Page 263 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

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Keymaster

Hi Megan

What a relief! Goodness, I’m so glad to hear it’s not bleeding at all. Best to be on the safe side & check anything like that though. I am a great believer in using chlorhexidine for skin infections, but you have to be careful not get get it in eyes, ears or noses. That stuff kills 99.9 % of bacteria, viruses & fungi and the effects last for about 12 hours. The prednisolone stops things healing over, so this is difficult. Worzel had a raw, wet sore (where they shaved him too closely for the drip & it bled) on his leg for months & months. It didn’t heal up until he was weaned off the prednisolone, so I just cleaned & dressed it twice per day. It was really difficult inventing a raised dressing to stop the padding from touching the soggy surface. I wouldn’t have covered it up if he hadn’t insisted on lick, lick, licking it! If Sophie can’t reach to lick the sores, they are probably better left to keep dry on the open air. Can anyone out there remember what Robert used when his Maggie had skin problems?

You asked for details of other people’s medications:

Worzel (24kg in weight) was on (in addition to his heart murmur medicines twice a day)

Prednisolone 20mg twice per day – 10am & 10pm

Azathioprine 50mg once per day WITH FOOD at 6pm (can cause pancreatitis so dogs need to kept a very close eye on with this drug)

Doxycycline 250mg once per day for 6 weeks (he had an infection – most likely a tick-borne disease called ehrlichiosis)

Tardyferon 80mg (iron supplement) once per day with food at lunchtime 12.30

Famotidine (I think you call that Pepcid in the US) once per day – in afteroon 3pm

Sucralfate 1g last thing at night – midnight

He didn’t need aspirin either as his problem was in his bone marrow so he didn’t have any abnormal clotting risks (like Sophie actually). It is a nightmare trying to work out the pill schedules, but it is so important to keep certain medicines apart from each other (sucralfate for example prevents absorption of other the drugs), so that they can have the best effect. Also giving them as instructed e.g. with or without food can make a huge difference. If you are unsure, someone on here will know. We weaned him off the prednisolone when his PCV went up & had remained stable for a couple of weeks. The weaning must only be started when this PCV stability has been achieved & must be done nice & slowly to prevent a relapse.

He was very ill, Megan, as they all are because of the drug treatment, but now he is only on 1 x 50mg azathioprine per week. It has taken a year for him to reach this point, so things don’t improve overnight, unfortunately.

You are a BRILLIANT Mum. Keep in touch & know we are ALL thinking of you. My vet was saying yesterday that I now know more people with experience of this disease than he does (it was a complement to all who help on here) – this is the best place in the world for support from other people that have been in the same situation. Hugs to dear Sophie from all of us.

Sheena, Worzel & Ollie

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