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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - my little dude
| my dude was diagnosed with this disease today. he is at the vet at this minute. they are administering an iv and doing the prednizone and cortizone. he is 11 years old and poor thing has been a problem child since the day he was born. if there is anything out there to catch, he catches it. from mites, allergies, parasitic infections, immune defiencies, u name it. im just wondering if its fair to keep him going at this point. is this disease going to be the end of him? will it cause more harm to his other organs?i just dont want him to suffer anymore but i certainly dont want to lose him either. |
| debbie calof |
| Debbie I am so sorry your dog contracted this. It is an emotional roller coaster for you and your family. The dogs are not in pain from this, but it can take a while for them to start to recover. Hopefully, your vet is knowledgeable in the correct treatment. The first thing that starts to reverse the destruction of the red blood cells is the Prednisone. Eventually the other drug they will give your dog, either cyclosporin or Immuran, will start to work and at a certain point, they will slowly reduce the dose level of the Prednisone. The Predisone makes the dogs thirsty, hungry, and they pant alot. Eventually, the drug causes them to lose some muscle strength, so they would like to get them off without allowing a relapse. Go to Cloudnet.com for more information. Everyone on this forum is pulling for your dog to get better. Good luck, Ron |
| Ron B San Mateo |
| Dear Debbie, I am so very sorry to hear about Dude. It must be very hard for you to have him at the hospital tonight. I can encourage you that our dog Chance, was diagnosed early this year with a very very severe case of this disease. As Giant Schnauzers go, Chance is considered a senior at almost 10, but far from the end of his life too. This has been a very tough year for all of us here at our house. My husband and I are very tired from many months of round the clock care and many moments of doubt. Today Chance, Cassie and Mark took their normal 3 hour walk to get the paper and visit our pet sitter. Chance is nearly back to normal now. All the side effects of the drugs are nearly gone. When our vet saw him last week, she blurted out "He looks SO GOOD!" He has survived and looks better than he has in a long time. There is great hope that you can beat this disease. You are only in the first few days so you don't know if he might respond immediately to the drug cocktail that he receives! What he needs now is excellent and appropriate nursing care as directed by a specialist who has experience treating this disease in dogs. Tonight, collect your thoughts about your boy. Think about how much he means to you and how much you are willing to fight for him. Try to get some sleep tonight so you will be fresh in the morning. There are many great successes with treating this condition. My thoughts are with you tonight. Patrice |
| Patrice New York State |
This thread was discussed between 06/01/2008 and 07/01/2008
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