Forum Post

AIHA or IMHA

Last post 11-22-2009 5:14 PM by Johnny&Tessy. 1638 replies.
Page 91 of 110 (1639 items) « First ... < Previous 89 90 91 92 93 Next > ... Last »
Sort Posts: Previous Next
  • 08-31-2009 1:26 PM In reply to calliecritturs

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Calypso HCT this week is 39.5, down from 41.5. She seems to be doing well on her Prednisone wean. She is down to 7.5mg once a day. She remains on Cyclosporin 75 mg twice a day,


    A little concerning is her other results:
    WBC still normal 13.1 (5.7 -16.3)
    Platelets 324 (164 - 510)
    But now she has Netrophil bands 3 (0-3%)
    Lymphocytes 10 (12-30)
    Monocytes 11 (3-10)


    Her slide showed her platelets clumped, RBC morphology normal, but dohle bodies seen and neutrophils appears slightly toxic. So it seems as if she has an infection, but still acting normal and playful. She is eating well (starting weight 35lbs, current weight 44lbs). We started her on Cephalexin 500mg twice a day and will followup in 10 days. So I am just keeping my fingers crossed for now!

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 3:25 PM In reply to cerberusdog

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    It's heart-stopping when it goes down even a bit -- but all sorts of things can cause fluctations - including how much the dog has had to drink that day.  But it sounds like she's doing well!!  Particularly with the wean-off of pred (*rolling eyes* speaking of things that make dogs drink ... sheesh!)

    and yeah - infection infection infection.  Saw way too much of cephalexyn during that time.  And you see it on the bloodwork and want to say "infection ... but WHERE?"


    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 3:44 PM In reply to calliecritturs

    • FrisbyPI
    • Not Ranked
    • Joined on 07-17-2009
    • Rhode Island
    • Posts 118
    • Points 0

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    calliecritturs:
    a definition of terms of "season" will be difficult.
    That's where looking at the data can help form/identify the definitions and regional differences that may exist. I also think an important consideration that no one seems to be addressing is the air pollutants that are so pervasive. It's a loaded topic, that's for sure!

    Kate and Frisby
    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 5:21 PM In reply to Al's Mom

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    He went in the hospital Saturday, August 8th PCV 12 and checked out Sunday the 16th PCV 21.  First check was Tuesday 18, PCV 21.  Friday the 21, it was 26.  Then finally Wednesday the 26 we were up to 33!  Next check should be sometime next week.

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 6:19 PM In reply to calliecritturs

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

     Okay, now you guys have me a little bit worried! Ems and I have been staying with my folks for awhile this summer (started out when I had double pneumonia, then my mom had surgery, then we traveled over the summer and used their house as a "base"); I'm planning on taking her and heading home tonight. We only live 20 minutes away, and see my parents and their dog, Tessa, often--but is she more likely to relapse because she'll be at home alone regularly during the day for the first time in quite awhile? I mean, might that "trauma" set her back? :(

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 6:28 PM In reply to GraniasBard

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Emma's mom--They did tell me that there is much less a chance of relapse the longer they've been in remission. 

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 7:03 PM In reply to Smokie's Mom

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Wow....I don't know where to start.  I guess the first thing concerns the ability to access the data a bit easier.  I think the idea of having AIHA have it's own category which people can post under might be best.  It'ld be great to keep everything with this site.  You are a great person to be doing the work you are Callie!  I find it so difficult with limited time to go ALL THE WAY BACK, catch up with all the new news, remember who joined and post remarks.  Most of the time I've only got maybe 1/2 hour to do my computer stuff.  This leaves so little time to do what I'ld ultimately ike to do.  I can not wait to see where it goes from here.  Good work to all parties involved....especially you Callie.

    Willowchow.....how's Willow been doing lately?  Good to hear the little setback was nothing serious.

    SmokiesMom ..... That is absolutely great news to hear!  An HCT of 33% is solid and by the sounds of things he's highly regenerative.  Can't wait to see the numbers get to normal ranges.  I bet he misses going to work with you.  I wish Tessy could spend the day with me.

    FrisbyPI....How's Frisby been doing.  You wrote that Frisby breathes faster now that before.  You'll notice this improve with the return of oxygen to the blood....I think the HGB would be one of the numbers to watch for this.  The higher this number the more oxygen in the blood and the less hard the body has to work to get the oxygen where it's needed.  Of coarse there would have to be a good amount of RBC's for this to normalize but with the increase of one the others usually follow suit.  A crit of 29 is pretty good.  Tessy hovered around this number for approx. 3-4 months before it finally climbed over 30.  With regards to the pred withdrawal.....I followed what Dr. Dodds said to a "T".  I dropped from 50mg/day to 40 to 30 to 25-20-15-12.5-10 and now finally we are at 7.5mg/day.  We reduced every week.  Dr. Dodds wanted to go every 5 days but I decided to do every 7 days so I could be with her for 2 days following each reduction.  Now, Tessy seems WAY better after being off the large doses.  Oh yeah.....also good to hear the pneumonia is just about beat.  BRAVO Frisby.

    Cerberusdog.....great to hear Calypso is improving so fast.  I've got Tessy on Cephalexin now also to help with her skin conditions and to keep her UTI's at bay.  Hopefully in 10 days you'll see even more of an improvement in the numbers.  I wouldn't overly worry about the slightly toxic neutrophils.  The drugs could be a cause of this.  Maybe the antibiotics will help some.  Is she on aspirin to help with the clumping?  Keep us posted.

    Amsten.....Good to hear Jazz handled the bath she had.  Tessy is the same way in the bath but when she gets out she runs around soooo happy...I think she really enjoys it and it makes her feel so much better I think.  Have you tried adding some of the supplements to Jazz's food?  Some dogs have to be given low amounts at first and then gradually add a little bit at a time till they get used to it.  I've never had problems with Tessy when I used to give her supplements.  Hope you figure this one out.  Hopefully the food you give has plenty of nutrients in it already.  Good to hear she likes the acupuncture sessions.  That's one thing...along with TCM that I'ld like to do with Tessy but there are none close to here for her to go to.

    Andy'sMom.....Gotts love hearing when dogs are getting better.  Sounds like you have a good vet to work with.  "Andy is a little fighter, and I will do any and everything I need to to ensure his health and hapiness" ......well said!!!  That proves you're an exceptional doggy mom.  It amazes me some of the people out there who just don't seem to care.  Just knowing that one is surrounded by the likes of the wonderfull, caring people on here makes this battle so much easier.  Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

    Al's Mom....."I have many friends and a wonderful family but none of them quite get it - even the dog owners amongst them."  I know exactly what you mean and I'm sure everyone on hear can say the same.  I'm asked at least once a week if there's somehting wrong with my head for doing what I do for Tessy.  I tell people that if it comes down to it I'ld sell the house just to get her better....hopefully it doesn't come down to that.  I'm kinda getting used to KD now and I lost some weight so I guess it's not all that bad EH.  With the PCV climbing as high as it is you'll see the breathing getting back to normal.  As far as the pinkness in the gums.....I'm always confused about this one because sometimes Tessy's are pale and other times they're nicely pink....all the while the crit remains the same.  I usually go by that and the Capillary refill time.  Just press on the gum and release and see how fast the white turns back to pink....or refills with blood.  Within a couple seconds is pretty good I was told.  Maybe someone can enlighten me a little more on this method and if it's actually a good one to go by.  Hope the best for Alyosha.

    Neesiesled......Good to hear Matties crit is up to 28%.  " I can't say enought good things about Callie."  Oh I know what your saying here.  One can't really begin to thank her enough for the help and support.  Hope your new vet works out good and also hope the back leg/hip trouble gets better.  Hope to hear an update soon.

    Ed A......Wishing all the best for little Tyson.  Sounds like you have a good knowledge of this disease and I'm sure it'll help you greatly.  Please do keep us posted.

    GratefullDawg....how's Cyclops doing these days?  Behaving I hope.  Hope to hear some news on him soon.

    Coopbay.....Great to hear Cooper is getting better with each day.  It must be such a relief to have the numbers back to normal levels.  You must be doing something right.  Keep up the good work.

    Elishope.....terrific to hear Eli is doing great.  Hope to hear an update from you soon also.

    Izzyweids.....any news on Izzy.  Hopefully the PCV is still really good.  Keep up the good work.

     

    ANYHOW.......now I've gotta run to give Tessy her meds.  Seems to be never enough hours in the day anymore to get things done.  For those of you I missed.....hang in there and keep up the good fight.  Together we can beat this disease.  The people here are just wonderfully terrificv and many many many thanks goes out to everyone.

    Prayers, positive vibes and good wishes to everyone and their pets who have to deal with this disease.

    Johnny & Tessy

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 7:10 PM In reply to GraniasBard

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    The reality is, we have dogs that have had IMHA.  So we have dogs that could, at any time, any where, any year, any place, relapse. It CAN happen. 

    so can other auto-immune disease.  Once the body has seen that as a recourse, it can turn on itself again.

    You might give her a calmative -- like Calms Forte, just to stack the deck in your favor and keep her calm.  It's just reality with these dogs -- JUST LIKE the fact that we can never ever ***UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES*** vaccinate them again.  Not ever.  Not even once. 

    Billy's rabies titered low this year -- so now I'm in a quandary -- and I'm waiting for a call from my vet about it.  And it may be that we can never resume pet therapy with Billy cos I can't get a waiver if his titer is too low I fear.  *shrug* but ... that's living with an IMHA dog.

    Can that trauma set her back? Sure.  Will it?  Dunno. 

    I'm not trying to be difficult -- you know me better than that.  It's just plain always a "possible" ... maybe not "probable" but ... I"m not even going to guess like that.  Does that make sense?


    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 7:13 PM In reply to Johnny&Tessy

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Johnny&Tessy:
    I think the idea of having AIHA have it's own category which people can post under might be best.  It'ld be great to keep everything with this site. 

     

    I've got an email in ... we'll see what the powers that be say.  But that's exactly what I've asked for.  Our own "subcategory" under illnesses, Diseases and Conditions. 


    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 7:20 PM In reply to willowchow

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    I still worry about leaving Smokie home alone while my husband and I are at work (never used to).  He really seems to better doing what he used to do before he was sick.  I'm not sure me hovering over him really does anything but make me crazy.  I'm trying to relax and let him do what he wants to do as much as possible but not in danger him either.

    • Post Points: 0
  • 08-31-2009 7:50 PM In reply to Johnny&Tessy

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Johnny&Tessy:

    Cerberusdog.....great to hear Calypso is improving so fast.  I've got Tessy on Cephalexin now also to help with her skin conditions and to keep her UTI's at bay.  Hopefully in 10 days you'll see even more of an improvement in the numbers.  I wouldn't overly worry about the slightly toxic neutrophils.  The drugs could be a cause of this.  Maybe the antibiotics will help some.  Is she on aspirin to help with the clumping?  Keep us posted.

    Johnny & Tessy

    Hi Johnny and Tessy, great to hear from you! Great recap post!!We started the aspirin back after talking with Izzy's mom. She saw a specialist at Michigan who recommended staying on the aspirin, she posted about it here on the forum...but here is what she said in her email to me, "with the baby aspirin, he recommended taking it until she's off the pred. it sounds like something to ask your vet about - you could say there was a study at cornell last year if he/she isn't familiar.  the MSU vet said that he has had dogs with normal PCVs who are still weaning off the pred come in with a clot, so that's why he's very careful about doing the baby aspirin."I talked with my vet and she had no issue with me starting it back up so I did :) The platelet clumping is hopefully just due to the blood sitting too long; my vet was not able to get 2 samples so she ran it on her machine first then sent it into the lab (she was verifying her machine was back to proper calibration)

    We have been blessed through this whole process. I know we still have a long ways to go, but we are hopeful now! I have 2 wonderful vets who do not charge me follow-ups, they only charge for any tests that we do.

     

    • Post Points: 0
  • 09-01-2009 9:48 AM In reply to Johnny&Tessy

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Thanks for sending the prayers, vibes and good wishes.  Hope all is well with you and Tessy.  Mattie seems to be hanging in there.  Her leg/hip seems to really be bothering her this morning.  I'm going to ask Callie some more questions today.  Praying for all and hoping they all have the strength to fight this horrible disease and strength to their owners who love and care so much.

    • Post Points: 0
  • 09-01-2009 10:02 AM In reply to calliecritturs

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Goodmorning Callie!!!  I feel like I should call you Dr. Callie.  Mattie and I are both taking the Nutra Joint and I'm using the oil on her.  Also got the green alcohol and added the oil.  Yesterday she let me rub the oil and massage the leg/hip area and seemed to make it feel better, but today she won't let me hardly touch it.  I've given her the pain med tramadol the last 2 days but it makes her sleep alot.  Is that OK? Any other suggestions for this pain?  Seeing the doc at the end of the week to recheck blood.  Gums look good and pink.  Also, is peanut butter a good source of iron and what about honey, what are the nutricious benefits if any?  Hope you and yours are having a good day!!!  Thanks again for being there for so many of us.  A big HEY to everyone else out there too!  PRAYERS AND GOOD WISHES TO YOU ALL!!!

    • Post Points: 0
  • 09-01-2009 7:45 PM In reply to neesiesled

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    neesiesled:
    I've given her the pain med tramadol the last 2 days but it makes her sleep alot.  Is that OK? Any other suggestions for this pain?  

     

    We talked on the phone so as I said my best suggestion would be acupuncture.  That's going to address the CAUSE of the pain -- and honestly the TCVM vet may be able to help determine where the infection is far better (just because the exam they give is SOOOO different). 

    Tramadol does make them sleep and that's FINE.  Sometimes the rest may be more what they need and if it can get her thru until you can have her seen by a vet you trust that's a good thing. 

    Peanut butter isn't really good for them -- it's a tree nut oil and it's hard for them to digest.  Tahini is better (tastes close to peanut butter and generally they like it).  But neither are something I'd give lots of.  I've not heard that honey is a good iron source -- but it IS fine for them (particularly local unfiltered honey).  It's a fine additive to things like chamomile tea, etc. (which may also help relieve some of that pain)

     


    • Post Points: 0
  • 09-01-2009 8:53 PM In reply to Johnny&Tessy

    Re: IMHA or AIHA

    Johnny&Tessy:
    Willowchow.....how's Willow been doing lately?  Good to hear the little setback was nothing serious.

    Johnny, thanks for asking about her!  She's doing really well--knock on wood.  We are going back in October for blood work but other than that unless something comes up she's good until then. 

    She does have intestinal issues that flare up from time to time--whether due to this or not we don't know-but they've given me the medication to start so I have it on hand now so I don't have to make a trip to the emergency vet if it's off hours.  I can just start the meds and give her regular vet a call.  So, I'm thankful for that.  The emergency vets and the hospital itself is pretty awesome but we've had enough, LOL!

    Thanks again for asking. 

    HOW's Tessy??? 

    Lori

    • Post Points: 0
Page 91 of 110 (1639 items) « First ... < Previous 89 90 91 92 93 Next > ... Last »
 
 
Contact Us | Help | Rules & Conduct | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | About Us
Copyright 2007, PetsUnited LLC