Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - PCV8

Today is day 5 of my acquaintance with AIHA. My cocker Penny, who is 5 years old was diagnosed Saturday Oct. 20. She had refused her food that morning so I checked her mouth to see if there was something going on with her teeth, and found that the gums were white. She went to the vet immediately. Unfortunately everything has been downhill from there. We've consulted at least 7 vets, everyone is on board with the treatment plan, Penny's had several transfusions of Oxyglobin, many many drugs, with no improvement -- she just seems to be slipping further and further. Today's plan is to do a bone-marrow biopsy to see if the immune system is actually killing the marrow. I'm afraid that we are approaching the big decision -- she can't stay in the oxygen chamber forever, and she's getting harder and harder to rouse. She'll still eat for me, if I give her homemade yummy food, but then she has to lie down to sleep it off. Can anyone tell me if there is hope in a case like this? I know that Penny isn't in pain, but I feel so guilty prolonging her stay at the hospital which she hates if she has no chance for recovery. Thank you so much for your support. Christine

Christine Jordan Northern California

Jasper is 11 and is a springer spaniel/ collie cross. He had similar symptoms to Penny. He stopped eating suddenly, but then collapsed an hour later. We called the vet after hours and took him to the vets where he was kept in and put in an iv drip. We racked our brains as to what could have caused it and really still don't know now. Having spent the night in the vets we had actually decided to bring Jasper home to say goodbye and ask the vet to come to the house to put him to sleep. They had initially diagnosed an enlarged liver and probable liver failure having scanned and x rayed him. The vet who had scanned him on the friday said it wouldn't be fair to keep Jasper under those circumstances. There was a different vet on saturday morning and he said to wait for the blood tests before deciding anything. It was later on Saturday afternoon when his blood tests came back they diagnosed AIHA. It took Jasper 5 days to show any signs of improvement. He literally slept on the floor in the same place, only drinking water. I slept next to him. He only moved if we helped him to go out for a wee. What medication is Penny on? From Jaspers experience I know his meds (predisolone) took 5 to 7 days to start to work. I spoke to the vet several times about his quality of life and if we were doing the right thing by Jasper.He reassured me we were giving him the best chance of survival. There is no quick fix. We take things a day at a time. It is 8 weeks tomorrow and he has improved considerably. He eats 3 small meals a day and goes out for walks. Please take heart, some dogs do show signs of improvement quicker than others. Others are on different treatments. The people on this board have a wealth of knowledge and experience and will help and support you. Be strong, you will know what to do for the best, Jackie and Jasper

Jackie pembrokeshire; west wales; uk

Jackie -- Penny is on Dexamethsone, Cytoxan, Azathioprine, heparin, aspirin, prednisone, doxycycline, metronidazole, plus a couple I don't remember to protect her stomach. She's had 4 tranfusions of oxyglobin. I would do almost anything for this dog, but I feel so helpless because she has to be in the oxygen kennel and I can only visit her briefly. Thanks for your encouragement. Christine

Christine Northern CA

Christine, With my beautiful boy Sammy the decision was taken out of our hands, and his diagnosis and sadly his death was within 24 hours of him first showing signs and symptoms of this disease. If we were able to medicate Sammy we would have done, as long as he was able to live a fairly normal life, and was not going to suffer. I would suggest that you talk to your vet, he/she would be the best person for advice specifically for Penny's case. As Jackie previously said, all dogs respond differently to medication and at different time scales. You are giving Penny the best chance of survival, and I'm sure you will always do whats best for Penny. All the best, Emma

Emma Devon Uk

absolutely there is hope for your case w/ Penny. everyone here has a dog going through the same thing so know that it can be beat. it is a long hard struggle but there is potential light at the end of the tunnel, hang in there.

josh california

Christine, I am so very sorry to hear of your dear Penny's AIHA/IMHA diagnosis. If you have not read my web site on AIHA/IMHA http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson as yet you might want to do so when you can. 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 http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/successstories.htm they will show you what has worked for other dogs in terms of treatment options as well as give you a lot of HOPE. I have seen dogs with PCV's as low as 5 go on to recover and live happy healthy lives. But it can sometimes take a long time for this recovery to happen. It takes time for the meds to start to work and until they do the transfusions and oxygen can buy you that time. Hang in there, both you and Penny are in my thoughts and prayers.

Joanne MN

Christine, This is my TC's second bout with this awful disease. He literally could not stand or walk when we took him into the vet. Three WBD transfusions later he is holding his own, slowly recuperating. There is hope! No one on this blog would go through the painful process of the procedures and the meds if the dogs could not recover and lead a healthy life. Best to you & Penny.

Wendy Tampa FL

Christine, Yes there can be hope for recovery. I believe all dogs are different in how they can handle it and how much fight they have in them. The drugs in fact to take a little time to start working and that is probably what the vets are hoping for. Our Holly went down to 8 when she was admitted into the hospital, one transfusion and 5 days later she came home to us, that was back on March 26. She has been fighting hard ever since and is on the road to recovery. It is a long road in most cases and can be very draining. Just take one day at a time, she knows how much you love her and are doing these things to help her. Keep us posted. Linda

Linda Sapphire

Hi Christine, The prognosis for our cairn terrier was grim after her diagnosis. I thought, where there is life there is hope and so we began the long battle to save her. That was in May of 2005, with a relapse in October of that same year. The road has been long, the mountains are steep, but I would do it all over again and again. Please know that I am keeping you and Penny in my thoughts and prayers. Nancy

Nancy CO

Hi Christine. I'm sorry to hear about Penny, hang in there, there is hope. I'm sure you have read many of the posting here Penny. I ended up posting here for the first time about 4 weeks ago. Trixie, my Collie X, came upstairs to me one morning and it was when she was at the top of the stairs I noticed she was trying to catch her breath, I called her into my room and noticed she was unsteady on her feet (she is 5 by the way)I was very concerned. During that morning she seemed to not want to eat. I then decided to take her to the vets, after a blood test I was told she had AIHA! I had never heard of it before. She is on medication and it has taken a while for me to see improvements, but it's happening :+). She is now into her 3rd week of medication and it has been only over the past 4/5 days that I have seen an improvment. Just little things she does now, things that tell me she is becoming her usual self. My thoughts are with you Penny, hang in there. As some of the other people here have said, each dog is different and react differently also. Tricia x

Tricia UK

This thread was discussed between 24/10/2007 and 25/10/2007

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