Willow's platelets are low!

Thanks everyone.  I was just having a bad moment last night.  But, I'm OK now.  I have an appointment to consult with the vet at 12:30 today so will know more after that. 

Willow is a lucky dog to have all of your support. 

 Please let us know how the vet consult went. Are they thinking the low platelets are a symptom of a tick borne disease (ie. the lyme) or something else immune related? I keep thinking that Willow is so lucky to have such a great mom who knows what her normal baseline is to see such small changes in appetitie and energy level. Snickers' platelets were incredibly low by the time I noticed and they didn't bother worrying about it on the blood tests since they kept clumping causing them to be unable to be read until it was too late... for a very sick dog she acted very normal on the low platelets and I had even been taking her for her walks for the first time in her fight against IMHA when the second blow of platelets came along totally unexpectedly... IMHO catching anything like this early is key. I third the suggestion for another opinion and a vet school if you can...I would have gone that route if we didn't live waaay up her in Northern NH. I've been thinking about you guys and I know that rising panic that you can feel when googling things. It is a goos tool though and allows us to have more info rather than just relying on vets. If I had known to ask about ITP co-occuring with the the IMHA who knows.....

Sending lots of good wishes from Oliver, Khoale, Cricket and the sled dogs! 

Well, the the consult ended in me crying very hard in the parking lot.

I brought the old blood work results to show her and she looked thru them and said at those levels she wouldn't of been concerned either.  However, then she told me what she was looking at--the last one last week, 12, 000-when I saw that I lost it--very low and at risk for bleeding.  So, she wants to send out some blood for further tick testing.  At this point she feels it's immune related and not cancer related.  However, she still wants to do an ultrasound to check.  In the meantime, she gave me the Prednisone to start--at a whopping dose too.  And, she wants to recheck the platelets next week. 

I'm going to bring her to an internal medicine specialist tomorrow for a second opinion--Dr. Gary Block, one of the best in our state.  I'm so afraid to start the Prednisone.  What if it makes her worse??? 

I was hard to come to work today, I'm so stressed.  But, I have to stay strong and positive for her. 

outdoorschik

If I had known to ask about ITP co-occuring with the the IMHA who knows.....

What is ITP??

Gee, that is a low platelet count, ut othrwise from what you are saying she is doing pretty well.  i sure hope they can get to the bottom of it very soon, not only for Willow's sake, but for your sake as i can see how upset and woried you are.

Hi Lori, Wow don't panic, go to the internist and see what comes out of that.  In my search to find some info for you I fund this post from another dog owner with similar problems and there replies.  There were a lot of replies (I didn't read them all) one especially lifted my ears when the dog owner was told that maybe the vaccinations caused it??  Has Willow had Vac's lately?

Anyway, I will post it for you to read although some info are things you DON'T want to hear - if your like me you want to know everything you can!

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg0413274126124.html

Good luck and let us know immediatly what you find out.  Paws and fingers crossed and lots of hugs and prayers!!

willowchow

outdoorschik

If I had known to ask about ITP co-occuring with the the IMHA who knows.....

 

What is ITP??

 Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia;   

http://www.itppeople.com/animals.htm

 http://www.marvistavet.com/html/immune-mediated_thrombocytopen.html

 http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/midnight.htm

  The last link is about a dog who survived the disease and continued to compete in agility. Lori; luvmyswissy is right; please don't panic and wait to see what the specialist says. It sounds like Willow will be in excellent hands. I'll be praying for both of you; I'm so sorry you're going through this;{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Thank you guys.  She's OK still--DH think I'm way over reacting.  I don't though.

I just got off the phone with the veterinary specialist office--they are also the 24 hr ER--and one of the doctors on call tonight has seen Willow many times in the ER for her IBS.  And, he suggested I could take her tonight thru the ER and he could examine her and do the CBC.  OR, he said if I want a second opinon on the lab results I could ask they be sent to a lab called AnTech--I've never heard of them.  I'm not even sure I've got it spelled right.

So, I'm still at work and trying to decide to take her when I get home or wait until morning.  Dr. Block works at this place so even if I took her tonight he'd still be able to review everything. 

Thanks everyone.  Willow and I really appreciate your good thoughts. 

 Lori do try and stay calm (not sure I could BUT I know it is the right way to be!) You have a good plan seeing the specialist and ask lots of questions and tell them all you can about Willow.  She seems to be functioning as normal so this may be something that will be simply cleared up

That is what we are hoping and praying for, OK?

There's no such thing as over-reacting - there's just reacting!  And this is definitely something that needs a reaction.  The question is doing something constructive with your emotion and it sounds like you are on your way there.

Don't be scared of the Pred at this point.  She needs it, it sounds like - it's hard to drop that low if her immune system isn't at fault, attacking her platelets.  Give her system a chance to rebuild.  The pred works by suppressing her  immune system.  I had a friend who had chronic leukemia (CLL), which is where cancerous white blood cells "choke out" platelets, and he would go on prednisone periodically to give his RBC a chance to recover.  When it was really bad he'd get chemo to wipe out his WBCs almost entirely.  Anyway, I just remember how relieved he was when he got his pred going after he didn't feel good for a while - so try to remember that as you give her the meds.

I think it sounds like a terrific idea to have someone who knows Willow look over things and then have the option to also talk to the specialist later.  And it's a good idea to get the second opinion.  It sounds, from my reading, like it's not a precise science.  Although the difference between 125,000 and 12,000 is hard to miss, I think!

Thank God they are not talking cancer.  Even the immune-related disorder sounds treatable - and surely whatever it is, you've caught it very early, since she obviously feels good still.

Here's a thought that I hope will encourage you.  What if you find some chronic, but treatable problem that also explains all the issues you've had with UTIs and IBS?  The gi and the immune system are very closely related.  I will hope and pray for that kind of answer for you, if it can't be "nothing at all"!   

willowchow

I just got off the phone with the veterinary specialist office--they are also the 24 hr ER--and one of the doctors on call tonight has seen Willow many times in the ER for her IBS.  And, he suggested I could take her tonight thru the ER and he could examine her and do the CBC.  OR, he said if I want a second opinon on the lab results I could ask they be sent to a lab called AnTech--I've never heard of them.  I'm not even sure I've got it spelled right.

I kind of think its a good idea to go to this doctor....he seems to be taking a special interest in Willow.... it helps to make us feel a little more secure. And when we are worrying.....we need a little security.  AnTech is a veterinary lab...the are all over the US... our hospital uses them, probably most do.  Here is a link...http://www.antechdiagnostics.com/

I am SOOOOO sorry you are going thru this worry.  God how it brings to mind going thru it myself not that long ago...but thank God that Willow if feeling well, is happy and seems healthy.  She has all that going for her...so you keep the faith....be strong. I know,,,I talk big. But just take one step at a time...try to stay out of SEARCH on the computer...no need to make yourself crazy,,,,we find all of the bad things...we somehow don't remember the good things we read.

My thought and prayers are with you and my big bear.

dyan

Thanks everyone.  We just got back from the specialist-what a night there--the waiting was unreal.  We mised Dr. Levy--the doctor that knows us--but we still saw AN AWESOME vet.  She was wonderful.  Long story short--the platelets tonight are at 27, 000- might be little higher due to the clumping.  So, better but still very, very low.  She does not have IMHA, she is not anemic at all.  Her white blood cells are a little low but not horrible. 

She was in agreement she definately needs the Prednisone. And, she felt that I should be taking her to get the platelets checked daily until they come up to an acceptable level. 

She gave me handouts of side effects of the medication, what to watch for as far symptoms to bring her right in if she gets and info about ITP--which is what she's got too.  

She also said Willow seems to be feeling great.  Normally, dogs with levels like this they might admit.  But, she didn't see a need for that considering this is ongoing and she's OK. 

I gave her the Prednisone tonight which she told me to start it when I got home. 

As far as the future, if this works she'll be on it for at least a month.  If it's not working then there are other meds they can add.  But, they might want to do more testing to see what is actually causing this if it's not immune related.  I'm not sure I'm going to put her thru tons of tests for cancer, we'll see if and when the time comes. 

So, that's it for now.  Thanks so much for all the support and caring about Willow.  I feel much better that I know this is real now and I've got to deal with it.  I know I've just taken her to the best in the area so I'm comfortable with what I'm doing now.  I'm not so shaken up thinking I'm doing the wrong thing.

Please if you can send up a few prayers that this works for her.  I could have her 50 more years and I still wouldn't be ready to let her go. 

willowchow

Please if you can send up a few prayers that this works for her.  I could have her 50 more years and I still wouldn't be ready to let her go. 

I HEAR YA LORI  !!!

Well I think your moving in the right direction.... at least you know that its a vet that you think you can trust more. Thats a plus!

Funny how we think of pred as such a bad drug for our dogs...and yet,, when I think about my friends daugher who had to take it every day for the last month or two of her pregnancy to keep the twins she was carrying ( and did ) and everything was fine.  So its a drug that sometimes is such a good drug....   So its good that she is on it and she will be monitored....and hopefully everything fine......for the next 50 years!!!! 

Again...the fact that she is feeling fine...is so important and good! 

Yay Willow...... a big kiss to you and hugs to your mom!

Dyan

With the pred, make sure she has water *everywhere*. I had a bowl in every room. Pirate drank like a small horse!

Also, are you comfortable having a tech draw blood, daily? My specialist was charging me for a whole vet visit, when all the techs did was draw blood and we didn't even see her! I talked to my regular vet about it and she agreed to have her techs get the blood, and she'd review the numbers. That way I could save a little money. (I am a starving college student, after all!)

(((Lori))) and (((Willow))). Even though Willow probably doesn't like hugs!

I'm glad you're feeling better Lori. It's so hard not to go into "worst case scenario" at times like this. Having a vet you can truly trust makes all the difference in the world though.

I'll definitely keep you and Willow in my thoughts and prayers and hope the pred does the trick in getting the platelets up. Willow's in good hands with you, so I feel very optimistic that this is going to work out okay.