. The symptom of AIHA is anemia. This is a reduced number of red blood cells in circulation. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body cells to provide energy to the body. Reducing the number of red blood cells means less oxygen to the body. In some cases it can also be a reduced number of white blood cells. These help fight infection. And very unlucky dogs also have a reduced platelet level as well. These help the body to stop bleeding. Of the three, the last is the most dangerous. Transfusions can provide many of the things that red blood cells provide, less of the white blood cells or platelets. In many cases, if the prednisone fails to do what it's supposed to in a certain "window of time" other drugs are brought into the treatment plan so that the prednisone dosage can be reduced. The side effects are not desirable for long periods of time because they diminish the dog's ability to fight infection or produce blood properly. The other drug we used was cyclosporine. With it we were able to begin reducing the prednisone slowly. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed between 01/03/2008 and 02/03/2008
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