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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - To those new to AIHA/IMHA
| We have seen quite a few new cases of AIHA/IMHA on this forum recently so I just wanted to make a few comments to those with newly diagnosed dogs. First of all, I am so sorry to hear of your dog’s illness. Each and every person who is on this forum has stood in your shoes at one time or another and understands the shock and fear you are now feeling. If you have not read my Web site on AIHA/IMHA as yet, I would urge you to do so. The URL is http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ Be sure to follow the links on the first page to many other sites on AIHA/IMHA that will be very helpful to you. The Treatment page contains basic information on the medications used most often with AIHA/IMHA and also contains links to sites that have more info on these medications. Be sure to check out the SUCCESS STORIES pages, they will show you what has worked for other dogs in terms of treatment options as well as give you a lot of HOPE. It is important to know that it can take 5-7 days for a drug like prednisone to start to work. It can take even longer for some of the other drugs used to treat the disease to start to work. According to the Veterinary Drug Handbook, it can take up to 6 weeks to see results from Azathioprine (sold under the brand name Imuran). We do see that drug start to work faster in some dogs but in some dogs it takes the full 6 weeks to “kick in”. Until the meds do start to work it is very normal (yet very scary for the owner/caregiver) for the PCV/ hematocrit to continue to drop. If the PCV drops too far, vets will/can give transfusions to “buy time” until the meds do start to work. I have seen many, many dogs that have had multiple transfusions. Many local vets are not up to speed on all the treatment options available for AIHA/IMHA nor have they had a lot of success with it, so many times they will not give a hopeful prognosis. When that is the case, it is wise to seek an additional opinion from a veterinary internal medicine specialist. AIHA/IMHA is indeed a difficult disease. But it is not an automatic death sentence. It can take a lot of time to get a dog with AIHA/IMHA into remission but that is indeed possible. I have seen dogs who have been given little to no hope by their vet recover and do well. There are dogs on the Success Stories pages who have lived 5, or 10 years past their AIHA/IMHA diagnosis and done very well. My own Meisha lived for 9 years and 10 months after she was diagnosed with AIHA and there were times she did so well we nearly forgot how ill she had been . Be assured you all are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days. Please try to have hope because indeed dogs with AIHA/IMHA CAN and DO recover and go on to live happy healthy lives. |
| Joanne MN |
| My dog, Tug, was just diagnosed with this disease this week and I am a mess. I have been trying to do some searching for information and I came acrossed this website. I am trying to learn what to do and what to expect. I just want to help him. He is a rat terrier and is just 3 years old. He has an awsome personality and I can't bear the thought of losing him. |
| Linda Morton Arizona |
This thread was discussed between 05/05/2008 and 10/05/2008
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