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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - I'm so scared
| This is my 2nd trip down the nightmare road of IMHA. 15 years ago my 10 year Airedale Katie was her normal self Sunday, lethargic Monday, diagnosed Tuesday, and died Wednesday. Ever since then I've taken my dogs to the vet at the first sign of anything out of the ordinary. Airedales aren't in one of the high risk groups so I was stunned when my sweet Calvin was diagnosed. Same thing as with Katie. Normal one day, sick the next. He is only 3. His PCV was 15, was transfused, hospitalized for 2 days, put on prednisone and cyclosporin. It's been a month. In that time, we've been back to the hospital twice, once with pancreatitis and just today with colitis. The vet said things are looking good and we have a good chance of getting through this. PCV today was 41 - a great number. But I am just sick at heart and so afraid. We are decreasing the pred, which is great because the docs think that is causing the other problems, but I'm so afraid he might relapse with a lower dose. I'm so grateful we've made it this far. But I'm constantly worried about the next horrible thing that might happen. Does the time ever come when you can relax and feel like you might beat this thing? |
| Denae So. California |
| Denae, I am so very sorry to hear you are taking a trip down the AIHA/IMHA road for the second time in 15 years. Having lived with a dog who had AIHA for nearly 10 years myself I can relate to your fear. But I would urge you not to give in to that fear. Instead enjoy each and evey day you have with Calvin and do not borrow trouble from the future. I know that is so much easier said then done, but worrying about tommorow only spoils today. 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 provide you with a lot of HOPE. |
| Joanne MN |
| Joanne thanks for the kind words. I've read your site & appreciate all the good info. And I'm so glad there are so many success stories. I'm planning on Calvin being one of them. I know I need to stay positive. It's just such a rollercoaster - things will be going well then they turn bad. But every minute I have with Calvin is a gift and I'm going to cherish every one of them. |
| Denae SoCal |
| Denae, Sorry ro hear of Calvin's situation. I have had 2 Airedales and love the breed. I now have a 3 yr old Irish Terrier, Fitz, who was diagnosed on 3/07/08. It came from out of the blue. One day he was fine and two days later he spent the day at the vets having iv's of pred & antibiotics. His PCV was 15%. While his blood was at the lab my vet took aggressive action in anticipation that the trigger was a tick borne disease. Once the results came back we saw no tick borne disease. Since then he has been on pred, 20mg once day in the beginning and now down to 10mg once day Qing Ying Yang,Milk Thistle and SamE (to cleanse the liver.He also gets pepcid 2 x day and cyclosporine 0.ml once a day. on 3/8 he had a barium series with x rays(on Sat). It appeared he had a mass on one side so an ultrasound was scheduled for the following week. The ultrasound showed no mass and his organs looked normal. For the passed 3 weeks his PCV has been 38% and then last week it was 41%. So I feel we have been given a miracle. His case is idiopathic. There is a wealth of information on this forum to study that will help you deal with this. Does your vet know what the cause is for Calvin ? Absolutely NO flea,tick or heartworm meds and NO vaccines for him while he is in this state. They can be disastrous. My Fitz has tolerated the cyclosporine much better than the pred. And Dr Dodds actually recommends cyclosporine. And Milk Thistle. You may want to read this http://www.hemopet.org/files/Immune%20mediated%20hematologic%20disease.pdf I will be thinking of you and Calvin. Keep us posted on his progress and try to think & expect a positive outcome from this. Linda & Fitz |
| Linda Asheville |
| Hi Denae, I don't write on here often at the moment, but I do always check in to see who/what is new. I just wanted to let you know that I understand what you are going through. We have a shih-tzu who was diagnosed with AIHA in Spring 2005. She is in full remission and has been med-free for over 2 years. But we also had a maltipoo who had his first bout with ITP in Fall 2005 when he was not quite 3 years old(like AIHA but with platelets instead of red blood cells). You can imagine how terribly disheartening it was to get that second diagnosis. Sadly, he succumbed to ITP Sept 2006. You can't help but have the thought go through your head wondering what you do or don't do to attract these terrible diseases, despite best efforts and regular vet visits! Yes, it is a heck of a roller coaster, but it can be overcome. Stay positive and enjoy every minute with your pup, and keep doing the good work you are doing. Best of luck to you and Calvin for continued good progress. Christina |
| Christina Campbell River |
| Hang in there Denae. I don't know if there will ever be a time for us to relax since this disease just seems to come out of nowhere. But we sure hope all will be well with Calvin. Keeping you in our thoughts. |
| leslie ca |
This thread was discussed between 14/04/2008 and 18/04/2008
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