AIHA or IMHA

jbv

Erica - With all the sad posts this summer, it is so heartwarming to read good news like yours.  Thanks for updating.  I believe my Zoey was diagnosed with IMHA around the same time as your Honey ...I think we were "newbies" together. Were you January-ish too?  My Zoey has also been doing well and is gradually having her meds reduced too. We've just reduced prednisone to every other day and azathiopine to every third day. And you're so right when talking about the support of this group.  I'm not a frequent poster, but I do visit regularly. The information shared here is second to none ...and the support, particularly during the early days, gives hope to those who are desperate to find reason to hope.  So,  thank you to everyone ...I will continue to keep all your pups in my prayers. 

Janice and Zoey

Janice that ROCKS!!  I'm so glad to hear this. 

This hs been THE most heinous summer for IMHA.  I'm not sure if it is just getting diagnosed more or if it's the extreme humidity in some places or the extreme heat in others but it's been a tough summer for IMHA so I am SO glad to hear Zoey's doing well!!!

Great news Honey,  Thanks for keeping in touch with us.  It is so nice to hear good news.

 Just stopping into say hello. It has indeed been one horrible summer for this disease. I want you all to know you are in my prayers often.
I miss my girl more than words can express.
This house is like a tomb, as is my heart.
My DH has just agreed to adopt a rescue.I am leaning strongly toward a Border Collie.
I do not think we will have a spaniel of any kind for awhile.

TexasBirdGirl

I am leaning strongly toward a Border Collie.

calliecritturs

Either it's being diagnosed more -- OR it's actually worse.  Probably somewhere in the middle of that.

I would lean towards that as well. There is some comfort in stopping by and visiting old friends.

Because we ALL get it!! (((((Carrie)))))

Hi Everyone,

I haven't posted in a long time but FINALLY, I am getting a chance to.    Before I update, I want to say how very, very sorry I am to read about Summer, Muffy, Chloe, and Axl passing.     My heartfelt sympathies go out to all their mom's and dad's.  

Fiona is continuing to do better and better each day.  She is now down to 10 mg of Prednisone each day, 1/4 baby aspirin each day, and azathioprine every other day.   I took her to MSU this past Saturday for bloodwork and her PCV is holding steady at 38%.  Her doctor there is very pleased with her progress and some of the techs and students who took care of her while she was so ill cannot believe she is the same dog.   We have continued with her heartworm (Interceptor) during her illness and under doctors instructions, have given her flea and tick preventative in both July and this month.  We hated to do it, but just cannot take any chances.  We have deer year round where we live, in addition to other "critters," and with her immune-system so compromised now, plus no spleen to help fight off infections, we really had no choice.  But as I said, she is more and more like our "old" girl each day, back to barking at full strength, chasing her cat housemates, and "talking" to me everything morning at the side of my bed, demanding that I get up and give her her breakfast.  

I am thankful each day I have her because I know how quickly things can change, and I pray each day she continues to keep the course to recovery.

Lisa this ROCKS!!! Thank you SO much for the update!!

 Just a note for those "new" -- Fiona is one of those dogs who wound up having a splenectomy -- it just seemed to be the appprioriate thing for her and it DID help the IMHA.  Way back when they first treated IMHA or AIHA they often used to do a splenectomy as a matter of course.  Not so much now at all but it **is** used at times when it just plain seems indicated.

Hi Callie,

Yes, I have to agree, we are thrilled with her progress so far!!  I see forgot to mention she is getting her milk thistle still everyday.  I also neglected to name her flea and tick medication, Vectra 3D.  I thought I had read on here somewhere that Vectra was bad.  Is there a difference between the Vectra and Vectra 3D?    Her primary care doctor prescribed it  and her doctors (specialists I call them) at MSU agreed it was fine.  So far, she's had no reactions to it at all.    After reading so many things that have happened to other babies on here,  I am so thankful that she has continued to improve. 

QUESTION CONCERNING HEARTWORM PREVENTATIVES BEFORE YOUR DOG IS IN REMISSION AND SIDE EFFECTS

I'm new here, but my dog Lucy was diagnosed with IMHA/IMT on July 23. She is not in remission yet, but her numbers were the best they have been since we started this up and down journey (which I will share in another post).

Her PCV was close to 40 (almost no change since she had to have her second transfusion last Monday) and her platelets were all the way up to 161,000...we were thrilled. Her liver enzymes were still high and were still indicating her liver was experiencing some damage (I give her denosyl to try to help with this), but they were half of what they had been the last time she was checked. I get confused between ALT and ALP, and which one means damage, but the damaging one was down from 1577 to 731, and the other (whichever one is typically really high when treating IMHA/IMT) was at 1574. She also has felt the best I've seen her feel since the last transfusion (aside from the pred, Cushing's type side effects), and I've been so happy to see a bit of my old Lucy back. Since she is doing well, we decided we would check her numbers at the end of the week, and if they were still good, we were going to begin the gradual reduction of her prednisone on Sunday, and then leave her on the same dose of danazol and cyclosporine while tapering off the preds. 

I live in Alabama, so we have a lot of mosquitos...but since the IMHA/IMT, Lucy has not been getting outside much at all. She was a week past due her Trifexis yesterday (I hadn't wanted to give it to her until she got a little bit more stable). As I was leaving the vet's office, I asked my vet if she thought it would be okay to give it to her. She said it should be fine...and that she would hate for my dog to get diagnosed with heartworms in 5 months on top of all of this. So I gave it to her. 

She has been feeling so well for the past week and was still feeling so good yesterday. Today, I've noticed she's been sleeping a lot more, and is not the same Lucy that I've been seeing over the last week (she had been following me around everywhere, and desperately scavenging from food from the preds...not today).

Her color still looks pink (not as pink as yesterday though). I was worried she was maybe getting a fever or an infection, so I took her temp and her temp was normal. She has a glazed over look in her eyes, which is always indicative to me when she's not feeling well. She's not wagging her tail like she was or anything. She also was breathing really hard whenever she would walk anywhere, and was a lot more wobbly when walking. She ate today (she never has stopped eating since this whole ordeal began). My BIGGEST concern is when I was holding her to take her temperature, her chest felt swollen, and her heartbeat felt funny. It felt like she was swollen with fluids in her chest (does that make sense?). She's had pred belly, but her stomach is now even more swollen tonight, and feels tightly swollen with fluids.

I just 30 minutes ago remembered I gave her her trifexis yesterday. Has anyone had any negative effects from this???? I am SO MAD I gave it to her now. I'm calling my vet first thing in the morning to take her in, but I wanted to hear from other people to see if anyone has any advice concerning this.

Thank you for any advice/help/suggestions, etc.  

 This is just me and I have no idea what time zone you're in, but if we were still in the throes of IMHA and Shayna were showing the symptoms you're describing, I would be into Critical Care right now.

 I know...I'm thinking about it. She seems like she's resting comfortably now, but the stomach being so swollen has me worried. I took her to the emergency clinic on Saturday for a false alarm (I thought she had developed petechiae/purpura, but the e clinic said that it was just pigmentation marks due to the preds, and she also has some hair loss which makes them especially noticeable...they looked purple to me). I just hate to cause her even more stress by rushing her out there again and having her be with people she doesn't know and have it turn out to be another false alarm...I can take her to my vet at 7:30 in the morning (it's 11 PM where I am).

The main thing I'm concerned about is the swelling...does anyone have any idea what that could be?? I'm still considering taking her to the e vet...I HATE this disease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I feel so bad for you trying to deal with this late at night especially when your vet said the med would be okay.  And it may well be.  This might just be a coincidence.  Shayna was always throwing up weird symptoms and it was hard not to believe every one of them spelt doom.  But still, you know your puppy best.  We never had a swollen chest so I can't help you and Callie and all the other east coast experts are probably tucked into their beds.  But if your baby's resting comfortably now I bet it's okay to try and get some sleep (though you probably won't)  It isn't so long til morning there.  Good luck!  We're praying for you here.

How is Lucy doing?  I read this earlier and was wondering if there were any updates?   I hope she is ok.