- Second Chance AIHA ›
- Forums ›
- AIHA Dog ›
- Split: Split: For Hope and Steve
Hi Hope,
It made me so happy to read Steve is doing great with a PCV of 48! It can be really frustrating not to know what caused this disease. You are probably on the right track that it was not just the one thing. Sometimes things accumulate and then it is that one thing that pushes that body over the edge. You say that he tested hypothyroid? That does however not necessarily mean he was before diagnosis. Being on steroids could cause that. Allergies are always a red flag for me,obviously the immune system was already a bit mixed up. giving antihistamines could suppress the immune system.
If Dr. Dodds went along with this pred reduction who am I to question it? I thought it is too fast but obviously there was something else that played a role that Dr. Dodds went with it. This is why all of our advice is still just that, advice from a lay person. Why don’t you touch bases with Dr. Dodds again for that next reduction? Obviously I think again, this is WAY too much at one time. But if you check with Dr. Dodds that would clearly be a better opinion than mine:)
I lost my AIHA dog almost 5 years ago but I am still cautious with immunizations. I have used Dr. Dodds vaccination protocol for my new puppy. Now we do titers every 1-3 years. So far both my dogs have always shown antibodies. We did need a rabies booster because we went for a visit to the US (from Canada where rabies is not mandatory) Our holistic vet gave a minimal dose so we are legal again for 3 years (to go to the US). I realize that not every vet would do this, they could quite possibly loose their license. I think Dr. Dodds is in year 5 or even 6 of the 7 year rabies challenge. This would proof that the vaccine is good for 7 years! Even if you are quite certain that the vaccines did not cause Steve’s AIHA getting him vaccinated could still make him relapse again this time I think. His immune system is compromised and might go into attack mode again. I don’t think that a dog that has had this disease should ever be vaccinated again, period. No matter how well Steve is doing, he is not a 100 % healthy dog and on the package of the vaccines it states that a dog needs to be healthy to be given it. It is such a tricky thing with the rabies when it is required by law and I know there is no perfect solution.
Best wishes,
Brigitte
Hiya Brigitte!!
Thank you so for your quick response.. I “think” the good thing about sending blood to dr dodds for thyroid testing is that she takes into account medications the dog is currently on (she asked for the full list) as well as breed and age to determine thyroid status. I may be wrong about that — maybe someone can clarify that?
I’ll definitely send Dr. Dodds an email about the next questioned reduction.. I was really surprised about the last one as well!
I definitely don’t plan to have Steve vaccinated again — just to be safe. I’m hoping to fly under the radar with it as long as possibly which may not be an issue bc he’s never boarded, and I don’t plan to take him to the dog park anymore. I’m wondering what to do about my non-IMHA pup tho, Steves brother Jeffrey. I’m so scared of Steve relapsing or Jeffrey getting IMHA im scared to vaccinate him now too. I think asking to titer shouldn’t be a huge deal right? Or someone suggested to me asking them to space out his vaccines over more than one visit?
Hugs!
Xoxo
hey all!!
just wanted to check in and tell you about my (smallish) heart attack this morning —
we discontinued steve’s prednisone totally as of yesterday — he had been doing 5mg every other day for about 2-2.5 weeks and the vet said he thought it was time to stop it all together. yesterday he was fine and super energetic (i really think he feels better already being on less of the hard medications).. we took him on a good long walk and he explored and ran around.
Steve kept waking me up last night and he was breathing kind of weird, which he does sometimes now… you can hear him breathing nasally almost (does anyone have any experience with that? i thought it was from the Pred maybe?) and he was aggravating me but i had taken him out and everything so i made him go back to bed. this morning i went to take him out and brought him back in to eat.. now steve since his diagnosis has a ravenous appetite.. ALWAYS wants to eat. this morning he didn’t want to eat. (that was my first clue when he got sick back in June, he didn’t want to eat anything at all one day.) In a panic this AM, i kept trying to give him different things and he ate cheese but he didnt’ want any of his veggies or fruit or even his pumpkin yogurt. so i woke matt up hysterical … he took him in while i went to class but i had my phone like perched up while i was in lab. matt said he was running around outside, all happy and excited but he got worried too bc when they went into the vets office he did NOT want to go into the back. and usually he’s like ‘omg field trip?!’ and runs in all happy to explore. matt said they had to drag him in and he could hear him barking and stomping his feet from the waiting room. then they came and got Matt and said they wanted to talk to him in the back room too so he got nervous.. after all that, PCV WAS 51%!!!! we don’t know why he didn’t want to eat and matt kind of ruined it bc he told the vet that steve pre-sick was a finicky eater (which is true — thats probably how he maintained his skinny 45 lb physique lol)… and of course his regular vet wasn’t in so we had an ER vet that doesn’t know his case. she said that “ooo yea that must be it — he’s returning to pre-sick habits” and told him that since we stopped the pred, and that’s what makes them hungry, that’s probably what happened. i’m surprised it changed his appetite in less than 24 hours but it makes sense i guess. what do you guys think?
please keep your fingers, toes and paws crossed that this continues to go okay!
xoxo hope and the stinkers
Hi Hope,
I totally understand the freaking out when Steve is not eating. Post AIHA when ever one of my dogs is not eating ravenous I check their gums…. just in case. i had to learn that sometimes the reason for them not to eat is just that they are not hungry! Simple as that. With a PCV of % and Steve jumping around and feeling fine, I really think that he is fine:)
Best wishes,
Brigitte
Steve’s a bad boy for doing that to you. Bingo has also gone back to his finicky eating habits and it freaks me out too. He’s decided lately that treats are more nutritious than his food and he’s quite insistent about that. I suspect he really likes the last lot of treats I bought, which are a lot more chewy than his usual (not that I’ve tried them), but they are dried chicken breast pieces, but a much darker colour than usual. Supposedly 100% chicken but I’m wondering if they have something on them which makes them addictive to dogs to ensure a continual sale.
Oh and Bingo seems to snore a lot more than he did too. Is that the noise you’re talking about? Like a throaty dragging his last breath kind of sound?
Steve’s PCV is a brilliant result. As with every pred drop, just keep checking his gums. When does he get checked again?
Fingers and everything crossed that he behaves himself and keeps up the happy numbers.
Lots of love, Vally & Bingo
Hiya Vally and Bingo!
These naughty (spoiled) kids .. What ARE we going to do with them?!?! Steve also likes his treats more than he should — I know exactly what you mean about the treats. I got some fried sweet potato ones and they are super dark and him and persnickety Jeffrey are obsessed with them. The latter makes me suspicious they aren’t 100% wholesome bc he’s snotty and he tried to get on the counter to get to them.
Steve’s appetite was better yesterday and definitely this morning — I think he knows I respond better when he wants food. I’ve made him eating anything a joyous, literally (bad) singing event. However he did spit his berries out on my feet like “are you kidding me?”
I can’t really explain the breathing thing — I tried to get a video buy like always he didn’t cooperate and do it last night when I wanted him too. It’s like a forced exhale noise every time he breathes– like if you force an exhale, listen to that and that’s pretty close.
I am definitely watching him close — his next scheduled Pcv is november 1st I believe but we will be visiting sooner if need be. At all. Lol!
Hugs to you and Mr. Bingo!
Xoxo hope and steve
![bingo-14-5_1200x775](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/bingo-14-5_1200x775.jpg "Vally\'s Bingo \\"Smile\\"")
![Brigitte_Cleo_Ripley_Enzo_4](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/Brigitte_Cleo_Ripley_Enzo_4.jpg "Brigitte\'s Cleo, Ripley, Enzo and Guest \\"Rockin\\"")
