Pit Diagnosed with AIHA

Alyssa

Guest

I have found this website after weeks of researching this terrible illness. It all started on March 13th… bare with me, long story!

I noticed Sassy, my pit, who is a rescued 6-7yr old previously used as a puppy mill, wasn’t eating around the 11th of March. Just the day before, she was tearing through my house running after toys and bouncing off the walls.

She was very lethargic. The next night, it was more of the same; we tried to get her to play with her favorite toy, and she tried, when she went running for it she hit her head on the table – this really concerned me because to me it meant she really wasn’t herself, and she was trying to play but felt so bad. She drank a bit and wanted to go to sleep, so we let her in her spot on the couch and let her be. The next morning, nothing was better. I was gravely concerned. I dug out the thermometer and took her temp. It was 104.9! I was shocked and beside myself and we rushed to the vet.

The vet drew blood, felt her stomach/lymph nodes, listened to her breathing and heart (all good), saw my temp reading was accurate it read exactly 104.9 at the vet as well, when we got the blood results back she had a white count of 21, platelets at 141, red cells at 30. So she had elevated whites, and was slightly anemic at this point. She gave me:
Rimadyl injection, to reduce fever
Doxycycline, 125mg 3 tabs every 12 hours
Famotidine 20mg 1 every 12 hours
Prednisone 20mg 1 tab every 12 hours

I monitored her fever that night/next day and it came down pretty quickly. However, by Sat evening, I felt she wasn’t getting any better and she seemed to be acting worse, it was hard to just get her to move. Something told me to look at her pee, so I gathered her next one and was absolutely mortified to see it looked like the color of a really dark sweet tea. I called the emergency vet line who put me in contact with another vet that was on call as it as already 6pm on Saturday. I decided to take her in to see him, and he reran blood test. I don’t have those results with me but I know her PCV was in the 20s at this point, her platelets were a little lower and her whites were still rising. He suggested that I double her prednisone to 2 tabs every 12 hours until Monday. So that’s what we did, with everything else staying the same.

Monday we went back to the first vet. At this point, I felt sassy was leaving us – she was so ill. She was severely jaundiced, every pit of visible skin was yellow, as were her eyes, gums, poop and her pee was dark brown. She peed in the waiting room, and she hadn’t peed inside…ever. We ran a complete blood panel, a chem test, did x-rays, and the results that came back were:
Whites: 62
PCV: 9
Platelets: 160
Xrays: all normal
Chem test: all organs normal

At this point we were told she needed an immediate transfusion or she would die at any moment. Very, very low chance of survival even with it. We were also given the option to euthanize her. We chose to transfuse, and they immediately called in the vet techs boxer to get the blood. During the transfusion she also had IV fluids and meds. On the paper, this is what was done while she was at the hospital for the day:
Transfusion, K9 whole blood
b12 injection
Dexamethasone injection
Baytril
Azathioprine

And we were started on 16mg of Aspirin daily that night.

We chose to take her home at night because it was not a 24hr vet and there would be no one there to watch her or take her to pee. The next morning, she went back for more IV fluids:
famotidine injection
dexamethasone
baytril
fluids

new meds to give:
cerenia
baytril

Her counts that morning were:
whites: 53
Plates: 133
PCV: 18

This was Tues and we were to wait until Friday for another full run of test. On Thurs, I opted to do a quick hemocrate test only that showed she was now at 15%. Dr said this was normal as the transfusion wore off, and that we still have to give the meds time. Sassy was very energetic and upbeat at this point, also. Her pee was to a golden orange color instead of deep brown. She was a tiny bit less yellow overall.
However, by the next morning, she was crashing hard. She wouldn’t drink, when through this whole thing she had been drinking fine. I knew she was very sick again. We went back and her test showed her PCV was down to 10. However her whites were still coming down, and her platelets were rising. We had to do another transfusion at this point. Her meds at the vet:

Diphenhydramine injection
dexamethasone
famotidine
baytril
k9-whole blood
doxyclicine
prednisone

At this point, I also decided to overnight a product to me called BioPreperation f3. Sassy did not seem to be responding to treatment and I was desperate to save her. The day after her transfusion, Saturday, she wouldn’t eat, drink, and was very very lethargic; we were having to physically move her, I felt that she was already crashing again and the transfusion didn’t even help her for a day. That afternoon, the bioprep arrived and I gave her 1/2 a dose. I gave her another 1/2 dose 2 hours later.

Almost immediately after the second dose, she got up. She started wondering around the house to see us. She ate, drank, and was wagging her tail. She came out on the porch to see us. Her eyes were bright again and she was just looking so much better in only a few hours after I was sure she was crashing. It is hard to say, of course, it was the the bioprep, but I honestly feel in my heart that it saved her. I can’t explain the immediate turn around. so I’ve kept her on 2 pills a day, spaced 2 hours apart, 1/2 a dose each.

Sunday, she was great. Her pee was now a golden yellow, no hint of orange.

Monday, she was great, and we went in for another blood test. Her results:
Whites: 37
PCV: 22
Plates: 451
The dr. felt that this was all Sassy and none of the transfused blood. She was significantly less yellow. Her bilirubin levels were originally at 6.5% and I think they were down to 1.5% at this time, normal being 0.5 (this is what was causing the jaundice)

We went in again Friday and her results:
Whites: 33
PCV: 27
Plates: I don’t have the printout so I am not sure on these. But I remember she said they were fantastic. She had no hint of yellow, was all very pink and her pee was very normal colored now.

On the 30th, she had her last dose of Doxyclycine and yesterday we started lowering the Pred. She is now on 1 pill every 12 hours, down from 1.5. She also stopped the Baytril some time ago. So she is currently on:

Around 8am she gets:
1/2 cup of dry dogfood mixed in with 1/2 cup of green beans (run in the food processor). I discovered she LOVES green beans and have been supplementing her in-between meals with is as she is just so damn hungry and I knew I couldn’t keep feeding her the high calorie food. It seems to hold her well until “real” food time.

Mornings around 10am,
Famoditine, 1 tab
Pred, 1 tab
BioPrep, 1/2 dose
She gets 1/2 cup dry food (Organix), and I’ve started making homemade food to supplement her RAGING appetite. She gets 1/2 cup of that mixed in. The one I’m feeding her now contains ground turkey drained of fat, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potato and oatmeal, egg, crushed egg shells, romaine lettuce. All cooked.

Lunch:
Bioprep, 1/2 dose, green beans with 1/4c dry

Dinner:
Bioprep, 1/2 dose
1/4c dry with 3/4c homemade food

Second dinner (around 10pm)
Famotidine, 1 tab
Pred, 1 tab
Azathioprine, 1.5 tab
Aspirin, 16mg
BioPrep, 1/2 dose
1/4c dry with 3/4c homemade food

Sassy seems to be recovering well. Her gums are super duper pink. Shes eating, drinking, peeing, alert, happy to see people when they come home. However, she is now suffering the effects of high dose pred for so long. I am noticing the muscle wasting in her face and hind legs. She is very lethargic, not depressed, just doesn’t want to do much of anything. Food is the only thing that perks her up. 5 minute walks is about her limit before she wants to come in (though she initiates the walks! I’m happy about that). She hasn’t played at all since she got sick. She is no longer the dog I knew and it’s breaking my heart; shes just so tired, and her life is revolving around food. I give her a kong with peanut butter, just so she will actively do something for a while.

From what my vet has discussed with me, she wants sassy on low dose pred/azathioprine for the rest of her life. Something such as alternating the days they are taken. I am very concerned with what the steroids are doing, though. When shes on the very low dose, will she get better, or continue to act like this? I don’t want her life to be like this. She was such a happy dog before, so full of love and joy. It hurts to see her so tired and hungry. :(

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Linda

Guest

Hi Alyssa. I am so sorry you and Sassy are going through this. I love Pits – so glad she is responding.

You gave us some awesome background. Thank you!! You were right on this and you saved Sassy’s life.

First of all, is there any way you can get a copy of Sassy’s latest blood work and send it through ‘Urgent Request’ so those here that know much more than me, can look it over and help you understand what is happening? RhT would be great, if possible.

It sounds as though your vet is on top of this and diagnosed it quite quickly. She is spot on that the PCV can drop after a transfusion. So glad she’s rebounding!!! Does the vet have any idea what may have brought this on? Any recent vaccinations? What flea/tick treatment is Sadsy on now? Could she have gotten into anything poisonous?

Your vet is right that this is s very serious disease. BUT, we have MANY survivors!! My pup, Sadie, a black cocker spaniel, is one that is in ‘remission’ now. So stay strong and know, Sassy is on the right road and to me, sounds very promising. It’s a total roller coaster, as you already know, BUT, she’s already doing so much better.

The horrible, but life saving, drugs – do take their toll on the muscle atrophy. Don’t worry , as the Immube supressants are reduced, her muscle tone WILL come back. We all here, have been exactly where you are right now. It’s crushing to watch, but please know – this is not forever. Sassy will be herself, it very vlae to it, again.

I think Sadsy is actually responding quite fast. It takes a while for the medications to take effect, which is why Sassy got the transfusions – to buy time. the tee-teeing in the house is also the meds. My pup NEVER did that either, until AIHA and the necessary medications. This will get better. She will also breath very rapidly – this will subside as weaned too.

It sounds too, that your vet has Sassy on protective measures for tummy, liver and clotting? Our pups, most of them, have been on Denamarin for LIVER protection, Sucralfate (AWESOME) for tummy and either aspirin or Plavix (Clopidogrel, generic( for clotting. These are a must during the immune suppressants.

I have not heard of the bio prep, but who knows. It obviously is not hurting her. What is in it? Many of the pups here are on PetTinic. Sadie will stay on that always. She has relapsed twice, so I don’t mess around – last relapse, I had taken her off. Back on.

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