The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Great PCV!! I am so happy. But I also am wondering if IMHA is the correct diagnosis-going from 22 to 38 in 2 days on pred is not typical of the disease at all. I am wondering if something else caused the PCV drop, then quick rebound. Unless the IMHA was caught so early that the immediate early intervention worked so quickly? I just don't know. But take the great news and celebrate. I am very relieved. But if it is IMHA, do not ever let your guard down-check his gums daily for the rest of his life, and if you sense him not being right, a quick PCV will tell what is going on. As Dawn said, it is not an expensive test, maybe $25 at most-a vet tech can do it. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the info again. I am suspect as well of the large increase after only 4 doses of the Preds, but I will be watching him each day. We are going to test his blood on Friday.....if I notice any type of change though, I am more than welcome to bring him in earlier.....so I will keep watch.

When I get the chance I will post the mg of the Preds, and the other med as well.

It does appear he is producing red blood cells, so that is the best new in this current process. Right now his energy level is outstanding, close to his 'normal' state, but he will be watched....and over hugged

Oops forgot......they charged me $9 for the last blood PCV test...really a great group of people at this clinic. She is 3rd generation vet, and neat to see photos and old equipment she has on display from her father and grandfather I believe.

Rob, I am just now seeing this thread. I am so glad that Oakley is doing better. Our Parker was 4 1/2 also when he was diagnosed with IMHA, last February. I also was amazed at how quickly this disease takes over. Like you, this forum is the reason I recognized his symptoms and got him to the vet. He was one sick baby when we got him there. The one thing that saved him at the beginning was a transfusion from my vet's doberman. Knowledge on this forum is terrific and it is that plus my persistence with my vet about meds to try (from people on this forum) and my vet's knowledge (which I was doubtful about at first) and has "paid off in spades" for Parker. It is a slow process and Vickie is soooo right about ups and downs. Parker started at 80 mgs. of prednisone/daily (lots of peeing!!) and is now at 5 mgs/daily for the rest of his life. He will have no more shots or vaccinations for the rest of his life either, so I am vigilant when I walk him outside. He has put back on the weight and his fur is coming back full and nice. Rob, good luck, continue to do research, and my thoughts are with you guys!!

My thought as well, as that just seemed to much of a jump to get him to the low of the normal range. We will see how the week goes, and adjust.

Here is his meds;

Prednisolone 20mg take 1 every 12 hours for 14-days

Sucralfate 1g give with each Prednisolone taken

I thought I read some where the mg's the dog should take a day should equal his weight. Oakley weighed in at 31-pounds (same weight as 2009), so if that is correct, he may be taken 25% more than recommended, but unsure if that is correct.

He seems pretty normal right now.....I might have to research if there is anything else that can bring down a PVC level other than IMHA.

Rob, I would assume your vet would recommend the correct dosage. That said, I wouldn't worry and would definitely follow dosage prescribed for this terrible illness.

Hi Rob! I am so sorry Oakley was diagnosed with IMHA. My prayers are with you.
My Mia first contracted this disease in 2009 and relapsed this year. Sadly, although she was stablizing, we lost her to a blood clot in October.

--Treatment of this disease is 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Mia's PCV would surge and drop like a roller coast ride during the first weeks of treatment. She was treated at the Vet Specialty Hospital here in San Diego. According to Mia's internist at the hospital, PCVs have 4% margin of error in either direction so you need to look at PCVs taken over time to accurately judge whether or not the meds have taken a lasting effect. Our vet usually waited 7-10 days before making an adjustment.

--20mgs of prednisone is what Mia was on the first time she contracted IMHA. The second time the vet had her on 30mgs because she had thrombocytopenia as well.

--If Oakley goes into remission, be cautious about giving him oral antibiotics and avoid Clavomox and penicillin which are believed to trigger relapses. If you see a vet other than your regular vet, let the vet know that Oakley is in remission for IMHA. Dogs in remission have hyper sensitive immune systems. Mia's relapse may have due to the fact that she was prescribed Clavomox for an eye injury after being on doxycycline for Bordatella. Her regular vet treated her for the Bordatella. The ER vet who treated her for the eye injury didn't know about her IMHA history. I can't help but wonder if he would have prescribed something different if he had known or given us a topical medicine.

I am also sending you a PM and positive healing thoughts.

Sounds like you are making progress, they put my Muffin on 30 mgs of Pred in the am and 25 mgs of Azathioprin in the pm with 1/8 baby asprin and Pepcid with both meds, we went from 17 to 11 in two days and they back to 15 and it took us almost 6 months to get to the mid 20's. Right now my Muffin is holding at 40 and we are off the pred but take the Azathioprin every 3rd day. It has been 13 months for us and I watch her like a hawk. Good luck and keep an eye on the gums.

good update today, 12-23. His PCV reading was 46, so we went from 22, to 38, to now 46, all of this in such a short time frame. The last 4-days I have cut his meds down by 25%, and still had the increase in numbers, which is good. I am going to cut back a bit more, and keep watch of him of course, and see how it goes. We are checking again on January 6th. I am not a big drug person, so I want to slowly get him off of the Pred, and hopefully he will keep his balance on the PCV number....that is my goal. Pretty weird with his quick bounce back from when I first took him in, but I cannot argue with how he is currently. He just scarfs food (does not get any extra than normal) and drinks like a fish out of water.....I swear I have a lab from the sounds I hear around the water bowl No doubt the Preds increase appetiate and water intake....plus the more frequent outtakes LOL

Rob: Great news that Oakley is moving in the right direction. You aren't reducing the dosages on your own, are you? I would think that is something that your vet would be handling if, indeed, Oakley has IMHA. From everything I've read, it's a very slow process to reduce the amount of prednisone, etc. that they're taking to avoid a relapse. Even if you yourself are not a drug person (neither am I) I don't think you want to mess with reducing the dosage too fast.

I happy Oakley is feeling better!

I gotta ask if there was a definitely diagnosis of IMHA or just a suspicion?

Hi Rob,
I hope Oakley is doing okay. I wonder, did your vet ask you if Oakley had eaten any onions or anything with onions or access to onions? When Mia was first diagnosed, I was asked this question several times because ingesting onions in a large amount or over time can cause anemia that looks like IMHA.

Please keep us updated. IMHA makes us all anxious!

Still going off of the IMHA diagnosis. When I first went in, I described Oakleys condition, and what I had learned about IMHA, and they were presently treating 2 other dogs with this diease. She did ask me questions if he had gotten into any food, chocalate, etc, but I could not confirm any of that. Nothing was unusal or out of place in our kitchen, and did not see any left over residue of different kinds of food anywhere, so nothing that would lead me to believe he got into some type of food we did not know about, but also very strange with his quick turn-around, which sounds very unusual for IMHA. Just really do not know, but Oakley is doing great right now.

Glad to hear Oakley is doing well. As for his quick turnaround, guess we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth! Continued prayers and positive thoughts for you!

forgot to post the update on Friday. Took his PCV test, and it came out at 48%, so he has been stable at that number for the last 2-3 weeks. I had his Pred meds cut back 25%, and after the last test on Friday, the vet has cut that back to 50%.....so I will be running at that level, and testing him in 3-weeks. All is good, just the drinking like a horse and his frequent trips outdoors to water the lawn/snow (I keep feeding him the same, but that is a challenge). Hopefully I will be able to keep weaning him off of the meds. Figured I would update in case anyone else has to go through this, and can use my situation as a reference.

Thank you for the update, glad things are going very very well. But never, ever let your guard down, and check those gums daily and whenever something is not right-I check my dogs gums all the time, and if one isn't hungry and doesn't feel like eating(they do that in the am), first thing I do is check the gums-and these dogs never had IMHA. Keep up the good work Oakley!

Sounds good, but like Sandy says don't let your guard down, We are in our 14th month and still weaning Muffin down, she is down to twice a week now and hopefully in two weeks we will be down to once a week, All three of my vets say SLOW and EASY

I am now a frequent gum checker

So sorry to hear about Oakley, but so happy that he is bouncing back!! I am one of the unlucky ones, I lost my Lily to IMHA in October. If I had known of this forum, I like to think she would still be here. But by the time I got her to the Emergency clinic it was moving in the wrong direction. The transfusions didn't work, nor did the meds. I still kick myself for not finding it sooner. Her little body just couldn't keep going.
This forum, as you have learned, is a wonderful place! So much help is here for you, and you can use all of the combined resources. Best of luck with Oakley-