My 13 yr old just diagnosed

[admin]

Hi Terri

I live in France & experienced a similar problem – I can’t even remember how many times I took Worzel to our local vets & they said he was OK. He certainly wasn’t OK & I knew he wasn’t. In the end, I insisted on a blood test & we found he was severely anaemic, which I already knew from his gums. I couldn’t get a proper diagnosis & it was a complete nightmare. He had a rare form of IMHA & they had never even seen “ordinary” IMHA, so I took him to a specialist in Bordeaux they recommended. I can’t explain what a relief it was to find someone who knew about what was happening & knew how to treat it properly. What I’m trying to say is that I was really worried about upsetting the local vets, but I had to be strong, insistent & positive as Worzel could not speak for himself. I refused to give up on him. In the end, they were brilliant & I had worried over nothing!

I never cried or was negative in front of Worzel – they really pick up on our emotions. My friend said to me to believe in myself & my instincts & the local vets were soon going all out to save him too when they realised what was wrong. You will have to be the best diplomat & get your vet to understand that you ARE going to get the best possible help for your beloved dog. I am going to send you by private e-mail a chart for helping with the diagnosis – I hope this will help your vet. You need a diagnosis. I agree with Patrice completely. You need specialist help urgently & it’s difficult in the circumstances. I contacted Dr Dodds & she was more than happy to consult with me & the specialist here in France on the internet. She is lovely & very knowledgeable. Her fees are also very reasonable. I think you pay 100 dollars (cheaper than my specialist here) at the beginning and that covers you from then on. You will not regret contacting her.

I really feel for you going through this – many, many of us have experienced the same lack of interest or even negativity about the outcome from the vets to start with – they usually come round & support you, but if they don’t you may have to change vets if you aren’t happy with what they are doing. No vet should be upset about getting specialist help or even a second opinion with something as serious as this. You only get one chance at this & you don’t want any regrets. That was how I felt.

I know you are doing your best for Koda – I know your love will get you through this. Whatever the outcome may be, I know you will do your utmost to get him better.

Thinking of you – apologies – I am in a different time zone, so forgive me for any late replies. I must tell you again how much Patrice helped me – she is a real support & is giving you great advice. She was my rock when Worzel was ill, as were the others on here. We all needed someone to hold our hand through this roller coaster illness – you do too.

Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxx

[Tamara]

Hi Terri —
I just wanted you to know that I’m thinking of you and Koda and sending you lots of love and big hugs. I know how scary this is, especially in the early days you are in. This group is just wonderful, I would have lost my mind without them. My Ashki has had a particularly puzzling run with IMHA and everyone here has been so supportive and so very helpful. It helped me so much to upload the labs and have Patrice and Sheena explain them to me, and they sent me links to articles to read so I could learn about this disease and all the other issues Ashki was having.

I’m someone who had to switch vets, and it was the best thing I did. It was scary, as I don’t like offending people, and our first vet was intimidating and quite controlling. I did my best not to offend, and was upfront, respectful, and matter of fact about my consultation with the new vet and then that I had decided to switch Ashki’s care, but the former vet seemed to be offended — sometimes no matter what you do or how well you handle something, it will be taken personally rather than professionally. I hope my experience helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.
tamara and ashki xoxox

[Terri]

I was all set to head on up to the clinic when I see I had 2 missed calls from the vet. My heart was in my throat. I called back and they are closed due to the weather!! I was furious! An assistant called back quickly though to tell me that he is responding to the new antibiotic and is stronger today! She said he even pulled her a bit heading outside. Bless his heart. I can bring him home tomorrow. You have no idea how relieved I feel. I will get all labs and post tomorrow. First thing I want to do is start him on a low dose baby aspirin as he is not on anything like that. Would that be a good idea?
I’m worried about his home care but I’ll take one day at a time. I will also post all his meds and hopefully you guys can help me there too.
He’s not dying….not today. Maybe now I can try to eat something.
Thank you Tamara, Vally, Jen,Sheena, Patrice.
I think she may work with me so I’ll put the specialist on hold for now and print out some information. If she falters though, or he gets worse again I’ll suggest the specialist.
Does that sound like a plan?
Terri and Koda

[admin]

Hi Terri

This is such lovely news! I’m really glad you can get him back home tomorrow – please do let us know about any blood test results – just put them on the urgent advice. PLEASE try & get some quality rest for yourself tonight as you will need all your energy to look after him. Expect plenty of pee-pee breaks with the drugs & make sure he drinks lots of water. I gave Worzel very “watery” food to keep him hydrated & I know our dear Brigitte recommends “soup” – a great idea. I don’t know if we mentioned onion – no onion – it is poisonous to dogs & cats, by the way. He will also be very hungry – prednisone does that to them & he’ll need meals more often, giving him a bigger quantity throughout the day. The become little greedy piggies! Avoid anything too high in fat as it can aggravate their pancreas, as can the drugs.

I would really love you to check with the vet again about the anti-coagulent medication – there are different types such as plavix, aspirin, clopidogrel etc and they should be advising you about which one to use according to what they’ve seen in the blood tests/smears. Haemolysis – if there is haemolysis (red cell destruction) an anti-coagulent is needed. See
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/abnormal-clotting/
I am working blind here because of lack of test results to look at, but in view of the fact that most dogs DO require an anticoagulent, if in doubt, ultra-low dose aspirin would suffice for now though. Dosage of aspirin (0.5 mg/kg daily) or clopidogrel (0.5 – 1.0 mg/kg daily). The exception to this would be if Koda’s platelets are low, in which case don’t give anti-coagulents unless specifically advised to by the vet. Don’t forget tummy protection too – sucralfate/pepcid – this must be given completely separately from the other meds – 2 hours apart. Again, your vet should be advising you here as a small minority of dogs may have a problem with famotidine (pepcid). I found the late night dose (last thing) of sucralfate helped Worzel immensely with his bad tummy ache.

Oh, sorry – could you let us know his full meds list when he comes home? If you need help making a chart or anything, Vally can help you – she’s the bees knees on that!

Can’t wait to hear that he’s back safe & sound – hoping for a big improvement very soon

Hugs from Sheena & the boys xxx

[Terri]

Will definitely post bloodwork and med list when I have it all in front of me but for now, per conversations he is on Dexamethazone, prednisone, sucralfate, pepcid. That’s all I know for sure right now. I have ordered, and should be delivered tomorrow, denamarin and pet tinic. I also have slippery elm. Koda for a short time was raw fed. I’m not sure what to feed him but it will be high quality and grain free. What are you guys feeding your babies? I will make it soupy.

I was thinking about asking her to phone in prescriptions to help with the cost.

I think I need a spreadsheet lol
Terri

[admin]

Terri – sounds like you already know what to do on the diet front. I stuck to organic stuff wherever possible – braised chicken, lean beef mince, lamb, sweet potato, carrots, green beans when Worzel got his appetite back. The windy bottom smells were pretty rank though, so expect to need a gas mask! I must confess to giving Pedigree Chum biscuits as treats, as both of mine like to play games for rewards & they love crunching stuff up. I’m sure everyone else will have lots of great advice too.

I can’t help on the cost front as it is different over here, but I’m sure someone else will know how to do this the cheapest way – every penny helps.

When you have an exact list of medications, I know a very kind lady who will help you with a chart / spread sheet – I couldn’t have coped without one – nightmare!

In the meantime, sending best wishes for tomorrow
Sheena x

[Vally]

Hi Terri, how thrilled to have Koda coming home.

Foodwise, I always fed raw, up until he became sick, then I was told NO raw food as with the drugs keeping the immune system in check, it’s too easy for any bacteria on raw food to cause problems. So I started doing cooked chicken breast with rice and mushed up raw vegetables (put through a juicer and then used the pulp, pouring some of the juice back in – carrots, beans, pumpkin, celery, spinach, apples).

I would LOVE to make up a medicine chart for you, so when you’re ready, post the medicines, doses and times you have. That way the different medicines can be checked so those that interact can be kept separate, those that need to be away from food etc…

How about a photo of Koda. You can upload a photo – go to the right, towards the top, where it says “Upload Your Photo”.

Love Vally & Bingo

[admin]

Hi,

I am so sorry you are going through this. We all understand the panic that occurs when this started.

If you send the info to Patrice and she suspects AIHA, I would take Koda to a specialist if you have any near you.

Please keep us updated.

I had a wonderful dog, Dunes, who lasted 5 years, and I know how scary this could be. Patrice helped me so much.

My best,

Joe