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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Two & a half years on Joey has other problems
| Joey's been having problems with his front legs due to the high dose of steroids used to treat his haemolytic anaemia.Some of you will remember he was 5kgs plus overweight following his treatment and we were working steadily to bring this down when he sprained his right front "wrist" joint.Well he started to limp on and off but on the left side and is now developing a form of arthritis in his left front shoulder joint. I can't believe how fast this has come on - in less than 3 weeks his bones are making an audible cracking noise but he hasn't seemed in pain. X-Rays on Friday 3rd to see exactly how much more it's deteriorated and the right joint now swelling doesn't sound too good at present.He is down to 25.5kgs and back down to 3x half hourly walks at present.Full of life he loves playing and chasing rabbits and I would hate him to have to lose that but am now being told he could break a leg at any time and there would be no way to fix it because he has problems in both.Seems so cruel that he survived his illness only to develop another problem which may also have terrible consequences.Joey will be 5 on 12/06/11. |
| Corrie Dagenham UK |
| Corrie, Oh I am so sorry to hear this about Joey. I know that humans can suffer bone loss from long term, high dose prednisone use. In addition, muscle mass loss during the treatment period can alter how joints fit together. It is a recipe for future problems. My dog damaged his cruciate ligament in his right back knee and eventually had a very complicated surgery to repair it. The joint did have some arthritis that the surgeon was able to scrape away. My best recommendation is to see a veterinary orthopedic specialist. Joey may not necessarily need surgery but they might be able to advise you on the use of braces. Obviously the shoulder of a dog is very different from that of a human. Marvistavet has a lot of good information on their website. However, some of the links don't work properly. It looks like they haven't finished the whole thing. But read everything here that you can find. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/arthritis___joint_disease_cent.html my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Corrie, I am so sorry to read of Joey's new problems. I hope that they will find a way to help with his arthritis. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
This thread was discussed between 30/05/2011 and 31/05/2011
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