Forum Replies Created
Hi Linda, this is the link for your new thread:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/forums/topic/dog-diagnosed-easter-sunday#post-33864
Samia, I’m really worried about the spleen removal. It’s major surgery and your girl is very weak right now.
Did you ask your vet about swapping the Imuran for Cyclosporine. Imuran can be stopping Zoe’s marrow making new red cells. The Cyclosporine targets the cells that are doing the damage. It’s a good drug. This is what turned it around for Bingo. Some people find that it takes a little bit of time to start to work, but with Bingo, it actually improved on his next blood test.
I’m not a vet, but I have lived this disease. Before going ahead with the spleen removal, please ask about swapping the Imuran for Cyclosporine.
My very best, Vally.
Samia, I’m in Sydney and no I don’t mind at all if you keep in touch.
If you can tell me the dosage of the tablets, that’s important to make sure she’s on the right dose. For a 9kg dog, she should be on about 10mg of prednisone twice a day, so a total of 20mg a day.
Imuran is also called Azathioprine and she shoudl be on 10mg twice a day, so a total of 20mg a day. This can sometimes stop the marrow working though, so if she’s not really responding, it might be good to switch to another drug.
A good drug is Cyclosporine as it works directly to stop the cells doing the damage. It’s a bit more expensive, but if you can afford it, it’s a really good drug for this disease. Some dogs have a bit of tummy trouble with it to start with, but they usually adapt to it. Can you ask your vet if Zoe can start Cyclosporine.
She doesn’t need aspirin because she’s taking Plavix, which is a blood thinner. That’s to stop the clots forming.
Make sure the broth has no onions in it but what you’re feeding is great. Too much red meat is a strain on her liver right now, and with the drugs, her liver will be working hard, so don’t worry about red meat. Chicken in some broth might be nice for her – again, never any onions.
The transfusion is there to give time for the drugs to work. So if Zoe’s blood drops down too much, then do the transfusion if you can.
I have heard of plasma treatments, but don’t know anybody that has done this, so can’t really help with this.
You’re vet sounds lovely. My boy Bingo was under a specialist, because my local vets didn’t really know what was going on. If you can see an Internal Specialist, that might be good. No offence to your vet but this disease needs to be treated quickly and hard. Sometimes a university veterinary hospital will have the expertise to help, but I’m a bit wary of universities because they like to teach and so sometimes I’ve heard of dogs with this disease where they’ve done a bit of everything because it helps to teach the vets. Good for the vets, but maybe not so good for the dog.
In fact, with all the right drugs, Zoe will probably look worse for a while. The treatment is hard on them, but they have to go through this.
It’s a really hard time right now being in isolation and yes the grief and fear that this disease creates is unlike anything else I’ve known. None of my friends could understand why I kept trying to get Bingo better. You can read Bingo’s story here:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/our-stories/bingo
I think Zoe’s drugs need to be sorted out and then hopefully she’ll start to get better.
Please look after yourself too. That’s very important.
My best,
Vally
Hi Samia,
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. It’s a terrible disease and it has changed me in a lot of ways.
Is your girl eating and drinking?
Can you tell me what drugs she’s on. Prednisone, Plavix and what else? What is the immune suppressor that she’s taking? Prednisone works as an immune suppressor, but is she taking something else? Can you also tell me what does your girl weigh and the doses of the medication too.
Has she had her spleen removed? If not please DON’T go ahead with it. It’s major surgery and often only used as a very last resort. There are other drugs that might work better.
If her blood drops, and you can do another transfusion, that may give us some time to work out her drugs. Please don’t do the spleen removal. If they do another transfusion, ask them not to transfuse to more than 25. If they transfuse more, sometimes the body doesn’t work as hard to make red blood cells.
Do you have a copy of any of the blood tests? Patrice, who owns the site, is very clever at understanding them, and she can help to guide you.
I know you’re feeling a mess right now, but try and stay positive. It will help your girl. She is not in pain right now, she is just very tired, because with the lack of red blood cells, she’s not getting a lot of oxygen throughout her body. Keep her quiet for now.
Ask anything. You’re alone physically right now, but we’re here to help. We’ve lived this horrible disease ourselves, so we know what you’re going through.
In in Australia, so maybe a different time zone, but I’ll keep an eye on the site, and Patrice may be about too.
Big hugs.
Vally
![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\\"")
