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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Reilly Diagnosed with AIHA on Saturday
| I am starting a new thread for Liz's post so others can see it more easily. Joanne Posted 03 January 2008 at 17:55:44 UK time Liz Bourgeois, Montgomery, AL, LizB77771@yahoo.com My 1 year old English Springer Spaniel, Reilly, was just diagnosed with AIHA last Saturday. At 4-5 months he started having Amber colored urine which tested negative for blood or infection so the vet just said that some dogs have more concentrated urine than others. I was also concerned that his gums were not as pink as other dogs that I have had. They did pass the test where you push on them and they show white-then return to pink so the vet did not do a blood test. I also mentioned that I thought he should weigh a little more-the vet felt he was just more field trial and that the lankiness had to do with his age-that he would fill out more later. He did say it would be fine to add some wet food to his dry at night to encourage him to eat more. This was a Veterinarian on base. A few months ago I got Reilly neutered and that night he started bleeding. I rushed him to my regular vet and it was determined that he was anemic-he was in the 20's. Reilly wasn't continuing to bleed so the vet gave him a shot to boost his iron, a steroid shot and an antibiotic shot and instructed me to put him on vitamins with iron. I mentioned my other concerns to him and he told me virtually the same thing that the other vet did. Reluctantly, I accepted it and chalked it up to me being paranoid. Things were fine for a couple of months-no additional symptoms until last Friday when my Son called me at work and said that there was blood everywhere in my bathroom. It was too cold for my dogs to be outside so I kept them in my room and put papers down on the tile floor in the bathroom just in case. I rushed home to find my Springer acting strangely. He had blood on his legs and was urinating blood. Reilly's eyes looked jaundiced and his gums were a very strange color I had never seen before. I sobbed, convinced I was going to lose him. I rushed him back to my regular vet. When we got there he was in shock (as was I since he had been perfectly normal in the morning) they hooked him up to an IV and performed several tests. His blood count was low, but not enough for a transfusion. Xrays revealed his prostrate was so swollen it was almost pinching off his colon (again I could not understand why there were not any visible signs he was so ill). Dr. Simmons said that his White blood cell count was very high and that he was septic. I was questioning whether or not this had something to do with the neutering since he had no major problems until then. They assured me it did not. (they were not the ones who neutered him.)He improved some with the IV so they were cautiously optimistic that he would pull through. I visited him on Saturday and he was improving. On Sunday my vet broke the news to me that on a hunch she sent off a Coombs test and it came back positive That Reilly has an autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease this past year so I was really thinking that God sure had a sense of humor. DR. Simmons explained to me that Reilly suffered from AIHA and that his body was attacking his red blood cells and breaking them down. She explained that since they were broken down by the time they reached the bladder that they caused the amber colored urine, but did not test positive for blood. She said that it explained why Reilly was anemic and on the lower end of a normal weight for his breed (he weighs 32 lbs so he has gained some weight, but you can still feel his hip bones when you pet him)She said it also explained why the infection hit him so hard and so fast. She reassured me that although she could not guarantee it, it appeared as if Reilly had a mild case of it since he was able to keep his blood count in the 20's even with this bad infection. His blood count also climbed 5 points on its own by Sunday-no transfusions and no iron shots. Reilly was able to come home on New Year's Eve on a tapering dose of 20mg a day of Prednisone. It starts tapering down after 7 days. After reading some of the comments I will ask her on Friday what dose he will remain on. He is also on an antibiotic. His White Blood cell count is still high so I will have to take him back tomorrow to have his labs rechecked. The strange color from the bilirubin is gone and now his gums are paler than before he got sick. I went out and got Puppy vitamins with the highest amount of iron I could find-3mg and got some calf's liver to cook up for him. I am desperate to do something. Reilly is no longer bleeding and his urine is now just a concentrated yellow-no more amber. He has bursts of energy, but is overall less energetic and a bit edgy with the other dogs. I don't know if it is due to the prednisone or just not feeling well. He has always had a wonderful temperament except for a little food aggression that we are working on. I am hopeful, but scared to death I will lose him. I am praying for better news on his labs when we return on Friday. I hope his white blood cell count will not keep going up and that his liver tests will return to normal. I am so glad that this website exists. I love Reilly like I do my children and this has been very scary and stressful. I am sorry this initial comment is so long. I am hoping that someone who has had a similar experience will respond or that maybe it will help someone else recognize a symptom before it is too late. My concerns about his urine, color of his gums and weight were correct, but that offers me no satisfaction at all. It does show that you need to trust your instincts even when professionals are reassuring you that things are fine. I don't blame anyone-who would guess that a puppy would have a rare autoimmune disease, but maybe this will help someone piece things together quicker if their pet is exibiting similar symptoms. Liz |
| Liz Montogomery |
| Tht poor guy has been thru a lot. I guess that terrible disease can strike any age. Her is hoping and prying he goes into a long, long remission and lives a long, long life. |
| Sandra |
| liz, I am so very sorry to hear that your most beloved Reilley has recently been diganosed with AIHA. At the onset of the disease the lowest amount of prednisone a dog with AIHA/IMHA should be on is 1 mg per pound per day of the dogs weight divided into 2 doses one dose to be given in the morning and one dose to be given in the evening. So if Rielly is 32 pounds, his predisone dosage is too low, if he is only taking 20 mg per day. Perhaps you meant, he is taking 20mg twice per day. Another thing that stood out to me in your post is the fact that you said you will be tapering down the pred after 7 days. It does take 5-7 days for the pred to start to work, so at 7 days it will barely be "kicking in". The pred should not be reduced until the PCV is at or near the normal range (37-55). I have seen far too many vets set up this sort of pred reduction schedule at the onset of the disease and in my opinion it is very big mistake. The pred should only be reduced when blood testing reveals a reducion is warranted. Since AIHA/IMHA is NOT an iron defiency anemia, it is not wise to give too much iron. 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 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. I know this is so hard, but do hang in there. Reading the Success Stories pages will show you that dogs CAN and DO recover from AIHA/IMHA and go on to live happy healthy lives. Be assured you and your dear Rielly are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days. |
| Joanne MN |
| Liz, I am sorry you have had to join us but you have come to a wonderful place to learn what you need to and be supported by people that understand fully what you are dealing with. Remember you need to be Reilly's voice so make sure your Vets know that you will be sharing your opinion with them regarding treatment. Some Vets are very open to it others not so much. Keep us posted. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
This thread was discussed between 03/01/2008 and 04/01/2008
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