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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Millie update - IBD?
| Hi Everyone, I haven't been able to submit posts on here for a while, but I have been following everyone's posts. Millie continues to stay in remission, nearly three years after diagnosis. We are struggling with diarrhea and loss of appetite. Mille has frequent bouts of diarrhea, that usually resolve in a couple of days. This latest bout has been going on for about a week. We saw our vet on Thursday, and she just dismissed it as another one of Millie's 'episodes'. I have been doing some research and think Millie may have Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Has anyone had any experience with this? I currently have Millie on Peptosyl 2ml twice daily, and it's not doing much except causing the diarrhea to turn black, giving me another worry until I read that Peptosyl does cause this! Millie just turned 14, so a cancer in the gastrointestinal tract may also be a possibility? Any help or experience anyone can share would be greatly appreciated. Happy New Year, Sam and Millie. |
| Samantha Geelong Australia |
| Sam, Great about the remission! Excellent! I am sorry about the diarrhea. It's tough to sort out what causes this in dogs because it can be a simple "not eating the right food" to a serious medical condition. In any case, as a dog owner I would never just dismiss it offhand without giving it some serious consideration. Lack of appetite can also have a medical cause. Chance had this condition as his heart failed. It causes a condition called prerenal azotemia, where the kidney's fail to flush wastes out of the blood due to less fluid being pumped to the kidneys. These wastes really ruin the appetite. However, there are several conditions related to the kidneys that can cause azotemia. Any dog that is elderly should at least have their kidney values checked (BUN, creatinine and their ratio) to see if this is a possibility. Treating a dog with kidney problems is complicated but doable. It requires dietary changes and subq fluid administration. Mary Straus has a wonderful website devoted to all things regarding dog health. Here is an introduction to the testing for kidney problems where you can at least read about BUN and creatinine. http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneytests.html I could write a lot of stuff about diarrhea, but Mary has also written a special page devoted to digestive disorders. It probably has the most complete look at all the possibilities and you could spend most of today reading all the references. So please take time to consider all these condition's descriptions carefully to see what matches most her symptoms. http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Cookie had diarrhea episodes after she was diagnosed. Well it must've been bacteria overgrowth because some metronidazole cleared it up mostly. Now, as long as I give her canned pumpkin every day it doesn't come back. |
| Monet Sammamish |
| Thanks Monet. When Millie's appetite returns, I'll certainly get her on the pumpkin. Patrice, Mary's information is awesome! The more I read, the more convinced I am that Millie has some sort of digestive disorder, and I am leaning towards IBD. The good news is that Millie's BUN and Creatnine ratios are all normal following the results from Thursday's blood screen. Patrice, not sure if you remember, but Millie has congestive heart disease which we are currently managing with Vetmedin. So this information on the kidneys is also very relevant and something to be conscious of. I will make an appointment with the vet tomorrow and put forward my theory on IBD. hopefully she listens, if not, I will seek a second opinion. There is more to this than just another episode. Millie is so petite, her little frame can't lose much more weight! Thanks again, Sam and Millie. |
| Samantha Geelong Australia |
| Samantha, I am keeping you and Millie in my thoughts and prayers and hope that further testing will give you a clearer picture. |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
This thread was discussed between 01/01/2012 and 02/01/2012
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