Charlie's IMHA

[Vally]

Ramona, don’t project yet (Vally laughs at self – never could not do it myself). Charlie hasn’t needed a transfusion yet so fingers crossed, the meds will start to do their stuff. It’s worth ringing around if a transfusion is required, you may find different prices, or even ring Dr Jean’s offices at Hemopet. She’s in Garden Grove, California – no idea how far away that is, but they would certainly have contacts. She operates a not for profit canine blood bank. But as I said, we’re not going there now, Charlie won’t need it !!! You hear me Charlie !!!

If he’s excited about his food that’s great. He’s feeling better and prednisone turns them into food monsters. You’ll be worried he’s eating too much soon. I know his falling over upsets you, Bingo did he same. He really really looked so very bad, I thought it was his “time”. I didn’t want to just drag him through with no quality of life, but his specialist said to wait, let the drugs do their thing and he was right. I honestly thought he was stringing me along to spend more money there, but he WAS right, the meds did start to work, I love this guy and he gets Christmas presents forever.

Dr Dodds will get back to you very quickly. She is a practising Jew, so the only time there is a delay is over the Sabbath. She doesn’t use a lot of words, so don’t be put off if she simply sends you her protocol and answers with few words. She is a marvel at her stuff and very thorough. Once you’ve heard from her, don’t hesitate to email back if you have questions, she’ll answer quickly again. I can’t say enough good about her. Sorry I should have warned you, it’s hard to attach stuff to the online consult form. I usually suggest putting everything together into one attachment and sending it, but as I said, if you have more to send, wait for her email and then reply to that.

I’m never brave enough to say “recovery”. I say “remission”. He’s at least 12 now, possibly older. He also had Auto Immune Polyarthritis (rheumatism) . That has flared up whenever we’ve tried to completely take him off the drugs, even trying every second day (which usually works for most dogs who need to stay on meds), so he has stayed on 1.25mg of prednisone daily (1/4 of 5mg tablet). He’s a lazy boy, always was and has a “wonky” (medical term) back left leg with pins in it (which never really did anything) and some spinal issues now, so he has a funny walk now – his front legs go at twice the pace of his back. But he likes his food, endurs my many helpful supplements, loves his treats, naps between sleeps and enjoys his lazy life.

Let me know once Dr Jean has been in touch.

Vally & Bingo
xxx

[AmyE]

Hi Ramona!
I am sorry I am late to the party here. I am very sorry to hear about your Charlie. I know Vally has given you all the info will need to proceed with Charlie’s care. This is such a scary and stressful disease to deal with. My sweet puppy Coal went into IMHA crisis at 4 months of age from what we all believe is a vaccination injury. She barley made it through but she is still here with us and celebrated her first birthday in Oct. I want to urge you to push your vets when it comes to Charlie’s care. Don’t let them bully you into thinking you are doing it wrong. Use the resources on this site and print them out and bring them with you. Show them how to reduce the steroid properly and don’t take no for an answer. No one will ever be a better advocate for your dog than you are. Unfortunately Vets are not well trained to deal with diseases such as this one and often make mistakes that end up being a death sentence for our dogs. I know how stressful all of this can be. I was never so happy to breath a sigh of relief when Coal finally came off those damn steroids! Please keep coming back here. Ask all the question you want. Don’t ever feel you are bothering us. We want to help you get your pup healthy and make it as stress free as possible. A few other things: 1, increase your dogs intake of meat. DO NOT use that crap food from the vet. Cook up some hamburger or purchase some freeze dried or frozen raw to add to his diet. This will slow the muscle waste that Charlie with experience from he high does of steroids. 2, Please do not allow your vet to do a reduction with out checking in here first. We will not steer you wrong. We have only Charlie’s best interest at heart and if we think its too much too soon we will let you know.3, Find something, ANYTHING, that will help you relax. You need to be well cared for to be a good care giver. If you spread yourself too thin that won’t be helpful to you or Charlie. and finally 4, trust your instinct. You know your dog better than anyone. The doctors don’t always know whats best. That goes for humans and animals. Stand up for yourself and Charlie and you will be ok!
Please know you are in our prayers and we are here if you need anything.
Warmly,
Amy and the girls! ( Vidia, Coal & Leia)

[Erin]

Hi Ramona! I’m very new to the site, but the people here are not only knowledgeable about this obscure disease, but so caring and supportive! My dog Murphy has just started the weaning process from his first bout with IMHA. I can truly say I’ve had all of the same thoughts you’ve had, it’s terrifying and awful!

Vally will not let you down, wonderful advice! A few tips I’ve learned with my Murph (8 year old Dachshund): nausea/vomiting was a big problem for us, he went 6 days without eating! Cerenia (anti nausea) was helpful, but bland foods helped a lot (plain chicken and scrambled eggs were a huge hit). He’s also had trouble with his back legs, prednisolone is no joke! Hoping we see some improvement off the pred!

My best advice is to listen to the friends on here. My vet has been so open to consults and very conservative in our weaning, which I’m so thankful for. We didn’t start weaning until Murphy’s PCV went to 44.

Best of luck to you and Charlie! This is a disease you guys can beat together. I never thought I would bring Murphy home from the hospital, let alone see his happy, fun personality back, but he’s playing with his brother and chasing chipmunks out of his yard!

[Ramona]

Vally, Amy, and Erin, I am so appreciative of your encouragement. I spent a lot of time crying over the last week. Your feedback has given me some hope. I will let you know when Dr. Dodd gets back to me, and what happens at our next vet appt on Wednesday. Virtual hugs from me and licks from Charlie.

[Ramona]

Good evening or good morning depending on where you are in the world! I am so glad it’s finally Wednesday because we get to see our vet today.

Also Dr. Dodd sent her report late last night. I’m still absorbing it and making notes so I can ask our vet questions at our appointment in about 9 hours. She recommended thyroxine and wished Charlie’s thyroid had been tested before he went on all the meds. Unfortunately, she believes Charlie’s liver has been damaged by all the meds and recommends tapering off the meds NOW so long as his PVC does not go below 20. She also recommended milk thistle and SamE to help cleanse liver. Because of the liver damage she said he is most likely experiencing “anemia of chronic disease” and that is probably why his numbers have not gone up.

I’m kind of nervous about tapering the meds, but I don’t want him to end up with liver failure. He has been very quiet and losing excitement about his food again.

Charlie doesn’t like the milk thistle even if I hide it in a hot dog. I haven’t tried it myself. I wonder if it tastes bad. Anyone know? He is also not liking the folate tablets I put in his food. I think I may try a pill shooter.

Dr. Dodd also recommended liver cleansing diet of white fish, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. I found a commercial company about an hour away that makes this type of recipe. I put an order in but it won’t arrive til the end of the week. So looks like I will attempt to make a small batch tomorrow.

Appreciate your thoughts and prayers as Charlie gets blood tested again at his appointment, and I show our vet Dr. Dodd’s recommendations. I will post again after our appointment.

[Ramona]

Good evening or good morning depending on where you are in the world! I am so glad it’s finally Wednesday because we get to see our vet today.

Also Dr. Dodd sent her report late last night. I’m still absorbing it and making notes so I can ask our vet questions at our appointment in about 9 hours. She recommended thyroxine and wished Charlie’s thyroid had been tested before he went on all the meds. Unfortunately, she believes Charlie’s liver has been damaged by all the meds and recommends tapering off the meds NOW so long as his PVC does not go below 20. She also recommended milk thistle and SamE to help cleanse liver. Because of the liver damage she said he is most likely experiencing anemia of chronic disease and that is probably why his numbers have not gone up.

I’m kind of nervous about tapering the meds, but I don’t want him to end up with liver failure. He has been very quiet and losing excitement about his food again.

Charlie doesn’t like the milk thistle even if I hide it in a hot dog. I haven’t tried it myself. I wonder if it tastes bad. Anyone know? He is also not liking the folate tablets I put in his food. I think I may try a pill shooter.

Dr. Dodd also recommended liver cleansing diet of white fish, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. I found a commercial company about an hour away that makes this type of recipe. I put an order in but it won’t arrive til the end of the week. So looks like I will attempt to make a small batch tomorrow.

Appreciate your thoughts and prayers as Charlie gets blood tested again at his appointment, and I show our vet Dr. Dodd’s recommendations. I will post again after our appointment.

[Vally]

Hi Ramona. How did Charlie go at the vets? Hoping for good news on the numbers.

If Dr Dodds has said to start lowering, scary though it is, I really do trust her.

SAMe is amazing stuff and works quickly to help the liver to recover. I get Denosyl here. You have Denamarin there – which is SAMe together with milk thistle and is dose precise for weight, so no guess work on the milk thistle. You can get it through Amazon, or I think Costco – better prices than at the vets.

The liver cleansing diet, we’ve all done. It’s actually not hard to do and I would make up a batch of it at a time. Of course if you’re time pressed, it’s hard.

By the way, I’m happy to make up a drug chart for you. If you let me know times and doses of drugs, I’ll get it to you.

Would love to see a photo of Charlie too. You can use the Upload your photo on the right (or down the bottom if you’re using a pad). It takes a day or so to show.

Vally & Bingo
xxx

[Ramona]

Hi Vally– sorry for the delay. It’s been hectic trying to get more meds for Charlie, cook for him, and maneuver through some other bad news from family and friends.

Anyway, trying to put a positive spin on it, Charlie’s PVC with the specialist was 24% which is the best he’s had in a several weeks. I shared Dr. Dodd’s suggestions of adding thyroid pills and liver cleansing diet. Our vet was somewhat hesitant about the thyroid pills because Charlie did not have thyroid issues pre diagnosis and thought it might speed up his metabolism and he’s already lost so much weight. However, she said she would do it if that’s what I really wanted, but she wanted to run a thyroid test first. When she called me later after our appointment with the results, lo and behold he had low thyroid. She called in prescription to our local vet, but getting meds from my local vet has been a whole other obstacle course of its own. Luckily I have Soloxine already because my other Beagle takes. I’m using those until our mail order ones arrive next week.

In addition to the above, our specialist is also reducing the Prednisolone and Leflumonide. And because the lab work showed high billirubin, today she called and added another anti-biotic, Batryl. This too was not available at our local vet. So I had to run across town to another place and pay too much for it. This too causes tummy issues and loss of appetite. Ugh! But at least it’s chewable and beef flavored and apparently not bad tasting given that Charlie ate it with no problem. I wish all his meds were that way.

Specialist also ok with the liver cleansing diet. A friend of mine has been using this diet for one of her dogs that has liver issues, and she gets it from a commercial company not too far from our area. So I called her up, got the info, and went online to place an order. It arrived today via FedEx on dry ice. We haven’t tried it yet because I tried to make a batch on my own yesterday after our vet visit. I was so tired after making it that I asked my husband to go get take out for our dinner. He said you did all that for Charlie? I thought you were making us dinner! Men . . .

I had to use frozen cod because my market didn’t have any fresh. I guess it wasn’t too bad as Charlie ate it right up. So did brother Ramsay who seems to be gaining every pound that Charlie is losing with all the human grade food and snacks I have to use to get Charlie to eat.

Our vet/specialist also said blue algae may be something we want to try for the liver cleansing. I haven’t looked into it yet. She also did another ultrasound and didn’t find anything remarkable and gave Charlie his Vitamin B shot for us. So we will check PVC at local vet next week and discuss with specialist via phone to see if we do any medication adjustments. In 2 weeks, we will see specialist again.

I felt a little bit better after we got back from the specialist, mentally at least. But not physically–I strained my back getting Charlie out of the car. He’s so weak he can no longer jump in or out of the car. For a minute, I thought I was going to get stuck bent over in the parking lot. But after a few minutes of cursing and praying, I managed to stand up. After the appointment, the office staff came out to the car with me and put Charlie in my car. So my next shopping trip is to buy a step ladder of some sort for Charlie to get in/out of the car.

In the meantime, I am desperately hoping/praying Charlie will do ok without the high doses of meds and gain some weight back. Despite the increased PVC #, he is wasting away. It also seems like he is most miserable in the morning, lots of tremors/panting and wanting to be left alone. How I wish I could use my sick time at work to stay home with him until he got better.

Thank you so much for offering to make a med chart, so sweet of you. I made one a couple weeks back because I was afraid I might make a mistake with so many meds, or in the event that something happened to me, my husband would need instructions. So, the chart is on the fridge and I carry one with me to work.

I will try to upload Charlie’s picture. He’s looking more and more emaciated, but still my handsome boy.

[Vally]

Ramona, don’t project yet (Vally laughs at self – never could not do it myself). Charlie hasn’t needed a transfusion yet so fingers crossed, the meds will start to do their stuff. It’s worth ringing around if a transfusion is required, you may find different prices, or even ring Dr Jean’s offices at Hemopet. She’s in Garden Grove, California – no idea how far away that is, but they would certainly have contacts. She operates a not for profit canine blood bank. But as I said, we’re not going there now, Charlie won’t need it !!! You hear me Charlie !!!

If he’s excited about his food that’s great. He’s feeling better and prednisone turns them into food monsters. You’ll be worried he’s eating too much soon. I know his falling over upsets you, Bingo did he same. He really really looked so very bad, I thought it was his “time”. I didn’t want to just drag him through with no quality of life, but his specialist said to wait, let the drugs do their thing and he was right. I honestly thought he was stringing me along to spend more money there, but he WAS right, the meds did start to work, I love this guy and he gets Christmas presents forever.

Dr Dodds will get back to you very quickly. She is a practising Jew, so the only time there is a delay is over the Sabbath. She doesn’t use a lot of words, so don’t be put off if she simply sends you her protocol and answers with few words. She is a marvel at her stuff and very thorough. Once you’ve heard from her, don’t hesitate to email back if you have questions, she’ll answer quickly again. I can’t say enough good about her. Sorry I should have warned you, it’s hard to attach stuff to the online consult form. I usually suggest putting everything together into one attachment and sending it, but as I said, if you have more to send, wait for her email and then reply to that.

I’m never brave enough to say “recovery”. I say “remission”. He’s at least 12 now, possibly older. He also had Auto Immune Polyarthritis (rheumatism) . That has flared up whenever we’ve tried to completely take him off the drugs, even trying every second day (which usually works for most dogs who need to stay on meds), so he has stayed on 1.25mg of prednisone daily (1/4 of 5mg tablet). He’s a lazy boy, always was and has a “wonky” (medical term) back left leg with pins in it (which never really did anything) and some spinal issues now, so he has a funny walk now – his front legs go at twice the pace of his back. But he likes his food, endurs my many helpful supplements, loves his treats, naps between sleeps and enjoys his lazy life.

Let me know once Dr Jean has been in touch.

Vally & Bingo
xxx

[AmyE]

Hi Ramona!
I am sorry I am late to the party here. I am very sorry to hear about your Charlie. I know Vally has given you all the info will need to proceed with Charlie’s care. This is such a scary and stressful disease to deal with. My sweet puppy Coal went into IMHA crisis at 4 months of age from what we all believe is a vaccination injury. She barley made it through but she is still here with us and celebrated her first birthday in Oct. I want to urge you to push your vets when it comes to Charlie’s care. Don’t let them bully you into thinking you are doing it wrong. Use the resources on this site and print them out and bring them with you. Show them how to reduce the steroid properly and don’t take no for an answer. No one will ever be a better advocate for your dog than you are. Unfortunately Vets are not well trained to deal with diseases such as this one and often make mistakes that end up being a death sentence for our dogs. I know how stressful all of this can be. I was never so happy to breath a sigh of relief when Coal finally came off those damn steroids! Please keep coming back here. Ask all the question you want. Don’t ever feel you are bothering us. We want to help you get your pup healthy and make it as stress free as possible. A few other things: 1, increase your dogs intake of meat. DO NOT use that crap food from the vet. Cook up some hamburger or purchase some freeze dried or frozen raw to add to his diet. This will slow the muscle waste that Charlie with experience from he high does of steroids. 2, Please do not allow your vet to do a reduction with out checking in here first. We will not steer you wrong. We have only Charlie’s best interest at heart and if we think its too much too soon we will let you know.3, Find something, ANYTHING, that will help you relax. You need to be well cared for to be a good care giver. If you spread yourself too thin that won’t be helpful to you or Charlie. and finally 4, trust your instinct. You know your dog better than anyone. The doctors don’t always know whats best. That goes for humans and animals. Stand up for yourself and Charlie and you will be ok!
Please know you are in our prayers and we are here if you need anything.
Warmly,
Amy and the girls! ( Vidia, Coal & Leia)

[Erin]

Hi Ramona! I’m very new to the site, but the people here are not only knowledgeable about this obscure disease, but so caring and supportive! My dog Murphy has just started the weaning process from his first bout with IMHA. I can truly say I’ve had all of the same thoughts you’ve had, it’s terrifying and awful!

Vally will not let you down, wonderful advice! A few tips I’ve learned with my Murph (8 year old Dachshund): nausea/vomiting was a big problem for us, he went 6 days without eating! Cerenia (anti nausea) was helpful, but bland foods helped a lot (plain chicken and scrambled eggs were a huge hit). He’s also had trouble with his back legs, prednisolone is no joke! Hoping we see some improvement off the pred!

My best advice is to listen to the friends on here. My vet has been so open to consults and very conservative in our weaning, which I’m so thankful for. We didn’t start weaning until Murphy’s PCV went to 44.

Best of luck to you and Charlie! This is a disease you guys can beat together. I never thought I would bring Murphy home from the hospital, let alone see his happy, fun personality back, but he’s playing with his brother and chasing chipmunks out of his yard!

[Ramona]

Vally, Amy, and Erin, I am so appreciative of your encouragement. I spent a lot of time crying over the last week. Your feedback has given me some hope. I will let you know when Dr. Dodd gets back to me, and what happens at our next vet appt on Wednesday. Virtual hugs from me and licks from Charlie.

[Ramona]

Good evening or good morning depending on where you are in the world! I am so glad it’s finally Wednesday because we get to see our vet today.

Also Dr. Dodd sent her report late last night. I’m still absorbing it and making notes so I can ask our vet questions at our appointment in about 9 hours. She recommended thyroxine and wished Charlie’s thyroid had been tested before he went on all the meds. Unfortunately, she believes Charlie’s liver has been damaged by all the meds and recommends tapering off the meds NOW so long as his PVC does not go below 20. She also recommended milk thistle and SamE to help cleanse liver. Because of the liver damage she said he is most likely experiencing “anemia of chronic disease” and that is probably why his numbers have not gone up.

I’m kind of nervous about tapering the meds, but I don’t want him to end up with liver failure. He has been very quiet and losing excitement about his food again.

Charlie doesn’t like the milk thistle even if I hide it in a hot dog. I haven’t tried it myself. I wonder if it tastes bad. Anyone know? He is also not liking the folate tablets I put in his food. I think I may try a pill shooter.

Dr. Dodd also recommended liver cleansing diet of white fish, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. I found a commercial company about an hour away that makes this type of recipe. I put an order in but it won’t arrive til the end of the week. So looks like I will attempt to make a small batch tomorrow.

Appreciate your thoughts and prayers as Charlie gets blood tested again at his appointment, and I show our vet Dr. Dodd’s recommendations. I will post again after our appointment.

[Ramona]

Good evening or good morning depending on where you are in the world! I am so glad it’s finally Wednesday because we get to see our vet today.

Also Dr. Dodd sent her report late last night. I’m still absorbing it and making notes so I can ask our vet questions at our appointment in about 9 hours. She recommended thyroxine and wished Charlie’s thyroid had been tested before he went on all the meds. Unfortunately, she believes Charlie’s liver has been damaged by all the meds and recommends tapering off the meds NOW so long as his PVC does not go below 20. She also recommended milk thistle and SamE to help cleanse liver. Because of the liver damage she said he is most likely experiencing anemia of chronic disease and that is probably why his numbers have not gone up.

I’m kind of nervous about tapering the meds, but I don’t want him to end up with liver failure. He has been very quiet and losing excitement about his food again.

Charlie doesn’t like the milk thistle even if I hide it in a hot dog. I haven’t tried it myself. I wonder if it tastes bad. Anyone know? He is also not liking the folate tablets I put in his food. I think I may try a pill shooter.

Dr. Dodd also recommended liver cleansing diet of white fish, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. I found a commercial company about an hour away that makes this type of recipe. I put an order in but it won’t arrive til the end of the week. So looks like I will attempt to make a small batch tomorrow.

Appreciate your thoughts and prayers as Charlie gets blood tested again at his appointment, and I show our vet Dr. Dodd’s recommendations. I will post again after our appointment.

[Vally]

Hi Ramona. How did Charlie go at the vets? Hoping for good news on the numbers.

If Dr Dodds has said to start lowering, scary though it is, I really do trust her.

SAMe is amazing stuff and works quickly to help the liver to recover. I get Denosyl here. You have Denamarin there – which is SAMe together with milk thistle and is dose precise for weight, so no guess work on the milk thistle. You can get it through Amazon, or I think Costco – better prices than at the vets.

The liver cleansing diet, we’ve all done. It’s actually not hard to do and I would make up a batch of it at a time. Of course if you’re time pressed, it’s hard.

By the way, I’m happy to make up a drug chart for you. If you let me know times and doses of drugs, I’ll get it to you.

Would love to see a photo of Charlie too. You can use the Upload your photo on the right (or down the bottom if you’re using a pad). It takes a day or so to show.

Vally & Bingo
xxx

[Ramona]

Hi Vally– sorry for the delay. It’s been hectic trying to get more meds for Charlie, cook for him, and maneuver through some other bad news from family and friends.

Anyway, trying to put a positive spin on it, Charlie’s PVC with the specialist was 24% which is the best he’s had in a several weeks. I shared Dr. Dodd’s suggestions of adding thyroid pills and liver cleansing diet. Our vet was somewhat hesitant about the thyroid pills because Charlie did not have thyroid issues pre diagnosis and thought it might speed up his metabolism and he’s already lost so much weight. However, she said she would do it if that’s what I really wanted, but she wanted to run a thyroid test first. When she called me later after our appointment with the results, lo and behold he had low thyroid. She called in prescription to our local vet, but getting meds from my local vet has been a whole other obstacle course of its own. Luckily I have Soloxine already because my other Beagle takes. I’m using those until our mail order ones arrive next week.

In addition to the above, our specialist is also reducing the Prednisolone and Leflumonide. And because the lab work showed high billirubin, today she called and added another anti-biotic, Batryl. This too was not available at our local vet. So I had to run across town to another place and pay too much for it. This too causes tummy issues and loss of appetite. Ugh! But at least it’s chewable and beef flavored and apparently not bad tasting given that Charlie ate it with no problem. I wish all his meds were that way.

Specialist also ok with the liver cleansing diet. A friend of mine has been using this diet for one of her dogs that has liver issues, and she gets it from a commercial company not too far from our area. So I called her up, got the info, and went online to place an order. It arrived today via FedEx on dry ice. We haven’t tried it yet because I tried to make a batch on my own yesterday after our vet visit. I was so tired after making it that I asked my husband to go get take out for our dinner. He said you did all that for Charlie? I thought you were making us dinner! Men . . .

I had to use frozen cod because my market didn’t have any fresh. I guess it wasn’t too bad as Charlie ate it right up. So did brother Ramsay who seems to be gaining every pound that Charlie is losing with all the human grade food and snacks I have to use to get Charlie to eat.

Our vet/specialist also said blue algae may be something we want to try for the liver cleansing. I haven’t looked into it yet. She also did another ultrasound and didn’t find anything remarkable and gave Charlie his Vitamin B shot for us. So we will check PVC at local vet next week and discuss with specialist via phone to see if we do any medication adjustments. In 2 weeks, we will see specialist again.

I felt a little bit better after we got back from the specialist, mentally at least. But not physically–I strained my back getting Charlie out of the car. He’s so weak he can no longer jump in or out of the car. For a minute, I thought I was going to get stuck bent over in the parking lot. But after a few minutes of cursing and praying, I managed to stand up. After the appointment, the office staff came out to the car with me and put Charlie in my car. So my next shopping trip is to buy a step ladder of some sort for Charlie to get in/out of the car.

In the meantime, I am desperately hoping/praying Charlie will do ok without the high doses of meds and gain some weight back. Despite the increased PVC #, he is wasting away. It also seems like he is most miserable in the morning, lots of tremors/panting and wanting to be left alone. How I wish I could use my sick time at work to stay home with him until he got better.

Thank you so much for offering to make a med chart, so sweet of you. I made one a couple weeks back because I was afraid I might make a mistake with so many meds, or in the event that something happened to me, my husband would need instructions. So, the chart is on the fridge and I carry one with me to work.

I will try to upload Charlie’s picture. He’s looking more and more emaciated, but still my handsome boy.