For Hope and Steve – Page 4 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

Keymaster

Hi Hope

I’ve just had a good read through your post and again, am sorry to hear that Steve has this horrid illness. I also remember waiting endlessly for phone updates and I know it’s hard. I guess they are just very busy, but it’s difficult to be patient waiting for news.

I was also told not to read up on IMHA on the internet by Molly’s specialists. For me, it was impossible not to. I wanted to learn as much as I could. In some respects, your internist is right, as you do need to be careful about sources of information. We are not vets, but we have been through this and have learnt a lot in the process. The people here are very well informed and will not tell you anything unless they have absolute confidence in it. Even then, if we suggest something and you don’t agree, that’s absolutely fine and we will respect your decision. I think it’s just good to be able to make informed decisions. You are well within your rights to ask about Steve’s medication, and the rationale for selecting mycophenolate. I’m sure your vet has a reason for choosing this drug, but it would be helpful if he could explain this to you. I really don’t know anything about this drug, but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if any long acting immunosuppressant was to take effect in 24 hours. I’m certainly not disagreeing with your vet as I don’t know, but I am surprised as most of these types of drugs take days/weeks to kick in.

Not sure what others think, but I would also ask again about antibiotics, if Steve still has any hint of a temperature or raised white cell count. Doxycycline is widely used in IMHA cases, although I don’t know what it interacts with, so it may not be suitable for Steve.

The PCV fluctuations are a bit confusing I admit. I agree with your vet that small fluctuations are normal and to be expected. As you can see by the blood results you posted, the manual vs. machine PCV can have markedly different results, and this was something that came up recently for another user here. Other factors such as blood clots in the sample can affect the results.

Some vets sadly do get a bit defensive, and I suppose it’s possible that your vet thinks you don’t trust what he’s doing. I think it’s fine to explain that you know he wants what’s best for Steve, but that you want to know everything that’s happening. He is your dog, you are paying for his treatment, and therefore you have every right to that information. It is a process of working together for the best outcome. I respect your general vet for saying she feels out of her depth. It is much better that she is honest about this rather than trying to treat Steve without the correct knowledge. My local vet had never seen a case of the disease Molly had. IMHA cases are rare and a lot of primary care vets do not know a lot about the treatment of it.

I’m not 100% sure about the prenisolone dose but it sounds high to me, and based on what the others have said, I’d really recommend you talk to the vet again about this. They should have a protocol for the doses they give. If they do not have a treatment protocol (which it sounds like they do), they should at least have a reason for selecting a particular dose.

I would also recommend you contact Dr Dodds, and perhaps your vet would feel more comfortable with this? She is a wonderful source of knowledge, an expert in this disease, and is very good about getting back to you.

Please don’t beat yourself up about the Zinc cream. You cannot possibly know everything, and as has already been said, I think we’ve all found that we’ve done things we wish we hadn’t. I’ve lost count of the number of calls to our vets after one of the cats had eaten various items they shouldn’t have! In fact, there is a cat treat here in the UK which is Zinc based. Crazy huh? But without knowing about IMHA, I’d not have known to avoid it. You have nothing to feel guilty for at all.

Anyway, fingers crossed that Steve is doing well today and will be able to come home and have a big cuddle. Keep your chin up. It’s a long, hard battle but Steve is lucky to have you and your husband to look after him.

Mary & Mable x