Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - My dog may have AIHA and I don't know what to do.

My dog recently took a seziure. When we took him to the vet they did blood work and said that his red blood cell count was down. They sent a sample of his blood to the lab for further testing. They gave him a steriod and an antibiotic and told us to come back in a week for a check up. When we went back they told us that his numbers increased but that they think that he has AIHA. They did not seem very knowledgable about the disease. I did some research and read that the dog should be taking 1mg of steriods for every pound that he weighs. When I told that vet he told me that I was misinformed and that my dog should take 1mg for every kg that dog weighs. I am nervous that my dog is not taking the proper dosage and my not be getting the care that he needs. I am a new dog owner who is very concerned and I need some helpful advice. My dog is only 9 months old and he is a male golden retriever. Mark

Mark McHugh Northeast Pennsylvania

Mark, I am so very sorry to her that your dog may have AIHA. Your vet is incorrect if your dog does have AIHA he should be on at LEAST 1 mg of prednsione for each pound he weighs. At the onset of the disease some vets will prescribe an even higher "loading dose" of steriods. Most times other immunosuppresssive drugs will be needed in addtion to the steriods If you have not read my Web site 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 of the site 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 sounds like your vet does not have a lot of experience with AIHA/IMHA. If that is the case I recommend you get another opionion ASAP. If you are anywhere near the Univeristy of Penn Veterinary Hospital http://www.vet.upenn.edu/ you might want to consider going there. I have visited with many whose AIHA/IMHA dogs have received excellent treatment there. AIHA/IMHA is a very serious disease and must be treated as such by a vet who has a lot of experience and knoweledge of the disease. Please try to see that you find such a vet as soon as you can.

Joanne MN

Take him to a different Vet immediatley!! AIHA is usually fatal if not treated quickly and properly. My pup wasn't being himself for about a week, so I took him to the vet and it was already too late, as he passed 4 days later.

Glenn NJ

Hi Mark Where in Northeast PA are you located? I think you should begin to look for a new vet. Cheryl & Ginger

Cheryl & Ginger Pineville PA

Are you near Pittsburgh? If so I can give you the Internal Medicine doc we go to - she has experience with this.

Chris Pittsburgh

I live near scranton, pa. Hoping to find answers soon. Our next vet appointment is on the 23rd for a second opinion with a different vet. Mark

mark pennsylvania

By golly I guess Pittsburgh isn't in the northeast! LOL I must have been stuck on the northeastern part of the country! That would be quite a drive from Scranton. Good luck

Chris PA

Mark, If your appointment isn't until the 23rd and your vet is clueless and your dog really has IMHA, you need to go ASAP. Waiting until the 23rd could have catastrophic results. Time is of the essence, and I think everyone here agrees that this is critical. Sorry to scare you, but you need to move quickly if your dog is going to have a chance. Please do not wait and keep us posted, melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

mark, the most imperative thing you could do for your dog is make sure you have a vet in your corner that understands this disease. it has the potential to be very in depth and very difficult... with that being said, it is treatable and alot of dogs bounce completely back...but its so important to be on a confident path, to know that you have a good plan with an informed vet and are implementing it. i hope your golden gets better, i love those dogs...had 3 of them in my life.

josh california

Mark, The weekend before we got HOlly into the hospital and was diagnosed with IMHA, she had about 5 seizures in 2 days. When admitted into the hospital, her bloodcount was 8. I would advise like the rest, find a vet who knows about this disease and do not wait! Linda

Linda Sapphire

Hello Mark, I hope you take your dog tomorrow to a vet. I waited too long on my Molly and it ended up costing me one trip to er where they did nothing but charge me $ and then to my vet where my dog was so seriously ill at that point she had to stay in ICU at vets for 6 days! If I had found this site before that fact I never would have waited. I am still unsure as to whether my dog will recover(but I pray every day for her) so time is of the essence! These wonderful people know so much! I hoep your golden gets better, I love those too had one as my first dog! GOOD luck! Amy

amy txgoldenhorse@yahoo.com

My Brandi was DX in Oct with ITP. Now we have AIHA resulting in Evans syndrome. I have tried to post here before from my home computer but keep getting "sorry you are not allowed to post". I'm testing to see if my company computer will work. I've read so much here and wish I could post from home.

Teresa Oklahoma

Teresa, Somehow you have gotten mistakenly blocked from posting on this forum at home. That does happen from time to time and I am sorry it has happened to you, When you get home please email me dicksonjoanne@hotmail.com from your home computer and I will help you get unblocked so you can post from on here from home.

Joanne MN

Mark, hopefully you've already gotten your second opinion. But, if not as the others have said this is nothing to sit on. Willow had a similar disease called IMT and the day she was diagnosed I went to work and then took her to a specialist at night. Honestly, I'm not trying to scare you to death, but he could be gone by the 23rd if he really does have this. I'm not sure if your vet has a good understanding of this disease but just the fact that he wanted to wait 2 weeks to follow up is crazy. Willow had daily blood work until her levels stabilized. I hope I'm posting all this for nothing and you've already taken care of things. Lori

Lori USA

This thread was discussed between 17/12/2008 and 19/12/2008

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