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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Looking for anyone whose dog has relapsed .
| I do not know where to begin. My little Callie is a 7lb minpin who is AMAZING!!!! She was born deaf and when she was one had to go to NC Sstae Vet school in Raliegh for a liver problem. We got that under control and she went on to live several heathly years. In November 2006 she got very sick and was diagnoised with AIHA. She did respond very well once we added Atopica to her pred regiment. After a year of improvement and almost off all pred she relapsed. She spent weeks at NC state and after several transfusions I had almost given up hope. The Dr there as a last step began giving her microfinalate. (a drug used by humans who have this disease) She began to slowly improve and eventially I broughjt her home but now on three immune suppressent drugs. Pred, atopica and microfin. The dr at NC state said she was the worst case he had ever seen. She kills her red blood cells in her marrow and her adult red blood cells too. Callie has never gone back into remission. It is now two years later after her relapse!!! We have cut back her pred but she is still on all three drus. She is still cranking out too many cells from the marrow indicating that she is still killing off her adult cells. Her last month blood work was the best in two years but I noticed that she was developing other compications. Her lymph nodes had been swollen in her neck for 8 month. ( we tested her for lynphoma over the summer and it all came back negative) She has lost almost all her teeth and we thought the lymph nodes were from her mouth problems. After and x-ray on Friday we see that she is having prblems with her lungs. We will know more on Tuesday. I am looking for anyone that has dealt with this disease long term without remission. What were the drug side effects? Has anyone had a dog with similar Atopica side effects in the mouth. When I ask the Drs here they say I am in uncharted territory. So I am hoping there is someone out there like us. I am so greatful to have had my Callie this long I know she has fought an amazing fight. I am hopeful that she does not have cancer. I just lost my Dad to cancer at a very young age and my six year old twins have been through so much. They love Callie so much too. I am hoping to give them some time to recover form the loss of their grandfather before we are hit with another loss. Keep my lttle fighter in your thoughts and prayers. Lisa |
| Lisa north Carolina |
| Hi Lisa, Wow, you and Callie have put up an amazing fight. There are several people here whose dogs technically achieved remission, yet lived very long with IMHA as part of their lives. The two that come to mind are Karen with her beagle Darcy, whose PCV never really climbs out of the teens, and Josh with his beloved Sway, who sadly passed this year, but lived for at least two years with a PCV that never got above the low 20s. There are others here, and I hope they chime in. Many dogs adapt to this disease, and though we all hope and pray for their remission, some continue on with their lives happily. We had a relapse of sorts this year, but in our case, my dog Tiggs first dx with IMHA, went in to remission and came off of all drugs, only to relapse with ITP (thrombocytopenia). In our case though, Tiggs does respond to meds fairly well, thought they are difficult still. Some dogs here achieve remission, but their vets never feel completely comfortable coming off of meds, so they are on long term pred or Azathioprine, or Atopica. So, I hope many more will chime in. Hopefully you've visited Joanne's site and read the Success Stories, there are many dogs there that struggled long term with the disease and meds, but lived long and happy lives nonetheless. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/successstories.htm I hope you get a lot of responses to give you good info and support. My best to you and Callie. melissa and tiggs (IMHA July 2008, ITP 11/09) |
| melissa slc |
| Lisa, I'm sorry that Callie is having to deal with this disease long term. If you haven't already I'd get her on milk thistle asap. Do everything you can to manage the impact of the drugs on the system. There's a couple of things you could try. 1-Have you contacted a good homotoxicologist to get opinions? 2-Have you tried TCVM and acupuncture. If you have to keep the immune suppressed long term then perhaps it might be best to take a natural/holistic approach. I'm a little confused. You are saying she's cranking out cells from the marrow (retics) but they are calling this nonregenerative now or then? Have they checked the bone marrow with a biopsy...see what exactly is going on? Another option....contact Dr. Dodds and have blood sent there for analysis. Can't hurt to get another professional opinion. I hope and pray for the best for Callie. ~~~~HUGS~~~~ Johnny & Tessy |
| Johnny |
| Lisa, Wow you guys have been through alot. My dog was diagnosed at age 3 with IMHA in May 2008 with a PCV of 20. After 5 months on meds and significant liver damage as a result, we started reducing meds successfully until April 2009 when he relapsed with ITP. At that time his platlette count was 30 to 40 with normal being 200. I believe we were down to 25mg twice a day of Atopica at that time. As far as mouth problems, he developed a ranula after several months on the meds. No treatment was needed at this point. He has a heart murmur and has developed progressive night blindness as a result of the meds. After working on reducing meds once again slowly, we were down to 75 mg daily and he's relapsing. His platlett count last week was 109. Tomorrow is more bloodwork to see if he is improving. I feel so bad for you and Callie that she hasn't gone into remission. My vet has said with this last relapse that my dog will most likely never come off meds. It just seems that every case is different. I remember reading one of the success stories where a dog was on meds for 5 years and then was able to get off and has been fine. It seems so much of it is as you say uncharted territory and why this forum is so important. I feel sure you'll get some good responses here. Hang in there and best wishes for you both. Chris & Alex |
| Chris Pa |
| And I meant to say in my post "There are several people here whose dogs technically *never* achieved remission"...typing too fast. Hugs to you and Callie. Melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
| Lisa, I am sorry to hear of Callie's illness. When you have time you might want to read about Bailey, the April 2007 Success Story at the Meisha's Hope Web site: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/archives18.htm Bailey has never acheived a PCV higher that 32 but has still had a happy life. |
| Joanne MN |
| Ginger was diagnosed in 2007 and has had a few relapses, it seems every time we try to reduce her med's, her PCV drops and we then increase her med's and start over again. Ginger had been holding steady in the low 40's for a few months but her PCV was back down to 30 last week when it was checked so we are increasing her med's again and I am now beginning to think we can't reduce them. She is now taking 200mg of cyclosporine a day and 2.5 grams of pred 3x a week. She has never been med free since 2007 and I have her blood work check every 6 months and so far so good. We have are paws crossed for Callie and we hope Tuesday's test results bring some good news. Cheryl & Ginger |
| Cheryl & Ginger Pinevile Pa |
This thread was discussed between 28/02/2010 and 02/03/2010
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