Forum Replies Created
Hi Nula!
Oh, I’m so, so pleased to hear this. It sounds like she is starting to stabilise nicely – I bet she was over the moon when you visited! And now you have one more positive to add to the rest. Hoping she has another good night & you can see her again tomorrow. I am really happy for you Ruth – brilliant news.
Sheena & the boys
Hi Lynda
Welcome, although I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this with your Honey. Some of the immunosuppressant drugs used to treat IMHA do suppress the bone marrow as a side effect. I found this difficult to understand. Have you discussed this with your vet? As has been mentioned, cyclosporine (Atopica) is another drug which is often used in the treatment of IMHA, and I wonder whether your vet has mentioned this at all? Do you see an internal medicine specialist? As Vally mentioned, it may well be worth contacting Dr Dodds for her suggestions. I’m sorry for all the questions!
I’m sure this is very draining for you all, and I quite agree with your vet that it is very frustrating. There is hope though, as you can see by some of the amazing stories here.
Hang in there. Sending you and the lovely Honey very best wishes and get well soon vibes.
Mary and Mable x
Hi Lynda
Don’t worry about the drug names – Enrox (enrofloxacin) is equivalent to Baytril – internet searches will find anything! I’m sorry to see the biopsy wound is a problem -wounds are difficult with this disease – Worzel’s leg didn’t heal up for months because of the prednisolone, until we were able to slowly lower the dose.
I used to live near Oxford in the UK & moved to France 7 years ago. I had a nightmare over here with my rubbish French when Worzel was ill until I found a specialist who had trained in the at Cornell Uni, USA & could therefore speak perfect English – what a relief, I can tell you!
I like the sound of your vets – they seem very enthusiastic & caring, which is such a weight off your mind. Great to see they’ve got tummy protection covered too.
I do think it’s a good idea to contact Dr Dodds though, as the others have suggested – I did – just e-mailed her & she was happy to do an information “consultation” on the internet, no problem. I think the charge is about $100 these days & it is well worth paying as she is (in my opinion & many others on here) one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on IMHA. My specialist was more than happy for me to do that & to speak to her as well & I think your vet sounds like the kind of person who would be willing to to the same. She thought that Worzel should be on cyclosporine, rather than azathioprine, but told me to keep going for a few weeks to see if it worked. I know she could advise you & your vet as to what to do next – she also advocates the use of thyroxine, as it encourages red blood cell production. This has also been a turning point for some dogs to produce reticulocytes. BUT most importantly for me & you, she is NUTS about greyhounds AND an IMHA expert – you must look at her website – she rescues loads from the racetracks & rehomes them too. I have a soft spot for greyhounds & lurchers too.
See http://www.hemopet.org/
I know what you mean about the energy levels, Lynda. Greyhounds are just amazing sweet creatures who love to run like the wind, then be lazy & slob around on the settee! I am praying that you hear a loud cry from the vets saying “Reticulocytes, Reticulocytes!” very soon, then you can celebrate with a bottle of something bubbly. If I were I would get Honey on another drug as soon as you can – it can make all the difference.
Any questions or help you need, just ask.
All our very best wishes for lots of reticulocytes to appear soon
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie
xxxx
Hi Linda
First of all, I’m glad you found us, but I am so sorry Honey & you are going through this traumatic time.
I’m Sheena – another greyhound owner – Worzel is my lad. It sounds like the Imuran (azathioprine) has sadly not worked as well for for Honey as it did for Worzel – I’m so sorry to hear that. If Worzel hadn’t responded within a couple of weeks, we were prepared to try another drug or drug combination instead. This is what you need to talk about with your vet. Sometimes, a different drug makes all the difference. I do understand exactly how you are feeling – when they are non-regenerative, it is a real worry & you start to lose hope – please don’t do that – there are many different treatment alternatives available to you. Has your vet mentioned trying cyclosporine (trade name Atopica)? If not, I would recommend you talk this over with them as soon as possible. Honey must be feeling very tired & be totally fed up with transfusions & pills, poor girl.
You are right about azathioprine being a bone marrow suppressant, however it is often used successfully for IMHA treatment & has been proven to be effective in clinical trials & that’s probably why your vet has prescribed it. All dogs are different & some respond better to different drugs, though. Some dogs even need a combination or cocktail of drugs to become regenerative. There are many on here whose dogs have been sucessfully treated with cyclosporine, which is many vets drug of choice as it doesn’t suppress the bone marrow like azathiopine can.
This is an extremely complicated & rare disease – sometimes things are not straightforward on the treatment front. I am relieved to see Honey has anti-clotting medication (it is absolutely vital to prevent clots) , antibiotics & prednisolone too. I can’t see any type of stomach protection in your list – these drugs are very hard on their tummies & I would recommend you ask your vet about adding sucralfate & Pepcid to Honey’s treatment to prevent tummy ulceration. These drugs must be given completely separately from the others as they can inhibit their absorption & you do not want to risk that. You can read the information on our site about all these drugs in our AIHA terms glossary – here are the links (or you can use the blue bar at the top of this page)
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/sucralfate/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/famotidine/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/azathioprine/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/cyclosporine/
Can you tell us a little more?
What weight is Honey?
Can you tell us her PCV before & after transfusions & what it is now?
What were the antibiotics for & what name & dosage are they?
Does your vet know what triggered the IMHA?
Has she had any previous illnesses?
Transfusions – was it whole blood matched blood?
Has Honey had a bone marrow biopsy?
Would it be possible for you to send us her latest blood results?
How is she doing in herself at the moment?
Can you give a us a figure for reticulocytes at all?
I have a very good reason for asking you to read the following about transfusions:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/transfusion/
There is an important point in that item about not transfusing to over a PCV of around 25 which is sometimes forgotten by vets (not intentionally of course!), but it can actually stop the body from producing enough baby red blood cells.
Sorry to ask so many questions (& bombard you with information!), but it gives us a better idea of what’s happened to your girl.
Have I helped a bit? I hope so. Please feel free to ask any questions – we will do our best to answer them. Please remember – there are many treatment choices – Honey can beat this disease. If you have time to pop a photo of her on here, we would love to see her.
Hope to hear from you again soon, Sheena, Worzel & Ollie
PS we all live in different time zones, so your messages should get picked up pretty quickly by one of us.
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