Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - when is enough enough?

I have a 1.5 year old rescue mutt, lab type mix, about 50lbs. about 6 wks ago he started acting "off" spent about 10 days in a regular vet then transferred to emergency vet, spent a week hospitalized receiving transfusion and loads of medical care. I absolutely believe the wonderful vets saved his life and i am forever grateful. my problem now is how long will it continue. he has been home from vet for a month now and still on meds around the clock - some two hours apart, some one. i have not gotten sleep since he has come home. i cannot work b/c of his daytime med schedule. we have spent over 4k which as a young struggling family is hard. i am just at my wits end, i love the dog and so does my husband and my boys but we cannot afford this treatment much longer, both financially and emotionally. his pcv has improved up to 30 (was down to 8) but his over all state is low quality, severe nasal congestion, sores on pad, lethargy, weak joints, etc. has anyone been here before???

Charlie

Hi Charlie, I am so sorry to hear your sweet pup is going through this. We have a Pomeranian fighting it right now. I know exactly what you mean about the overwhelming schedule of meds, level of care, etc. I've only been on this road with IMHA for about two months....I know others will add their experiences too. Some dogs respond quickly to meds and recover in a shorter time....other dogs take a longer time to get back to "normal" range for HCT, etc. It just depends on each dog. Our pup has taken two months to get back up to HCT of 32 (with three immuno-suppressants on board) He is still lethargic because HCT of 30 is still anemic, and the IMHA and drugs both will cause them to feel worn out. The weak joints can be from the prednisone (I'm guessing he is on that), as it causes muscle loss. Lots of IMHA pups seem to have sores as well. We keep a close watch on Bentley's bloodwork to see if the meds are affecting his vital organs negatively. I would talk to your specialists a bit more, and see if it is possible to tweak the med schedule so you can get some sleep. Read through all the threads, and there is also an IMHA group on Facebook you can join. Your story sounds very familiar. It is a hard disease to fight. Through all of this, I have told my vets that I wouldn't let Bentley suffer, or cause harm with meds. If that day came, I would stop. That is how I decided to approach his treatment. My vets, too, believe strongly is watching for clinical signs of how he's feeling, in addition to his numbers....i.e. quality of life. And it is expensive as well....so far, we have been able to cover it all, but I worry about that as well! Can you post his latest bloodwork results here? Lots of folks can give insight into what those numbers mean, and can maybe give you better insight into what's going on with your sweet boy. Please know you're not alone!! Sally and Bentley

Sally Louisiana

30% PCV is not bad so any symptoms are probably med side effects. But, they aren't prednisone or cyclosporine effects, and those two are given 12 hours apart.. So, What meds exactly is he on??

Monet Sammamish

charlie, I am so sorry you have to go through all this. Yes, we have all been there before. It sure is a long ride.... your dog (what is his name?) has come such a long way! From 8% to 30%! many here would be happy with this kind of results. Please go to Joanne Dickson's Meisha's Hope webpage to learn more about the disease and make sure to visit the success stories page: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/successstories.htm These stories will give you lots of hope! I agree with Monet, the things you are seeing are most likely the results of the high doses of medication. Could you post the exact doses and when you give them? I don't see a reason why you could not get a good nights sleep at this point. Lack of sleep wears everybody down, I think this is one of the problems that could be solved soon. I would also look at getting your dog (and yourself:)) a supplement. Petinic is a great product for AIHA dogs. It contains Vitamin B, iron and folic acid. I would also look into getting your dogs thyroid checked. Most dogs in this situation are hypothyroid. Giving a smal dose of thyroid medication could make a uge difference in his well being. After the initial diagnosis, once all the tests are done things should get cheaper. My vets gave me a discount on all visits (bless their hearts!) it does not hurt to ask if they could do it for you. Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC

Charlie, many many of us have been there, v ery close to Henris story who was this months sucess story. I agree with what others are saying after a month at 30 is an excellant number from 8. I am confused at the round the clock meds. Please post what drugs and when you are giving. I don't recall reading posts here where dogs hct has been that low of giving meds round thge clock. I do know some have to wait an hour after some other given. Laurie

Laurie CA

Thank you all for your post, support is so helpful when you feel you can't take it anymore. my vet has been absolutely wonderful and i believe saved his life, i just think i am approaching a crossroads. here are his meds metoclopramide, 10mg every 8 hours prednisone, 50mg every 12 hours famotidine 10 mg every 12 hours doxycycline WAS 200mg every 12 hours but was stopped 2 wks ago cyclosporine 100mg every 12 hours ondasetron 12 mg every 12 hours sucralfate 1g every 8 hours azothioprine 25mg every 24 hours Metronidazole every 12 hours when water stool is present his schedule is spread out for optimal effect, some drugs are fasting some are with food, some are after food. he is eating chicken, rice, yogurt and a handful of his dry kibble. he now has a new syptom, a swollen hind leg - am taking him in to the er vet tonight.

charlie

Hopefully someone can chime in on the swollen leg, I have read that happning a lot here. I had to look up what metoclopramide and ondastetron were they say they are ani-nausea meds. Is he having trouble with nauasua and vomiting? If not is that somehting they he should still be on. I know doxy is extremely hard on dogs and canc cause vomiting but since he has stopped. Also the azothioprine can be very hard on the system and ask if this should be continued, how long has he been at 30? And also is the famotidine and sucralfate doing same thing or do they do different things for the stomach? I would highly suggest you contact Dr. Dodds, she is an expert in this disease and has helped many, many of us here. She does email consult for $45.00

Laurie CA

he has only been at 30 for a little over a week - and yes he was very sick with stomach issues even after the doxy, he would not eat at all, even on all the pred - i am afraid the swollen leg is a blood clot....

charlie

Wow, that list is ridiculous. His organs are probably dying from it all. Cookie is a similar weight (45 lb) and here is her med list: prednisone: 10mg(we are supposed to go to 5mg when atopica is increased) q. 12 hours cyclosporine: 100mg 2 hours after breakfast (we are supposed to go to 150mg, but have to wait for my paycheck) pepcid a/c: 10mg 1 hour before pred and now today metronidazole for her bloody diarrhea Now not to say that my vet knows better, BUT Cookie's liver enzymes were elevated on just 30mg of pred a day. Your guy is on 100mg a day AND azothioprine. Both are very hard on the liver. My specialist wanted a fast decrease from the beginning but we got a second opinion and decided to wait to decrease, but all that gave us was a blind dog with liver problems. I suggest you push for a decrease in pred and azo. I was worried that Cookie's PCV would decrease as we dropped pred however today she is actually up 1%.

Monet Sammamish

Kathy, Your pup's list is very similar to what Bentley has been on....it has taken three immuno-suppressants to get his IMHA to a partial remission and his HCT over 30 (as of yesterday!) This process has taken about 10 weeks. So don't lose hope....I was thinking we were at the crossroads too, but he has suddenly made a positive turn. Bentley has tolerated all these just fine...as I said earlier, we do chem panels to be sure his organs are not having any trouble from the meds. If your pup's liver enzymes and other blood levels are ok, he can take the meds he needs to fight the IMHA....Bentley is evidence of that. Many dogs need several meds to fight this illness. Bentley is on Prednisone, Cyclosporine, Mycophenolate, Famotidine, PetTinic (iron supplement) and Denamarin (Milk Thistle and SamE supplements for liver). He was taking Sucralfate, but we were able to give it every 12 hrs. He just stopped his sucralfate to see if his meds would be better absorbed and his HCT went up! He also takes Cerenia (maropitant citrate) and Pro-Pectalin as needed for diarrhea and vomiting (not every day), and has been on antibiotics twice during this ten weeks. Remember, every dog is different as to what they can tolerate, and how quickly they respond. Some vets want to decrease Pred and other drugs quickly, and some don't. Quick decreases sometimes lead to relapses, sometimes not. For us, we are keeping Bentley's meds as is until his HCT has stabilized for a few weeks, as long as he continues to look this good clinically. I think this decision should be made between the owner and the vet, depending on the pup's chem panels, CBCs, etc and clinical behavior. Can you post some of his recent CBC results? Like his Reticulocyte level? Are there any spherocytes in the RBC morphology? If the destruction of his RBC has stopped, and he is regenerating, his HCT should continue to rise, and he should begin to perk up a bit! Keeping you and the pup in my thoughts and prayers, Sally (and Mr. B!)

Sally Louisiana

Good call on taking him to the vets to have the leg checked. It might be a clot but it could also be an abscess. They'll determine this at the vet. For the time being you might do well to alternate hot and cold compresses every few hrs. The pred does seem to be fairly high. Ask them about this and what their reasoning is for this. The first week at 2mg/pound is alright to kickstart the immune suppression but then it should be lowered back...especially considering he's on azathioprine and cyclosporine. Not sure if two antiemetics are needed. Might also want to discuss this with them. My Tessy gets metroclopramide also but only when she's feeling yucky. I've also got cerenia just in case it's needed. Zofran (or ondasetron) is another option. I def don't think you need to use two different ones. The fomatidine (pepcid) and sucralfate will help more than you think for nausea and vommiting. When you get a chance get some milk thistle to add to his food. This will help protect the liver from the damaging effects of the drugs. Also get some Pet Tinic. This is a supplement that supplies the body with the needed nutrients to actually make new blood. Have you had a chemistry panel done yet? What bloodwork's been done thus far? Tick panel? Thyroid panel (very important)? Ask for and keep copies of ALL bloodwork done. Post the results here for us to look over for you if you'd like. Keep us posted. My thoughts and prayers are with you both! Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Charlie, I agree with Monet, the prednisone dose seems very high. I know that some vets give more than the one mg per pound of dog, up to 2 mg. But this would be in the beginning, you would then reduce slightly when the dog responds. It is quite possible that the prednisone is making him sick. If you are comfortable with your vet, ask if he would consider consulting with Dr. Dodds. This could be a very cost effective life saver for your dog! I remember getting to a hurdle similar to yours and Dr. Dodds got us back on track for a very small fee. There have been other cases with swollen legs, as far as I remember it was not blood clots. I might be wrong on that, but I think they usually happen earlier. When they do a blood test they can also check for clotting. Best wishes to you and your pup, (have I missed it? I still don't know the name of your dog, I like to know names:)) Brigitte

Brigitte BC

good morning all and thanks so much for everyone's input. Last night's visit was a great one! he is up to a pcv of 34 hooray -- so that allowed my vet to lower a lot of the meds and eliminate the azo and the met. we had tried to take him off the azo before and he tanked. i will try and answer some of the questions, yes on the tick panel - the poor dog has been tested for every tick there are (didn't know there were so many), had lymph nodes asperated and checked, along with a zillion blood test to try and determine the cause for his problems, all was normal. they have been monitoring all of his organ function thru out this process due to all the meds and all has been hanging in there. even after the transfusion his pcv wasn't rising very fast thus the reason for all the different drugs and the schedule for them - trying to gain the optimal result. his bone marrow had pretty much stopped all together but has since jumped back in. the pred was lowered a little but focus now is to get him off the cyclo - that dose has been cut in half. we are trying a new schedule of meds to allow both me and the dog to get some sleep so fingers crossed he can tolerate it. the cbc showed a very minimal rise in white count so it is looking like the swollen leg might just be an infection of sorts, no fever or anything. have put him on amox to get that under control, along with hot cold therapy and epson salt soaks for his pads. he has been on both doxy and smz's at differnt times thru out this process. i will keep all of you posted and thanks again for the support -- oh and i have been using charlie as my name not realizing it said "your" name (lack of sleep) so my wonder mut is CHARLIE!!

charlie

Good Morning! Well, YAY for that awesome PCV of 34!!!! GO Charilie!! And to you for taking such good care of him! So glad you got the med schedule adjusted so you can get some sleep....that is critical for everyone! :) Like I said earlier, our PCV rose VERY slowly, so I know what you're going through...Bentley was barely regenerating was several weeks. We are celebrating this great doc visit with you!! HUGS from Sally and Bentley

Sally Louisiana

Good to hear Charlie's number has improved, and you are able to reduce the meds some. I mis-read your dosage on the pred and thought it was 50 mg a day, not 50 mg twice a day, which is very high along with the other meds, so glad to hear they are reducing it. Also ask if about giving pet tinic it s a great liver supplement along with b vitamins and 2nd the milk thistle. Keep us posted. Laurie

Laurie CA

Yay for Charlie! My dog Salome also a lab mix developed the swollen leg about a month into treatment none of her Vets could tell me why. She relapsed and passed soon after that so don't know where it might have gone. She developed a severe case of Pancreatitis so don't associate the swollen leg with her passing. I think a number of people have had the same issue though. I am glad you are able to reduce some of the meds and I am keeping Charlie and you in my thoughts and prayers. penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Yay for Charlie!! Glad to hear the meds are being lowered. He should feel much better without so many drugs in his system.

Monet Sammamish

YAY Charlie! May each day be an improvement.

Kathy Crestline

you can already tell he feels better just by cutting down the cyclo and getting rid of the azo -- will test his blood again in a wk to make sure he can maintain with current lowered doses. vet didn't want to eliminate cyclo and pred at the same time so the cyclo is down to once a day (100mg) and only dropped the pred a little - to 40mgs twice a day -- all will stay the same for two weeks then if pcv, cbc and smears look good we will reduce again. did some pretty intense hydro therapy on his leg today and it reduced size by half, being on the amox i am sure had helped to -- we are having a good day! thank you so much for the support, also, i cannot give him most of the suppliments b/c he has a wheat allergy and most of them come under the list of what he cannot have. (nothing like a rescue mutt to have all these issues :) !)

charlie

Charlie, So I have been writing to your dog? :) And what is YOUR name? You know I like names:) If petinic is a problem because of wheat (I saw it has corn syrup in it) You can always give B 12, Iron and folic acid separately. This is what we ended up doing because I could not find petinic locally. If I remember correctly it was 250mg B12, 5mg folic acid and 100 mg iron for a 60 lbs dog. All helping with building blood. I am glad Charlie is feeling better and you are getting some sleep! Incredible what a difference a day can make. Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC

You should ask the vet about giving the Cyclo twice a day, 50 mg each dose, if he wants a total of 100mg per day....it only has a half-life of 19 hrs, so is recommended to be given every 12 hrs to treat IMHA. You don't want it to totally be out of his body during a 24 hr period, according to my vet...We just did a trough test, to see the level of Cyclo in Bentley's body at peak level and lowest level (right before and right after a dose). So glad Charlie is feeling better!! Sally and Bentley

Sally Louisiana

So glad to hear Charlie is feeling better with his med changes. YOu mentioned about not wanting to eliminate the pred and cyclo at the same time. You dont want eliminate pred cold turkey. For future reductions of pred please remember pred should only be reduced at most 25% at a time, unless serious side effects are occuring. Reducing more than this can worse side effects, one is causing the adrenal glands to malfunction. So for example Charlie had a 20% reduction today, IN 10 days after that than another 20% until he is on a more acceptable 50 mg per day and would probably go much slower after that as reducing pred too fast can cause relapse. Many of us here have gone thru this. Since you have done major changes, I would also suggest not waiting a week for a recheck. I would go in on Monday. You don't have to do a full panel, your vet should be able to do just the HCT/PVC draw and its about $30 Take Care Laurie

Laurie CA

i would have never believed so many people have had to go thru this horrible disease - thank you all for ideas and stories as they are truly a huge help. the vet from the get go has created the drug/dosage/timing according to what each blood test/panel shows. with each dog's body make up being slightly different and they way the metabolize the drugs varying from week to week the individualized program seems to be the key. my vet assured me at the last visit we had made it thru the worst (i really needed to hear that!) now like some of you mentioned earlier is the difficult task of weaning him off his drugs slow enough to avoid relapse. i do think i remember the vet telling me that pred would be the last to stop and that he might be on a slowly tapered dose for quite some time -- has this been the case with any of you, and for how long did they require it. every time i try and get a forecast from my vet i am reminded of how individualized the disease and recovery is for each dog and that it may be impossible to predict.....BUT more good news for my wonder mutt -- he completely shredded a toy this morning -- more of his oldself returning!!

charlie

I do have some information that might be helpful to you in regard to the prednisone reduction. This information is from a Magazine called “Veterinary Medicine” subtitled clinical solutions for practicing veterinarians. This is the June 1999 issue. In the article called “Managing immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in dogs” by Stephanie J, Lifton, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM which was peer reviewed before publication we find the following information and I am quoting here: “The level of medication should be kept constant until the PCV is normal for at least three to four weeks. If the dog is having severe side effects from the prednisone (e.g. polyuria or polydipsia, panting, exercise intolerance) the dose can be lowered slightly after two weeks or another medication such as Azathioprine can be added to the treatment regimen. Remember this medication needs to be given two to three weeks to take effect before the dose of prednisone can be decreased. “Once the disease is in remission, the dose of prednisone can be lowered by 25% to 35% every three to four weeks until the lowest dose that keeps the disease under control is reached. This can be accomplished by either decreasing the dose or the frequency of administration (e.g. twice a day to once a day then every other day then every three days and so on.) If the dog is receiving more then one immunosuppressive drug, change the dosage or frequency of only one drug at a time.” End of quote. Even though this is a from a source that is several years old, this is the prednisone reduction schedule that many of the veterinary teaching hospitals follow in regard to AIHA/IMHA

Joanne MN

Glad to hear that Charlie is feeling better and acting more like his old self! Keep in mind that the following is just my own opinion but if it were me - I'd be reducing the pred first and then the cyclo. While cyclo is definitely more expensive, the side effects from pred are far worse. What is your vet's reason for reducing the cyclo first and keeping Charlie on pred longer? And glad to hear that your meds schedule has eased up some! Hang in there! Rita, Mike, Greta and (angel) Sheba

Rita IA

hello all -- thanks joanne for the article piece, seems to go along with the vets thinking as well -- and to think i thought it was over kill to be proceeding so cautiously! -- this disease is one i have heard of before but never had to deal with until now, kinda makes any other ailment seem mild. Hey Rita, the reason behind cutting the cyclo before the pred is the stomach issues, even tho the pred seems to be the culprit behind alot of the side effects the cyclo is very hard on his stomach and by tapering that off first should allow us to inturn start tapering the support drugs, pred can be tapered last as it won't need all the supportive drugs that the cyclo and azo did/do. at least that is charlie's case -- did any of your dogs have a hard time on the cyclo? i can tell a difference an hour after charlie takes it that it makes him feel a little icky. funny story that got me laughing yesterday -- charlie still has a little swelling in his right hind, and the vet had laughed about elevating it but who could get a dog to do that -- walked in the kitchen yesterday and there was charlie the wonder mutt laying on the floor with his swollen leg up on his pillow/mat -- would not have believed it if i hadn't seen it!!!

charlie

Charlie, I'm sending vibes that the swelling goes down with the aid of antibiotics and hot/cold presses. It'ss take several days sometimes to see a difference in the swelling. I'm all for dropping cyclosporine BEFORE prednisone just because although pred has side effects most of them are reversible whereas cyclo is a carcinogenic. Prolonged usage can increase the risk of cancer. Just my own personal opinion. Does Charlie like his belly rubbed? Easy way to get the leg elevated some! Oh....and are you using probiotics? If you're using antibiotics then it's always a good idea to give some sort of probiotic at least 2 hrs AFTER giving the antibiotic. Did you ever add the pet tinic and did they ever check the thyroid? Continued thoughts and prayers, Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Dropping the cyclo because of stomach issues makes absolute sense. Sheba never had any stomach issues with it but suffered rear muscle mass loss from the pred. Which we were never able to build back up and caused problems when she developed degenerative myelopathy. (A disease almost worse than IMHA in my opinion.) I love that he has been elevating his own leg! Makes me laugh! Hope He continues to do well. We will keep him in our thoughts and prayers! Rita, Mike, Greta and (angel) Sheba

Rita IA

i will look into the pet tinic today,,, charlie has also experienced a great deal of hind muscle loss from the pred -- may look into some accupunture, has anyone used it before to stimulate muscle return and over all conditioning/healing?

charlie

We used acupuncture to help with Sheba's arthritis but we never saw any improvements with regard to muscle mass. Helped her arthritis and definitely helped slow the progression of her DM. Our vet used both laser and needles. Rita, Mike, Greta and (angel) Sheba

Rita IA

hey Rita, i will have to research the disease dm -- i hope that doesn't become something else for poor charlie to over come. he does have a lot of muscle loss, you can see it on his top line, head and hind quarters. do you know of anything to do at this stage to help prevent the onset? by just decreasing the cyclo and the small decrease in pred his mobility has greatly improved and his stamina has also improved... how long has your Sheba been in remission and when did the dm begin?

charlie

DM (degenerative myelopathy) is not related to IMHA so no need to worry that Charlie will develop it. It's an immune disorder known to strike German Shepherds and other large breed dogs. Sheba had allergies (another immune disorder) and I have always felt that her immune system in general must have been a bit compromised. Sheba was 11 when diagnosed with IMHA (2008) and lived another 3 years. We were lucky enough that she never had a relapse. It took 9-10 months to wean her off the last of her meds and after that we had her PCV checked every 3 months, no longer vaccinated her and in general tried to keep her healthy and happy. When her arthritis started bothering her we gave her meds (aspirin to start with then Deramaxx) and also tried acupuncture. The acupuncture seemed to work quite well for her and even seemed to help slow the progression of her DM. We never saw any benefits with regard to muscle mass but then again - she wasn't able to walk very far to help build it up either. Many of the dogs on here have experienced loss of muscle mass and in most cases it has just been a matter of time. I'm sure that once you start reducing Charlie's meds and he has the opportunity to start running/playing/exercising again it will start to build back up. In the meantime - no need to worry about Charlie developing DM and sorry to have confused you! Didn't mean to I swear! In the mean time - we'll be thinking about you and Charlie. Rita, Mike, Greta and (angel) Sheba

Rita IA

oh thanks rita -- i have absorbed so much information over the last couple of months that i get some of it mixed up! charlie is smaller than a german shepard, the rescue papers said mom was lab/blue heeler mix and father "unknown" he usually hangs out around 50 lbs. the 9 - 10 months is about what i was counting on due to the very slow weaning process with all the meds, nothing quick about this process! can't wait to get him off this cyclo, you can really tell when it is full strength in his system and when it starts to taper out before the next dose. sounds like your sheba was a great dog having to overcome a lot, 14 is a ripe old age for a german even with out the dm and imha. we hope to have charlie around just as long! my border collie lived for 14 years and was a devasting loss for our family (ruptured spleen) it took over a year for us to be ready for another dog and when we found charlie he was a perfect fit so the thought of loosing him through this imha struggle has been scary - the info and support here has been a great help, charlie goes back for another blood check in a week so i will update our progress then, that is unless something new develops that i need to pick everyone's brain about. :0) may we all take a minute to remember those who sacrificed 10 years ago when the tragedy of 9-11 hit us all.......

charlie

Good morning all! -- i was getting updated on some of the new post and feeling so heavy for all the owners just starting their journey with this cruel disease -- i want to encourage and warn them all at the same time. The money is insane -- the time commitment is insane -- the emotionaly roller coaster is insane -- but so is our love for our dogs. everyone is different on what they can handle of all the aspects, i know there is a service that will loan money for pet emergencies, i think it is called care credit -- in case you know of anyone needing help. i have wonderful news! charlie's pcv is 36!!! last night's check up was the best one yet -- he danced all over the vet clinic as if to show everyone he is better! he loves going to the vet even though they stick him everytime! he is completely off cyclo now-- hooray! his pred is in the ever so slow decreasing phase, they also took him off the ondesteron. he is still on the famoxidine (sp?) and sulcurfate (sp?) as the vet wants to keep his stomach happy -- (i read some vets took dogs off this in fear of compromising the other drug's absorption, if you time the meds exactly this is not a problem and you still get the buffering for stomach protection) -- he will again go back in 2 weeks and i know we still have to watch for relapse but everyone in my house is very excited. this disease has been an eye opener and i will always stay interested in the progression of treatment -- one day there will be an easier and less expensive way to deal with this but until then if we all support one another the road will be less painful.

charlie

Hi, I have dog, also a cross, Dylan (10 yrs old) now in remission and off all drugs. She was diagnosed in March. So glad Charlie is doing well. Insane is a good choice of words as is the roller coaster this disease is both physically and emotionally. We were one all naive and thought the world was such an easy place and then we found ourselves here. The effort in my opinion is worth it and I am very grateful my dog Dylan is still here with me and my other dogs as I am sure you are very grateful for Charlie. Charlie sounds like he found a wonderful family, cheers to you all for your effort and commitment to him. I sure wish you the best in getting the prednisone down and removed and continued success on the roller coaster of a journey. For a young dog like Charlie the quality of his future can depend on that, but it sounds like you and your vets are doing a great job. Dylan is doing very well too, just trying to rebuild all the muscle she lost due to the prednisone, but she sure is acting like a puppy again. Brings a big smile to my face. In reading your story it sounds like Charlie's play brings a big smile to you and your family. Cheers and best wishes Richard & Dog Dylan (drug free since July 6)

Richard Burnaby

So glad to hear Charlie has made such an improvement! I love carecredit, it has sure helped me with all of the vet bills. Make sure you go online and see exactly when your amounts expire for the ni interest. When I first signed up I got a years no interest, but subsuqunt visits have bee less and your account will show which ones are due with no interest. Laurie

Laurie CA

richard, i was reading your post that your dog dylan has been drug free since july! that is awesome. i also read how you referenced to the muscle loss -- charlie too has experienced severe muscle wasting - from his head all down his top line and hind quarters, he looks like he is 14 instead of not even 2! he has coordination loss as well. i think we are still a ways a way from being completely off all pred as the decrease has to come so slow -- but i was wondering how much has dylan gained back in these last several months of being off all the drugs? did his coordination improve?

charlie

So glad Charlie is doing so much better!! That PCV of 36 is awesome....Geaux Charlie!! We have fought for ten weeks, and are just now getting to a 35! Unfortunately, Bentley seems to have a pretty complex case, almost lupus-like in nature. His kidneys are also now affected. He is one of the pups on three immuno-suppressants who needed the sucralfate removed to finally see an increase in PCV....and we had tried it totally separate from all other meds. As soon as it was gone, his PCV jumped. He is still on Pepcid to protect his stomach, and I'm hoping it keeps him safe.....Every dog is soooo different, and makes this all so hard! Bentley and I are doing the happy happy joy joy dance for Charlie and your family!! Give him a big puppy hug from us and hope he keeps feeling better and better! Sally

Sally Louisiana

hey there sally, you know every dog sure is different, good job on your vet and you for seeing what would happen with out the sucralfate - looks like that was a great call. hey, a pcv of 35 is in the "normal" range so hooray! (i think a LONG time ago when i first started learning about pcv and cbc, tick titer etc. i read that normal pcv was 35-55) it seems like i have been in this "recovery fog" for a long long time now! poor bently, it sounds like this disease really grabbed a hold of him, thank you for celebration joy dance for charlie, please keep us updated on your bently so we can celebrate each forward recovery step with you!

charlie

This thread was discussed between 07/09/2011 and 21/09/2011

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