My Dog Mulligan

[Gwenn Saiman Speak]

Hi, last week my 11 year old Labradoodle Mully had weird orange diarrhea and stopped eating. Took him to regular vet and thank god she ran the right tests and he has suspected pancreatitis and IMHA. We transferred him a half hour away and they kept him for two nights. They did all the tests including full infection channel, biopsies (aspiration) on spleen and liver, ultrasounds etc and all of his organs were inflamed but his rbc was stable at 24 and he was allowed to come home on Saturday night. It’s not cancer, infection screen not back yet, he is on ALL the medications and he seems relatively ok though certainly not himself. We have him going for rbc in two days and to discuss more about his meds. I don’t have his test results yet to show you. They say he is regenerative, and I’m feeling optimistic right now as he’s eating and drinking and barking when people come to door. The tricky part is he has heart disease so we have to walk that tightrope but overall I am hoping he will survive this. I have never had to take care of anyone this sick and the med schedule is daunting. I really need someone to talk to as my friends and family really don’t understand how horrible this disease is. Please let me know how I can join this community and find people to talk to? Thanks soooo much for being here.

[Patrice]

Gwenn,

Thank you for giving such a complete history for Molly. This is important in order to determine if the treatment protocols are correct.

They’ve done a very complete, but pricey, exam to check for all the routine things.

What we know here after years of helping owners is that sometimes the vets aren’t as clear about explaining certain things, like why did this happen, why we are giving these specific treatments, what do all these meds do, what are the side effects, and home care. We’re here to help you understand better what happened and what it will be like going forward.

It’s important to understand that these cases are not all identical and that there are usually multiple triggers that reach a tipping point, where the last trigger topples into sudden severe disease. Some owners are able to help us find all those triggers while other owners will never know the causes.

What is important also is that the clinic apply a standard emergency protocol immediately. There are many vets, we have discovered, that are not up to speed with these canine blood diseases and the advanced treatments that now exist.

I like to see the CBC (with a specific anemia panel) and the chemical screen which tells us how healthy is she internally. Relatively healthy dogs have a great survival capability if the protocol is administered rapidly with the proper meds such as prednisone, dexamethasone, cyclosporine, some form of anti blood clotting med like heparin etc. All of these are strong drugs with significant side effects. Its important to understand we want this to be a strong attempt to work rapidly and successfully. Prolonged treatments weaken a dog over time.

We want to see all the basic preliminary tests plus specific tests looking for triggers that could be treated. A big one right now is to ensure they have tested for tick diseases using a SNAP4DX+ in-house test. Some tick diseases are very dangerous and can cause abnormalities in the blood.

In general there are a few well-known triggers. Dog breed is important as some breeds are predisposed to autoimmune diseases. Your mixed breed really has two breeds that have each contributed their own specific known diseases into one breeding. This increases the risks of autoimmune diseases. Other known triggers are hormones, such a female that has not been spayed. Combine this with unnecessary frequent “vaccine boosters” and add in stress as another trigger and finally add bacterial and viral infections and it’s a perfect storm. So Molly is an older female and that is another trigger as age increases the risk of tumors and other conditions like diabetes, pancreatitis, liver or kidney diseases. Her heart condition can be parallel treated with her usual protocol, just keep in mind that low blood volume and significant anemia does challenge the heart more. If this is a weakened mitral valve then the risk of decompensation is higher in congestive heart failure. You may need to alter heart med doses to accomplish the same control you had prior to her autoimmune condition. If you have a specific internist you see for this, get in touch immediately to go over the meds she is on. I have experience so I can help you as well.

Vally will be along soon to help you develop a med chart. Scheduling can be complex and she’s a specialist at this.

Are there more questions you have?
My best Patrice

[Vally]

Hi Gwen and welcome. It sounds as though Mulligan is doing better. Regenerative is the very best word you want to hear.

If you can list all medications and doses and the times you’re doing them, I’d be happy to make up a chart for you.

Patrice truly knows more about this disease that most vets.

I truly understand what you’re saying, that family and friends don’t understand what we’re going through. I also felt very alone and was really glad I found help.

Regards, Vally

[Gwenn Saiman Speak]

Hi and thank you! How do I send the medicine list to you?

[Vally]

Gwenn, I’ve sent you my email.

Vally

[Gwenn Saiman Speak]

Hi guys. Mulligan went for his follow up. His RBC is up to 29. The infectious disease panel isn’t back yet. His pancreas is only slightly inflamed. He’s staying on all meds except now something for his diarrhea which he had before . I’m feeling blue. She said his prognosis is only “ok” I don’t understand this disease. I hate it. It sounds like such an uphill battle I have to wonder why I’m pumping all these immunosuppressants into a poor dog for the rest of his life? ESP with his bad heart.

[Vally]

Gwenn the first days are the absolute worse, and the truth is, he’ll probably look worse before he looks better. The RBC is up – that’s good news. He won’t be on those drugs for the rest of his life. It’s just through this critical time. Did you check about stomach protection? That’s really important especially while he’s on both pred and dyclosporine.

[Gwenn Saiman Speak]

Thanks for your reply. It helped. I asked about the stomach meds. the doc said they used to prescribe it but they don’t anymore because the effects aren’t that great and it’s just another med to add to the pile. Doesn’t sound right to me but I’m seeing the internal med vet next week and I will talk to him.