AIHA-Just Diagnosed

[admin]

Hi Wendy

How are you & Frank doing today? I’m sorry they don’t want you to be with him at the vets – I would personally not want to leave my boys either, so maybe insist, in a gentle way, that you want to see him & promise you’ll stay out their way while they are working. I’m sure they will understand your need to be beside him. Some vets think us owners get them over-excited, but I really believe they feed from our emotions, so if you can stay really positive in front of Frank, he’ll feel the vibes from you, willing him to get better.

You need to keep a close eye after any transfusion, just in case of a reaction. Alyssa has given you some really great ideas about vets, what to expect & her recent experiences with Sassy – so many of our pups have been through this awful time. Linda mentioned Dr Dodds/Hemopet – they supply cross matched blood & specific blood products such as packed red cells, so you can use them if needs be. Let’s hope no further transfusions will be needed, but you should never be afraid of giving them. They are a life saver & help them feel stronger.

Hang on in there Wendy – let us know everything you can possibly find out about his treatment & we’ll advise you as much as we can. You always have the option of Dr Dodds as well – so I hope you know we’re all here to support you through this.

Love & big hugs – hope you can give Frank a cuddle from me when you see him
Sheena & the boys xxxxx

[lynn]

Wendy,
As Sheena said so any hills to climb with this disease … it is a rollercoaster ride of many up’s and down’s. The transfusion will help until the medications kick in. I know just how worried you feel … that is the feeling the we each had … it’s our dear fur child who is the baby of the family…. no matter the size… to us all they are so small and dear to our heart. Yes it is very costly to treat this disease. I at one time went 200 miles after Hayley was stable to travel. Had to have therapy for wasting of muscels not just in hind legs but shoulder too from high dose of prednisone… which saves their life with this disease…. each are different in how the meds effect. With high pred more drinks lots of water ,panting, bets to eat more, and ect… but they need the high dose. Hayley’s PCV was @ 8 % day of transfusion so the ones with low PCV she was 7 years old then now is 11 years old… hope this gives you hope to know they can fight this disease…. it can take many months… we just can’t give up… it can take many longer and others not as long to get through the disease to a good place… never give up.. stay up…. you have found the best group of ladies who will help… they got me and Hayley through. and are still here for me. Best wishes coming your way for Frank and you, My best, Lynn & Hayley

[Wendy Gonzalez]

hello everyone, we just got back from UC Davis. They weren’t definitive, but they assume it is AIHA. They just gave me prednisone and only prednisone. I couldn’t afford having him there until Monday. Tomorrow we will be taking him in to our normal vet and I will get the extra medication that has been mentioned to me. He had a blood transfusion while at UC Davis and he seems stable now. He is not peeing blood anymore, but there aren’t sure why his stools have blood. I will upload the blood work to the Urgent Advice section. I am trying to keep my head up. Do you know of any organizations willing to help people who are in need.

[Alyssa]

Wendy, there is Care Credit which is accepted by a lot of vets now, it is basically a credit card specifically for your pet – and I think a few human things, too. If I am not mistaken it is not like insurance and does not cost you a monthly fee to have:

http://www.carecredit.com/

[Wendy Gonzalez]

I just applied and got approved. It is scary how much I got approved for. Have you had any issues using this? I believe UC Davis accepts this.

[Patrice]

Wendy,
Absolutely legitimate. I’ve used it three times for canine knee surgery. Just be sure you check asap to find out what your “no interest rate” period is. In most cases it is 6 months. As long as you pay it off in that time period, the money is interest free.

There is now a lower limit, I think $200, that you can apply to this. So use this for only larger charges and make sure you know how much the bill is going to be before you put any charges on the card to avoid this situation. Perhaps the clinic can help you by putting a number of charges together on your account so it is more than this $200.

I’ve gotten minimal mail from CareCredit since I have had this account. Sure they want you to use their product but they haven’t been terribly annoying either. It is also useful for human medical care, for instance laser eye surgery.
my best
patrice

[Jen]

Hi Wendy,
I’m so sorry to hear Frank has been diagnosed with this disease. I’m glad you found the wonderful ladies on this forum as they have gotten me through such a difficult time & continue yo answer my msny questions about this awful disease. Based on my experience and reading of others stories, most dogs get put on another immune suppressant drug such as cyclosporine. My dog was in such a state that she was on pred, cyclo, aziathioprine , and another chemo type drug ( which I have forgotten the name) but later researched that it was controversial. It has been 10 1/2 Mia & she is on low dose of pred every other day & 100mg cyclo every other day .
I know the others with much more experience & knowledge will help you.
I hope dear Frank starts feeling better soon!
Jen & Mags

[Wendy Gonzalez]

I am hopeful that he gets through this. I will be going in to the normal vet tomorrow in hopes to getting him on another medication. I was surprised the UC Davis didn’t give me other medications, especially if they had several dogs come and go with this disease. I am just fearful that my partner and I will get in so much debt that we will end up loosing everything that we have. I already have so much debt from school loans and I help pay for my fathers dialysis. I hope that their is progress in the upcoming week.

How did every one do it? I need to go back to work and my boyfriend works too? I really do not want to leave him home by himself. I can take him work with me, but I am a social worker for foster youth and I am running around to different homes and I am never at my job. I will talk to my supervisor about letting me talk to my kids via the phone for the time being…but if she doesn’t, what did you ladies do? Have you ever been put in this position?