Forum Replies Created
Hi Alyssa
They really DO need much more food on these drugs, so don’t reduce her too much – it’s need, not greed – she IS hungry – give more food, especially protein. I promise Sassy needs more than she would normally have. Worzel ate probably 4 -6 times (guessing) more food & he STILL ended up skeletal in the limb, head & muscle department, but had a barrel belly. Keep it fairly low fat – humans on immuno-suppressants especially pred, are told to watch their fat intake, but to UP their protein. Prednisone is catabolic, so it literally eats muscle, and the protein intake must be upped in an attempt to compensate. You will find that a lot of the “weight gain” is actually fluid retention (especially the tummy area) & this will resolve when you reduce the pred – slowly. Green beans are GOOD for her. Please don’t restrict her intake – she really does need a lot of extra calories. Remember muscle mass is severely affected by these drugs & you could be harming her long term by restricting her. The heart is a muscle & it needs feeding.
Love Sheena x
Hi again Terri
If your vet thinks it’s a tick borne disease, high dose doxycycline for 6 weeks is the only effective option & Koda may need prednisone again. Is there no way you could get a Snap 4 dx tests done? I know it’s not cheap, but I know it’s much cheaper than over here & would give you a definite answer. Everything is sooooo expensive & I sympathise.
You know we will always have a look at blood tests for you, although I remember some very strange abbreviations on your previous vets ones! I know you realise that the kidneys play a big part in telling the bone marrow to produce red cells, so any kidney problems can affect this. We have always doubted this is AIHA. I still do.
Please, please stop worrying Terri – it really doesn’t get you anywhere – let’s have a look at those blood tests if you would like us to. I hope you are much happier with this newer vet – at least they are trying to find out what is going on. It is really important to treat the cause of this problem – until you do that, you will be struggling on & on. The specialist is the person to help you on this. As Vally says, “non-regenerative” can be conquered – we know that for sure. But you need to find the cause – if you vet is making an assumption it’s a tick disease, then treating it properly would be a good start in my opinion.
Let us know what’s happening whenever you get time
Love Sheena x
Oh Amy,
I’m so sorry to hear this. I have been wondering how you & JD are doing. 29 is no way a dangerous PCV, but I appreciate you would have wanted a higher result. There are many reasons for low protein, so it’s impossible to say, without looking at other parts of the blood tests etc, what might be causing that.
What happened about the splenic nodule & investigations to examine the spleen further? If the spleen is still suspected as the main problem, there are some truly wondrous stories about I’m Yunity – a mushroom derivative – we have an article Patrice put on here:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/chinese-medicine-study-splenic-hemangiosarcoma/
and I have read other great stories of success too. Of course, Patrice has already given you some fantastic advice on how to deal with this in other ways.
I really hope the specialists will get to the bottom of what is happening to JD – I know you are very worried & want to send you my sincere support. Hoping you get some answers soon – please tell us what is happening – we will all be thinking of you & dear JD,
Love Sheena x
Hi Terri
Dohle bodies are commonly seen with acute inflammation from infectious or non-infectious causes. They are also seen when the bone marrow is producing a lot of neutrophils in response to inflammation, so they are not really developing properly into “normal neutrophils. “Toxic neutrophils” makes them sound more scary than is necessarily the case. Think of them as more “abnormal” – not quite so scary that way. In healthy cats, they are often seen. Try not to think of “toxic” as poisonous. What does your vet say? I presume they think it’s an infection from the antibiotics being given?
Read this explanation – it will make you feel happier:
http://www.pathologystudent.com/?p=623
And you can ask your vet if they also saw the “cytoplasmic vacuolization”. Infection is by far the most likely thing. Beat the infection & Koda will be feeling much better soon!
Sheena x
- This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by admin. Reason: typo
Oh, she’s just a real cutie! I love a “plastic” tummy – Worzel is like that too – not much hair at all. He loves to show everyone & ask for a rub. Please give Sassy a good tummy rub from me. Great to hear she’s playful – it means a lot to us when they are enjoying life once more after going through such a bad patch.
My neighbours are also convinced I am mental – following Mr W. round the garden, looking at what he “produces” with a torch, collecting samples of yukky things. Why worry – at least we are “different”! Good way to start a conversation …..?
It does sound like the antibiotics are helping a lot – keep it going Sassy
Love Sheena & the boys xxxxx
Oh Alyssa, she’s gorgeous! I’m so glad she seems to be feeling well in herself and that you are seeing her becoming more interested in what’s going on around her. How is her pee now? Fingers and toes crossed that the antibiotics are kicking in and doing their job.
Please don’t worry about letting off steam about the financial side of this. It is a very real stress factor and as much as we don’t want to worry about it, it is totally understandable and does cause additional anxiety.
Please give that lovely girl a cuddle from me
Mary and Mable x
Hi Sheena
Thank you for this. I did catch a bit of it but not all so it’s really useful to know. I saw the poor girl who had Lyme Disease. It’s a terrible condition and there is little awareness of tick-borne disease here. I will definitely look into it re: Mable. Totally agree about dog treatments and cats (and probably vice versa) – cats are super-sensitive to many substances, natural and synthetic, and anything used on cats must be specifically formulated for cats unless otherwise specified by the vet.
Thank you for bringing this up
Mary and Mable x
![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\\"")
