Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Is all hope lost?

Our beloved Callie, a jack russell terrier was diagnosed with IMHA August 10th with a red blood count of 12. At 11 she had her first transfusion and the count went up temporarily to 25. She is on Prednisone, Atopica, and Azothyroprin. Aug. 27th she had her second transfusion and red blood count went from 15 to 38! Today, Aug.31 it is down to 25. Can anyone tell me if there is any hope, and how long did it take to see a turn of events? After other tests, bone marrow does not show much production of red blood cells, nothing showed on her ultrasound and our vet is not too optomistic at this point. We are just so desperate at this point to make her better.

Valerie Texas

I am so sorry your Callie is going through this. Of course there is hope! Read through all the different threads on this site and you will see all the struggles and successes that everyone and their furballs are going through. This disease has its ups and downs and can wear you and your pup down, but stay strong and always remain hopeful and optimistic. The people here are wonderful kind, caring people who have a broad base of knowledge and experience. The first thing is to find a vet that is knowledgeable regarding this disease. Your vet not being optimistic at the onset is not a person you want on board for the long haul. The counts, as you well see after reading through this site, aren't that bad, considering. Good luck and keep us posted on how you and Callie are doing.

Mardi Norhtern Cali

Dear Valerie, I am so sorry Callie is so sick and you had to come to this forum. This is certainly a good place to come for encouragement and information when your dog was diagnosed with IMHA. I don't have much experience with transfusions. I know that they can not heal your dog, but buy you time for the medications to kick in. Hopefully this will soon happen for Callie. Unfortunately this usually does not happen over night but it usually takes weeks sometimes months. So you will have to be patient. This was one of the hardest things for me when my dog got ill. Please stay positive, dogs do recover from this ordeal. If you have not already done so make sure you visit Joanne's website: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/newhope.htm please read the success stories! they gave me so much hope and confidence that it will be possible for my dog to get healthy again. Don't let the vet get you down. Maybe seeing a specialist would be an option? Take care, i will be thinking of you and Callie, Brigitte & Kahlu

Brigitte BC Canada

Thank you, Mardi and Brigitte for such a fast response! Our vet and the clinic are the best in the Houston area She has dealt with many dogs with IMHA and told us that she had about 10% succumb to it. Of course, we are caught up in guilt because we are struggling with the financial issue of this as well. Callie weighs 20 lbs and is on 30 mg prednisone, 50 atopica and I do not recall the azothyropin. During the time it took for Kahlu to have the meds kick in, was the count down really low? When Callie was at 12, she was passing out. Callie had lymph gland enlargement 2 yrs ago and during further testing, it proved to not be cancer. And it just went away! Then she had an abcessed tooth in June and sores throughout her mouth. At that time her count was normal. Our vet feels she has had auto immune issues surfacing for these past three yrs. I don't know if she has been on borrowed time and this is the culmination, or what. I noticed that some people said that adjustment of the meds sometimes helps. She has just had no response at all. Her transfusion was cross matched as well which is supposed to be best. I guess my concern is that will she live long enough to have the meds kick in? She already has had a tiny cut on her foot which became a major infection from all this immune supressing medication she is on. Thanks, valerie

Valerie Texas

Valerie Just wanted to say lymph gland enlargement that she had 2 years ago can be sign of a tick disase/parasitic infection and then it can go into what they call sub clinical stag where it lies dormant in the system but it can then attack things in the body like for instance the bone marrow,you should get this checked out as this is known to cause imha auto immune issues. One school of thought is to get the dog onto doxycycline for a lengthy time esp. if it's been in dog's system a long time.If I were you I would ask your vet about this but remember some vets are more responsive to your suggestons than others and there are many more tick diseases/infections than there are tests and also known to get false negative results too. Even if it's not tick related you're far from giving up hope as it can take time with non regenerative anaemia in bone marrow,ny dog's 6 months on and I've heard of another turning it around in 9 months so it's early days for you. I wish you well and hope that Callie's road to recovery is a quick one. Take care Kathleen and Nollaig

Kathleen North Ayrshire

Valrie, I am so very sorry to hear your most beloved Callie has been diagnosed with IMHA. To answer your question, there is indeed reason for HOPE. AIHA/IMHA is a very difficult disease and sometimes it can take a long time and I mean months before a dog diagnosed with it will turn the corner and start on the path to remission, but it CAN happen. If you have not read my Web site on Canine AIHA/IMHA as yet, I would urge you to do so. The URL is: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ 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. I have been doing this for a very long time and in that time, I have seen dogs with PCV's as low as 4 or 5 go on to recover and live happy healthy lives. But that has not happened quickly, in most cases. Please hang in there and know all of us on this forum have walked in your shoes at one time or another. Be assured you and your dear Callie are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days.

Joanne MN

Valerie, Kahlu's PCV count was never lower than 17. As fare as I know. it was close, but we never had to give him a blood transfusion. his meds seemed to kick in, but for about 6 weeks he hovered in the high twenties and there was not much regeneration. After getting advice from Dr. Dodds at hemopet, he was put on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism and some supplements. This kick started his red blood cell production. There was an other dog at our vet clinic with AIHA who's PCV was much lower and he needed to be transfused. He turned around much quicker than Kahlu. Every case is so different. Read the success stories on Joanne's page and you will see that every dog has its own story. You will also see that there is lots of hope for your Callie! Be patient, try to relax and take one day at a time. Best wishes, Brigitte & Kahlu

Brigitte BC Canada

Valeriel, there is hope! Please read Joannes site and the success stories. Many dogs there and here have been in the single digits and areliving happy healhty lives. I am very surprised if your vet has much experience in this disease like you say that they are already saying there is nto much hope. It is very common after a transfusion for the # to go up and then down before it starts to stabalize and this could take some time. One drug you didnt mention in Doxycyclene. If I am not mistaken Houston is a big tick area. Doxy is almost always prescribed along with prednizone and other drugs since one of the main causes of AIHA are tick diseases. have they done a tick test? Dont give up! Hugs to Callie Laurie

Laurie CA

Valerie, I hear your desperation, this is a horrible thing to go through with our beloved dogs. Mitch my JRTx became ill on 25 july and with hindsight I think this also could of been going on a long time. It is a very long rough road and everyone here has been a great support to me through this. Keep checking in here and follow some of the threads to see how things can turn around. I said my goodbyes to Mitch last week as I took him back to the vet school because he was so sick and the vets felt pretty much the same yet today he is sleeping by my feet - still very poorly but practically a miracle he is even still alive. Stay strong and be patient, one thing I have never had, but I am learning! Thinking of you and Callie and wishing you well. She is a terrier - do not underestimate their tenacity, she will not give up without a fight! Kath

Kath Scotland

Valerie, it took four transfusions in a five month period before my dachshund stabilized and began regenerating with two more years of medicatiuon therapy and constant blood checks. Indeed the financial reality is extremely taxing. I wish veterinary specialists/hospitals would understand the dilemma pet owners face when making decisions that cost thousands and thousands of dollars for a condition that requires constant care and monitoring. Even pet insurance plans do not cover certain conditions and many times ony pay small portions of the bill. This is one of the areas I would like to see the US Senate add on to their agenda, since they are working so furiously on ratifying a 'people' medical insurance bill) for long range government health care aide for companion animals! I had to take out a loan/ borrow money to continue my beloved pet's care and he is, thankfully, doing well three years later...My thoughts are with you and your Callie. Keep the faith. Jan

Jan Philly

Again, thank you ALL for the words of encouragement. Just when we were so down and thought there were no more tears left, we feel hope rebounding. I am definitely going to ask the vet about Doxycycline and will get Callie on it. Callie has always been our "Special little one". She is so mischevious and friends just shake their heads over her and wonder why we would want a dog like her, but she has claimed our hearts from day one. Just the other day, I found her on the kitchen table trying to open a bag of bagels! That was a good day. I will let you all know the status Thursday when we visit the vet again. Thanks to everyone for such valuable information!

Valerie Texas

This thread was discussed between 01/09/2009 and 02/09/2009

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