AIHA,

[Andrea]

Hello,we are living in Belgium. So,sorry,if my english is not completely correct.
My Dog Bobby (6 years old Boomer male) has been diagnosed with Aiha just a couple of weeks ago.
Bobby went to the hospital with a PCv of 20%. They start a treatment with prednison. But his pcv dropped to 11% :-(. Then he got a blood transfusion. It went Well And his pcv was 36%. In just 2 weeks it dropped to 27%. So he gets atopica too. How long does it takes for him too feel better?
His muscles are getting ‘away’. Is there something we can do About that? It is So hard too see Bobby So sick. For every check we drive to the ‘dog’ hospital in the netherlands. Because my own vet does not know enough About aiha. I am very glad that I found this website because it is hard to find any information About it in the netherlands or Belgium. Thank you!

[Vally]

Hello Andrea and welcome. I’m so sorry your Bobby is not feeling well right now.

First of all, it’s very normal for the PCV to drop after a transfusion. This is because the transfusion doesn’t treat the disease in any way, it is only to buy time for the treatment to work.

If a future transfusion is required, and I hope not, make sure they don’t transfuse over 25 as Bobby will think he has plenty of red blood and his body won’t work to make more. See here:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/transfusion

The Atopica worked quite quickly for my Bingo, he improved in about a week, but some dogs respond quickly and others more slowly.

Is Bobby on anything else besides Prednisone and Atopica? Prednisone is very hard on the stomach and can cause ulcers, so stomach protection is very important.

You are wonderful and Bobby is very lucky to have a mum who will drive to another country to get him help.

Ask anything Andrea, we’re happy to help. I’m in Australia, so I can be a little slow sometimes to answer due to the different time zone.

My very best, Vally

[Andrea]

Thank you so much Vally! Thank you for the advise about the transfusion. I hope Bobby will reacts fast on the Atopica. Bobby also get omeprazol. He gets it twice a day to protect his stomach. I think the problem has started in his
intestines. In the past he has had serveral inflammation on his intestines. We solved it without any medicines (in the past). This time the problems started with a tence stomach (belly). And soon I discovered the pale tongue. Can we do something to prevent him from getting it again in the future? Bobby has a food allergy. So he eats very natural. I don’t give him any unnatural ‘things’ like chemical flea control or something like that. He only gets one injection in the 3 years against rabiës.
When he gets better is it safe to go to the forest? due to the risk of bacteria or viruses?
Thank you very much!

[Vally]

I’m glad to hear Bobby is on omeprazol.

Again, it’s different, some dogs, there is always a risk once a dog has contracted the disease that it an come back, and in fact my boy had to remain on a small dose of prednisone for the rest of his life as he relapsed twice. Some dogs just seem more susceptible to anything which can upset the immune system, and maybe the stomach problem was the cause of it. Other dogs are just perfectly fine.

Your feeding of natural foods is excellent.

I would certainly stay out of the forest for now until Bobby is much much better. Then, because I am very very paranoid, I would probably hesitate to expose him to the bacteria there.

Regards,

[Andrea]

Thank you So much! Bobby is on prednison for About 4 weeks. He drinks not very much anymore the last days. So he doesn’t pee extremely anymore too. His nose is dry. Is this a problem?
He is not the old Bobby yet. But he barks,play with Some toys (not very long),show interest in our ‘female’ Dog And also sometimes waggling his tale. He Seems oké,But not healty yet. I guess it takes time. Thank you again!

[Andrea]

Hi Vally,Good news! Bobby went from 27 to 32 the last 2 weeks. The docter Saïd we could go from 6 tablets a day to 3 tablets a day (prednison). He gets 3 in the morning And 3 in the evening. We can skip the 3 in the evening. He still gets the same amount atopica And the medicine to protect his stomach. Does did sound oké? Thank you again!

[Vally]

Andrea, that’s fabulous news. What a wonderful Christmas present.

We prefer to do the reductions a bit slower. No more than 25-33% at a time and a minimum of 2 weeks, with a PCV test before. Reducing prednisone by 50% is a standard thing for allergies and other issues, but unless there are serious side effects, it’s better to do it a little slower to help prevent a relapse. My boy Bingo did relapse twice, once, certainly, because of a quick reduction, so quick reductions always makes me very nervous.

My very best,
Vally

[Andrea]

Hi Vally,Thank you So much! It is a very difficult descison. Bobby has the maximum of prednison he can take for the last 6 weeks. The vet Saïd it is very bad for his body And that we can not give it longer. I Will call the vet monday again And ASK again if we do not take a too big risk.
Bobby stills get the atopica. We won’t chance that dosis.
He is feeling much better with a smaller amount of prednison. He has more energy. But that won’t say anything About his %. I Will keep you updated. Thanks again!