Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Simons first night home

The first night. I picked Simon up last night and his Pcv had dropped to 16 from 19.5. the dr said that I could swing a couple points up or down because of all the liquids and she was not to worried about it. I take Simon to our vet this morning to start the process of home care. Simon’s food came up last night I worried about the medication coming with it. Any advice on what to feed him? I am worried about not taking care of him good enough

Suzy and Darrell AZ

Suzy & Darrell, I am so sorry to hear that Simon has been diagnosed with this awful disease, but I just wanted to tell you that this is such a tricky disease that it can be hard to tell wether or not Simon will be okay at home with your care or if he needs to be at a veterinary hospital 24/7. My dog Tipsi was diagnosed back in September of 07. We first tried to take care of her at home and give her daily medications to fight the disease, but after 3 days she went down hill rapidly and had to be taken into the hospital. Her PCV at that point was 15. She was given a blood transfusion and her medications at this point were give through IV's. After the transfusion things looked up for a day, but then everything went downhill. Tipsi began vomitting which was a sign of her pancreatitis from the medication and also due to the acute renal failure that she was going into. Tipsi also battled Evan's syndrome as well as DIC during her stay in the hospital. It took 2 long weeks before she was stable enough to come home. And I know without a doubt that if she hadn't of been in the hospital then she wouldn't have made it through. But I was like you to begin with, I wanted to try and treat her at home, but it just wasn't in the cards for Tipsi. fortuntately everything has worked out for the best and Tipsi is almost back to normal now. Despite the doses of prednisone and cyclosporine she is still on. I hope that Simon is one of the lucky ones who can be treated at home, but just know that this disease can change rapidly and you will need to keep a close watch on his symptoms. Tipsi and I wish you and Simon the best! Please keep us updated.

Layla Brantley Raleigh NC

Suzy & Darrell, I know how scared you are about wondering if you are able to care for your dog at home. I was the same way over 2 years ago. My Vet allowed me to take my Golden Retriever home for Thanksgiving and I was petrified. He is still with us and will be 13 in April! Just keep Simon quite and stress free and let him rest, but make sure you wake him up to go out to the bathroom. Look out for any warning signs as Layla mentioned. I assume he is on a high dose of Prednisone. Is he on anything to protect his stomach? (I was wondering because you said he vomited)My dog thankfully was able to keep everything down and I fed him 3 small meals a day. My thoughts are with you guys. I know it is tough, but be strong for your boy. Jeanne in New Jersey Goldens, Angelo & Archie

Jeanne New Jersey

Suzy & Darrell: We had a few nights initially with food coming up, diarrhea, etc. You didn't mention what meds you are giving Simon. Daisy had trouble at first but it is hard to tell if it was the Cyclosporin or the high does Prednisone or the combination that were causing her problems. Split Simon's regular amount of food into four smaller meals. Food should not have any corn, wheat, soy. Pepcid AC or something equivalent to help protect his stomach. They don't know what's going on and need comfort from you. They seem to get a little weird from the prednisone, along with the constant panting it is hard not to worry about them....Ron

Ron B San Mateo

Hi Suzy Sorry to hear Simon is going through this. I could not feed Casper dog food the first few weeks because the meds messed up his tummy. What I did was, I boiled chicken breast and rice in water and liquified it all in a blender and that is what I fed him. Plus canned green beans and cottage cheese for snacks coz the pred made him super hungry all the time. It also made him super thirst so the liquefied food helped with that also. Once his tummy got used to the meds, I slowly switched him back to dog food. Like Ron mentioned, Pepcid AC will help protect his tummy. And make sure to keep him quiet and stress free and check his gums often.

leslie ca

Simon is still holding his own. I am taking him to the dr today at noon and will update you on his progress. When he went to the bathroom this morning he had that amber urine again. He is taking 110 Mgs of Doxycycline every 12 hours. 60 mg of prednisone every 24 hours and 1gr carafate every 8 hours as well as pepcid. Please pray..

Suzy and Darrell AZ

Hi Suzy and Darrell, Are you giving him the pred all at once or divided into 2? Maybe ask your vet if it shouldnt be in two doses a day. I always give kent ice cubes in his water, and he likes it that way best, plus fresh water, even after a few hours wants it fresh. Kent has always liked carrots and apples and green beans (cooked green beans) so iwould give him what he wanted. when he first came home it was only baby food or pureed chicken or turkey, then gradually moving up to chunkier food. I was obsessive about checking his gums and tongue that they were pink enough, and watching him for anything weird - out of character, slowness, dullness etc. Kent has been tolerating the liver cleansing diet well, though he gets bored with any kind of the same food day in and day out. I give him fresh broiled fish mixed with steamed sweet potato, potato, green beans, carrots, and alternate the fish with turkey and chicken. Sometimes i bake the potatoes so its like chips, he loves that. I give kent pet-tinic, a liquid vitamin to help his red blood cells mature and generally make up for his diet. I also give him pet-tabs once or twice a day. The pred makes them very hungry and thirsty, while the doxy probably makes him woozy (it does me) and less hungry. I tried rice cakes for kent, and sometimes he eats them, sometimes not. I give him paul newman treats for biscuits after his walks. My vet made a great suggestion too which i do - i bake wet hills wd canned food into biscuits, and he gets them as 'snacks' throughout the day. Hope some of this helps, and from experience i can just tell you never to be afraid of over-reacting and calling your vet. I would call my vet about every little thing, but sometimes what i thought was little was not and the vet would instruct me to bring him in right away. I know more now, and i still will call the vet if anything concerns me. Hang in there, give him lots of love, and let us know how he does, christine

Christine florida

Suzy & Darrell. I am glad you are able to have Simon home with you. How much does he weigh? As Christine mentioned the 60mg of Pred does seem a little much for one dosage and could be the cause of his stomach upsets. Hang in there and know a lot of help/comfort is just a keystroke away. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Suzy and Darrell- there seemed to be no mention of one of the anti-rejection drugs in your list? Generally,the consensus seems to be that the dogs are given Cyclosporin or Imuran AND the prednisone until either of the two first drugs began to work, then the goal is to taper the dose of the prednisone down and remain on either the cyclosporin or the Immuran and hope the PCV continues to rise. Long term, the prednisone is tough on the dog and you want to reduce the dosage as soon as you can but only when the anti rejection drugs take hold. Did you just not list it, or has Simon not been prescribed any of the other two drugs? If not, I would get to a specialist who has alot of experience treating AIHA. Ron

Ron B San Mateo

the new drug is azathioprine 50 mgs every 24 hours is that what you are talking about ron?

Suzy and Darrell AZ

This thread was discussed between 08/01/2008 and 10/01/2008

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