VetNet®
VetNet® AIHA discussion forum
VetNet® Forum
Lifelong Learning Network
www.vetnetlln.ac.uk
Veterinary Recruitment
Premier Partner Program
Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Mac diagnosed in May
| My five year old springer spaniel, Mac was diagnosed with IMHA in May after becoming lethargic and refusing food. He tested positive for anaplasmosis at that time. It's been a roller coaster ever since and I know more about blood counts now than I ever cared to! I'm so happy to have stumbled onto this site, and will try to learn as much as I can from you all. Mac is a 50 pound dog and is currently on 50mg of prednisone and 25 mg of azathioprine (was on 50mg for ten days, then reduced to current amount) Also sulcrafate or something like that for tummy. He has been doing a wonderful imitation of an area rug for the past two months, but since the cooler weather appeared he seems like a new dog. More energy, less panting. His last blood panel told us that his HCT went DOWN from 30.6 to 26.9 after the first week on azathioprine. Scream. Is this normal? We know that it's a slow acting drug, so maybe he just needs more time? The vet has been doing in-house IDEXX labs. When I took him to the U of M for a second opinion a month ago, his numbers were much higher. The next week back at our vet they were lower again. I asked my vet if her machine was stuck at 30! ( it wasn't) I was very surprised at this latest result because it seemed to me that he was looking better. We do blood work on Thursday mornings so next time I'm going in there and proclaiming he looks worse--maybe that will work. I welcome any and all advice. My vet mentioned that if his numbers don't improve we could try.....something that starts with a "C" that's very expensive. We cannot afford to do that and will have to stay the course with pred and aza for now. I also probably have to learn not to get too excited or too low over every blood test--but to look at the big picture over a course of weeks--right? Thanks for listening everyone, and I'll report in with Thursday's results! Jane |
| Jane Minnesota |
| Jane, Your Vet was probably talking about cyclosporin. Here is a link to Joanne's site that will give you a whole new insight into this awful disease. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ I think all of us share your feeling of having had to learn way to much about blood work but between Joanne's site and the people who post here you will never have to deal with the things we all deal with alone. You are very right while a close eye on numbers is important you don't want to get lost in them. Welcome to the board and keep us posted on Mac. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Hi Jane, This blood testing is quite the rollercoaster ride. my pup has been holding steady at 21 for the past 2 weeks. We will be switching over to Atopica from the Pred. hopefully, but that takes time, Pred has really put him through the gambit of side effects. Don't know if your vet had mentioned Atopica don't know how much cheaper that might be? Or if it's what he needs. just thought i'd let you know. best of luck with everything... |
| beth virginia |
| Jane, See my reply to you in your original thread: Need advice on blood work Aug 29 patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Hi Jane, Sorry to hear you had to join our ranks here with Mac. I have a springer as well. His name is Spencer. He's on Joanne's site as May 2007 sucess story if you want to see what he went thru. He loves the cold weather too. The medicine and the heat makes him pant more. We keep the house colder for his comfort, can you guess who rules my house??? He held his PCV in the 30's for a very long time and itwould go up and down a few times.I would go for a checkup every time his gums looked paler. That can change too even though his counts are still ok. Watch his demeaner. That is a great sign of how he is doing. Spencer is on the expensive medicine cyclosporine (he takes Neoral the brand name which is more expensive). He didn't tolerate pred as well as that so 3 years later, he is still on 100mg a day. The pred has more side effects. In our case, that medicine was a lifesaver. (He is on the azio as well).He also took the sulcrafate for his tummy too. He was then changed to one prilosec daily for his tummy and still takes that. Good luck to you and Mac. Keep us posted. Kim and Spencer |
| Kim NY |
| Thank you for your kind words and advice, Kim. It's so good to hear from people who have been through this and have come out on the other side. My head knows that this illness can change on a dime, but my heart wants to believe he'll be in the clear soon. I'm going to look Spencer's story up right this minute and get my dose of 'feel good' for the day! Jane |
| Jane MN |
This thread was discussed between 26/08/2008 and 02/09/2008
Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) forum index
This thread is from the Vetnet archive. The live Vetnet forum is active now.
