Dixie – Anemic – Low B-12

[admin]

Hi Roger

Great to hear Dixie is home – I had a sore throat after an endoscopy & it was hard to swallow for a couple of days, but it didn’t put me off my food though! After anaesthetics, they can be a bit picky too. If this continues, an appetite stimulant would be a good idea as you don’t want the weight loss to carry on. We also went through a long stint of Worzel not eating & it’s horrible to see them like that. I have no personal experience with mirtazapine, but I have seen others on here use it. In the meantime, a little bit of something soft but enticing would be good & I love Brigitte’s soup idea – we all like soup when we’re feeling poorly, so maybe Dixie would too.

Did her GI tract look inflamed or ulcerated (possible bleeding)? That would certainly put her off eating if she has a sore tummy & sucralfate would be my personal recommendation if that is the case. Of course it does prevent absorption, so has to be given a clear two hours apart from everything elese, including food. What medications is she on now Roger? What happened with the high platelets – we were very concerned about the need for anti-clotting medications but I understand completely that this is a difficult scenario with the possibility of GI ulceration / bleeding.

Let us know how she’s doing when you can. I can hear the thunder rumbling around us again as I type – more storms last night (power cut) & today, so forgive me if I can’t get on the site for a while.

Hoping Dixie will soon be a hungry girl again – take care
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie

[Tamara]

Hi Roger, so glad that Dixie is home and I’m really glad she is drinking. I agree, between the anesthetic, the scoping, and the biopsies she’ll probably take a day or two to feel well enough to eat — who wouldn’t after all that? But we worry so much through this and the weight loss is so distressing. Please let us know how she’s doing when you can, we’re thinking of you and Dixie.
sending you many hugs, please give Dixie some gentle scritchies —
tamara and ashki xoxoxox

[Roger]

Update, Dixie seems to be feeling pretty good and actually seems hungry. Here is the weird part, she does not want to eat her staple foods, Hills Grain Free Chicken and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw but she will eat the cooked Jenny-O 97% ground turkey. I’m sure this is not a balanced diet but perhaps I should not worry about that at this point and just get some calories in her. When she was losing weight at 1.5 lbs per week, week after week stumbling on the Raw plus the B-12 shots and Trinfac-B is what we credit for saving her life. She would eat 4-5 small meals a day of the Raw happily and would also eat 1 cup of the kibble if mixed 50% with the Jenny-O ground Turkey (cooked). I’ve uploaded her Endoscopy Pictures for Patrice in case anyone wants to see what they look like. Be forewarned that some of them are not pretty, especially number 18.

[admin]

Posted already on the slide link. No 18 is quite nasty. I agree with giving her whatever she wants to eat, Roger. Worry about a “proper” diet for the diagnosis in a few days when you know what you are dealing with.
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxx

[admin]

Hi Riger. I just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you and Dixie. Please continue to post and stay close – this team saved my sanity (no wise cracks you all okay?!?). No really – we all have been here, same song, different verse. It’s devastating, but having support will make a difference. Hate you had to find this site, but glad you’re with us for all the obvious reasons.

Love, Linda and Sadie

[Roger]

Dixie Update: Yesterday we went to Dixie’s regular vet to get #6 of her weekly B-12 shots. Now we wait one month for the next unless the results of the endoscopy biopsies changes the treatment plans. We should have results sometime this week. Because Dixie had the fainting or seizure two Thursdays ago we got another CBC and Cobalamin/Folate test which we received the B-12/B9 test yesterday at the vet. The good news is her B-12 level is now >1000. Prior to the shots and the Trinfac-B supplementation she was listed as <150 for Cobalamin. We learned about Trinfac-B from the EPI4Dogs website which we were studying until we received the results of Dixie’s TLI/cPLI tests which indicated that she was not and EPI dog. The Trinfac-B also has Folate and intrinsic factor so we also saw a jump in her Folate levels from 9 to 57.3ug/L which I hope is not an issue. SIBO dogs tend to show high Folate, The doctors believe her anemia is currently regenerative based on in particular her ultra high reticulocytes count 15%, 754,500/uL. I still wonder what internal immune response occurred from the Rabies and Bordatella booster on the day of her teeth cleaning. It was shortly after the teeth cleaning and shots that her health really took a major downward turn; though there were many other treatment changes occurring at the same time so I can say for sure. Yesterday when we returned from the vet Dixie was feeling probably as good as we’ve seen her in a couple of months however today she is not at the same level. We’re holding on the best we can and hoping for a good actionable outcome from the endoscopy biopsies. Thank you all for your support. I know that Dixie has a lot of well wishers in her corner and it gives us great hope. – R

[Patrice]

Roger,
I think it may be helpful for you to more fully understand the interplay between the humoral and cell-mediated immune system responses and especially when it comes to canine disease resistance.

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/humoral-immunity/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/cell-mediated-immunity/

This paper written by Dr. Dodds and hosted by the Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels website is a good start for anyone trying to wrap their brain around how things went so wrong in their dog.
The Canine Immune System and Disease Resistance
By W. Jean Dodds, DVM
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ImmuneSystem.htm

After you read these over a few times you will probably have a lot of questions. Remember that what you have read is one small part of the whole. I can point you to more information once this sinks in.

Many people read this information with the thought that they are looking for the puzzle parts that point to how they did something wrong to their dog. This gut wrenching feeling is hardly avoidable but I want to reassure you, and I am sure Dr. Dodds would also reassure you, these aren’t anything you could have known about. Your responsibility is thwarted sometimes by the care that professionals provide to our dogs.

I started this website for the main purpose of providing education to owners so they can help, not hinder, the recovery of their dogs. I often feel the best start is with a blank slate in the department of guilt and moving forward with a fresh start. When this happens there is a feeling of relief and a strong sense of empowerment.

I did a number of things wrong with Chance, not because I did them intentionally, but because I just didn’t know and there was no one looking over my shoulder guiding me along the way. But once I realized I could “learn” my way out of the corner, I was empowered to help him.
my best
patrice

[admin]

Hi Roger

I am hoping with all my heart that the results will give you the treatment options to get Dixie recovered & heal that GI tract. I am assuming the right antibiotics will be needed. Please let us know when you can – we are ALL routing for Dixie. I’m glad to see the supplements & shots are working & she is regenerating well – I would have paid a million dollars for that news at one time!

I too gave Worzel a vaccination (piroplasmosis) with the best intentions, even though I had a tiny suspicion he wasn’t 100%. The vet checked him out thoroughly as I asked, took his temperature etc. Then he went downhill after the vaccination & we suspect he already had contracted ehrlichiosis long before, although his symptoms were very vague. I felt very guilty because I should have trusted my instincts. We are all under the impression that it is irresponsible if we don’t get our pets vaccinated and in many ways that is true, therefore you have nothing to feel bad about whatsoever. I now know a lot more about vaccination protocol (I now use Dr Dodds protocol for Ollie) than I did and I was not aware at that time that we are over-vaccinating in some instances. Keeping their teeth clean is also important as they can develop serious heart problems from those bacteria. Again, teeth cleaning is done with the best intentions, but with what I know NOW I would not allow any other procedures to be done on my pet at or around the same time – but I didn’t know the dangers before either – we learn as we go, so don’t ever feel you’ve done something wrong.

All our best thoughts & wishes
Sheena & the boys