For Hope and Steve – Page 2 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

Keymaster

Hi again Hope

You may well find some opposition from others – don’t worry – we have seen /heard it all before! Try not to thump husband just yet – we need them more than we think we do! Seriously, mine said I can’t go & tell the vets what to do – but I did & I’m glad I did because it was part of saving my dog’s life by saying I was certain he was anaemic & what a surprise – he was! Never forget you know Steve better than ANYONE, (maybe better than you husband does as we girls are more empathetic?!!!) and when you say you know there’s something not right – you are right. Never doubt your instincts. I hope your vet & husband will understand that we only participate in this site to help other people’s dogs & cats get better, not for any other reason. We have all been on the roller coaster ride & it’s no fun at all.

You asked about the prednisone dosage for IMHA – normal protocol is 2mg per kilo or 1mg per pound, divided into 2 doses 12 hours apart – have a look at our AIHA terms for information:

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/prednisone/

Steve is on the same dose my Worzel was on (greyhound of 23kg).

I agree that the latest PCV fluctuation is usual. You will often see a small difference. Steve hasn’t needed a transfusion (good!), so that is not a factor with the blood tests. I hope your vet is right about MMF working that quickly – I do not want to get into an argument about that. Don’t forget not every dog gets side effects from drugs, just like some people can tolerate certain drugs better than others – you just need to watch out for any problems & let your vet know. All these drugs have side effects, for example azathioprine can cause pancreatitis in some dogs, but not others. My dog did well on it, but others have had to change to a different drug because it made their dogs ill. It’s just like us telling you about the possibility of abnormal clotting (so pleased you knew that already) – it’s important & you need to know these things.

The last item on your list – did you mean lovenox (enoxaparin), which is a type of heparin (anti-clotting)? Glad to see tummy meds are there too – great stuff. Steve is such a lucky lad having a great Mum (& Dad too) to look after him so well – you have been brilliant and I know you will do everything you can to get him better. Please let us know how he gets on – sending you all our best wishes for a speedy recovery,

Sheena, Worzel & Ollie

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Hope

Guest

Hey all!

I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am that I have found all of you… you make me feel a little bit better about all of this, or at the very least more able to cope and understand. I believe y’all (from New Orleans, sorry!) are an incredible source of knowledge and experience so thank you.

Sheena – I did mean Lovenox.. I was typing on my phone quickly before. Sorry! So he’s on both low dose aspirin and Lovenox for anti-clotting, which I am very happy about.

Kind of funny — after I last posted, the internist actually called me. He mentioned that my husband had said I wanted copies of the lab results and the medications, and he was inquiring why. I told him I am trying to keep up with everything, but I really don’t think he wants to send them to me. He hasn’t as of 8:35 tonight anyway. I’m not sure what that is about. Between his talking to husband and myself, he updated with the following:

– he said the drop from 24% –> 20% was what he felt to be a “suitable fluctuation” and that he wasn’t concerned about it at this time. Though, as of 5:00 pm, he was up to 24% again. Is this normal?!?! Super happy but a little concerned too about the jumping back and forth, even on the Mycophenolate

– no Hb in urine… Steve currently has 2 bladder stones on top of all of this (!! – common in Dalmatians and he’s even on special prescription food), though everyone agrees that while these are serious its the least of our problems now. The internist questioned if maybe this had something to do with all the blood in the urine on Tuesday night.

– no bilirubin in urine

– the autoimmune panel came back negative – I have no clue what this means. If someone else might have some knowledge, I would most appreciate. He told husband this and he didn’t ask what that meant… he was just writing as quickly as he could.

– Took Steve off of Clavamox.. he said that at this time he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. It might hurt more than help? They sent away urine samples and did cultures to make sure he doesn’t have an infection before they get higher up the immunosuppresant road but said even if he does have some kind of infection, he wouldn’t put him back on that.

– At my husbands insistence he is doing a zinc test… he spoke with me yesterday a bit about things that could have possibly caused this and I mentioned that we just started using Desitin baby cream on our English bulldog’s folds on his face because they are prone to infection. Steve and this dog are always licking each others faces, particularly after we apply the cream. I had no idea it had zinc in it and I’m tearing myself up about that. Obviously I threw that bottle down the street as soon as I got home but still. The internist said he was a little skeptical when we first told him that but he spoke with a toxicology expert who said it was possible if he ingested a lot. So that blood sample is being state to my state’s vet school who can test it.

– we touched on the side effects of the Mycophenolate and he actually brought up that “if you read boards and forums” they sometimes talk about Cyclosporine as a second level drug after prednisone. He said that he doesn’t like to use it because in cases he’s seen down here, it can cause a fungal infection which is difficult and expensive to treat. He said he was watching Steve and that the mycophenolate was good right now. Though again, he said it would work within 24 hours and his PCV is still bouncing around.

They are monitoring him some more tonight and doing PCV’s at 11:00 pm, 5:00 am, 11:00 am and 5:00 pm everyday. He said that if he is still doing well tomorrow he may send him home… I’m REALLY uncomfortable with that. I think he needs to be in the hospital under supervision for at least a few days. He came home too early last time and we had to rush him right back.

I also don’t know what the hesitance is in providing the lab results that we requested. Husband said he would tell him again tomorrow if we don’t get them tonight. I’m not fond of him not wanting to give them to me though.

I’ve been reading about Dr. Dodd and how wonderful she is, particularly with this disease — do y’all think it would be good to contact her? I’m willing to pay whatever, though I suppose it’s really no good until I get my hands on those lab results.

Any thoughts or insight are greatly appreciated!

Again, thank you so much everyone!

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