Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Recurrence of IMHA and appearance of NRIMHA

Hello, Need some thoughts and help about Tia, my Shih Tzu. In December 2010, Tia become very sick with IMHA and was in the hospital for 10 days. After two transfusions and a lot of medicine (20mg of Prednisone and Imuran-forget dosage) she came back home "as good as new". Over the spring and summer, the doctor reduce the dosage. Imuran was the first to go in February 2011. Prednisone slowly over the course of the summer unitl she was on 1.25mg every second day. All was fine until mid October when her blood test started to come back unfavourably and the tell tale pale gums. The IMURAN was restarted and so was the prednisone (5mg a day). Unfortunately they are not having much luck. The red blood cells are not regnerating and the doctor wants to do a bone marrow test. Is there much that can done if the dog is not regernating red blood cells?

Tom Toronto

Tom, I am so sorry that you are going through this. People with more knowledge will be here to answer your questions. Good Luck to You and Your little one.

Kathy Calif.

Tom, I would urge you to get in touch with Dr. Dodds in California! I know this sounds a bit crazy, but you will not regret it. E-mail her all the latest test results and medications Tia is on. Dr. Dodds e-mail is hemopet @ hotmail. com (remove spaces) Be short and clear on what is going on and she will answer with some suggestions. You can make a donation to her labs. You can also send blood to her from Canada, it takes a few days to get there, but it will be worth it. The testing is costs not more than doing it in Canada. You could also get your vet to contact her. That will depend what your vet thinks about her. There are many dogs on this forum who would not be alive without her help, I would certainly not hesitate to get her on board again. In my opinion 5mg of prednisone is a much too low dose even for a small Shih Tzu. It should be at least 1mg per pound of dog, up to 2 mg. this makes me think that your vet is not very experienced with this disease. Please go on the Meisha's Hope website to earn more: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/index.html Make sure to read the success stories, they will give you lots of hope! Best wishes, Brigitte Campbell River BC

Brigitte BC

Tom, There is great hope. I have been there. Please do not feel defeated. Contact Dr. Jean Dodds at hemopet @ hotmail. com (remove spaces to send). Write a concise email explaining the previous treatment and include your most recent CBC. She will be able to help you. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

Thank you for all the feedback Tia is now on 20mg of prednisone (since Friday) We have a blood test tomorrow. Tia does seem a bit tired today. The colour of her gums does not look that bad. What the real puzzle to me is the fact that she recovered nicely from the Imha. Now ten months later she seems to be in the same boat except now her body does not want to produce red blood cells. It is so worrying.

Tom Toronto

I would also encourage you to go through with the bone marrow test. It can rule out certain diseases and pinpoint any other issues. So sorry about the recurrence. But you and Tia are in good hands. Keep the faith. Robert and Maggie

RobertN Superior

Tom, relapses are not uncommon with IMHA. Just read Meisha's story and the success stories on the Meisha's Hope website. Meisha had multiple relapses and recovered every time to live a long and healthy life. Like Patrice said, there is lots of hope. Don't hesitate to contact Dr. Dodds, she studies in Canada:) Best wishes to you and Tia, Brigitte

Brigitte BC

Sorry that should read; studied in Canada:)

Brigitte BC

Good news(fingers crossed) as it looks like Tia has started to produce some red blood cells. Her red blood cell count dropped with the last blood test but for the first time the vet said he can see the red blood cells being produced. Poor Tia's colour looks a bit better. Also-I can see some little veins coming back on her eye balls. Last week there were none at all. Now at the same time she is getting very fussy about eating(very unusual) and she is a lethargic-sleeping a lot and not wanting to walk. That said, she is interested in what is going on. Thinking that the medicine is upsetting her stomach. Vet thinks we are at the point where the prednisone is beginning to work and he is a little more optimistic.

Tom Toronto

Hi Tom, Try offering her smelly food. My dog, when she was first diagnosed, would eat something then turn her nose up at it the next feeding. So we were doing a lot of variety. I had a lot of luck with canned tripe. It can be purchased at most pet stores. Also, canned Merrick's, which has plenty of different flavors. We tried a couple other brands but she didn't like them. Also, plain lean meats. I bought chicken breasts and tilapia filets in bulk from Safeway and just threw 1-2 in the oven for a feeding (at the time she was losing weight so she ate 3 times a day)

Monet Sammamish

Tom, Please make sure Tia is on a stomach protectant! Sucralfate or carafate. Prednisone is very harsh on the stomach and she could end up with bleeding ulcers. You want to prevent this at any cost. Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC

Hi Tom, the folks are correct, just be patient, we had a cocker, Tori, she too had many relapses with this disease, but fought back, and lived until she was 12yrs, she was first diagnosed when she was just 2yrs. aiha did not catch her, cancer did. take care Bev

Bev Winnipeg

This thread was discussed between 31/10/2011 and 04/11/2011

Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) forum index

This thread is from the Vetnet archive. The live Vetnet forum is active now.