Ashki, 3 yo Golden IMHA

[admin]

Hi Tamara

Sounds like good news about Ashki’s latest bone marrow results, and I hope you get positive results on the retics – everything crossed!  Sheena and Patrice are brilliant at interpreting blood results so it’s great to hear you will be scanning in the results. Whilst none of us are vets, it can help to give a better indication to the rest of us of what  precisely is going on for Ashki.

Oh yes, the feeling of “is this real?” is one I, and I suspect the rest of us, can relate to. I remember it well, wondering if it was really happening and when I was going to wake up. Well, let’s hope that you are going to wake up tomorrow to the news of lots of little reticulocytes entering Ashki’s bloodstream.

I’m glad to hear that you are also trying to look after yourself and get plenty of sleep. As has been said, it is an absolutely exhausting time and it’s vital to keep yourself as healthy as possible.

Fingers and paws crossed here for good news for Ashki. I’ll look forward to hearing how he’s getting on.

Mary and Mable x

[Tamara]

Technical difficulties here, ugh! Hope to have bloodwork scanned in later. On phone right now :(

[Vally]

Definitely sounds like improvement is happeningCrossing everything for Ashki.

Love Vally & Bingo

[Tamara]

Ok, have worked out the technical difficulties and will be scanning in results.

Ashki’s PCV is 19 today.  He continues to feel pretty well, digging after gophers and showing interest in his toys.  He is also eating well.  His serum was clear, no indication of bili. We’ll do a CBC and retic count Monday.  I may take him in for a PVC Saturday if I don’t feel like I can wait.

I forgot to tell you that he was on doxy for 4 weeks in case this was infection driven.  He did not tolerate it well, so the dose was adjusted down about 10 days  in.

We’re both hanging in there, though it really is exhausting and overwhelming for me.  I’m alone, so the burden falls entirely on me.

One hopeful sign, it looks like his retics were coming up a week ago — you’ll see in the bloodwork.  I’ll send them by day.

With love and gratitude,

Tamara and Ashki xoxo

[Vally]

That worked Tamara. Email received.

[Tamara]

Thanks so much for letting me know Vally.

[admin]

Hi Tamara

Thank you for uploading Ashki’s results. I know Sheena and Patrice will look as soon as they can, and are brilliant at interpreting results. I’m just having a quick look and from what I can tell, it certainly appears as thought Ashki’s reticulocyte count has increased and is actually high on his last test. Assuming I’ve got this right, this is great news. What did your vet say about this? Reticulocytes take a short while to mature, so it can take time for the PCV to rise as a result. I found this page which is quite helpful:

https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/clinpath/modules/rbcmorph/cretic.htm

I’m glad to hear that Ashki was on doxy – this is widely recommended in IMHA cases, as you say, to cover for a possible infectious cause. Great news also that he is well in himself, which is massively important. Personally, I’d be inclined to agree with you and have a PCV check on Saturday, just to give yourself an idea of how things are going.

It really is exhausting, and I understand how being on your own can seem to make things all the more difficult. Whilst I know it doesn’t make a difference to the practical side of things, please know you are not alone with coping with this and we are always here for you.

Hang in there, you are doing such a fantastic job!

Mary and Mable x

[admin]

Hi Tamara

I’ve had a very quick glance & totally agree with Mary – retics are looking much, much better! I like Cornell information – it’s excellent. Retics take a while to mature, so just get regular PCV checks done to keep an eye on things. The doxycycline is really good, but I know they get rotten tummy ache with it. Poor old Worzel really suffered after his dose of doxy, but we had to give it to kill off the infection, otherwise he would have become even more ill. I promise to look in more detail later, but I think you have things under control nicely! Keep it going Ashki – keep putting those retics out!

Love Sheena xxxx