Vally - 223. page

[Vally]

Oh no Sheena, what happened to Hop-a-long?

[Vally]

Hi Tara.

Day 1 – all good – sort of. He had to go out twice during the night and again this morning. He looks fine though, good colour and good energy level this morning – I did think he was quieter than normal yesterday, but quite hot yesterday. I’ll give him some slippery elm tonight if the poos continues today.

Linda, his vet said he wanted him down to his lowest prednisone before changing the dosing of cyclosporine because the pred side effects affect his body more than the cyclo.

His teeth, you know, I’m not sure. They actually both do still wobble, but I don’t think as much. One side definitely, less wobbly than before.

So relieved this morning though to give him his whole quarter tablet.

Love Vally & sprightly

[Vally]

Tara, I have read that licorice is good for the liver and had considered getting some as a supplement. I was taking licorice tablets at one stage for heartburn.

I too would be nervous about a change in the product though. See what others are doing. I use Denosyl (which is what Bingo’s vet put me on) and only in the last 6 weeks added milk thistle tablets.

Love Vally & Bingo.

[Vally]

Ruth, Bingo ended up in hospital for 10 days. The early days were the absolute worse. I totally understand how lost you must be feeling without Nula. It was such a hard time.

But, specialist veterinary care is what made the difference with Bingo. At our local vets, they ummed and arred about things for days until he basically collapsed. When they couldn’t work out what was going on, they referred him to a specialist vet. That made a big difference. They knew what they were dealing with. They did repeat all the tests that had been done previously – I remember being annoyed because blood tests and ultrasounds had been done by the local vet, but they had much more specialised equipment and wanted to see what was happening themselves rather than relying on images which were not anywhere near as good as their own.

With most of our dogs, the prednisone isn’t enough to keep the immune system in check. Bingo was also started on cyclosporine and that made a difference – at that point he started to improve in his red blood production.

When you’re able, let us know what the vets have said about the testing.

Thinking of you and Nula.

My best, Vally & Bingo.

[Vally]

I forgot, is Nula on aspirin and stomach protection? They are very important. If not, please ask because blood clots are one of the biggest killers in this disease. The prednisone is very hard on the stomach, that’s why stomach protection is recommended.

Anyway if you can list the drugs that you’ve been given for Nula.

Again, very best. Vally & BIngo

[Vally]

Hi Ruth, I’m so sorry you’ve been thrown into the deep end of this pool. It’s a terrifying disease in that it seems one day our dogs are okay and the next they’re in emergency.

If you have details of any tests run, post them here. There are some fabulous people here who understand the test results and can help you understand them – I’m not one of them.

Prednisone is the major drug used to treat AIHA. It’s a horrible drug in that it has heaps of side effects, BUT it’s a life saver and we’ve all come to respect it. Some of the side effects can be scary. – panting, excessive drinking and peeing. They feel very hot and if you always had a cuddling dog, you may find that Nula will be more comfortable on a cool floor – that was one of the hardest things I found. Keep Nula quiet for now. She’ll be feeling very tired because of the low red blood. One thing though, she’s not in pain.

When do you go back for testing again. A PCV of 22 isn’t critically dangerous – so that’s good, but it’s important to make sure that the number doesn’t drop. In the early days, it’s important to be checked every few days. Bingo was tested 3 times a week when he first came out of hospital until stable and then the tests started to move further apart.

Ask anything at all. Someone has been through what you’re going through. The people here are really really wonderful. We all know what it’s like to be terrified because our dog or cat is suddenly so very sick.

My very best,
Vally & Bingo (diagnosed Nov 2011 – in remission)

[Vally]

Sheena, I’m thrilled that your HOT vet came back with great news. Talk about paranoid – me that is. I was actually thinking was Bingo’s good news going to jinx Worzel so I was quite worried. How seriously weird are we – you and your feet washing. I’ll bet Worzel just loves having his feet bathed in chlorhexadine (no idea what that is but I’ll just bet it smells like roses) and all his favourite smells boiled out of his duvet.

Mary I’m glad to read we were able to help you through your day with our good results. Give Mable’s volumptuous (not chunky!) tummy a rub for me.

Love of love Vally & Bingo.

[Vally]

I survived the vet visit – I mean Bingo did really great!!! Thank you so much my dear friends for waiting this time out with me.

Okay the magic numbers are – they only repeated the liver profile tests:

ALB 30 (22-39) – previously 37
ALKP 112 (23-212) – previously 121
ALT 187 (10-100 HIGH) – previously HIGHER!!! at 229 – so we (he!) went the right way.
GLOB 37 (25-45) – previously 38
TBIL 7 (0-15) – previously HIGH at 18 – Patrice perhaps you were right and they mishandled the blood – I don’t care I’m just doing the happy dance right now.
TP 67 (52-82) – previously 75.
New one this time of ALB/GLOB of 0.8

His PCV is a nice happy 46%

He has lost 600 grams from 6 weeks ago – I was a bit worried about this too as it seemed a lot although I have had him on a diet, but his Vet is happy with his weight and physical exam.

We are reducing his pred down to quarter tablet (1.25mg) every second day (down from quarter tablet one day and one-eighth the next), however because I’m a member of the paranoid club, we will wait at least another week to do this, maybe 2 weeks as all his other reductions were done after 2 months on the current dosage.

Still dancing.

Lots of happy smiles and stupid grins from me.
Bingo ignoring me and is still p’d off from being dragged to the vets.