Bull Arab X 7 years old with AIHA / blood transfusion

[Sheena]

Lizzy – great news on the urine looking paler – that is a really great improvement – good luck with the next test – I will be on hot pins as we say in Blighty. I’m thrilled she’s eating & having a good time with her friend – a bit of competition for food always helps!

Amy suggested rotisserie chicken – I think that’s a great idea to tempt them! Turkey is really good for them, if you can get hold of some. Brigitte always suggests “soupy” dinners – it gets plenty of fluids in them without any effort.

Oh yeah, as Vally & Jill have said, panting, puffing, boiling hot & fidgety are the usual high dose pred symptoms, I’m afraid. There’s not much we can do but keep them comfortable really. Worzel had a bowl of water in the bedroom because he was so thirsty all the time, then of course he needed to pee – not much chance of a good night’s sleep!

I might have missed your bed time, but if I haven’t, try to sleep well, all of you,

Love n hugs
Sheena & the boys xxxxx

[Lizzy]

Just on our way to get another blood test, which I am dreading. Her urine has once again become more concentrated and her gums are jaundiced. It’s gotten to the point where sometimes I can’t handle the idea of hearing more bad news so I don’t want to be the one to go with her….How selfish is that? I just want some sign of hope. Sometimes you wish you just had the answer so you could either have hope or not.

[Lizzy]

PCV is now 14%. My partner and I just wailed at the vets as we were about to put her down as the vet said she should be showing signs of her immunity is slowing down after 7 days of high dose prednisone and azathioprine. We decided, in desperation, to give one more blood transfusion to get her over the 10 day period, hopefully. I want to give up. This is so hard on her.

[jill]

Hi Lizzie , so sorry to hear about Lola, we went through a similar situation as we were contemplating having Snoopy put to sleep as his pcv went down to 10, but then after a blood transfusion it came back up to about 16 so we took him home and carried on with the drugs, im so glad we did , he has come on really well so far and is half way to coming off his meds his so much better, don’t lose hope go ahead with the blood transfusion, it cant make her any worse , and it buys time for the drugs to work, I know its hard but believe me they can get better! thinking of you love and huge hugs Jill & Snoops xxxxx

[jill]

PS Snoopys blood level came up the next day after blood transfusion , some times it takes time for the body to adjust I think. xxxx

[Vally]

Jill, I was so hoping and praying that Lola would stay stable for you , just to give you a break and some hope.

But the fact is that for most dogs, despite the fact that we want to see this miserable disease stopped in it’s tracks, it very rarely happens that quickly. It takes time, so I’m so glad you’ve decided to do another transfusion and I’m hoping this will be the one.

Truly, some people here have had to do numerous small transfusions before it all magically started to happen.

Don’t feel guilty about your feelings. This is something you would not wish on anyone. It’s the hardest of things to get through because we feel so helpless.

Do you have any new blood tests? or have they simply done another PCV?

Love Vally
xxx

[jill]

Hi Valley,how are you? its Lizzys dog Lola, not Snoopy , that we are replying to .love Jill xxxxx

[Sheena]

Hey Lizzie

Now is NOT the time to give up – you have to give the drugs more time to work – she’s not long been diagnosed (only a week) & lots of dogs need more than one transfusion, I promise. You are doing the right thing by giving her more time to respond.

Please read Louis & Karyn’s story – they never gave up & Louis is getting better now. We see this quite a lot & I can only say have a look around at other people’s stories – it will make you realise you are not on your own & Lola is no way unusual needing extra help at the start of the disease.

There are many other drugs that can be added too – cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, vincristine for example. Can you discuss this with your vet? Or can your partner bring it up?

Azathioprine takes 7-10 days to suppress T-lymphocytes in scholarly articles, so it really is early days for Lola. Worzel took about 2 weeks roughly & the specialist was thrilled he responded so quickly. I know the waiting game is hard – it has been for us all & we are living through this with you.

Please read Patrice’s dog Chance’s story:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/our-stories/chance/

It will make you see how patient you need to be sometimes.

Please don’t give up hope – but understand that some dogs do need small transfusions until they respond & this is how this disease works. Lola doesn’t have bone marrow failure as your vet said she is regenerative, so she is in a better position than some of our dogs because she is producing new blood cells. The most “difficult” cases as those that are non-regenerative because they often take a long time to repond. Feel positive about this – you have to stay positive for Lola.

Much love & huge supporting hugs
Sheena xxxxx