Bio-Algae Concentrates

Alyssa

Guest

Hi Amber, welcome to the group and I’m sorry you have to find it. From what you’ve said, your drs may be trying to reduce the meds too quickly? Are you doing big drops each time did you try to go from 50mg of Cyclo to nothing & were other reductions handled this way? The thing with this illness is that reductions need to be done as slow as the body allows – if there are not very adverse effects, go slow. Once a month is good, but if it’s a big drop each time that isn’t.

I didn’t use Cyclo so I am not very familiar with the reduction protocol, but pred-azathioprine should be reduced around 25% no more than every 2-3 weeks following stable test. Sadly, a lot of vets try to follow “normal” protocols for reducing these drugs, calling for 50% reductions at a time or abrupt stopping, which in most other cases is fine but not so with an AIHA dog. You almost have to trick their body into not realizing you are doing it, or relapses are highly likely. I had to seriously fight with my vet to follow a different protocol than she wanted, and it was so bad I eventually switched clinics. If this is what your drs have done, please don’t blame yourself and don’t worry. You can help Dead through this, there is no reason to give up. If his blood shows any signs of clotting, he can be put on an ultra low dose of aspirin to help. If he needs a second transfusion, I would encourage you do to so and slow way down with medication reductions once he is again stable.

Have you ran a full chem panel? How is his liver, kidney? What side effects is Dean having from the pred? Milk thistle & sam-e are highly recommended to aid the liver through all these horrible meds. It also comes in pill form called denamarin. It is expensive, but will work to help the liver, and would be easier to manage if Dean is easy to give pills to. Muscle wasting, weight gain and frequent urination sadly can’t really be helped while on Pred. A lot of our dogs get nasty skin and UTIs during treatment, too. All of this is common and treatable.

If Dean is relapsing and I misunderstood your post and the reductions haven’t been large ones, you may need to look at the environment and try to figure out if something is causing this. Have you sprayed any chemicals? Have your neighbors? Do you live in an area that sprays for mosquitoes? Are you giving heartworm/flea meds, if so what kind, and how often? When was Dean last vaccinated & for what & what kind (pro heart 6, etc?) Were there any major changes in Deans life around the time he started to relapse that may of really stressed him out (someone moved out, anything like that?). Has he had any fleas or ticks, and has he been tested for tick borne illness? There are so many triggers. If you can FIND what is causing it, that is great, but a lot of times you will never know. But you should scrutinize his immediate area and see what you can find. How are Deans appetite and energy levels?

These ladies here will help Dean and you through this. My dog, Sassy, was diagnosed with AIHA in March and I was so low until I found this group. Ask ANY question, even if you think it is silly. And every little bit of information you can provide would be great. Please also scan/take a photo of Deans test results and send them via ‘urgent advice’ up top, and the ladies that are good at reading the test will get right on them!

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