Forum Replies Created
Hi Alyssa
Thyroxine (levothyroxine/soloxine – same stuff, different name) is part of Dr Dodds protocol, but not many other vets ever mention it. I must apologise – I should have thought of this earlier with the weight gain & mentioned doing a thyroid panel. Hypothyroidism seems to be becoming more common in dogs these days too, as it is with us poor ladies. A cause of slight anaemia with us ladies is often hypothyroidism too. At least you have solved the mystery of the weight gain now – & we all blamed the pred! Well done you for getting her sorted out. I bet her blood work will be even better after she’s been on it for a week or so – even though it’s pretty good now.
Love Sheena x
Marla e-mailed me:
Hi
I just emailed Dr Long with all the questions that you told me to ask! So now I wait!!
When asked if there was any agglutination in his blood he said no everything looked fine. I’m sure that doesn’t help you but came to Mind again when I read you email.
Dewey seems quite sleepy today? Is this considered normal or am I starting to jump the gun and start worrying again!
I will let you know ASAP once I hear from Dr Long.
Marla
My reply:
Hi Marla
Looking forward to hearing the answers – if he said everything looked fine regarding the agglutination, that sounds really good & that DOES help. You know, Dewey doesn’t have enough oxygen going round because of the anaemia, so being tired is quite usual. Worzel was certainly not able to do a lot at this stage – he just lay on the settee & on the bed – I had to help him onto the bed & into the back of the car etc as it was too high for him to jump up anymore. He would pop outside to do his business, then back on the settee again. I think it really takes it out of them. Obviously, if Dewey gets really bad & very sleepy to the point you are unable to get him to wake up properly or he seems much worse, that would be a vet visit. I do think it’s just the disease & the drugs.
I hope you have been on the site to read all the wonderful messages people have been sending you – please do read them as soon as you get a chance – everyone is on your side – there is some great advice from other people who have been in your position too.
Love Sheena & the boys xxxxx
PS I am going to put your message on the site – everyone is waiting for news from you, lovely lady.
Hello My Sweet!
My goodness, no-one expects you to understand blood tests, so don’t you worry about that – it takes time & experience to learn about this stuff. Can you please send an e-mail copy to Dr Dodds? She will want to see it.
Eltroxin is the manufacturer’s name for thyroxine (levothyroxine sodium) so, yes, it’s the same thing. There are lots of different manufacturers for this drug & they all have different names in different countries.
Yes – the thyroxine should be given every day, twice a day, well away from food etc as the others & Jean Dodds have said. Not just for a week – every day from now on. Dewey will need to take it all the time until he has made a full recovery. This applies to almost every dog with this disease – it can make a huge difference to recovery. Vally won’t mind doing you a new medication chart, I’m sure. If he has a low thyroid problem, he will need to take it forever. We can only tell if he has a problem if your vet does a full thyroid panel. Dr Dodds is a world renowned expert on thyroid & her Hemopet lab does those tests regularly. If your vet would just start listening to us & doing what we ask, it would help! I know this is frustrating for you – believe me it’s very frustrating for us too.
Thanks for the blood test – well done for getting something out of them. Not everything we asked for, but it’s something! It shows Dewey is still anaemic basically so continue the meds as you are, using Jean’s protocol, & now with the added thyroxine of course. The really good news is that he hasn’t dropped PCV very much, so is looking more “stable” on that front, so you have very good reason to be positive – remember I told you this happened to Worzel? He hung around about 16/17/18 for a while – I was really happy it didn’t drop, but obviously was disappointed it didn’t go up either. I know many others have been through this stage too. His overall white blood cell numbers are a little high – this is seen quite often with the prednisone, inflammation, or it could be a false machine reading (another reason to do a blood smear & manual check!). I want to discuss this with Patrice & get her opinion too, Marla.
We really need the reticulocyte numbers desperately (they must have done this if he told you they were being destroyed) because it tells about what is happening on the bone marrow front. We also need the blood smear results (I hope to goodness they did one) to check for clotting risks & abnormal red cells – if we even just knew if Dewey was “normochromic normocytic” or not that would be a start!!!! Please could you ask that exact question for me? His platelets are normal as Vally says (good!), but the best way to tell if Dewey needs anti-clotting meds is to look at a blood smear. We are still thinking bone marrow failure, rather than the more usual form of AIHA/IMHA, so he shouldn’t need anything – but remember your vet scared us all by mentioning agglutination? We want to know for sure – again can you ask these exact questions for me please: “Does Dewey have agglutination, spherocytes or large amounts of red cells being broken down, or any other type of abnormal red cell. Is Dewey normochromic normocytic? What are Dewey’s exact reticulocyte numbers? Did you do a Coombs Test – if so, what was the result?”
I am going to copy & paste this onto the forum – you wouldn’t believe how many people are asking about you & Dewey! If you start using the forum, you will get support from everyone – sharing experiences with all the others will make you feel much more positive, I promise.
I am going to say this again – find another vet immediately – the one you have is dragging you down with his negativity & refusal to look at what Dr Dodds sent you. You need someone who will work with you, not against you. Many people on here have had to change vets – it’s always awkward, but it would be the best thing for Dewey & for your peace of mind. I would have no hesitation in changing if it were me. It doesn’t have a to be a specialist (I know that is impossible for you anyway), just someone who is open-minded, willing to work with you, Dr Dodds & us. It would help if they had treated this disease before, of course, but because of your location, that might be difficult for you. To me, someone with a positive attitude is worth trying in these circumstances. Dr Dodds can get you through this if the vet is willing to work with her – they will learn from her too,
Sorry this has taken me so long to write, but I wanted to be thorough. Hope there are no typos!
Sending loads of love & supporting hugs
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxxx
Hi Vally
Sorry to hear you have the worry of the enzymes, although it sounds like you have a couple of ideas up your sleeve? PCV of 50%? Fantastic!! Bless little Bingo and his intruder nerves. I used to use Feliway plug ins to keep Molly calm. My lovely friend who was on cat-feeding duty thought she’d save me some energy and switched off that strange-looking air freshener…. Rumour has it, there was trouble to be had. It’s tough for them when they feel something is invading their territory.
I’m glad his socks are helping. Does he still have his blue shoes?
I wish I had some advice for you re: the enzymes, but instead will send you and Bingo lots of love. If I could send you some turkey seeds to grow, I promise I would.
Lynn – I’m just trying to catch up on the forum (as ever) and have been reading about dear little Hayley lining up her toys. That is so sweet – aren’t they funny little things? And their funny little ways make us love them all the more. I’m so sorry to hear she had a bad time in the past. People can be so very cruel. Thank goodness she found such a wonderful owner as you to take care of her.
Lots of love,
Mary and Mable x
Hi Ivansmommy.
Just a quick note to welcome you aboard and to say wow! All those animals! That’s amazing! I completely agree with what others have said about slow reductions. I also hear what you are saying with the all the different drugs and supplements. I am sure that will get easier. I hope Ivan is feeling well today :)
Mary and Mable x
Hi Ivan’s Mum & Mum to many more lovely animals!
I agree with Brigitte – sucralfate is very good stuff.
You can read more about sucralfate in our site here:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/sucralfate/
As you can see in that article, there is a possibility of interaction between pepcid (famotidine), so I would stop the pepcid. In my opinion, the sucralfate works better anyway – it did for Worzel. You must NOT give any tummy protector like sucralfate within 2 hours of the other medications or food – this is very important as it will stop absorption of the meds & food. A dose of sucralfate last thing at night at bedtime is very effective – it helped Worzel who had very bad tummy ache – poor boy was huffing & puffing & very uncomfortable until I started the sucralfate.
You cannot give sucralfate long-term though – you should stop it when the drug treatment is stopped or Ivan reaches his lowest possible dose. It contains aluminium which can build up in the body, but this really is a long-term, not a short-term, problem. Hope this helps!
As Brigitte says, a fast pred drop will trigger all sorts of allergies again too. Slowly, slowly for Ivan.
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxxx
![bingo-14-5_1200x775](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/bingo-14-5_1200x775.jpg "Vally\'s Bingo \\"Smile\\"")
![Brigitte_Cleo_Ripley_Enzo_4](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/Brigitte_Cleo_Ripley_Enzo_4.jpg "Brigitte\'s Cleo, Ripley, Enzo and Guest \\"Rockin\\"")
