Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Wylie - 3 years later

Hi everyone, I have don't post much anymore but wanted to let everyone know Wylie is doing pretty good for her age and from what she has been through the last 3 years. OMG she was a stray that adopted us 13 years ago this coming June. She survived her initial IAHA with spleen removed, a relapse 8 months later and 2 bouts of ITP (low blood platelet counts last year. Now we are dealing with sludge in her gall bladder, causing her ALT to skyrocket to 950 but I don't think there is anything else we can do to get this down, part of it from the AIHA and from old age. I am just happy she has been med free and she still goes runs out like crazy when I let her out. I know her time with me will be coming to an end soon, but she has had a wonderful life. This board has been a tremendous help through it all. Thank you Laurie and Wylie

Laurie CA

Laurie, It makes me happy to hear Wylie has still lots of quality of life! Enjoy every day with your special girl! Best wishes, Brigitte & the poodle boys

Brigitte BC Canada

You are truly doubly blessed first to have a four legged friend for 13 years and then to have a 3 year survivor of AIHA. Congrats to you and Wiley and enjoy each day with your very special fur baby. We celebrate with you!!! Cheryl & Ginger

Cheryl & Ginger Pinevile PA

Laurie: We are glad to hear that Wylie is doing well. I am always curious how Wylie is doing since she and Sheba are roughly the same age (Sheba is 14 now) and they were diagnosed within a few weeks of each other. It is wonderful to hear that she is still able to run like crazy and enjoy life. Much like you, we are fully aware that Sheba's time with us is limited but we also know that she has had a wonderful life. Here's to wonderful old dogs, three miraculous years and the joy of knowing we've given them happy lives. Rita, Mike and Sheba

Rita IA

Laurie, While we all hate knowing our dogs will usually leave us behind you have been blessed with added years with your girl because of your dedication and love. I am happy that Wylie is med free and still has it in her to run. We humans should be so lucky. Canine kisses to you and your sweet girl Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Laurie, so good to hear Wylie is doing so well! I sure hope you can get the gallbladder issue under control. Give some hugs and scritches for me!! My thoughts and prayers are with you both. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Thanks for all of your well wishes. I am getting worried int he last 2 days she is drinking a ton of water, but it expected. Rita, how is Sheba doing? My natural vet just gave me some kid of arthritis supplement to try with my othe dog. Says it works miracles, its amino based. I will post the the name when I get home. Johnny, Glad to to hear Tessy is doing well. I lost my 6 year old cat suddenly in Feb to lymphoma. I took him in because he was lethargic, not interested in food, they found 4 large masses on his neck, he went downhill suddenly and a week later and could not even swallow or breathe and we decided he was in too much pain. He was so attached to Wylie and Jake I always said what is he going to do when the dogs are not here - Such a blow. Laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, Ah, so good to hear about Wylie! 13 is a good age! You have done so much for her over these past 3 years. Good mommie. Sludge in the gall bladder. Here is what I recommend. Country Life Liver Support Factors. I get it at vitacost.com, 100 tabs for $16. I have researched every ingredient in this and they are all safe with a moderate dosage. You will recognize milk thistle as one. It's actually marketed for the liver but it has a number of ingredients that are also anecdotally recommended for gall bladder sludge. If I remember, Wylie is small so you could start out with 1/3 to 1/2 a tab. Go for smaller, more frequent meals that contain only moderate amounts of protein and low fat. The gall bladder is most reactive to helping the body digest fat and will become more active when a fatty meal is eaten. It works in conjunction with the liver to store bile and release it to the small intestine when necessary to do this. An alternative is a prescription for Actigall. If this were me, I would try the LSF. Make sure that there is plenty of fresh water available at all times. If she will drink some with a little lemon squeezed in that is another anecdotal folk treatment. Not sure whether it has any value or not! But it will not hurt. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

Thanks Patrice, we had her for 13 years, she is eat least 14 and probably older! So a miracle dog. She is on the Actigal, I would love to try the LSF ,but it has SamE in it. Back when Wylie was first diagnosed she was doing really well and added the Denimirin or the one that had Same E in it. She started losing a sudden amount of weight and hair and for 2 months we could not figure out the cause, many many tests later, that ruled out everyting, we decided to stop to see if that was the cause. stupid for not ruling that out first, And she immediately improved. So it was a reaction to the SAM E. I will look up the lemon juice Laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, Liver Support Factors has no Sam-e in it. You can see the ingredient list at vitacost.com p

Patrice NYS

Patrice, this in the the Country Life, L-Methionine (free form) This in the SAM E S-Adenosylmethionine. What is the difference? If not I want to try it and at what dosage at 50#? Thanks Laurie

Laurie CA

Yes, I understand your confusion. Suffice to say if this was really Sam-e it would not be $16, it would be more like $50! Methionine is a normal essential amino acid. Sam-e is derived from methionine, but they are not the same. "Essential amino acids are "essential" not because they are more important to life than the others, but because the body does not synthesize them, making it essential to include them in one's diet in order to obtain them." "Methionine levels also affect the amount of sulfur-containing compounds, such as glutathione, in the liver. Glutathione and other sulfur-containing peptides (small proteins) play a critical role in defending against toxic compounds. When higher levels of toxic compounds are present, more methionine is needed." p

Patrice NYS

Laurie: I'm sorry to hear about your cat's sudden passing. Hopefully the dogs are doing okay with his absence. Thanks for asking about Sheba. She is doing mostly okay. Both of her vets think she has degenerative myelopathy but we haven't gotten an official diagnosis. It would require quite a few tests and we don't really want to subject her to that kind of stress. Especially since the eventual outcome wouldn't change if we knew for sure she has DM. We just continue to provide her with love, treats, medications, acupuncture, more love and more treats. Right now we are focused on the quality of her life, not the quantity. We hope that Wylie continues to do well and that she has many more days of getting out and running around like crazy. Take care, Rita, Mike and Sheba

Rita IA

This thread was discussed between 06/04/2011 and 12/04/2011

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