Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - iMHA DIagnosis

Our 9 yr old Sh*tzu was diagnosed with IMHA on Aug 16th. WHat a complete shock that was.She had the classic signs but as she has had back problems in the past and was put on steroids for that we thought that was the problem. OTher than her occasional back problem, she was completely healthy for the past 8 hrs. When I questioned the vet as to how she may gotten this, she said they don't know why it happens but it can be caused by vaccinations. She had just had her annual vaccine within the past 2 months. SHe immediately put her on high doses of steroids and some other medications. THe first blood test reading was 20 and after 48 hrs had risen to 26. WE were very encouraged by the rapid results, but since then it has not risen. HEr appetite is very good but she tires easily and extremely thirsty. THe vet called yesterday and said she should be hospitalized so that they could give an IV and increase her steroids. She said that she suspects an infection and is giving her antibiotics as well.We went to see her tonight and she was very happy to see us and looked a little Better. Her next blood test is Friday and if it has not gone up by then she wants us to take her to the PEI Veterinary college for more in depth treatment. We are convinced that it was the vaccine that caused this yet they don't think so. After doing research it seems that it could very well be the vaccine.FRom what I understand, there is a push on to limit some vaccines to once every 3 years and some only once in a lifetime. I talked with the registrar of veterinarians and he claims he has never treated a case of IMHA in 37 yrs of practice. HArd to believe with what you find on the internet, it seems like a pandemic. Anyway, that is a fight for another day, we are focused on getting our little girl better for now. It is so sad to see her in this condition, although we know that it could be far worse at this point. IF only they had explained that this was a possible effect of the vaccine, we would never had it done. We'll keep you posted as to how she is doing.

Jon & Linda Nova Scotia

My wonderful Golden, Jack, was vaccinated July 16, 2010, immediately started acting "sick" as never before. I took him into the vet on a Wed. he was dead that Sunday, Aug 15th. I AM totally convinced this horrific syndrome comes on immediately following vaccinations. I'd NEVER heard of it, and never saw anything like this ever, this syndrome is also in humans... You are in my prayers, Mary, Molly (and Jack, RIP)

Mary Wright Gainesville

Dear Jon & Linda, I am so sorry to hear your girl was diagnosed with IMHA - what is her name? My Maltese Shihtsu X was also diagnosed with IMHA at age 10 - she is a 19 month survivor - so there is hope. Vaccines can indeed cause IMHA - though we can never conclusively prove this. I believe my Millie's IMHA was vaccine induced, and so do many others on this forum. This forum is absolutely wonderful for support. One thing I can tell you is to be patient with the PCV. My own experience with Millie was we sat at PCV 27 following a blood transfusion, and did not rise for about 2 weeks! But it did rise. One thing to check on the blood tests is the reticulocyte count. This will show you how many "baby" red blood cells are being released by the bone marrow. IF this is high, it shows the bone marrow is responding to the lack of red blood cells by sending the baby cells out. This means the anemia is regenerative. IF there are little to no reticulocytes, this is non-regenerative anemia and is much more difficult to deal with. Has your vet done tests to check for tick disease? This is also a common cause of IMHA. I would also recommend x-ray and ultrasound to check for cancers which can also trigger IMHA. I assume your girl is on prednisone. Most dogs are put on a second immune suppressant - cyclosporine or azathioprine. Can you tell us what medications and dosages your girl is on so we know a bit more? She should be on at the very least medication to prevent ulcers and protect the stomach lining (Pepcid and carafate perhaps?). I hope all goes well, 26 is not a bad PCV, many dogs are much lower when they are diagnosed. Take care, Sam & Millie.

Samantha Geelong Australia

Jon & Linda. Sorry you have had to join the board but glad you found such a wonderful place for compassion and support. You may have already found your way to Joanne's site but just in case here is a link http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ We have another poster Johnny who is in your area who is dealing with a few crises of his own right now but I am sure he can fill you in on good Vets and such. Some times you will never know what the trigger was. I believe my dogs was a bee sting but I do believe vaccines are the culprit in a lot of cases. Your dogs breed is also a possibility. Don't waste a lot of energy on that aspect instead save it fir the fight. A lot of Vets claim this is a very rare disease but like you have already discovered it is anything but. It sounds like your Vet is doing all the things that they should be doing and has at least suggested PEI. I am surprised that they are waiting until Friday for the next blood work though. Any questions, worries concerns etc. toss them out and people will be very quick to respond with their experiences. We are not certified or qualified as Vets but one thing we all do understand is our pets (furry kids). Start a spread sheet or some kind of journal to track what is going on with your little girl (what is her name?) It will be really helpful to look back on. You will want to keep track of meds and test results and your own observations of her behavior because there is so much to take in initially it all becomes a blur. Thinking of you Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Jon& Linda, I am so very sorry to hear of your dog's IMHA diagnosis. Penny has already given you the URL to my Web site on Canine AIHA/IMHA. If you have not visited it as yet, please do so when you can. Please follow the links on the bottom of 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. Vaccinces can be the trigger for AIHA/IMHA: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8884713?dopt=Abstract but there are many other triggers as well. Indeed the American Animal Hospital Assocation has endorsed giving vaccines every 3 years instead of yearly, but many vets are slow to take this recommendation. Overvaccination can be the cause of many animal health problems. The fact that your girl is eating well is good news. Also a PCV of 26 is not that bad. I have seen dogs with PCV's in the low single digits, one as low as 3, recover and do well. Being tired is very normal for the disease. Know that all of us on this board have walked in your shoes at one time or another and be assured you and your dear gal are in my thoughts and prayers.

Joanne MN

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Our little girls name is Nikki. As mentioned earlier, we believe that her IMHA was caused soley by the overdose of vaccine. When I questioned the Vet, she was very defensive as to the cause and my suggestion that it was the vaccine. The evidence in my opinion is all over the internet from concerned vets and people whose pets have suffered & died because of this. As with most people,we trusted our vet & had no idea that this side effect was even possible.After researching the little that we have, it is clear that there is abundant evidence from hundreds of concerned verterinarians that certain breeds, older females are more susceptible to this happening and we feel that if we can find out this information so easily via the internet, that our vet should have known the risks of giving our girl this unecessary vaccine and at least warned us of the possible side effects it could have.If we had known, we would never had it done. I find it unfathomable that this could be all about bringing in more money for the vet, from the cost of the visit & the injection, to the high cost of treatment once the disease has been diagnosed.I have checked with the provincial veterinary association about the the prevelance of this happening and I was told that they keep no records of this or anything else and that there are no reporting requirements. The only records are kept at each individual veterinary office and are unaccessable. My goal at the end of this ghastly journey is to do whatever we have to do to make it mandatory that veterinarians disclose the possible high risk side effects of giving vaccines and the frequency of them. We are well aware that this could have been caused by something else,but our Nikki was perfectly healthy for 8 years until shortly after recieving the annual vaccine and after what we have recently read on the subject, ther is no doubt in our minds that it was caused by an overdose of vaccine. We'll keep you posted as to how our Nikki is doing.

Jon & Linda Nova Scotia

Where in NS are you located?

Johnny

Jon & Linda, I totally agree with your last statement......there are drug warnings, side effect information on EVERYTHING for humans......why not dogs. I, like you, did extensive internet research and discovered there is no "known" cause nor an absolute "cure". Funny that Jack was totally just fine up until he was vaccinated....one month almost to the date - gone. I also believe that there is such a strong correlation between the vaccines and this immediate onset of this syndrome that I, too, was stunned to learn that NO ONE is tracking this, as you mentioned. There seems to be an awful lot of this stuff going around but no one has taken enough notice to do research to see what the cause is or the cure could be, or study why this is happening or even track to know the statistics.......interesting. Best wishes for ya'll and Nikki, Hang in there. Time wasn't on our side.... Mary & Molly (and Jack, who will always be with me)

Mary Wright Gainesville

Hear, Hear, Jon & Linda!! You are so right! After a month with our local vet. treating her for Evans Syndrome we went to PEI because too many mistakes were being made for my dear little dog Sophie. PEI were simply wonderful the cost of the bridge and gas was equal to not paying taxes on the tests and consult. Their prices were incredibly cheaper then our vets here and the meds too. They put some fears to rest and put Sophie on the right doses which is extreamly important so they don't relapse like Sophie did. Your vet sounds good but you really need to see a specialist regards to this disease so your dog is getting the very best care. We have transferred to a local vet now who is a internal specialist here in Moncton. And our little one is weekly getting better. The struggle with the side effects are enormous on her but we are 4mths into this now and she is slowly returning to her old self. Sophie also received her parvio vaccine and teeth cleaning which are all elective procedures which caused her to almost die. She is in the highest risk group for this disease and it was never mentioned to me before these treatments were given. I am very mad about this because I would never have had those things done for her. It was a little tarter on her teeth and she could of had a teeter test for the parvio vaccine. They need to give us the info before they recommend these elective procedures on our dogs. I hope and pray your little one is strong to fight this horrible disease. My prayers are with you both. Sincerely Debbie and Sophie

debbie N.B. Canada

HI Everyone We thank you all for your kind, heart felt words and comments. NIkki was hospitalized for three days and were able to bring her home tonight. We visited her every night and saw that she was looking better each day.Her blood test today had her rbc up to 30 which is very good. The antibiotics seemed to clear up her infection.somewhat and she is more alert and very happy to be home with Walter & Ollie her cat buddies. They have increased her steroids to 8 per day and also added some antibiotics for the next week or so.We are very happy and cautiously optimistic about her progress, one day at a time.They say the first 2 weeks are crucial. We are very fortunate that we are in a position to be able to afford the cost of treatment so far, in the past 2 weeks the cost has been approximately $1000 with more ongoing costs For the next several months. We can't imagine the stress and anxiety it would put on a pet owner who loves thier dog dearly who could not afford the cost of treatment. I think a good starting point to stop this unnecessary cruelty to our pets is to talk with our vets and ask them to make it their policy to inform pet owners of the potentially dangerous side effects of vaccines and adopt a policy of only absolutely necessary use.I'm 53 years old and I don't remember when i was growing up any rabid dogs, or hearing of dogs with severe health problems, or dogs needing special foods and drugs. THe dogs always seemed healthy and happy and lived their life to a ripe old age. For a lot of us, our pets bring us immense joy and happiness, we understand what they want and need just by giving us a certain look,we follow their routines strictly without complaining just because it,s what they want and love.I have talked with my vet several time in the course of the last 2 weeks,only about Nikki's treatment, but once she is on the road to recovery, I will be reviewing the events with her and asking that she please inform all of her pet owners about the risks associated with vaccines and let the owner decide what's best for their pet. NIkki is back in again on Monday for another blood test and I'll let you know how she is. Thanks again for all of your kind words and support, it is very much appreciated.

Jon & Linda Nova Scotia

Dear Jon and Linda, I am so glad to hear Nikki is doing so well. it is a long journey to recovery, but so far so good! I know your frustrations with this being caused by Nikki's vaccination. My Millie's trigger was also most likely her annual vaccination. I was angry at first, but when my vet said that Millie was the third case she had seen in her life, I put that in comparison with how many dogs she had vaccinated and figured Millie was just unlucky! No question our dogs are over vaccinated and that IMHA is not the only consequence of this. maybe they should encourage titer testing? It really is a fine line because they also need to encourage responsible pet ownership, which means vaccinations. I volunteer at a wildlife shelter here. We were recently caring for a dingo pup with parvo and I will never forget how sick he was. He made it, but he was a very sick boy and nearly lost his life at only five weeks old. There is no easy answer, but I figure that the risk of IMHA is a lot less than parvo, distemper and all those nasty canine diseases. I continue to vaccinate my non IMHA dogs, but they are now titer tested first to see if the vaccination is needed. All the best with Nikki's journey back to health. Sam and Millie.

Samantha Geelong Australia

Jon & Linda...how's Nikki doing? Hope all is well. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Jon and Linda, We are battling IMHA, too but we believe it was zinc toxicity and an infection from her swallowing a metal "o" ring, which she finally passed. She was hospitalized at 18% PVC and went down to 10%, got a one time transfusion and the meds kicked in and she came home 3 days later. Tori is a little miniture poodle with an adorable personality. We decided to give her a chance to fight and though it is costly, we are grateful for every day we have with her. She is in recovery and today her PVC was 40%! Praying your Nikki will respond quickly with the meds! Blessings, Cindi

Cindi & Tori PCB

Nikki update Hi Everyone Wanted to give an update on Nikki's imha condition. She has been home from the hospital for about 9 days now. Her infection has been cleared up by her stay at the hospital. Her last pvc count on Friday Sept 3rd was 32.5 up from 20 on Aug 16th.It seems to us that this is a very good sign but the vet wants to do several new tests including ultra sound and xrays to make sure nothing else is happening. She has the usual side effects from the Dexamethasone dosage of 0.25 x 4 twice a day along with 1/4 tab Azathioprine every 2nd day,50 mg of Doxycycline twice per day. 2.5 ml Sulcrate Suspension 3 times a day and 5 mg of Pepcid AC once a day.She is very low on energy, but has a good appetite along with good bowel movements.We asked the vet what our target pvc # was and she said it should be about 40. We are wondering if anyone can let us know why the vet wants to do all of these new tests when it seems that Nikki's pvc is good ( 32.5 ) and still increasing on average since Aug 16th at aprox .66 per day since she started on the medications.and should be to the target of 40 within about another week or so. We have read that it can some times take months to get back to a normal pvc level and Nikki's count should be back to normal in less than month after the diagnosis and start of treatment.This seems to be a very positive sign to us, but the vet wants these new tests and xrays done asap as the radioligist they use is only available for 2 days next week and the costs would be in the $600 - $800 range. Is this a normal course of action before she reaches her normal pvc level? It seems to us that we should get her pvc # to normal levels and then discuss required options as needed. Is it normal for her to have low energy levels while on these drugs? Thanks for your help and support and we look forward to hearing from you.

Jon & Linda Nova Scotia

$600-$800 sounds fairly steep. ARE YOU USING MY VET??? LOL What tests do they want to run all? There's several tests that should be run *usually* around the time of diagnosis. Ultrasounds and xrays are usually among the more common. Other tests *I'd* want to do if it were me is a full tick panel...which may not show anything since they have him on Doxy already, and a full thyroid panel ...which I would send out to Dr. Dodds at hemopet since she does a breed/age/sex specific panel...the best in the world! I'm in NS also and have sent blood off to her several times. For $200 you can get a full CBC, full chemical panel, SUPER thyroid panel, a morphology as well as her own analysis and recommendations. Worth EVERY little cent!!! Where about in Nova Scotia are you located? Low energy levels can be expected at least until the crit rises. It's best to keep them rested and calm and stress free. I can't remember...how much does she weigh? Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Hi Johnny Thanks for your reply.We are located in Dartmouth NS.All we get for $200 is the full CBC. Nikki's weight is about 18 lbs.The vet wants to do an ultra sound and a few xrays,so she can rule out possible causes, which we would be ok with except for the fact that we had a perfectly healthy dog until about 6 weeks after vaccination.From what I read throughout the internet,Nikki meets the profile of dogs that are very susceptable to this happening. As she has prgressed well in the last 3 weeks, from 20 to 32.5 we are leaning more towards getting her up to her normal of 40 in the next week or so and if needed, go from there.Our vet has never mentioned the things you have mentioned,full chemical panel, SUPER thyroid panel, a morphology etc. Do you happen to know what the average time is to get her count back to normal? Thanks for your thoughts.

Jon & Linda NS

Jon, try not to expect steady climbs in the crit. While it is possible many dogs level off *before* they get to the normal range. My Tessy did this. She climbed really well until she got to the high 20's low 30's and then she stcuk there for what seemed an eternity. Every dog is different....maybe Nikki might get there fast but I just wanted to warn you that most don't. The reason for doing the ultrasounds/xrays anbd actually ALL the other tests is because if you get the crit higher you want to lower the drugs BUT it isn't wise to do unless you know for sure that everything is good. If you start to lower drugs without fixing a known problem (if there even is one...that's what they want to find out) then the likelyness of the dog relapsing is much greater. Let's talk prices. To me it sounds like this vet is taking you for all you got. $200 just for a CBC??? That's insane! I thought my vet charged high prices. I have to pay $60 for a CBC but to get a chemistry included with the CBC it comes to around $140. I wonder if maybe the $200 you are paying includes a chemistry. Do you have copies of the bloodwork? If not get them. If you want I'll call the clinic and ask them for prices. That way we can compare results....just to make sure they aren't over charging you. That's up to you if you want to share the clinic. From what I can remember there's only a few clinics in the dartmouth area. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Hello Jon and Linda, I am just seeing your post, and want to mention that HEMOPET can do this bloodwork at a very reasonable cost, and you get an analysis from Dr. Dodds with it. I find it worth it, unless there is an emergtency that yoiu need the numbers now. Regarding vaccinations, i believe they contribute to many dogs AIHA. Having said that, and i believe my dog got aiha from vaccinations, I also believe that frontline and other flea medicines contribute to this - i think a combination of surgery, vaccinations, and frontline, and maybe even heartguard all in a month time span contributed to Kent's developing this horrible disease. But i will never know. I wish we knew more, but I am sure that it is 'environmental insults' that cause most cases. I am thinking of you and Nikki, and hoping for a complete recovery for her, and all the other dogs battling this disease. Christine

Christine Florida

This thread was discussed between 26/08/2010 and 06/09/2010

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