Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Wylies had a relapse!

I cant believ ethis is happening. I wonder if she was taken off pred too fast and I could scream for not getting her back in for bloodwork sooner but she has been a bundle of energy for 2 months. She is 11 years old and had a splenectomy in May for a benign growth on her spleen. Her PCV came back up fast, her last was 42, whidch is good for a senior dog with no spleen. We went for a walk this morning and We thought we were going to have to carry her back, she was so listless, just last night she was running around. I called my vet as soon as they opened and got her in. Oh her gums were not pale to me and the vet said only mildy pale, so dont use that as your only guideline. I said I thought she had a relapse because this was how she was diagnosed with AIHA the first time. He said he didnt think so as he only had dog in all his carrer relapse. Well her HCT is 27! Lower than ever and blood one was 22. She is at 50# and on 20 mg pred daily and he put her on Azathioprine 50 mg daily I should have asked about cyclosporine since I read here it works faster. I will post my question on another thread Laurie

Laurie CA

I forgot to mention she did get her heartworm last week-end and this could have been a trigger Laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, The Azathioprine didn't work for Darcy and the Cyclosporine didn't work until the dosage was increased (from 50mg/day to 100mg/day and she weighs 26 pounds). The specialist did tell me that Cyclosporine works faster than the Azathioprine. Her Prednisone was decreased from 30mg/day to 5mg/day and she was taken off the Azathioprine. All these changes because she developed pancreaitist. Her PCV has gone as low as 8%. She seems to be doing fine now, but her gums are not very pink. I gave Darcy her heartworm med today, so I'll keep a check to see if there are any changes. When I questioned the specialist about the Interceptor, she said to give it every 30 days, not every 40 days. It's hard to know what to do. I don't know if any of this info helps, but thought I'd pass it along for comparison. I do wish the best for Wylie and I am saying a prayer that her condition will improve greatly over the weekend. I'm pulling for you and Wylie. Karen

Karen NC

Karen, thank your for your input. I wonder if she should be on the Azathioprine because she had such a positive result last time being on just prednizone. Is there some kind of guideline that says at this reading you put them on ie Azathioprine and cyclosporine. Now I am starting to question myself, I want the best for her, but she is also 11 years old so I wnat to be careful. Luckily we took her for a walk this morning, otherwise I wouldn't have notice a difference, she is acting fine. Laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, I'm so sorry that you are back on the roller coaster. That is all of our worst nightmare! We will be thinking of you. Wylie beat this before, and will do so again, I'm sure of it! Think of how well armed you are this time around, with you knowledge and everyone's help and support here on the forum, you are way ahead of the curve. Keep us posted! Stay strong Wylie!! melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

I sent an email last night to Dr Dodds, and already had a response, She is such a wonderful can caring person to take time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions. I asked her about Wylies pred dosage and being on Azithipirene because I wasn't confident in what my vet had prescribed since he said he has dealt with AIHA alot but only had one instance of a relapse. So I wasnt sure he was doing the right thing. Dr. Dodds agreed with what my vet is doing so that put me at ease a little bit. Laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, In response to your earlier question about the Azathioprine, initially the vet gave me the choice of putting Darcy on the Azathioprine or the Cyclosporine. This came up after the Prednisone and transfusion alone had not worked (her PCV kept dropping). She told me that with the Azathioprine there were side effects and that it took the medicine longer to get into the system than the Cyclosporine. She also told me that the Cyclosporine was very expensive. Because it was so expensive and I had spent quite a bit on blood work, ultrasound, and transfusion, I opted for the Azathioprine. Later, when she still wasn't showing any improvement and had to have another transfusion, the Cyclosporine was added in. We didn't see any improvement in her condition until she was taken off the Azathiorpine and the Cyclosporine dosage was increased from 50mg/day to 100mg/day. We haven't had another test to see if the Cyclosporine is being absorbed into her body; however, the latest CBC test indicated that her reticulytes(sp) have increased, which is a good thing. The only med she is taking now is 5mg. Prednisone once daily; Soloxine twice daily; and 50mg. Cyclosporine twice daily. I guess the response to medication is different for every dog. Some do well on just the Prednisone. Others have to be on several different meds. In Darcy's case, the Azathioprine was not a good choice. I probably should have started her out on the Cyclosporine. However, when it was initally prescribed the dosage wasn't enough. Unfortunately, it seems this is a trial and error sort of thing. We're at the mercy of the vets and/or specialists. I'd discuss any concerns with your vet and share Dr. Dodds comments with him as well. Good luck and please keep us posted! Karen

Karen NC

Laurie, I wondered what type of heartworm prevention you give to Wylie. I hope that Wylie is doing better. Sue

Sue PA

Sue, she takes the heartguard plus. which is the heartworm with parasite. The reason I kept her on the plus is we live in a rual area and just last week she was eatng turkey poop! Dr Dodds said try to get it without the parasites and said check to see what outbreak numbers are in our area. A few years ago, I know it was around 25% dogs tested. That sounds high, but something I havent thought until now is we live in a rural semi poor area where people tend to leave dogs out all of the time. I would like to find out what the humber would be on an indoor outdoor dogs. I always try to keep them in at dusk when the mosquitos are the worse. laurie

Laurie CA

Laurie, If you go to this website you can check the number of *reported* cases of heartworm in your area. http://www.dogsandticks.com/US-map-lyme-disease-dogs/ While it won't tell you the level of risk you might be looking at, it will show the county levels of reported cases if you zoom in on your area by clicking on the state. Reported cases would probably be lower than the actual number of cases in rural areas. patrice

Patrice NYS

laurie- i am praying for wylie and wishing you both well josh/sway

josh california

This thread was discussed between 01/11/2008 and 04/11/2008

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