My German Shepherd just diagnosed with AIHA, help!

[Sara]

Desiree .. I have been keeping up on your posts .. and I wanted to say that I would agree with Vally on contacting Dr. Dodds.

Kiki is definitely going to show signs of feeling better with being on the prendisone alone. I guess you could say it gives a false appearance that your dog is feeling awesome. And in one way they are the medication is making them feel better at this moment.

Over years of caring for my dad we always had a saying that medicine is just putting a band-aid on a deeper issue. I think that’s kind of the same thing with AIHA and the immunosuppresants. They stop the immune system from attacking itself for the time .. but the #’s from the blood tests are what tell the story of what’s truly happening.

Unlike Kiki my Flossie was not making any reticulocytes ..she was considered non-regenerative. So we were on a different plane in the fact that her #’s were not changing at all .. and not until week 5 did she become regenerative and the Doctor was shocked and elated. She took much longer to react to meds than most dogs from what I understand. Thank goodness we held out hope and didn’t give up. Anyhow I would agree the white cells are a concern.. Even in humans that’s the one thing you watch on blood tests …

I know how much Kiki means to you .. so just sharing some personal thoughts ..

Sara and Flossie

[Desiree]

So what I have discovered, and probably should have expected from the feedback I’ve received, is that there are good days and bad days. On the good days, it’s “almost” like Kiki is back to normal. Kiki will play with the boys, run around, and be the wonderful dog he’s been for 10 years. On the bad days, he moves infrequently, except to potty outside. His next blood work is on Tuesday next week, and we are very much hoping that the WBC will come down. If it does not, then we will most certainly have to perform additional tests, as recommended here.

Here’s to hoping that we can string together more good days than bad, and we can get control of this awful disease that is wrecking havoc on Kiki.

Wishing everyone a great weekend ahead!
-Desiree

[Vally]

HI Desiree, good luck with Tuesday and I hope and pray with everything that the white cell count has come down.

If not though, as you’ve said, you can’t delay, you MUST get to the bottom of the problem.

Double check how the test is being done. Is it a machine read test? If so insist on a smear and have someone check it. If the numbers are not better, you have to become more proactive than the vet seems to be. I feel, if it were me, I’d be looking for specialist help urgently with this. Have the SNAP-4 test done, that’s not expensive and you may just find the trigger.

Dr Dodds is a great option – I know we keep pushing her, but she will review the tests done, and I have no doubt work out what is going on.

I know nothing about blood test results, but Patrice and Sheena have both said the numbers are very unusual and you need to get to the bottom of the problem.

I know that’s now what you want to hear, and I’m sorry, but for Kiki and your sake, you need to find out what’s wrong.

Big hugs and gentle pushes.
Vally

[Desiree]

Hi Vally,

Thank you for the gentle prodding. :)

My vet “seems” very knowledgeable about AIHA. He diagnosed Kiki before any of the tests were done (simply by the red urine and loss of energy). That has increased my confidence level in him, up to this point. He is also quite convinced it was the DHLLP vaccine that triggered the onset, and that there was no need to go hunting for another cause. He also said that it is not unusual for WBC to spike very high in the first week or so after beginning treatment, but they will start to come down as long as we are faithful with the meds, and do not miss a dosage. He agreed with me (based on my reading here) that we should not decrease his dosage until his HCT is mid-30s. He basically said to wait until this test on Tuesday to do any further testing, as he considered Kiki’s numbers to be “mostly normal”. From all the info I have gained from this site, I know how damaging those WBC numbers are, and this is what is causing my anxiety.
I will definitely do the consultation with Dr. Dodds if the WBC are not decreasing Tuesday. I’m doing the best I can with a vet that really has demonstrated a lot of knowledge about the disease, and my own proactive interjections during the office visits. The vet is basically telling me to trust him, and that the numbers are consistent with a dog in recovery, albeit uneven recovery.
I will add that the special chicken and rice diet that I learned about on this site is doing wonders for him. He is loving his food once again. And the Pepcid has really helped too.

thank you all once again. It means so much to me.

[Desiree]

I just reread my post, and let me clarify. When I mentioned my vet said the numbers were “mostly normal”, he said the numbers were mostly normal for a dog just beginning to respond to treatment.

[Sara]

Desiree it sounds like you have a good vet. We ended up with a good
ER internalist that was knowledgeable as well about AIHA and had treated dozens of cases. But like you we were so so glad to have all the gals here at Second Chances help us with their invaluable information and knowledge to help back up our choices as well as provide us information that helped us ask good questions and why or why not our vet chose certain paths of treatment over others. We navigated the path between our internalist and the help of Patrice, Sheena and Vally. We fell so blessed to have them all they are truly the AIHA angels !

Sara and Flossie

[Sheena]

Good luck on the next test Desiree & Kiki

Keep those reds nice & high – hoping the metronidazole & immunosupressants will bring down the WBCs on you next test. Giving the drugs time to work can be frustrating.

So good to hear Kiki is feeling better in himself. Keeping their GI tract stable & protected makes them want to eat – a big relief. You are doing a great job.

Sheena & Worzel

[Desiree]

I’m so thankful and excited by our latest bloodwork. He is clearly getting better.
RBC: 3.35 (they had been 2.77)
HCT: 27.1 (they had been 26.6)
WBC: 62K!! (they had been 112K)
RETIC: 106 (had been 484.5)

The RETIC is now in the “high normal” range, according to our Vet. His WBC has been cut almost in half! His RBC is climbing strong. Our next blood work is in two weeks.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone on this forum who has given such good advice to help my Kiki recover! I’m so thankful and appreciative for you! Very, very exciting!!

-Desiree