Nicole & Bean,
Great news on the labs! One thing I’ve learned through this process is insane patience! Keep us updated!
Erin & Murphy
Hi Nicole,
This is excellent news!
As you can see for yourself now, the reticulocytes have increased even more, up to 2%, and combined with a HCT of 45%, you should be seeing Bean become more stable. I assume you are seeing Bean also return to normal behavior, appetite, exercise etc?
I would recommend you follow the conservative prednisone reduction we have on the website, preceding each decrease with a CBC for right now and spacing the decreases about 2 weeks apart.
Prednisone Dose Reductions
As I mention in the guidelines, this can be an uncomfortable process for dogs (and humans!) Be alert for any rapid changes in behavior that seem like Bean may be about to collapse. Being extremely tired is fairly normal, but appearing quite ill means an immediate trip to the vet. So expect Bean to seem to feel worse for awhile, but eventually this will diminish as you get closer to very low doses of prednisone, say around 2-5mg per day or every other day.
Some dogs do need to stay on these low doses of prednisone for life to prevent relapses. At Second Chance we sometimes prefer to see this rather than the relapses. There is no way to predict which dogs will need to need these small doses, but the best way to anticipate that there may be a problem is to continue to take Bean in for routine blood work more often than other healthy dogs. If you see a decreased HCT over a few CBC, along with other small signs, talk to your vet immediately about the possibility this may indicate a relapse.
Please continue to stay with us as you progress through this, we would love to hear from you often!
Good luck!
Patrice
Hi everyone,
Here’s a quick update on Bean’s progress & her last two CBCs.
At the beginning of Feb we increased Bean’s dose of cyclosporine from 0.45 to 0.47 at the vet’s request. We’re waiting for three solid CBC’s before we reduce any meds.
As of Feb 11:
WBC 15.8
RBC 6.0
Hemoglobin 142
Hematocrit 0.43
MCV 71.9
MCH 23.5
MCHC 327
RDW 17.3
Platelets 448
% Reticulocyte 1.9
Reticulocyte 114.0
And as of Feb 22:
WBC 17.7
RBC 6.4
Hemoglobin 148
Hematocrit 0.46
MCV 71.7
MCH 23.2
MCHC 324
RDW 17.2
Platelets 372
% Reticulocyte 1.1
Reticulocyte 70.4
So, as of now that’s three CBCs with steady results and we will most likely be weaning Bean off her prednisone soon. Our primary vet is out of town until Tuesday, so we will be keeping meds the same until then. After that we’ll be in to talk about our best course of action for reducing her medication.
Overall, the change in Bean’s behaviour has been pretty great – she’s definitely more rambunctious and full of energy so we’re hoping we’re making steady inroads.
I’ll update again when we speak to our vet next week.
Thanks again everyone for your input. We’ll be bringing the prednisone dose reduction information to the vet to see what he thinks when we’re there on Tuesday!
Nicole & Bean
Bean’s doing well so far! We reduced her prednisone dose by 25% as of Tuesday (Feb 28? I believe) and so far, so good! We’ll be doing a blood test in, I think 10 days, and will go from there.
In terms of her energy levels, behaviour and everything she seems good. So we’re hoping the reductions go smoothly!
Thanks for asking Vally, I’ll keep you updated.
![bingo-14-5_1200x775](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/bingo-14-5_1200x775.jpg "Vally\'s Bingo \\"Smile\\"")
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