IMHA Med side effects

[admin]

Hi again Anna

Don’t feel alone any more – when I found this group it was such a relief for me too.

Metronidazole does cause diarrhea & sickness in some dogs.

Eating the electrode pads worries me – My dog Worzel ate part of a leather collar (we wondered where it had gone) – it stayed in his stomach for a couple of months & I was puzzled as to why he was wretching & being sick now & again, then he threw it up & I had to gently pull it out as he was choking.It was thin & about 4/5inches long. I have a dear friend called Clare who visits this site occasionally as she lost her beloved Ruby to IMHA. She has since adopted a stray dog who ate a Kong chew – chewed into pieces. She thought he had sicked it all up, but he hadn’t. I told her Worzel’s story so she went to the vets. This did NOT show up on ultrasound or x-ray at the local vets & luckily the specialist clinic did find the problem with an endoscope. A piece HAD stayed in his stomach and he was sick intermittently, the throwing up getting more & more frequent. The piece of Kong had gradually crept into the beginning of his small intestine – thank goodness they put an endoscopic camera down before it did some serious damage, even though he had to have part of his intestine resectioned. Most things do show up on x-ray/ ultrasound, so I would get one done. I’m sorry to give you additional worry, but this may POSSIBLY be the cause of the bleeding & I had to tell you about this. Some dogs chew up stuff because they have tummy ache with the IMHA drugs – it’s such a worry.

Sheena x

[Vally]

Anna, I think you’ve made the best decision in setting up an appointment with an internal specialist. It certainly made a difference for my boy. Make sure you mention the electrode pads as well and yes an X-ray may be the way to check both for the electrode and stomach ulcers.

The sucralfate did wonders for Bingo too. It worked fairly quickly, maybe within a few days, so hopefully the bloody diarrhear will stop. The blood loss will certainly be having an impact on his PCV too, so hopefully that will move up again.

Bingo absolutely lost heaps of weight from his meds. He went from 8.5kg down to about 6kg in a matter of weeks. He was a skeleton with a swollen belly. Horrible to see. As the meds could slowly be lowered though, he started to look a lot better and he’s now back to just under 8kg again.

Don’t feel alone. I know everyone here knows what you’re feeling and we all want to help.

Let us know when you get an appointment.

My very best,
Vally & Bingo

[Anna]

I just got back from the internal med DR. The did an ultrasound and saw that she has thickening of the stomach and intestines and also suspects Pancreatitis. Her PCV has dropped to 24 from 32 since Tuesday. He said that he thinks cancer is low on the list since he didn’t see tumors but the thickening of the intestines and stomach could be cancer but wouldn’t know for sure unless they did a biopsy. They are doing more analysis of her blood to see if they can tell if her body is destroying it or if it’s because she is losing blood through her stool. Basically it was all inconclusive. They are going to call me back with the pathology report and then we might change the Azathioprine to Mycophenolate. I asked him if he treats dogs like this often and he said yes but he is still concerned with her weight loss. He said that he doesn’t think she is responding to treatment because her PCV has gone down so much. I asked him how she could have been responding all these weeks and been above 30 and then all of a sudden not and he didn’t have an answer for me. I am so frustrated, deep down I was hoping we would have a firm answer about what is going on but now I guess we just wait to see what happens. We have decided not to do anymore blood transfusions so this may be it. I feel like I have lost all hope today.

[admin]

Dear Anna

This is really awful for you – I’m so sorry this is happening to poor Jackie. 24 is not a dangerously low PCV, but you don’t want any more drops. We do see pancreatitis with IMHA because of the drugs. I have sent you some information by e-mail about tests & treatment, SIBO, blood transfusions etc, also external links. I think you should ask about stopping the azathioprine as a matter of urgency if there is any suspicion of pancreatitis & contact Dr Dodds for help. Pancreatitis can be very serious but is treatable, but you need to do this as soon as possible.
For information:
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/pancreatitis/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/azathioprine/
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/hemopetresources/ – they supply many different kinds of blood products.

I hope you will consider contact Dr Dodds – we all think her knowledge is second to none. I cannot speak more highly of anyone.
Love & hugs
Sheena xxxxx

[Claire]

Hi Anna – please don’t lose hope. Most of the owners on this site have felt exactly the same at some point, and some of their dogs have fought back from seemingly hopeless situations. I am no expert but I know someone more knowledgable will soon comment on today’s events. What did the specialist say about the electrode pads? I know an ultrasound was done – but Sheena’s description of what happened to Brian, was exactly right. He was wasting away in front of me – I was certain I was losing him – and no one could find anything conclusive. Even the endoscopy wasn’t clear – the vet rang and said she was 99% certain she could feel (not see) something just the other side of the pylorus. And it wasn’t until they opened him up that they knew for certain. I am not, in any way suggesting that your situation will be the same. But when they eat weird things and then go wrong – it would seem possible that they are related in some way?Please don’t give up – I know no one wants to see a PCV drop but 24 is still not yet at a crisis point. Everything is crossed for you here – I want so much for you to be dealing with something treatable.

Take care
Claire xxx

[admin]

Thank you Clare – always nice to have you around
Love Sheena xxxxx

[admin]

Sorry Claire not Clare – idiot I am!

[Vally]

Anna, I’d also recommend you contact Dr Dodds. Everybody who has ever dealt with her speaks so highly of her knowledge and compassion. Her consultation fee is very reasonable and she’s someone who would be good to have on your side.

Love Vally
xxx