Abby, the Shih Tzu

[admin]

Cindy – How is our sweet Abby with her PCV check today?

Love and hugs, Linda and Sadie

[Cindy]

PCV went down to 31. Vet is not concerned, he said sometimes after a transfusion you can lose some red blood cells. He did say if it continues to go down we need to think about adding another medication (Arava) or spleen removal. However, he said it’s been 10 years since he’s had to do that. But at this point he is happy with the number and we will need to go back Friday for another check. Hopefully it will remain the same or go up higher.

[Vally]

Cindy, that’s right. It’s not unusual to see a drop after a transfusion. Also when she jumped up to 35.7, bear in mind that maybe she was a little dehydrated and maybe this time she had a bit more water in her, so really, it’s not a big drop at all.

The pessimist-half-glass-empty-me also takes a jump in a PCV with a pinch of salt and I’ve come to expect it to drop the next time.

Fingers crossed next time she’ll be up again and you can relax.

Vally & Bingo
xxx

[admin]

Hiya Cindy

I was very surprised Abby didn’t have a drop in PCV shortly after the transfusion actually, so I am not surprised at this very slight drop. How is she acting & feeling now?

I would NEVER consider removing a dog’s spleen – no way – unless it was actually diseased, i.e. cancer. Enlargement of the spleen is very common with IMHA & is usually a symptom. When Abby stops having so much red cells destruction, the spleen will gradually get back to normal. It is very overworked at the moment. Another lady on here was told about spleen removal – her dog is fine & did NOT have this done – I have a lot of information on this subject if you need it . For now, forget about removing her spleen, please – this is a last resort scenario & you are not in that situation. You are in the very early stages of treatment.

A while back, I think I mentioned Vincristine to you. It is part of Dr Dodds protocol. Let’s see what happens on her next test before discussing other options – and there are lots of options, so no problem there – hoping she’ll be going up & up. Some dogs who have been very sick like Abby take a bit longer to start climbing on PCV & hang around in the 30’s for a while. It just means you have to be very patient – that’s the hard part.

Sending love & hugs
Sheena xxxxx

[Cindy]

Abby goes tomorrow to get another PCV check. This is so confusing to me, the last couple of evenings, she has been perkier and seems to be doing better, eating like a horse. Mornings are different, she seems more sluggish. Anyway, with her acting better, her coloring has gotten lighter. Her gums are less pink as they were a couple of days ago. The last time her gums were the same color, she did nothing but sleep. Could she still have a somewhat decent PCV with her gums being lighter but acting better ? I guess we will know tomorrow but thought maybe someone has notice this as well in their fur baby.

[admin]

She sounds like me – slow to wake up in the mornings! Being happy & perky means the world. Good luck tomorrow – keep us posted.
Love Sheena & the boys

[Alyssa]

Attitude is so important, and sassy was the same way – she got spikes of energy, usually at night, around 9-10 pm, but was sluggish in the day, besides wanting to eat.

Please make sure you look at her gums at the right time! When she just wakes up they’re going to be paler. Sometimes, even at 45% pcv for months now, Sassys gums are super pale when she wakes up – scares the heck out of me everytime!! but after about 30 minutes of being up, walking around etc they return to pink. Also, lighting – her gums can look pale in my kitchen, but super pink and perfect out in the sun. So – check Abbys gums but make sure to do it in consistent lighting each time and only after she has been up for a while. Not right after waking up, even from a nap. After eating would be a good time.
Also, press on them if you are concerned – the color should disappear & return in about 1.5 seconds, any longer could be concerning. Again, do this after she has been up for a bit.

I hope Abby gets good results, remember being perky at all is a great sign.

[Vally]

Fingers crossed for a nice number. Bingo is absolutely NOT a morning dog, and like Alyssa said, Bingo has a a favourite time around the 6pm mark when he goes nuts.

Truly, in the mornings, he sleeps on my bed, I literally have to pick him up with him still completely lying down, I carry him over to the window so he can show a bit of enthusiasm at any sign of movement. He may move his eyes slightly, and I then put him down on the floor. He then shakes himself off and gives me a foul look but then slowly follows me to the kitchen. He could seriously sleep all morning.

My best
Vally & Definitely Not a Morning Sun Worshiper.