Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Molly Newly Diagnosed

Molly is our 4 1/2 yr old cocker spaniel that is just like a daughter to our family. She was not feeling well and very tired over the weekend. Didn't think much of it and we are usually at the vet with any little thing that is wrong. She collapsed Tuesday morning. By 10:00 on Tuesday, we had the diagnosis of AIHA. Her PCV on Tues was 22, 18 on Wed, and now 16 on Thurs. Our vet is our neighbor and has been our vet for 14 years--we trust him 100%. My cousin is also a vet in Florida and he said that my vet here in Kansas City is doing 100% correct. Molly is on Prednisone and Azathioprine. They are going to increase the Prednisone. If this doesn't work, then may have to add Cytoxan. Last resort is the blood transfusion. This is something that has devastated our family to the core--no indication that it was something more than an infection that all we needed was an antibiotic. Boy were we wrong and floored. We just need to have encouragement from others dealing with AIHA. We just think she should be responding faster than she is--she is eating and drinking. She started with a fever but that was gone on Wednesday after the antibiotics. My vet is optimistic, but said that every dog resopnds differently. Any insight as to how long before we see the PCV go up vs. down would be encouraging. Thanks and I'm glad I found this forum!

Linda Kansas City

Linda- first off i am sorry to hear about your Molly... you are in the right place though for endless information and encouragement, as this board is very very good. AIHA is a very serious disease and unfortunately there is no 'standard' response time for anything... some dogs respond within days/weeks to the meds and never see the disease again. others (like mine) carry it for months or longer, weve been in this fight for 21 months now... i dont say that to scare you, hopefully you see the bright side of that...because even in the worst cases, if you have the right vet (very important to have a specialist or 2, or people that have deep experience with this specific condition) then it is possible to keep your animals living a good solid life. unfortunately this disease also has a high mortality rate, some of that is due to the sheer complicated mess that this disease can be...and its just hard to pin down and can quickly engulf some animals... but other times, owners might not have the resources to get deep in the fight, animals might be put down or misdiagnosed too quickly etc...that is why its just so important to have a specialist that has an open mind and a clear history and success rate when concerning this disease. as far as your specific question as to the PCV going up...again it all depends, some go up right away. some remain 'steady' - some need transfused and could be months before the bone marrow even makes new cells. my dog sway had 8 transfusions before her blood level even began to 'hold' steady, and then another 4 months before it went up at all... 21 months later the highest PCV count she has had since diagnosis has been a 28%. that may sound overwhelming and scary to you but if you choose to use that as inspiration then are going down the right road... chances are your molly will respond far sooner than that and people here are a testament to how dogs can recover and live out great futures. i wish molly a lot of luck, praying.

josh california

I am so sorry to hear about Molly but you have come to the right place for info, venting and encouragement. Our 5 yo mixed terrier, Lucy, had similar symptoms as Molly and fortunately our vet diagnosed it quickly and started her on an IV as she was also very dehydrated since she had diarrhea a few days before we took her in. Her PCV at the vet was 12%. Our vet started her on dexamethasone, prednisone and doxycycline, then when we transferred her to the emergency clinic, they gave her a blood transfusion to give the meds a chance to kick in, stopped the dex and started her on azathioprine. Her PCV jumped up to 14% that night and was up to 18% the next morning. We have since been dealing with an internal specialist at the clinic and have watched Lucy get better every day. Her PCV is now up to 38% though we still see prednisone side effects, such as eating everything in sight, drinking and peeing a lot, slightly bloated belly, some muscle loss and a dry nose. It hasn't even been two months yet, so we still watch her carefully and get her blood checked regularly. Joanne's website is very helpful - I will look it up and post it for you - and marvistavet.com also has a lot of good info. Hang in there and know you will be added to our prayers.

Lee Florida

Here is Joanne's website address http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson The more you know...as they say

Lee Florida

Linda, I am so very sorry to hear that your most beloved Molly (love that name, since I had a Molly once myself) has recently been diagnosed with AIHA. While AIHA/IMHA is a very difficult disease, dogs who have been diagnosed with it CAN and DO recover and go on to live happy healthy lives. If you have not read my Website on AIHA/IMHA as yet, you might want to do so when you can. The URL is http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ Be sure to follow the links on the first page to many other sites on AIHA/IMHA that will be very helpful to you and do read the SUCCESS STORIES pages. They will show you what has worked for other dogs in terms of treatment options as well as give you a lot of HOPE. It can take at least 5-7 days for prednsione to start to work and until it and other drugs do start to kick in it can be very normal (yet scary for the owner/caregiver) for the PCV to continue to drop. If the PCV does drop too far blood transfusions can be given to "buy time" until the drugs do start to work. I personally would never think of blood transfusions as a "last resort". I have seen lots of dogs who have had one or more transfusions to buy them the time they needed until the medications started to work. It should be noted that according to the Veterinary Drug Handbook, it can take up to 6 weeks to see a clincial response with Azathioprine. We do see this drug start to work sooner in some dogs, but it some dogs it does take the full 6 weeks to "kick in". I seldom see Cytoxan used in the treatment of AIHA/IMHA any more. It was used quite a bit years ago but now when most vets want to add another drug to the prednsione or Azathioprine he/she will generally use Cyclosporine. Has your vet mentioned this drug to you? If not you might want to ask your vet what his/her experience has been with the used of cyclosporine for the treatment of Canine AIHA/IMHA. The fact that Molly is eating and drinking and no longer has a fever is very encouraging news. I know this is so hard so please be assured that you and your dear Molly are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days.

Joanne MN

Hi Linda, Praying for you and Molly, stay strong and be positive! You guys can do it. Please keep us posted and come back for support. Don't hesitate to ask anything, this is a wonderful support group. Tiggs PCV was 10 at diagnosis, and up and down for a couple of weeks, then began a very slow climb.. He required a transfusion when he was diagnosed and his PCV was all over the place at that time. It may go down before it goes up, and it's so scary. But, we know that many dogs can survive and do well. Joanne's site is incredible, especially the success stories. thinking of you, melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

Thanks for all the quick responses--wow! We are very lucky that we do have VPI Pet insurance to help with some of the costs and we're willing to do just about anything for Molly. However, we also don't want to have her suffer. Right now, we're just trying to be positive and get through this weekend. I have gone to Joanne's website and it really opened my eyes. I am so very thanksful for the work that Joanne and everyone else has done to inform people like me that have no clue what AIHA is and the obstacles my family and Molly will be facing. My husband, unfortunately, is the "financial worrier" about the overall treatment costs. Although we love Molly more than we can express, we also have to be concerned about the costs especially with the economy the way it is. We are hoping that the medicines start turning her around soon. The vet did say that although her white blood cell count is high, they did more testing and a lot of the cells in this count are actually "young red blood cells" and that means she is producing new red blood cells. At least right now she has no fever and continues to eat. We plan on spending a good hour tonight and as much as we can while she is at the hospital. Thanks again for all of your quick responses--I will keep posting as the days go on.

Linda trihawks1@aol.com

Linda, You certainly came to the right place for support! I have learned so much about IMHA/AIHA from all the people here. From very scientific things to how feeding pumpkin can help with diarrhea. So please ask away, there is always somebody who has gone through the same as you are going through now, even though every case is different. And then there is always a lot of support and encouragement on here! My standard poodle boy Kahlu was diagnosed 7 weeks ago. We took him home with a PCV of 17 and he is now up at 34. Be ready for a rollercoaster ride, but there is also a lot of hope. It sounds that your vet knows what he is doing, which is a bonus. Don't forget to take care of yourself, because if you are not doing good, you can't help your dog. Best wishes to you and Molly, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Sorry to hear about Molly. It is really good news to hear that there are young red blood cells present and that the body is producing new ones. This means that Molly has regenerative Anemia. Her chances of survival have gone up considerably! Don't worry if Molly needs a transfusion. This is often necessary with this disease to buy the body some time for the meds to start working. My Tessy was on meds for almost a week and her PCV kept falling. It fell under 10 from 18 when diagnosed and that's when we had to give her a transfusion. The PCV rose to 22 after the transfusion but then fell a few points over the following couple of days until the medication (pred and Aza) started working. After the meds started working she slowly began to recover. Remember that there is always hope and that there are many people in this forum that will be praying for Molly. This is a beatable disease and it sounds like you are on the right road to recovery. Be strong and be there for Molly. Let us know as soon as she comes home from the hospital and we can help you through this. If you are concerned at all or have any questions just ask. That's what we're here for. I'll be sending some extra praying Molly's way tonight. Good Luck, Johnny and Tessy

Jonathan

Linda, I am sorry to hear that Molly has been diagnosed with this awful disease. There are very few people on this board that were even aware something this devastating could happen to our dogs until we heard those terrible words. I am glad you have checked out Joanne's site hopefully it gave you hope and a lot of insight. The disease itself is not painful right now Molly is just really tired from the low amount of oxygen in her system. Keep us posted Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Update on Molly--her PCV went up to 20 last night and is still at 20 this morning. They will do another blood test tonight and they still want to keep her another night. We had a great visit late yesterday where she was more at peace, but very very weak. We are only on the Prednisone and Aza at this time (plus antibiotic for the bladder infection). No need to do any additional meds or transfusion at this time as her PCV went up and has remained the same for 12 hours. Thank you so much for all the encouraging words and prayers. This has devastated all of us and yet we seem to have turned a corner hopefully with good results. We just can't wait til she comes home with us--she sleeps with us on our bed and definitely won't be sleeping anywhere else the first week or two.

Linda Kansas City

Great news Linda. Tessy (also a cocker spaniel) is around the same age as Molly. Sounds like almost the same case actually. She was also on an antibiotic for an infection but is now off it. She gets 25mg of prednisone in the morning and then 25mg in the evening along with 25mg of azathioprine. She also gets a multivitamin twice a day. At least if she is staying at the vet/hospital she will be getting the medical care she needs. It is good for the doctors to watch over her for the first couple/few days after the transfusion. Tessy also used to be a bed dog but when I brought her home she seemed to like the floor more. I think it is because the floor is cooler. So, if you get concerned because Molly tends to like the floor more, don't worry. It's hard for them to get comfortable at times. Molly will be in my thoughts and prayers and I'll be hoping for a full recovery. Tessy sends wags her way. Johnny & Tessy

Jonathan

Glad to hear that Molly is holding steady at 20. It sounds like she is heading in the right direction and maybe home soon. Please keep us updated on how she is doing. Cheryl & Ginger

Cheryl & Ginger Pineville PA

Linda, My 7 yo cocker Molly was diagnosed in Dec. of 08. She had a cbc of around 8 and about a week after diagnoses was up to about an 18. My vet believes the underlying cause was a severe bacterial infection and with antibiotics that was finally killed and she was on 2 immune supressing drugs, now on one, weaned off the other. Now it seems her disease is in remission, which from what I have read can be triggered back quite easily. I am thankful every day for the time I have had with my Molly as I thought she was not going to make it past Christmas. I credit my wonderful vet and the people on this site who helped me through this crisis. The initial cost for me was around 1200 for 5 days in doggie ICU and I have the ongoing costs of meds and blood work every few weeks. All in all not bad for me I was afraid it would be much more. Good luck, sounds like Molly is in good hands. The people here know a ton of info to help. Amy

amy texas

This thread was discussed between 12/03/2009 and 14/03/2009

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