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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - my christmas prayer
| Seems to have come true, my Molly is home and content tonight after a LONG night out with us at my Mom's for Christmas Eve. She had a blood draw today and the count was 30. The vet suggested I reduce pred to once a day and darnit I did not have my protocol with me to show him so I am keeping her the same(20 for a 30 pound dog split in 2 doses) until I go back next week for another test...or better yet I will call him after Xmas and tell him why I am opposed. Her number was only up to a 30 from a 8, 17, 29, 25, 30. It has only been less than 3 weeks on pred and azi. He also stopped the antibiotic which concerned me but since she was a 30??? And it seems her bacterial infection/septicemia maybe is cleared up, her eyes are cleared and all clinical signs are great. She still tires and breathes oddly when laying. She also still has more trouble jumping up. But the news is good for now...I pray it continues. Sending best wishes and merry Christmas to everyone. Amy |
| amy texas |
| I don't blame you a bit for keeping her on 20. By no means am I an expert but that seems like from what I've read that it's not been long enough plus 30 is not quite in the normal range? I can imagine it would be so scary when you get to the reduction phase. But for you, I am so very happy that Molly is home with you, especially at Christmas! Please hug her for me and tell her that I think her Mom is so special! Merry Christmas! Teresa |
| Teresa OK |
| Amy, it looks like Molly is on an upward trend which is great. But 30 is by no means a normal number yet. Is Molly having adverse side effects from the prenisone dosage that she is at? If not, I think that you should stay at the present dosage until normal PCV levels are reached and maintained for a while. But you should query your vet. He/She may have a reason for wanting to drop the dosage at this point. Good luck with this. deb |
| Debbie BC Canada |
| Amy, I am so happy you have your Molly with you for Christmas. I too think you need to talk to your Vet about the reductions. It does seem to be too much too soon. Take care Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Well, I called the vet today and I felt very intimidated. I told him I was not sure reducing her preds was the right thing to do so drastically and that I can not chance the thought of throwing her back into a nosedive. AND as Debbie pointed out she is NOT having negative effects from the pred that I can see. He made me feel really dumb and I did get flustered and could not make my point very well. I am TICKED now that I have reflected on it and have decided I will print out protocol and take to my next visit( few days away). If he does not like it I will look for a new vet. I hate to do that since a decent one would be about 25 miles away since I am in a small town. I feel like I am getting the standard vet school practice of get them of pred asap but her #s concern me greatly. And she has only been on azi. for about 16 days! I don't want my dog to get sick like b4, she was so close to death I swear I just can't even believe I still have her with me but thank God I do! I feel VERY lucky to have received such quality care from them, I beleive he did save her life...I do NOT doubt that, so I am torn. And he has been VERY compassionate about this and from what I have read on some people's posts I think I got out very cheap. But I also am ticked about this and somehow I feel a lack of personal service too. Double edged sword, I am not sure what to do. I guess I will know more next time I talk to him. Blessings to everyone. Oh and I have not changed her meds one bit...except he did not renew my antibiotic(Clovomax?) and I forgot to ask about that today because I let myself get so intimidated. :( Amy |
| amy texas |
| I am so glad to hear Molly is at home doing well. Wow going from 8 to 30 is wonderful. I am very surprised they want to reduce since her level is only 30 and being then only being on pred for 3 weeks to boot. and also since it can take the azi sometimes 4-6 weeks to kick in, I agree with others I think thats too soon since she is not having any side affects from the pred. I would print several articles that show the protocal and discuss with your vet your concerns. My vet also likes to dose down the pred fast and Wylie had a relapse in Nov, I dont know if its because she was dosed down too soon the first time, or we did give her heartworm the week before the could have triggered it. Good Luck Laurie |
| Laurie CA |
This thread was discussed between 25/12/2008 and 29/12/2008
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