Hemolytic anemia

[Kerry Chorley]

Just wondered whether anyone had any experience of this? My 7 year old dog has been at the vets being treated for it since Sunday and is very poorly. Became ill really quickly over a period of 24 hours.Thanks. Kerry 

[Torie Lancaster]

Great news.....I wish him a speedy recovery.

[Catherine Carter]

Super news, you must be so relieved! He will back to his old self in no times now!lots of hugs and licks from all of us here!

[Kerry Chorley]

It's been one of the longest weeks of my life. Think we were lucky to have great vets who had his diagnosed and on treatment within 5 minutes and have been amazing all week. 

[Fran Griffin]

That's great news Kerry, I hope he makes a full recovery very soon.

[Angela Roberts]

So pleased your boy is improved, takes so much out of you when you are worrying about them.  Always a good sign when they eat as they are definately feeling better

 

[Judith M. Meek]

It's the disease from hell.  Our second rescued redhead developed it.  His name was Maxie; he was our heart dog.  We were forever at the vet with him as he had several chronic issues---hypothyroid, allergies, colitis, all of which we kept under control.  We had him to the vet on a Friday to do blood work to check on his thyroid condition.  He had been picking the kibble out of his breakfast (kibble & boiled ground round steak).  We did not think anything of it as the weather had been lousy.  When the weather was lousy, his colitis acted up and he would frequently not eat, or eat very little.  So, that was not out of the ordinary.  That went on for about three days.  Then came the day he turned his nose up at a freeze dried liver bite which was his favorite treat.  I knew then there was a problem.  I checked his gums (which I did every night); they did not seem to be quite as pink as they should.  So, I took him right to the vet.  She ran some bloodwork and came back saying he was jaundiced & anemic (this was 4 days after the last visit when he was fine).  She kept him at the animal hospital for the day.  We went to pick him up & were told he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.  From the time I took him in the morning until the time we went to get him, his hematocrit had dropped from 33 to 21.  We  had to transfer him to a specialty hospital with an intensive care unit.  That's where he was actually diagnosed with the IMHA.  He was admitted and stayed there for 5 days.  He was treated and transfused.  He was responding nicely.  We visited him every day.  The last day we saw him, the internist told us that he thought one more transfusion and a couple  of more days and Maxie would be coming home.  Well, that night he bloated and then torsed.  Our only option was to help him over the Rainbow Bridge.  I don't think I will ever forget that night.  You always have one dog that is special; Maxie was ours; our heart dog.  I still miss him and cry sometimes when I think about him.  He's been gone a little over 4 years.  He was such a mess when we got him, we did everything humanly possible to spoil him rotten.  We were more than successful on that one.  Our final gift to him was to have his ashes buried at Angels' Rest, an animal cemetary at best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  It is in southern Utah, the redrock country.  It's absolutely beautiful there and a fitting place for our beloved Maxie.  I'll keep you in prayer.  I hope your dog heals and that you have many more years with him.  But, yes, IMHA does strike out of nowhere.  The vets never were able to determine what caused it in Maxie.

[Rhonda Fisher]

Such a dreadful time for Maxie and his loving family. So treasured and to loose him still in the end after all that work is vey sad. Hopefully with time they will find what causes this horrible disease. Sounds a lovely place for Maxie to rest sweetly and to think of him there Judith.

[Judith M. Meek]

They were the worst days of our lives.  But, it was worth the fight to give him every chance possible.  And yes,  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is an absolutely gorgeous place.  I think for a companion animal who has no forever family, well they could not find themselves in a better place.  And Angels Rest----when one walks through there and reads the memorials for the beloved companion animals who are buried there, there is a great sense of peace.  You can really feel the love the guardians had for those animals.  The natural beauty of the place is stunning.  So, we decided that was a fitting place for our Maxie.

[Fran Griffin]

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/videos.aspx

[Fran Griffin]

The interesting thing said on this video is the possible link with vaccinations. When my Lotte developed the condition, it suddenly appeared 3 weeks after a booster.  The vet who diagnosed her got into serious trouble with her practice when she pulled me aside and said "I have to tell you this, you should never boost this dog again. Another dog (a Doberman) who was boosted at the same time as Lotte has now also developed this. Please do not ever boost her again". Years later this vet is now about to qualify as a homeopath. What also is most interesting is that if you see her as a conventional vet she seems very uninterested "come on..... let's take you through and see what we can do..... sigh.... sigh".  When you see her in the role of a homeopathic vet she is absolutely passionate.  She works to boost the immune system in her new role.  Tallulah is just about to start treatment for her own auto-immune condition, so will be very interesting to see.

[Ann Millington]

I add just a little to the Haemolytic Anaemia topic after researching the condition for the IRWS Health database.

It is not a disease in itself, it is a reaction to some other underlying problem - could be vaccination problems, alergies, infection etc.etc.  IRWS had a case in the 1980s that had a complete blood transfusion (because the 'white blood cells' were attacking the 'red blood cells' that they 'thought' were 'invading with the principle disease') With the underlying problen being diagnosed and treated, and some new fresh blood, the dog made a complete recovery and lived to a good age.  It doesn't always happen like this - recognising, finding and treating the primary cause is the secret of success - but all too often the dog has progressed to HA which makes the outcome less successful.

[Fran Griffin]

Can't agree more Ann. This is an area of medicine which is horribly misunderstood, looking at the root cause of all problems, particularly auto-immune diseases.  Once an auto-immune condition is present, nobody knows how it is going to reveal itself, even if there is a genetic weakness.  There is an auto-immune issue in my own family, and it has manifested itself in various ways throughout the family.  Also it can manifest in a number of ways not just one. What ought to be looked at is that cause, and also the triggering factors if there is a genetic component. The problem ought to be treated before the explosion occurs.  I started taking my dogs into the vets as soon as the first symptoms started to occur, with Nalle and Tallulah the first signs were ignored, and once the ball started rolling, all their symptoms were taken in isolation and treated as separate conditions, whilst in fact - they weren't.  It was only after the serious levels were reached and proper diagnosis were made.  This is wrong...... soooooooooooooooo wrong ! At least with Lotte's AIHA it was picked up on soon after her booster, which was the triggering factor in her case. Some researchers are suggesting that blood tests should be given before vaccinations to ascertain whether or not there are underlying conditions exist.  With this adding to costs, I doubt that many people (or vets) would be keen to do this.