Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Thor, diagnosed last weekend

Thor is my best friend. Thor is a 4 year old giant schnauzer who is an absolute joy to me and my family. He is a big guy 161lbs. and super smart affectionate and a bit of a comedian always. Thor got sick last weekend no eating very lethargic dark orange/brown urine and difficulty breathing. took him to my vet of course she was on vacation so they reffered me to emergency services. He is not doing so well got a call this am and they told me that he had a really bad night after his transfusion. 50/50 chance of recovery but he looks awful of course my heart is broken i would do anything to bring him through this. He is hanging in there right now and we are hanging on with him best we can. my heart goes out to all who unfortunately have this imha in there loved ones life. God bless all of you, my heart goes out to you and your great pets.

Ted Rhodes columbus

Ted...I am right with you. We have our baby, Maggie (a 9 year old cocker spaniel) at the vet for her 2nd day. She was transfused yesterday also. We are in the same stage. She has possibly a 50/50 chance. Her rbcc was up from 10 to 19, but the vet was hoping it'd be higher. He wants to continue injectible prednisone thru tomorrow. We're at the "wait and see" stage. Healthy dog one day...two days later, a 50/50 chance of survival. The suddenness of it all is paralyzing. God bless you and Thor. I will be praying for you through this, as well.

Patty T. Atlanta

Ted, I am sorry that Thor has been diagnosed. If you haven't found your way to Joanne's site yet please check it out. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/index.html It is a tough battle and not always sucessful no matter what you do but it can be beat. Be sure to read the sucess stories at Joanne's site. Keep in mind IMHA/AIHA itself is not painful a lot of what you are seeing is from the lack of oxygen in Thor's system. Another important part of the battle is having a Internal medicine specialist who also believes that it is possible to win this battle. Keep us posted. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Dear Ted, I am so sorry to hear about Thor. This sounds like a dreadful scare for you and your family... especially when you don't have your regular vet to visit. I am particularly sad to hear your diagnosis because we also own two Giant Schnauzers. Chance, our older guy, developed this disease just about a year ago. It was a very serious case and there were many times last summer when I thought we would lose him. I grieved many times about what we were trying to do to save his life. Chance had a checkup with our vet Saturday and his cbc and chem screen both show nearly normal numbers. His hair is grown back and he is alive and happy to be with his family. In order for you to be as successful as we have been you will need to be very proactive about educating yourself on this condition. There were many times during the last year that I walked into my vet's office and said "can we do this test?" or "what do you think of using this medication?" The one thing we both agreed on was that after the visit with the specialist, all necessary tests and transfusions were done with our local vet. It made it more comfortable for Chance and our vets are quite capable. Anything they didn't feel comfortable deciding, they either called the specialist or asked me to write Dr. Dodds for advice. Another very important issue is the cost of these treatments. You are probably getting a good idea of how expensive this could get. I was able to pull out a mutual fund I had been saving for a new car and work off of that. If you have a family and the money isn't there, it will be a very tough decision that needs to be made by the whole family. There is no right or wrong decision and no one here judges the choices that we make. Right now your most important job is to make sure that all the critical tests have been done to rule out all the different causes of anemia. The list is quite long, but the highlights are testing for tick diseases, ruling out tumors and other cancers, exposure to medications, chemicals, rat poison, zinc coins and even onions. Any of these things can cause sudden and severe anemia. When all these things have been examined and the cause seems to be narrowed to an immune mediated or autoimmune disease, then the job begins of finding the right cocktail of medications that will suppress the immune system and halt the destruction of red blood cells. There are a number of drugs and if you read through the archives, you will see dogs on many different medications. The main drug right for Thor right now will be prednisone and in very high doses. We had Chance on 80mg a day, which is actually quite low for a 100lb dog. If Thor is truly 160 pounds, he may be put on a much higher dose. Prednisone has side effects that can seem almost worse than the anemia. We also used cyclosporine in the form of Atopica. That was the drug that saved Chance's life. It has less side effects and in fact was originally developed to help suppress t-lymphocytes in humans after an organ transplant without making them as sick as the prednisone did. It takes some time for it to begin working so thus the prednisone must be the main drug for a period of time. There are accessory drugs that are given to protect the esophagus and stomach from prednisone. There are others that are given to protect the liver. Yet others to protect from abnormal clotting. Thor may need more transfusions. We gave Chance 3. The best transfusions are fresh whole blood that have been cross matched. Your vet may have a donor dog that could be a good match. There are other ways of getting blood for transfusions. Hemopet is excellent. You can succeed in this if you are willing to work hard at it and your family is willing to help. Mark and I spent many months giving round the clock care to Chance. I have never been so focused in my whole life. I have a written description of a Giant Schnauzer owner that I will send to you. We are extraordinary folks. We don't just own dogs, it's more like we have a second heart and mind that becomes part of us. Many of us cannot get by in life with just one Giant, we have 2, 3 or 5 and life just gets better with each new one. I just spent a month rescuing, training and placing a rescue Giant. I felt like I was handing my child over to his new family. I cried buckets for days. Please keep us posted on how Thor is doing each day. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

Ted e-mailed me a few days ago and I'm sorry to say that Thor didn't make it. I know how difficult the grieving process is. We all know you did your best for Thor. He is up playing with Daisy and all the other dogs that didn't get through this disease...Ron

Ron B San Mateo

Ted, I am deeply grieved to hear that Thor is gone. Please accept deepest condolences for your great loss from Giant owners around the world. Patrice Lockhart Owner: GIANT lsoft.com

Patrice NYS

Ted...my hearts and prayers are with you over your loss. My Maggie is hanging on by a thread (has been for a week). This disease is cruel in how quickly they can be affected. I pray now for your comfort and healing. They are no longer in pain, but yours begins. Thor will be making his spirital presence known. Watch for these...you are not going crazy. This has happened to me many times with the losses of previous pets. They truly are looking down on us and comforting us. You will see Thor again. I believe we are all reunited with our furr-babies in heaven. Meanwhile, Thor is healed and frolicking around with all the others waiting for their families at "Rainbow Bridge". Be sure to check out their website. You will find many comforting links, poems, forums as well as a tribute page. God Bless, Ted.

Patty T. Atlanta

Ted, I am so sorry for your loss. I hope the good memories of Thor help you find comfort in this terrible time. Take care. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. We are all blessed to have these wonderful and special dogs in our lives, even when the do not stay physically with us as long as we would like. I hope you will find solace and peace in his memory in the days ahead. Thoughts are with you.

Ronda So Cal

Ted, I am so sorry to hear of you loss. He now runs with so many of our dogs on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. In thought and prayer, Ann Marie

Ann Marie FL

So sorry that you have lost your beloved Thor. I pray that your heartache will lessen, and that your happy memories with him stay with you. Mary

Mary Indiana

I am so sorry to hear of your loss - you will be in our thoughts and prayers jeanne

jeanne texas

Ted -- I am saddened to hear the news that Thor didn't make it. Please know that you did all that you could for him. The grief from losing a beloved dog to IMHA is terrible, but your memories of your wonderful life with Thor will be a comfort. Please take care and let us know how you're doing.

Brenda VA

Dear Ted, I am so sorry that Thor did not make it. He is free of pain and disease now, and waiting for you at the bridge. Please take good care of yourself and enjoy the happy memories that Thor has given you, and know that he knows you did everything you could for him. I am so sorry for your loss, Christine and Kent

Christine Fl

This thread was discussed between 17/06/2008 and 23/06/2008

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