Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Trixie-hospital

Before taking Trixie for her blood test this afternoon, I took her for a short walk, we had only walked a short way and she sat down, I said up you get Trixie, she stood, walked a few more steps and couldn't walk anymore, she fell to the ground. I knew then something was seriously wrong, her gums were so very very pale. I managed to get her into the car, took her to the vets straight away. They called the Vet hospital, about a 3 hours drive from here, depending on time of day. She is booked in for tomorrow at 10 am, they will run further tests and will probably keep her in overnight or even 2 nights. They will call me sometime tomorrow afternoon if they have any news. Tricia

Tricia UK

Tricia, Hope everything goes well with the tests tomorrow. Don't know if you read Cassies story but just before her blood transfusion her PCV was down to 9. Our vet has some experience of AIHA thankfully but she was getting advice from the Bristol hospital and they know what they are doing as Cassies levels are now up to 50 after 2 months of treatment. Not sure what medication Trixie is on at the minute but Cassie is responding well to the preds and ciclosporin. We too are about 3 hours from Bristol and were told that we may have to take her there but luckily we are having her treated at our local vets. If you need any further help please feel free to drop us an e-mail. Steve & Sue

Steve & Sue Leicestershire UK

Tricia, OH Tricia how awful for you, but good luck for tomorrow. We will be thinking about you and Trixie. Jackie and Jasper

Jackie pembrokeshire; west wales; uk

Thanks for your good wishes x

Tricia UK

So sorry that things aren't going so well with Trixie. My thoughts will be with you both tomorrow, and I hope they can do something to help her recover quickly. Sue

Sue Northants UK

Thanks Sue, It has been an awful afternoon, fingers crossed that tomorrow or the next day will bring some positive results. Tricia

Tricia UK

I will keep Trixie in my prayers.. Hope it goes well tomorrow.. Jess

Jess BC

Tricia, I am so sorry Trixie is having a bad time of it. Is she at the Vets now or at home? Did they do any blood work to see what was going on ? Are they taking her to the hospital or do you have to drive her? I think she does need to be seen by the specialist and hopefully they will get things straightened out for your poor girl. Keeping you both in my thoughts. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Hi Penny. The did a PCV yesterday at the vets, it was about 15 and it was because of that they recommended that she went to hospital this morning. My partner took the day off work to drives us up there, she had to be there by 10 am this morning. The vets were very nice and spent about 1 1/2 hours with us taking notes about Trixie, her background etc, going over when this all started etc, right up to yesterday. She was then seen by another Vet who checked her over, she told us she was quite critical and that they would run some tests, much like the tests our vets did, except for another bone marrow biopsy. She may have to have a transfusion, depending on how it all goes this afternoon. They will call me sometme this afternoon and let me know how things are going. The vet also said she might need a different medication than the Predn she has been, as the Predn isn't really doing her alot of good. She was as good as gold there, not at all difficult, she really is a sweetie. When it was time for my daughter and I to leave her, it was heartbreaking, we gave her a hug and kisses, told her she was going to be well looked after and made better. We walked towards the main door, the student vet had her on a lead, we looked back and could see her turning round to look at us both. Oh God, it was awful! tears tripped me. I'll pop back here when I have some news. A BIG THANK YOU to you all for all your support and kind thoughts, it means so much to me. You are all a fantastic bunch of people. Tricia xx

Tricia UK

Tricia, It was the hardest thing in the world when we left Cassie for her transfusion and yes the tears flowed for both of us but we knew we were doing the right thing. That night was the longest in our lives but the sight of our little girl wagging her tail and looking so much better when we went the next day will stay with us forever. Our thoughts are with you but above all with Trixie and we sincerely hope everything goes well if she has to have a transfusion. We await to hear some good news. Steve & Sue

Steve & Sue Leicestershire UK

Tricia, Just checking in to see if there is any news. I can only imagine how you must all be feeling as I have been thinking about you all day. Wishing you all the very best, Jackie and Jasper

Jackie pembrokeshire; west wales; uk

Tricia, You and Trixie are in my prayers. May God be with you and give you strength and solace through these roller coaster days. Peace, Miranda

Miranda NM

Hi there. The Vet phoned me about 30 mins ago, they did end up doing a transfusion as Trixie's PCV had dropped since yesterday (13) It seems Trixie's case is not straight forward, the vet said, she has given us no clues to go on. At this time she is stable and it would seem up til now there seems to be no rejection of the transfusion. Her liver showed as bright red on the x-ray, this is to do with the Pred, her bloatedness also. Her white blood cells were very low, given the meds she has been on, she should have shown some improvement over the past few weeks, but this hasn't happened. A lot of protein in urine showed up, this is now being tested and the Vet will call me later. They said it would be better if the Pred was decreased, given how badly it is effecting her, also the Azathioprine she takes 1 x 2per day, seems to causing a problem with her immune system, as in supressing it too much. The vet said they might add another medication wich might have a better effect, I did write it down, but think the spelling is incorrect ( Dyclocorin/Dyclorin?) Tomorrow the vet will have a meeting with some of the other vets to discuss the best line of action to take. Apparently the transfusion has bought her some time. Tricia P.S. I hope you can make sense of what I posted here, I'm still a little shocked by all this

Tricia UK

cyclsporin ? I am wondering if this is the drug the vet was talking about, I thought she said dyclocorin. Tricia

Tricia UK

Tricia, How much does Trixie weigh and what dosage of Azathioprine is she taking.I know you mentioned that she is taking it twice per day. That seems pretty unusual to me since all sources I have seen including the Veterinary Drug handbook and this site http://www.marvistavet.com/html/azathioprine.html indicate that Azathioprine should be given once per day. The usual amount of Azathioprine given for the treatment of AIHA/IMHA is 1 mg per pound of the dogs weight per day. In the USA Azathioprine is sold in 50 mg tablets so if that is the same for the UK, 1 azathioprine twice per day would be a very large doseage. The site I mentioned above says and I quote "One of the main issues with azathioprine is a problem with the bone marrow suppression" you might to read this entire page. It could be the azathioprine is causing too much bone marrow suppression which in turn is causing the decreased PCV and low white cell count. I have seen lots of dogs with AIHA/IMHA who have had their bone marrow suppressed too much by azathioprine causing a decreased white cell count. This certainly may be the case for Trixie and it may be affecting her PCV as well

Joanne MN

Tricia, I found this on that web link you posted the other day. I agree with Joanne. The two most common medications used for the Immune Suppression apart from Prednisone and dexamethasone are azathioprine and cyclophosphamide. But they can seriously effect the bone marrow production. Cyclosporine is an immune-modulator, made popular in organ transplantation technology. It has the advantage over the two above medications of not being as suppressive to the bone marrow cells. (Incidentally my mum is on the pred, dex, and cyclophosphamide for her NH Lymphoma as part of her treatment..... ) Good luck, Jackie

Jackie pembrokeshire; west wales; uk

Hi Joanne. Trixie now weighs around 27 kg now, her weight back in September 2007 was 17kg. The Azathioprine, she takes 25mg twice a day.

Tricia UK

Tricia, I like most Americans don't do metric. Would you happen to know how many pounds that translates to? However even if this is the proper dosage, it can still suppress the bone marrow to much. One of the first tips off I have seen over the years that this is happening is the low white blood cell count.

Joanne MN

27 kg = around 59.9lb

Tricia UK

Then you are giving about the right dosage but it still could be suppressing the bone marrow too much, since this is one of the major side effects of this drug.

Joanne MN

This thread was discussed between 14/01/2008 and 15/01/2008

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