Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Sophie's pred free

Well this week we got the ok to stop pred on Sophie our 7yr old female cocker. We are so happy but very scared. Sophie has had the most severe side effects from pred that we are praying she will be in remission for awhile at least. Her little kidneys have been so damaged from pred but they are coming back now! The vet's on P.E.I. had hoped they would recover and slowly as the pred has been decreased she has been feeling better. The hard bloated tummy, rapid heavy breathing, hair loss, restlessness, are all subsiding and lastly her urine protein are coming down! they were at the top end of levels of over 2000 and now are at 100. We are super excited about her kidneys recovering and even if there is some permanent damage to them she can live with this amount. She really has been a miracle little girl. Fighting Evans disease, then all the horrible side effects of the meds which have saved her life. I want people to know that these drugs are super hard on our dogs but if you keep going with it our dogs can survive this horrible disease and return to good health. We are still guarded with our hopes but we would do it all over again to give her a chance to recover. The battle is hard won through tears, fears, hope and love. Sincerely Debbie and Sophie

debbie N.B. Canada

Debbie, Always happy to read about dogs turning the corner. Yippee for you and Sophie!

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Congratulations Sophie!!! I wish Sophie continued good health and we are so glad she is doing so well. Thanks for the update. Cheryl & Ginger

Cheryl & Ginger Pinevile PA

Dear Debbie, this is excellent news, and you are so right about the "battle". I wish my doggie was one of the success stories, but sadly not, but its lovely to read of those who beat it - well done Sophie!

Silka Melbourne Australia

Dear Debbie, You are so right about the side effects of the drugs. Some times the cure can seem worse than the disease. In the end we deal with our fears and do what we have to do and pray for the best outcome, and sometimes we get the results we want. Congratulations on yours!!!!! Ronda and Buster

Ronda Illinois

Thank you everyone. Here's hoping she cont's the remission.

debbie N.B. Canada

Woohoo Debbie. Glad to hear you're still working with UPEI. They were great when Tessy and I went there! What are her latest counts? Keep up the good work. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Hi Debbie It is so nice to read about a "success" story this morning. Congratulations to your Sophie, for winning a hard fought battle. Many of us can relate to the "scary feeling" it is to remove the prednisone completely, but it certainly makes a huge difference in the way our dogs feel----noticably so! We wish you and Sophie all the best in the coming months. Maureen and Mercedes.

Maureen BC Canada

Johnny, I'm not sure what all the CBC means but here is the report I know that are important. WBC 15.3 HCT 0.491 RDW 53.9 HGB 166 RBC 6.83 PLT 314 MPV 8.5 It will be 2 weeks on Monday so we go in for a quick PVC to make sure we are still on track. Then another month later a full screening and a protein check to see if her kidneys are recovered. We are hoping by Christmas she will be able to come off the ACE inhibitor and aspirin at that point and also off the K/D diet too. She dosnt like her food very much now that she is off the pred its a challenge to get her to eat a cup of it a day.

debbie N.B. Canada

WOW, those numbers look great! Is she feeling better since being off the pred? Hopefully she's getting back to her ole self! I'm not overly sure why they are using the ace inhibitors and aspirin for....am I missing something or forgetting something? What are you planning on switching her to with regards to food? Was the kidney damage severe or only mild? I'll be keeping Sophie in my thoughts and prayers. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Hi Johnny sorry its taken so long to get back to you. Sophie is holding her own re her blood work just came back from a recheck and its good. We go back in a month if all goes well for a recheck on her blood levels. Her spirits are better every day and now can play cheerfully with other canine's again. lol. The ace inhibitor. Sophie had severe damage to her kidneys from the rapid deaths of her red blood cells and platelets and then pred. meds on top was just too much for her kidneys. She has been on this expensive drug Benazepril now since early on because she was spilling massive amounts of protein in her urine so they added this drug to keep her blood pressure on the low side to give her kidneys a chance to recover. That and a low protein diet. Now they are coming back so we are so happy . Coming off the pred. has made a huge difference her urine proteins and are now 1+ . If her kidneys did not come back her survival rate was indeed poor but we kept hoping even when there wasn't much hope. She is our little miracle as yours has been too. My heart goes out to all who are fighting these terrible diseases.

debbie N.B

Debbie, I am so glad that Sophie is your little miracle. Most people don't understand the emotional and financial toll this places on us.I find that people were sympathetic in the beginning but they don't understand that even though our "babies" are feeling better that this disease is very unpredictable. I am learning that the drugs can hurt them so much as they are treating them. Please keep us posted on Sophie's success! Gwen and Gracie

Gwen Rhinebeck

This thread was discussed between 09/10/2010 and 27/10/2010

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