Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Tipsi is home.

Tipsi was released from the hopsital this past Friday after a 2 week stay following her IMHA diagnosis. Most of this time was spent in ICU due to the transfussions and constant need for fluids due to her acute renal failure. Things were very touch and go for a week and after the doctors gave her a poor prognosis of recovery we didn't think our little girl would make it home. But Tipsi perservered and never stopped fighting so we didn't either. We let the doctors do whatever necessary to keep her alive. I am so grateful to everything they did for her because she is now out of the hospital and recovering peacefully at home. She is on an extensive array of medications which include, prednisone, cyclosporin, doxcycycline, famotidine, clavomax, injectible heprin, and aspirin. Her energy level is down but that was to be expected. However, her appetite is in full force. I'm hoping that she will begin to gain back some of the weight and muscle mass that she lost. Her PCV was at 26 when we left the hospital on Friday and her next blood draw is Thursday. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that things will continue to be trending upwards. My concern for Tipsi at this point is what type of heartworm preventative to put her on? She was on heartgard plus before this happened and I'm not completely convinced thats not what caused the IMHA. Therefore I am terrified to put her back on it. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Also, what about flea & tick preventative? Any thoughts would be appreciated! :)

Layla Raleigh

dont put her back on any flea meds, especially if you suspect that it directly caused this! they have a very sketchy track record of causing all kinds of health issues in pets. i would not vaccinate or use flea meds on a dog that has a past with AIHA

josh california

I have decided to not put her back on the flea and tick preventatives, but my vet insists she needs to be on heartworm preventative due to our high mosquito population here in NC. Is Sway on heartworm medication?

Layla Raleigh

flea/heartworm, i group them together for whatever reason... "Allegations of a link between Heartgard and Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia are increasing but have yet to be proven scientifically." -this was just posted on this board a couple days ago under the thread title "Wikipedia" ... someone from this board actually tried to add that information to the Heartguard wiki entry because there is so many instances to where people think there pets AIHA started because of these products... na, sway isnt on any of the sort and will never be vaccinated again.

josh california

Hi Layla, What breed of dog is Tipsi? What doses of Heparin and aspirin is she on? I wanted to add at least aspirin to my dog's medications, but neither of his vets would agree. Are the Heparin and aspirin short-term or long-term medications for Tipsi? Sue

Sue PA

Sue, Tipsi is a minature dachshund weighing about 12 pounds. She recieves two shots of heprin daily which I believe is 4 mL in total. Then she also recieves one baby asprin at night. I don't know the exact amount of the asprin but it's not very much. I don't believe she will be on the heprin much longer depending on her blood work today. However, I do think her doctors want to keep her on asprin, but I will find that out this evening. What type of dog do you have and what are the reasons why your vets don't think you should use aspirin??

Layla Raleigh

I lost my just turned 4 year old Golden Retriever, Hunter, to AIHA 4 years ago tomorrow. We know his was brought on by the 6 month heartworm prevention injection Proheart6. The day of diangosis my vet said when it was time for his next pH6 injection we were going back to the monthly pills. We had used interceptor for years, but were switching one dog at a time to the injection and he was the first. Spent 8 days in ICu before we lost him. Had he lived, he would never have gotten another vax of any kind, but I would have given the Interceptor every month. We have mosquitoes almost year around down here on the Texas coast and it is almost a given that if your dog isn't on HW pills, it will get HW. We adopted a just turned year old golden mix and she had heart worms and we had to have her treated. My next door neighbor wouldn't give HW pills becaue their dogs "were indoor dogs." one died of heartworms aabout 1 1/2 years ago and the other one, a younger one, is just lviging week to week with the worms she has. This is not about AIHA, but my 8 year old golden retriever, KayCee was found to have an enlarged heart chamber when we had her geriatric physical back in June. My vet put her on a very low dosage blood pressure pill each day and a baby asprin every other day. We can actually see an increase in her activity level due to her heart not having to work so hard to pump blood. But we do keep a close eye on her for bruising, etc. Hoping for the best for your little one.

Sandra Texas

Hi Layla, fellow dachshund owner. We have Holly the dachshund, she was 12 lbs when we got her last Dec, but now weighs in at 14.2 and has been holding that weight for several months. I am so sorry that you and Tipsi have to go through this. But as all of the dachshund owners on this board say, they are stubborn Germans and really fight hard to survive, as you have already found out in the hospital. How old is Tipsi? Sounds like the Dr's are taking good care of her, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Linda

Linda Sapphire

Hi Linda, I finally checked my personal email account and saw the email you sent me last week. Sorry for the late response, as I have been preoccupied the last few weeks. Tipsi just turned 4 years old. You couldn't be more accurate about the doxies being little fighters and very stubborn! Those are two of Tipsi's finest qualities. :) Before Tipsi went into the hospital she weighed around 13 pounds and I believe now she is a little under 12, but with her appetite right now, I don't think she will stay at 12 for very long. I checked Tipsi's gums this evening and they were pinker than I have seen since the diagnosis of IMHA. I am keeping my fingers crossed this is a very good sign! We go back for a blood draw on Monday the 22nd so I hope her PCV has gone up since the last visit. It was at 33 then, but I realize with this disease the PCV values can fluctuate. Has this been the case with Holly?

Layla Raleigh

Hi Layla, I just read your e-mail, and had forgot I sent you one, I will answer it back in just a few minutes. I am so happy to hear Tipsi is doing better and hope she continues to improve. Look for my e-mail. Linda

Linda Sapphire

This thread was discussed between 09/10/2007 and 16/10/2007

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