My Dog Has IMHA

Keymaster

Mark,
I am so sorry to read about Jackson. This is a very scary time for you and your family. We are glad that you are here. We believe there is always hope for recovery. Many dogs on our forum have recovered from these conditions.

Anemia is defined by a decrease in available oxygen to body cells and is related to a lower than the normal number of red blood cells to carry oxygen to the cells. A PCV / HCT of 18% is considered severe to moderate anemia. We have seen dogs with very low PCV do ok with a low value like 18% while other dogs are bothered when they are in the high 20’s or even low 30’s. Chance, my Giant, was doing very poorly at 18% and that is when we gave him a transfusion. Sometimes a dog will need more than one transfusion while the vet waits for the immunosuppressive drugs to begin working.

A hyperbaric chamber helps provide more oxygen into the body and relieves some of the stress symptoms related to poor oxygen supply such as rapid heart rate, heavy breathing, weakness etc. We have had a few owners on our forum use this treatment successfully and one industrious owner actually set up an oxygen tent at home.

The critical part of the treatment for AIHA is the use of serious drugs to slow down and then suppress the autoimmune attack by the body on the red blood cells in circulation. Prednisone (and or dexamethasone) is always used in the early days. This begins to suppress the immune system quickly. Prednisone can be a life saver but used long term will have undesirable side effects so other drugs are added that can also suppress the immune system so that the prednisone can be reduced.

Supplements are given to protect the body from the side effects of the prednisone. Side effects begin to show up such as a huge appetite, peeing and drinking all the time, muscle loss, weakness, hair loss especially in Giants and other dogs with hair. Some dogs get skin problems like infections, other dogs may develop serious stomach ulcers when prednisone is combined with strong stomach acid. Some dogs develop a bout of pancreatitis. The side effects can be variable.

We feel that the early diagnostics should be extensive to determine if there are treatable causes for the AIHA. The list is extensive but some important early rule outs would be tick disease, infections, viruses (such as dog flu). Go to this page and read the first article on the page.
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/canine-disease-resources/

Click on this picture:
The Canine Immune System and Disease Resistance by Dr. Jean Dodds
This opens a pdf which you can enlarge and save or print as you wish.

The important statement in her paper is this:
“The four main causative factors of autoimmune disease have been stated to be: genetic predisposition; hormonal influences, especially of sex hormones; infections, especially of viruses; and stress.”

Scroll to the bottom and you will see an extensive list of conditions that can trigger IMHA AIHA and bone marrow failure. A vet should be considering the more likely of these triggers and ruling them out one at a time. For instance tick diseases can be treated with doxycycline. Older dogs should be checked for things like tumors that can be driving AIHA. A young puppy should have their stomach xrayed looking for swallowed coins that can lead to a certain type of anemia . Their blood can be checked to see if they have been exposed to the older forms of rat poison.

Please go to this page and upload the most recent copies of your CBC and chem screen. I can look over them and help you understand what the values mean.
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/urgent-advice/

If you have time please read some of Our Stories, such as Vally’s story:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/our-stories/bingo/

What are your most critical questions right now?
my best
patrice

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