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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Mink
| First of all, I pray for all those who are going through this horrible disease. Only those who experience can understand how difficult it is. Mink, my 4 year old shih tzu became suddenly ill on July 1. She showed usual symptoms of AIHA, and we took her to the vet the next morning, and she had PVC of 14%. She received blood transfusion, and her PCV went up to 30% and she came home with medication (prednisone, antibiotic and pepcid). She vomitted and showed blood in her urine after the transfusion. She was very yellow and still weak. She became more pale and weak the next day, so we took her to the emergency clinic at 2am. She was given iv fluid, and they added Imuran to her current medication because of large number of white blood cell counts.(doxycycline was also added)The vet at the EC said she needed more aggressive treatment. Next morning, her PCV was still at 13~15% range. She received another transfusion, and she came home right after(7/7). Our vet added doxycycline to her med. She looked very dull and confused that night...still weak...vomited twice (normal after transfusion). However, no bloody urine or paleness in her skin. She was getting her skin color back(Pink), and at the check up on 7/8 her PCV was at 50%! Her PCV on 7/8 check up was up at 58%! She urinates a lot (very clean urine), and drinks a lot of water. Yesterday, it looked like Her appetite was back. She eats well. I'm very happy to see that she's getting better, but we'll see what happens. We all know this disease is very unpredictable. I cried so much during the past few days. We thought we were going to lose her. Hope what we see is a good sign...that her medicine is kicking in and her body is responding to it. Everybody who's going through this should have hope, and monitor the baby very carefully. I'll post an update after today's vet appointment. Good luck everyone, and each one of you will be in my prayers. PS. Mink had been vaccinated in april, and we had used Frontline Flea prevention med. in June. Hmmmm.... |
| Ellen Rockville |
| Oops...I mistyped the date on my post. Her PCV was 58% on 7/9, not 7/8.... |
| Ellen Rockville |
| Ellen, I am sorry Mink has been diagnosed with this awful disease but it sounds like she is responding quite well. Has your Vet recommended anything for her stomach like Pepcid etc. These drugs can be very hard on the stomach so you want to make sure you are protecting it. When the Pred really kicks in you will find out what an appetite truly is as well as the drinking and peeing. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Thanks Penny. We're giving her Pepcid and something else our vet gave us...a powdery supplement that coats and protects her stomach/intestinal wall. Hope that will help. I'm trying to do whatever I can to keep her PCV up at the current level, and minimize side effects from all these drugs she's taking. I heard about milk thiesle being really good for protecting organs from drugs. Is that true? |
| Ellen Rockville |
| Ellen- 58% is a heck of a number, i really hope mink holds those counts and is able to make a full recovery. My dog has had AIHA for over a year now and the highest PCV we have had is 28%. its such a troubling disease and so different with each animal. wishing you and mink the best |
| josh california |
| Josh, I'm very sorry to hear about Sway's relapse. At least your baby's PCV has gone up and is stable...I've never prayed so hard and cried so much in my whole life. Mink's disease taught me so many things...I took everything for granted, and totally forgot to be grateful. Prayers do work, and she will slowly recover 100%. Mink's PCV rose from 13 to 50 overnight after the 2nd transfusion. She probably was building her own cells already by the time we transfused her. It was almost like miracle...because by 2nd transfusion, we were all very discouraged thinking that she might not pull this through. I'll keep you and Sway in my prayers. Hope to hear a good news again. |
| Ellen Rockville |
| It is great her level shot up so grea. My Hunter's never went got out of the teens depsite drugs and 2 transfusions. He spent 8 days in iCU and we lost him Oct. 16, 2003--at age 4 years, 2 months (golden retriever). We know it was proheart6 the 6 month heartworm preventative injection that brought his on. |
| Sandra |
This thread was discussed between 11/07/2008 and 12/07/2008
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