Zorro is Relapsing

[Patrice]

Hope everyone has been well, this place provided such comfort and great help when we first encountered AIHA back in 2016.

 

Unfortunately the day has come… Zorro is now relapsing although I’m much prepared this time around. Nevertheless still worried because he is now almost 13 years old. 2 days ago he woke up lethargic and showed no interests in food (very unlike him), so I immediately took him to the doctor. His HCT was 17% so the doctor did a manual and PCV came back 32%. Today he seemed much weaker so I took him to the emergency room and test came back 17.5%, he’s getting blood transfusions. Truthfully I’m blaming myself that I should’ve taken him to the emergency room sooner but was fooled by the number 32%. Emergency room doctor said that could’ve been because he was dehydrated but we’ll never know.

 

He’s since been put on the same drugs:

-Dexamethasone injection 1.2 cc twice a day

– Atopica 50mg twice a day

– Sucralfate

– Plavix ( to prevent blood clots)

And this time I requested thyroxine but was given levothyroxine, is that going to be a problem since it’s not Thyro-Tabs?

 

Hopefully he can beat this again! I’m aware that 2nd time is more aggressive and harder to treat. I wonder if there is any new protocol or recommendation?

 

Stacey & Zorro

[Stacey Lee]

For anyone who’s reading this… I had trouble posting on the website so Patrice posted on my behalf as you can see above. This forum helped me so much 3 years ago when Zorro was diagnosed AIHA for the first time. He was a surviver, however he is relapsing for the first time. Patrice and I have been communicating via email. I want to make sure our conversations are shared in the forum so maybe someday someone can benefit from our experience, as it helped me 3 years ago.

Long story short, the doctor performed X-rays, ultrasound and found a mass in his liver and spleen. Here is what Patrice wrote: ‘It is most likely part of the reason his hematocrit is dropping, internal bleeding. Growths can rupture, bleed a little and then heal. Then start all over again. There are several criteria they are going to evaluate. The type of tumors, the size of them and how intertwined they are inside. If they are small, encapsulated, and slow growing there is a chance they could remove the bulk of the tumors. I am not saying this would be a cure, but it might buy some good time, along with chemotherapy. Dogs do really well on chem for some cancers and I would urge you to consider a consult with their oncologist if they suggest it. If they feel it is a hemangiosarcoma, this is an extremely invasive, sloppy, fast growing cancer that can spread quickly to many areas of the body. The simple act of taking a syringe to get a sample can seed it into the blood. Depending on Zorro’s symptoms, he may have some time or they may say he has less time.’

I just came back from the hospital. Doctor said that there was no internal bleeding and didn’t think it was hemangiosarcoma. However, mostly likely some type of cancer in the liver. The result of fine needle aspirate will come back tomorrow but might be inconclusive. So we may have to perform an autopsy.

Zorro’s PCV is now 31 after two transfusions last night. What’s really worrying us right now is possible clots in the lungs because he has a hard time breathing (collapsing lungs shown in X-rays?) This is life threatening unfortunately. He is very out of it. We are just hoping his can get through this first and we’ll deal with the rest in the future.

He’s also not on thyro tabs or Denamarin at this moment because the doctor wants food in his system first. He hasn’t eaten for 2 days. We are going back later with food and hopefully he’ll start eating.

[Vally]

Thank you for posting Stacey. We’re all praying and hoping for Zorro.

xxx