Megan & Sophie

[Vally]

Oh Megan, I really think you need to go somewhere else with her.  You vet does seem to have a “god” complex and I think it’s working against Sophie and YOU.  I know a lot of dogs are on azathioprine. I think decadurabolin is a different steroid that has been used when other treatments don’t work – can someone confirm. It’s usually a matter of finding out what works.  No two dogs are the same.

Please take her to the other vet that Linda mentioned.  If you had a vet that consulted with Dr Dodds, I think that would be in Sophie’s best interests.

Big hugs.

[Vally]

Megan, ring the other vet.

I remember being at the vet’s office in the early days and crying because I thought this was a terrible life for Bingo – he could hardly stand up any more – this was about a month into his treatment – I said I thought Bingo should be put to sleep.  It was MY VET who convinced me to wait a little longer.  You need a vet who wants to help.  I’ve got Bingo with me now, 2 years later and so very much better, because the VET convinced me there was a chance, no guarantees but a chance.

Megan, you and Sophie have fought for 2 months. She’s still with you.  Don’t give up the fight just yet.  I understand you’re exhausted from the stress and worry.

Please go and see the other vet.

[Megan]

We haven’t seen any improvement just drops in PCV every week…everyone I’ve talked to seems to think that it should at least be stable by this point and I have no clue (you hear so many different things it’s hard to know). Did it take months for the PCV to even level out? I know every dog is different but I haven’t heard of anyones dog just continuing to drop for 2 months and having to have multiply transfusion just to stay alive…PLEASE let me know if this has happened as I need some sort of hope that even if it’s this bad it can still be beaten. I do plan on going to another vet just haven’t had a call back yet and probably won’t until after Thanksgiving.

[admin]

Megan

You mustn’t give up yet – please – there are lots of other drugs to try. I’m not impressed with your vet one bit. I read something written by Patrice that her vet said about her dear dog Chance – “we cannot put humans down when they stop making blood. We support them with transfusions and make them comfortable while we figure out how to help them make blood again.”  

As an ex-nurse, I was never a believer in quantity not quality where life is concerned, so I do not quote Patrice lightly.  If I thought there was no hope, I would tell you.  A different drug or a cocktail could be the miracle answer for Sophie & you must give her EVERY CHANCE to recover.  There is no reason why you shouldn’t try azathioprine, as long as you are aware of the possibility of pancreatitis. This drug worked for Worzel pretty quickly, despite my doubts that it would, but I was willing to give it a few weeks.  The only time I ever cried in front of Worzel was when the local vets phoned with the news of new baby red cells – reticulocytes!   All dogs are different and nothing is guaranteed, but everything is worth a try, as long as quality of life is not compromised.  Bear in mind that ALL dogs suffer badly from the side effects at this stage – it is unavoidable and you cannot change that.

You need the support of a vet who is willing to listen to ideas, suggestions & the experience of other people – hard to find indeed, but invaluable when you do.  I can’t believe your awful luck with vets – this has to change, even if you end up having to drive to Dr Dodds with Sophie, it has to be worth it.  This is a horrible time for you & Sophie & I wish I was closer to help you. Please know we are thinking of you all the time & I am behind you, every step of the way.

Sheena & her boys

xxxx

[Vally]

Megan I’m going from memory but I remember he was diagnosed late November 2011 and I remember crying to someone the week before Christmas and saying to someone I don’t think he’s going to make it.  I was back at work after the 2 week Christmas holidays and I remember crying there because I’d made the decision to let him go – that was when he could hardly walk any more (from the prednisone).  That was when I was crying at the vets.  So it probably was 2 months or so before there was improvement.  The lowest his bloods dropped to was 15, so he didn’t get any transfusions.

I think Sophie’s meds need to be looked at again.

Ring the new vets again and say you need to come in. Sorry I’m in Australia and we don’t have Thanksgiving. Is today closed everywhere? Our vets here are open pretty much every day, including all holidays.

[admin]

Megan,
I so feel for you. It is so hard to see our dogs being so sick and there is nothing that seems to help. I am sorry but I don’t recall how many transfusions have been made with Sophie. I have read of dogs that had up to 6. If the body keeps getting blood from the outside, it starts to think that there is no need to produce. So you are between a rock and a hard place. Some of the immune suppressing drugs also cause the bone marrow to slow down making blood. It is all very complicated and I honestly don’t understand it all. What I know for sure though, there is NO quick fix for this disease. It all takes an awful long time.
I don’t know how Sophie is feeling, what hare her clinical signs. Has she started to eat a bit? Only YOU know when she has had enough. But then I remember Dr. Dodds saying to me,where there is life there is hope!
have you read any of the Meisha’s Hope success stories?
http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/successstories.htm
Maybe you will find some answers there as to how long some dogs took to improve. If you are waiting for a call back, I think you should just go there and tell them you need someone to see Sophie. They will not turn you away.
Best wishes,
Brigitte

[Sheena]

Brigitte is right – some dogs take longer than others to respond.

I too referred to Meisha’s Hope, but about veterinary azathioprine studies

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15934255?dopt=Abstract

I know many dogs have had problems with this drug but many have not.  74% is not a bad figure for response. Why not try it?   My specialist worked closely with one of the researchers on this paper (both did their Internal medicine specials together at Cornell) I just had to trust his judgement because of this.  Azathioprine suppresses the bone marrow and I was sceptical, but it did work it worked well – you just never know.

Sheena

[admin]

Megan

I’m sorry I’ve moved your last message out of order by accident – inept administrator

Sheena