The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

teJust came back from the vet, and we have confirmed he does have this diease. Let me first say thank you to the post (sticky) in this section. I did read it months back, and when I saw Oakley listless, less energy, the other day, this post stuck in my head, so went back and researched it again. Okaley had many of the symptoms, low energy, not eating, just not himself, and when I looked at the gums and saw they were pale, it was time to take him to the vet....and that is something for me LOL......I just do not go to doctors myself unless I feel it is really bad. Oakley has seen the vet in a good time frame, as they indicated they normally see the dogs in a much worse condition, and I really have to thank this forum, and I think her name is Dawn, for the post on this diease.

Oakley is 4 1/2 years old....just a great dog. This came on quick like everyone has posted, I maen like snap your fingers quick. He has a red blood (I think what the vet said) count of 22%, which is low....I think she mentioned 35% is normal....she mentioned she has seen worse. The troubling aspect is we do not know yet if Oakley is producing new red blood cells.........has the feel that he is not..........but we are goign to retake the blood count on Friday. If his body is not producing the new red blood cells, this is not good, and will result in Oakley's death......hard to hear, but do appreciate the facts. Not sure if I can go the route of blood transfusions and the other high end trys to cure....tough to say......but just a fact alot of owners have to face, and now I may well have to. We shall see how it looks on Friday.

I just wanted to start this thread for others to notice with your cockers, and just remember, it happens like now......check the symptoms if you see your dog just not acting normal........it will help you have a chance to possibly save your dogs life. I will update as I get more info....it sucks, but it is life. When I obtained Oakley, I knew down the road there would be some tough choices at some point, just did not expect them at 4 1/2 years into his life.

Oh Rob, I am so sorry. 22% is not bad, Brady was diagnosed at 11%, went up to 18 then dropped the next am to 7% when we rushed him into Angell. Please post what meds the vet put Oakley on, and read read read. Hopefully by catching this early the meds will work and stop the red blood cell destruction. The transfusions are done to by time until the meds kick in. I also urge you to join the AIHA forum immediately, link is somehwre here-they are very very knowledgable and can help interpret stuff. Read about regenerative vs non regenerative, and arm your self with info. Also print out side effects for each drug he is on. The power of prayer on this forum is strong, and my prayers are with you both.

I'm so sorry to read this. Yes, Oakley is far too young! My positive thoughts and prayers are your and Oakley's now. Please keep us posted.

I am so sorry to read this.

Am I understanding you right in that the vet is doing nothing until Friday (retesting), and at that point nothing will be done?

Rob

Exactly what meds and dosage did the vet put him on? He should be on a strong dose of prednisone at least. Honestly, I would bring him in daily for a PCV check. How experienced is your vet in dealing with this? Did they do a tick panel to determine if perhaps Lyme or another tickborne disease caused it? Another thing you can do is contact Dr Jean Dodds-she will give free consults for dogs with IMHA. Just don't give up, many dogs do recover from this, and in Oakleys case where it was found early he has a better chance of recovery IMO as long as he is started on the proper med regime.

Hugs to both of you.

Having just got through this with my daughter dog who is 5, all I can suggest is to run to the nearest emergency hospital or vet who has the most experience with this in your area. It is not easy or cheap but some dogs can be saved and his levels are not nearly as low as my daughters dog which was at 2 percent. Yes, it cost lots of money but waiting until Friday is not good. My daughters dog had 3 transfusions in the first week, time is of the essence. My daughter is a single girl with a low paying job but honestly, it was worth every dollar spent to have her pup. Good luck!

I'm so sorry to hear this about Oakley. I've missed your amazing pics of him. Sending lots of healing thoughts and good wishes that he beats this.

Thank for the responses Oakley had a cortisone shot and was given meds that are Pred (forgot the spelling) which I understand is a steroid. They also gave me another to take in combo for his stomach, as they indicated the Pred can affect it, it is called Sucralfate.

I am pretty comfortable with my Vet. One of her assistants has 2 dogs she just rescued, and both have/had IMHA, so they were pretty knowledgable about it as they have been treating those dogs over the past month. This forum made me very knowledgable going in to the vet, and her description of the disease matched the forum post on this topic.....she was asking all of the right questions, and was appreciative of what I knew as well I believe.

We are just going to check him on Friday with his levels. If I notice a big change tomorrow I will take him in, and they have an emergency number as well after hours. The assistant gave me her left over meds to start Oakley on, which was awesome. I thanked her, but was in a bit of a fog about it all, so need to let her know again.......was very nice of her to do that.

This was my thought, not the vets, on where I will go after the next check. If we verify that he is not producing new red blood cells, I am just not sure what I can do for Oakley......that is the key at this point.......just tough it if comes to that.

If he is not producing red blood cells you can do the treatment for IMHA, but hopefully, waiting won't hurt his chances of survival.

It was nice of the tech to give you meds, assuming they are the correct ones, but I am somewhat shocked a tech would do that or why.

Rob
You are not going to see red blood cell production in a few days. Right now the white blood cells are attacking the red blood cells. The steroids are to stop the destruction, and it takes a week or two for the steroids to kick in. That is why they do transfusions if the PCV goes too low, to give the steroids the time it needs to stop the destruction. Please don't just give up if the PCV falls, that is normal, give the meds time to work. The PCV will probably get worse before it gets better, that is normal. He has a much better chance of beating this hwere he was caught earlier than most. How much Pred is he on?-sometimes vets don't give enough. I forget what the proper dosage should be, but it is high. Side effects of the pred are increased urination and increased appetite once the pred kicks in. He'll need to pee very very often and should drink alot also-if he is not drinking I would boil plain chicken breast and let him drink the broth. Keep checking his gums also. Lots of prayers coming your way.

Based on what others have said, I really do not understand the vets idea of retesting on Friday. I would be taking that baby to another vet sooner than soon!!!!

Like I said in my earlier post, if it was me, I would be at the emergency vet. We did not see any signs of improvement for almost 10 days, this was after 3 transfusions at a person who specializes in this disease. Prednisone is not the only course of treatment, my daughters dog was on various meds to get the blood cell count back up. We were also told that really the only true test was to do a bone marrow biopsy, cancer and other diseases need to be ruled out first.

Rob, I am so sorry, that is such horrible news. Sending lots of prayers and good wishes that Oakley will do better soon. Please keep us informed and give him a hug from us.

Hoping for a good update on Oakley.

Thanks for all the info once again.....feeling a bit better about the process than I did at the start....common I am sure. The vet I am working with I do have confidence in....I have no worry's there. They are currently treating 2 dogs with the same condition, and each of these dogs are currently doing well, so they really are knowledgable about IMHA, and the questions and information they have provided go right along with the sticky post on this topic. In regards to the non-regenerative IMHA, this was my thought process, nothing the vet told me, in regards to this causing Oakley's possible death. My thought was if he is not reproducing red blood cells, how is he going to make it...but I am learning going through this process :)

Makes sense to let the Preds work....thanks Sand and Dawn....makes sense they have to have some time. Oakle's energy level has picked up. At the start you could tell he was off, and just not himself. He currently has a bit more energy, his appetite has picked up, which I am sure is from the Preds....he went to his food dish and ate his dry food this morning, which he has not been doing for about 4-days. He is getting spoiled though boiled chicken at dinner so I can place his medicine inside of the chicken to make sure it goes down the hatch LOL

He is getting alot of loving right now, and we are continuing on with the process. He is going in later today, and take his blood again to see where his numbers are, and we will just keep taking it one step at a time.

For others reading this post on Oakley, this forum has given him a chance in regards to IMHA, just for the simple fact I have read the topics in the caring section from time-to-time, and it stuck in my head in regards to this diease. Alot of great information posted by alot of great people who love this breed of dog. Oakley is as good as a dog he is from the information I have received through here since he was a pup

Keeping my fingers crossed for a good report from the vet today.

Me too. Fingers (and paws) crossed for a good report today.

Rob, we will be praying and thinking of Oakley. He is in good hand's, the vet's here are wonderful. They have been very pro-active and informational in regards to Bailey's heart murmer. Keep your chin up and let me know if you need anything! Good Luck today!

Oakley at work with me before his appointment today

Oh, geeze, too cute!

The update on Oakley is good news. The blood test today showed a PCV level of 38%, a climb from 2-days ago of 22%, so it trended in the right way. Still a ways to go of course, but was good news for this visit. You can see his activity has picked up, and a touch of color in his gum area. So....good news for now.....we of course are keeping him on the Prednisone meds, so we will keep monitoring him day-by-day, but good news right now

Great that he's moving in the right direction. Stay the course....... Sweet, sweet pictures of little Oakley.

I'm praying for Oakley and very glad he got a good report today. Please know that this disease can be sort of a roller coaster so don't figure if he got a good report today he may not get bad and then good again. I'm only saying that because if his numbers dip I don't want you to figure he's going down hill and that it'll get worse from there. You are doing a great job giving him what he needs and he sure looks good in his picture. All the best and if you have any questions, I would PM Dawn right away. She is truly most knowledgeable about this disease!