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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Jack/German Shepherd Update
| His inital PCV number is 28 tonight up from 26 on Monday. I hope I am doing the right thing....I spoke to a woman whose dog also has AIHA today. She agrees with everyone that Jack's predisone level was too low. Jack is 125 lbs and is only taking 100 mg daily (they had dropped him to 60 mgs but my husband and I rised him back up to 100 mg). The woman's dog is 75 pounds and was taking 160 mg daily for 5 days and then depending on results it was lowered. Very similiar to Dr. Dodd advise. Soooo.....I made an appointment with the woman's vet tomorrow. Reminder..my vet is away and we are only seeing his partner tonight. My current vet doesn't think Atopica is a good idea where as every other vet and person seems to think it works. My vet and the specialist say there is no scientific proof that it works. My opinion is if nothing else is working then we need to try something else and not just wait. What are your thoughts!!!! Also, what dosages/weight of Predisone are you dogs on?? Thank you everyone, please continue to pray for Jack as I continue to pray for him and all his "new" AIHA buddies on this site. |
| Robin NYS |
| Robin, I think second (and sometimes 3rd) opinions are a good idea. It often can bring up things that may have been missed previously and also allows you to feel comfortable that you have explored all facets of treatment. Some doctors are very closed to any info you may find from the internet etc. I agree they did the studying and such to become doctors but not everything is a casebook study. I was fortunate that my ER doctor was very open with whatever I brought to the table. Others often feel threatened or insulted. You have to be Jack's voice so don't hesitate to speak up. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Robin, My standard poodle, Tootsie, started out with 80 mg of prednisone a day, half in the am and half in the pm. She weighed 45 pounds. She took the 80 mg for four weeks and then went to 40 mg a day. She is the standard poodle with Evans Syndrome I wrote about yesterday. Evans Syndrome is AIHA and ITP (low platelets) both at the same time. Barb and Tootsie |
| Barb Ohio |
| Robin, Good luck with the new vet. My regular vet who is a younger guy and seems "up on things" diagnosed my dog initially. He did everything "right" according to what I researched however he didn't have the AIHA experience and therefore did not recommend the cyclosporine or Aza or other drugs that can be used. My dog was on high doses of pred (he was about 55 lbs and on 40 Mg twice a day) all last summer and suffered the side effects from it. However I believe that it was necessary as his PCV continued to rise. After several months into this, and although his PCV was continuing to rise, his condition appeared to worsen. It was only after I found the Internal Medicine Specialist and she put him on the Cyclosporine that I started to see small improvements in his demeanor. She had alot of experience with AIHA. You will find, if you haven't already, that the knowledge and experience you will get from this board is invaluable. I credit it, along with the new vet, for saving my dogs life. Who better to ask than those who have been through it already? Best of luck to you Tootsie. Chris & Alex |
| Chris Pa |
This thread was discussed between 20/08/2009 and 21/08/2009
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