Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Tina's question about Aliki's stomach bloat

Hey everyone, Tina posted this in a couple threads. If you're new here, don't be afraid to start a new thread with your questions, that way it doesn't get lost. TINA, NEW YORK, SZOULI723@AOL.COM Did anyone experience any of your dogs stomach being so bloated. ALiki's stomach for the past 2 days is bloated. I mean big, we are bringing her to Vet tomorrow. Can anyone share their experiences or let me know if this is normal. Thanks, Tina

melissa slc

oohhh yeah Madison's stomach is huge compared to the rest of her - the vet says this is normal with ped medication. She said they call in the ped tumor (not a real tumor though just looks like they have one growing inside them). Its very normal.

Samantha Perth Australia

Tina, Same with my Millie. Huge bloated stomach - full of wind... Initially though, Millie had been retaining fluid. This also caused her to look bloated. Samantha & Millie.

Samantha Geelong Australia

Absolutely -- we had the same thing with Ethel. Took her in to the vet, who told us not to worry and suggested that we may have been overfeeding her. Ethel had such an overwhelming appetite that we probably were overfeeding. The bloat reduced significantly once her pred started to get cut back.

Brian Vermont

If it wasnt for this site, I think I will be losing my mind. You guys are all so sweet and so helpful thank you so so much for sharing your stories and making me feel so much better. Aliki is going to get checked by her vet today to make sure her belly is normal. I bet it is from hearing your experiences. Thank you so so much. Tina

tina ny

Thinking of you guys... I am of the opinion that it is important do determine if the pred is causing the bloat or fluid in the abdomen is causing this. If it is fluid, it is a bit of a concern, as I was told (after the fact and too late) that my boy Ollie was throwing blood clots all along and that is probably what was causing the fluid build up. He had close to 1/2 fluid in his abdomen area. If it is fluid (can find out from an ultrasound) you should ask your vet about this. I'm going do some research and see if I can find the technical term for this.. all this terminology was a blur at the time my dog was sick, and I didnt retain much.

mj ny/ut

Ren's abdomen was huge! Vet said it was caused by fluid build-up and pred. The fluid has long since left but her belly is still large. Some of the drugs (Aza) can cause liver enlargement and of course the spleen is highly affected with AIHA. When Ren was at her worst, she had to have abdominal aspiration. As I recall, the amount of fluid removed from her abdomen filled a gigantic syringe. AIHA has a vicious cycle. The blood is not getting enough oxygen, hence the some organs start to shut down and others like the lungs and heart have to work overtime just to sustain life. Without the proper circulation in the body, fluids start to build up. My poor little Ren's legs were swollen with fluids. My Husband would gently massage her legs in order to get the fluid moving. Good news is that once the blood starts to get rich with oxygen, the body will start to heal. Ren did develop an enlarged heart because of the stress. When Ren was sick, she had respiration rates two or three times normal. For days I held an oxygen mask to her nose. I requested the oxygen tank from my old vet and she appeased me and wrote the prescription. She said it probably would not do any good but I was going to try anything to save my Ren's life. SUE

Susie Delaware

OK CAME BACK FROM VET TODAY, THEY SAID ALIKI HAS FLUID IN HER STOMACH. HER PCV LEVELS ARE AT 30 WHICH IS GREAT BUT NOW THE FLUID IS NOT GOOD. VET SAID BRING HER TO GET AN ULTRASOUND TO RULE OUT TUMOR ETC AND TO POSSIBLY SEE WHERE THE BODY IS LOSING FLUID. IF THAT SEEMS OK AND THERE IS NO SIGN OF ANYTHING BAD THEN THEY WILL PUUT HER ON BLOOD THINERS TO MAKE SURE ITS NOT A CLOT. PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS. PLEASE HELP ME DID ANYONE EXPERIENCE THIS. SUSIE WHAT WAS GOING ON IN YOUR DOGS LIFE. DID THEY REMOVE THE FLUID. WHAT WAS THE FLUID FROM. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP I AM SO UPSET. THANKS, TINA

tina ny

Tina, Although each case of AIHA is slightly different, I can tell you that fluid retention and swollen abdomen is a common thread. In Ren's case, the fluid build-up was from lack of circulation. She simply did not have enough oxygenated red blood cells to carry away the waste materials in the blood. The fluid in her abdomen was so great that it was causing pressure on her lungs and heart, making the breathing more labored. I believe that aspiration of the fluid was a last resort in order to save her life. Removing fluid via a huge syringe in not a common thing. Of course Ren was x-rayed and ultrasounded to rule out anything other than fluid. Once the fluid was removed she had maybe a day or so of relief. As with many other treatments, the fluid removal simply bought her time for the meds to work. Ren is now into her fifth month of treatment and she is doing quite well. This is the second time she has had AIHA. I never thought I'd make it through when she was first diagnosed. But I did. I was devastated when she relapsed. We find that inner strength that keeps fighting for our beloved dogs. SUE

Susie Delaware

Are there meds that can be taken for fluid retention or would that be a blood thinner? I'm noticing Tessy's stomach getting a little larger than normal and she was only on the meds for 3 weeks now. Does the time frame seem normal? Thanks Tessy and Johnny

Jonathan

Jonathan Kahlu developed a "prednisone belly" after about 3 weeks. The vet was not concerned about it, but she did take an other x-ray yesterday. (for free!) I think it is mostly water in his stomach, he drinks so much and sometimes I hear it swish around in there. There also seems to be a lot of (fould smelling) air in there! He is very gassy. But I would definatly bring it up at your next visit to the vet, just to make sure. Best wishes Brigitte and Kahlu

Brigitte BC Canada

One more thing Jonathan, since the muscles are waisting with the prednisone, the belly muscles are not holding everything together like before. That can be an othr reason for the big belly. Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

The whole thought of all the secondary conditions associated with AIHA is troubling to say the least. It should be enough having to worry about AIHA alone, but then one has to start thinking about all the other things that could go wrong. Yeah, Tessy does drink alot of water and lets the stinky ole air go often. Her breathing also seems to be more laboured than usual. She snores an awefull lot now when she sleeps and her nose is getting very dry! I have a visit with the doctor tomorrow again so i'll bring this all up with him. Hopefully it is nothing too serious. Johnny & Tess

Jonathan

Jonathan, When I heard about all the side effects of the drugs, I though some dogs would get them. I have yet to hear about a dog who did not get them with these high doses in AIHA. Take care, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

This whole disease is bad!! You try to help solve one issue with the PCV and then you get another issue. Her PCV levels are good but now she has liver enlargement, a belly filled with liquid which they sent to the lab, the ultrasound results will be given to me tomorrow, they dont think its cancer etc, but think it might be from clotting they put her on asprin. They had her on asprin for 2 days in the hosptial but then the vet suggested to send her home iwht no asprin because she was on too many meds. Well if the fluid is from clotting I think they will put her on meds like blood thinners. I will keep you posted!!

tina ny

This thread was discussed between 06/03/2009 and 09/03/2009

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