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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Punky's Tale
| My dog Punky, a 9 year old spayed female lab mix is currently being treated for possible Evan's Syndrome. On October 20, I rushed her into my work (I work at an animal hospital, thank God!) because her gums had been bleeding for 2-3 days (which I had thought was from chewing on her bones) and now she was urinating blood. Other than the bleeding gums, she had seemed perfectly normal until that morning. She was getting extremely lethargic and weak, and declined greatly within the hour it took me to get there. By the time I got her to my work, she was very pale and weak. She received a whole blood transfusion and a possible diagnosis of hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. I decided to transfer her to a 24 hour facility, and it's a good thing I did. Her platelets went from 50,000 to 14,000 even after the transfusion. She was severely anemic, and things weren't looking good for her. She was hospitalized there for the next 6 days on high doses of prednisone, cyclosporine, imuran, famotidine, sucralfate, thyrozine, and also required a treatment of Vincristine (a chemo drug) before she was stable enough to transfer back to my work. All the while, I'm stunned at how fast this all happened, and how my happy, healthy, energetic dog was deteriorating so rapidly, that I could help but wonder why? I'd remembered that at the end of September, just a month before, she had chomped down on 2 bees within an hour! and I know she was stung. I also recalled that she had also just finished an antibiotic called SMZ for a skin infection secondary to allergies. Sulfa drugs are possible causes. My dog has had an unfortunate twist to her recovery... She does not tolerate steroids at all. Aside from the usual horrible side effects, she is going into rapid liver failure, with her liver enzymes more than doubling every week, despite an unsafe, rapid decrease in her prednisone dosage. Her platelets remain high, and she's only mildly anemic now, but with her liver failing, a very nasty bladder infection that is resistant to almost everything except cephalosporins, and her muscle deteriorating so fast she can barely stand sometimes, I just wonder if there's anyone out there that can help! All of the specialists are afraid to change anything, but if we don't, I'm afraid that I am loosing the battle we've fought so hard! Someone please tell me you've gone through this with a happy ending!?! |
| Stephanie Southern California |
| Stephanie, I am sorry that Punky has been diagnosed. If you haven't found Joanne's page yet please check it out. Read the success stories there http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/index.html There are a lot of people on this board that have had the same complications with their dogs so I am sure they will be posting advice. I lost my Lab Salome 4 years ago. I believe her anemia was brought on by the bee stings. (she was an avid bee killer) I was prescribed the SMZ for one of my non aiha dogs and refused it because it indicated it could bring on the anemia. It is indeed stunning how one day you have a seemingly healthy dog and the next you have entered the nightmare of this awful disease. You might want to contact Dr. Dodds at Hemopet in Garden Grove Calif. she is so generous with her time and responds to emails very quickly. It is so terrible to watch our dogs go through so much but you will find in the success stories many dogs that have been in worse conditions that have come back to live very happy lives. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Stephanie, I am so sorry Punky is so sick. the nasty side effects from the high doses of steroids are unfortunately quite common. Please go to Joanne Dicksons website: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/index.html I am pretty sure there is some information on Evan's Syndrome as well as AIHA. If you go the the link of the Success stories, there are some that describe the recovery from Evans. They should give you hope and curage that Punky can also recover. Make sure Punky is on Sam-E and Milkthistle to help the liver recover. Remember, the liver is an amazing organ and quite capable of healing itself after damage from drugs. If I would be in your shoes, I would contact Dr. Jean Dodds at hemopet, rather sooner than later. She is in California and has helped so many dogs on this board. You could send her an e-mail (hemopet @ hotmail.com remove spaces)with all the lab results or get your vet to call her. She does not work on Saturdays but will get back to you very quickly any other day. Don't loose hope! I will be thinking of you and Punky, Best wishes, Brigitte & the poodle boys |
| Brigitte BC Canada |
| Dear Steph, I am so sorry to hear of Punky's diagnosis! You are very fortunate though to have knowledge gained from your work to help you understand this disease! The liver damage is unfortunately part and parcel with this disease. Are you supporting her liver with milk thistle or Denmarin? It is a fine line as you don't want to reduce the drugs too quickly in case of relapse, however high liver numbers are most definitely a concern. My dog Millie was fortunate to beat this disease, and we never once had dangerously elevated liver values. However, I know from my time on this forum, that most dogs do experience the same problems as Punky. How is Punky doing at the moment? Hugs to you both, Sam & Millie. |
| Samantha Geelong |
| Stephanie, How is Punky doing? |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
This thread was discussed between 25/11/2010 and 01/12/2010
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