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Hello Amy – so sorry to hear about JD. You must be so worried. Sounds like you are on track though, and doing the right things to try to battle this awful disease – and you are in good company here, as the others have noted.
Keep us all informed – it does seem like your vets are doing a good job, and so are you. We are all here to support you. Let’s hope you can tempt him to eat something soon, and that he starts to pick up. It is SOOOO distressing to see our beloved dogs so sick, and my heart goes out to you.
Thinking of you
Lynda B
Hi Adam
I can only say – whooopeeeee! My goodness, that’s a normal level – wow -what an improvement. You must be over the moon.
I didn’t have this exact problem with Worzel, so I can only suggest chlorhexadine (not near eyes, nose or mouth) twice a day as an interim treatment & stop it spreading if your vet hasn’t given you anything for the staph infection. It does need keeping an eye on & we have had a few people on here whose dogs have had this exact problem. I’m sure Patrice or one of the others who have experienced it will come up with a better idea. We all have to be careful about which antibiotics our dogs can have with this disease – sulfa, cephalosporins & penicillin based drugs should be avoided. The first two are the worst culprits.
I found these for you:
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/staphylococcal-dermatitis-hypersensitivity-in-dogs/941
The following mentions Povidone Iodine – has anyone else on here tried his please? I would check with your vet about this personally. What does everyone else think?
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/04/treating-your-pets-skin-infection.aspx
Keep us posted – what a superhero Tiger is – and you are too Adam.
Love Sheena x
Hi Amy
So glad you’re here with us – I’m sure you are still very worried & we are all here to support you through this as much as we possibly can. As Vally said, the drop in PCV after transfusions is really common & you must not worry – JD is not in danger at this level. He’ll just be very, very tired & lethargic for now.
I am very impressed with what your vets have done so far & I think you are in excellent hands. The medications look like they have covered everything, but like everyone else has said, sucralfate would be the best thing you can add to JDs drug schedule. As mentioned, it must be given well away from the other drugs – at least 2 hours before/after would be ideal. It will help massively with JD’s tummy troubles. Juggling the pill schedule is no easy feat either!
My Worzel went off his food completely at the beginning too (I think most of us had that problem), but as soon as the prednisone kicked into action, he was ravenous! Brigitte has given you great some ideas on tempting food in the meantime. Once JD’s tummy has settled down with the sucralfate & prolisec, that should make a difference to appetite too.
Getting the bloody diarrhoea to stop will help JD feel better & stopping blood loss is important – the sucralfate will do wonders for that, I’m sure.
Did your vets tell you what they thought was the cause of the AIHA/IMHA was? It’s not always possible to find out, but sometimes we do know exactly what it is, for example a tick-borne disease or infection, or even something toxic they may have eaten, like onion poisoning or metal poisoning – swallowing a coin for example. Has JD been ill before this happened? Or vaccinated lately?
Wonderful news to see that JD’s reticulocyte value shows regeneration – I am so happy to see that. Sometimes this interferes with the automated blood count on a machine which can mistakenly count reticulocytes as WBCs – white blood cells – giving a higher WBC reading, so a manual count is sometimes done. You can read about this here if you want to:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/reticulocytosis/
I see JD’s WBCs are a little bit high, so it’s possible that has happened – but we do sometimes see high WBCs anyway – possibly infection or even the drugs. The most recent blood test is looking better than the early one – all good news. Generally, they look like the usual “abnormal” blood tests for dogs with IMHA.
So, Amy, you & your vets have done a brilliant job with your lovely boy & I hope he will continue to make great progress – when are the next tests? Please let us know what’s happening, especially on the diarrhoea front. If you are concerned about anything, just ask.
In the meantime, sending you both a big supporting hug
Love Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxx
Hi Amy,
I am so sorry your JD is so sick. I very much hope that in the mean time you did get the sucralfate because it could very much help with his digestive issues. Remember to give it away from all other medications because it could interfere with absorption.
I am sure you are very worried about JD not wanting to eat. I remember feeling horrible about my dog not wanting to eat. I became obsessed with trying to find something that he would eat with gusto. I felt like a failure not being able to find something he would eat. Of course it was not my fault but just a fact that he was sick and not feeling well. Once the prednisone kicked in he became a food monster. So be patient, try not to show him that you are worried, be matter of fact. Always have lots of clean water for him. You have to remember that JD is very sick and just does not have an appetite. Some of the drugs might make him feel nauseous, maybe even hurt his tummy. But these drugs will save his life and there is no way around them. Try to make him some little bites of boiled chicken with rice or scrambled egg.
Best wishes,
Brigitte
Hi Susie & Emily
Excellent news – your vet sounds very nice & open to ideas – that really helps & it makes it much less stressful when you know you are in good hands. Actually, it’s YOU who needs to take credit here – you are doing a great job at getting the treatment right for Emily by telling your vet as much as you can.
I am relieved you are stopping the Vitamin K – is your vet checking for clotting risks too? I hope so – you know I worry about these things.
Milk thistle is very good for keeping liver enzymes under control during the treatment – these drugs are very hard on the liver, so that is something I would highly recommend. Denamarin contains milk thistle & the same stuff as Sam-E – that is what I would personally go for to cover both aspects. If you do get milk thistle separately, make sure it’s organic & the best quality you can find. The PetTinic is full of goodies needed by the body for making blood cells, so that is also important – I’m glad you’re using that too.
Please give Emily a cuddle from me & tell her she’s a clever girl. You are doing a tremendous job, Susie – Emily couldn’t have a better Mum.
Love & hugs
Sheena xxxxx
Hi Adam
Don’t even give today’s tiny error a thought – forget it happened as it is no big deal. Leave the losec until tomorrow otherwise that would be a double dose which is not advisable. Tomorrow, just give the losec at least 2 hours away from the other drugs. So – do not give another losec tonight.
Infected scab – it is really difficult to get things to heal up on prednisone. Immuno-suppressants cause this problem (side effect), so keep a close eye & show the vets next time you go – they can give you some antibiotic cream if necessary (watch he can’t lick it) or maybe some antibacterial wash such as chlorhexidine. Worzel had a raw infected leg wound from careless shaving at the vets for a drip – it was painful for him & it didn’t heal up at all until we lowered the prednisone dose right down. I had to clean & dress it every day for a long time. It was just one of those things we had to contend with because of the pred side effects!
Now you can finally go to bed! Have a good sleep.
Sheena x
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