Sick Doggie

[darthtang aw]

Anemia is genetic in dogs...some breeds more than others. You will hear of cases where dogs with fleas or ticks become anemic...but not all dogs will come down anemic...because of genetic make up. In this case something has brought on the anemia causing the body to breakdown the red blood cells long before their usual lifespan. Red blood cells usually last aroud 4 months before the body breaks them down in dogs. For some reason your dog is breaking them down faster than it is making them.
Blood transfusion may be needed. This will cost around 1500.
Things you can do at home...vitamin c, iron, b12 will all help prevent anemia. But you also need to find the cause. Hookworm, heartworm, or some other parasite are usually the prime culprit for dogs.....howev er, cancer and other diseases could be the cause as well. In rare cases you may never find the primary cause...could be something as simple as iron deficiency.
Diet, activity, interaction with okie rednecks.....will have to be examined.
Darth (made you laugh) Tang

 

[teresaq]

She is young, and very cute. I hope she is feeling better soon.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darthtang AW http:///forum/thread/384593/sick-doggie/20#post_3369611
Anemia is genetic in dogs...some breeds more than others. You will hear of cases where dogs with fleas or ticks become anemic...but not all dogs will come down anemic...because of genetic make up. In this case something has brought on the anemia causing the body to breakdown the red blood cells long before their usual lifespan. Red blood cells usually last aroud 4 months before the body breaks them down in dogs. For some reason your dog is breaking them down faster than it is making them.
Blood transfusion may be needed. This will cost around 1500. WOW...Thanks goodness we live in OK....the vet told me $80 so if any of your pets need a transfusion COME HERE
Things you can do at home...vitamin c, iron, b12 will all help prevent anemia. But you also need to find the cause. Hookworm, heartworm, or some other parasite are usually the prime culprit for dogs.....howev er, cancer and other diseases could be the cause as well. In rare cases you may never find the primary cause...could be something as simple as iron deficiency.
Diet, activity, interaction with okie rednecks.....will have to be examined.
Darth (made you laugh) Tang
Darth.....wouldn't a parasite show up in the blood work? SO IN OTHER WORDS....they should still be looking for a cause of this???

 

[gemmy]

Meowzer, I think Pixie may have had a reaction to the baytril causing the anemia. It is rare for baytril to do this but it is very possible, especially in a smaller dog like yours. Baytril is also designed to work rapidly, which would explain the rapid onset of the symptoms.

 

[mylady]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. When I brought my cat Tigger to the ER vet he was SOOO yellow his billirubin was 14 and the normal for a cat is 1-5 I believe. It was something way off. Unfrotunately here, to try to treat him would have cost $1000 a night at the vet and they said he would need to be there at least 3 or more days and they had only given him a 15-20% chance of making it. I hate that we had to make that decision based on money. lady spent one night at the vet on IV meds before they were able to conclude she was in renal failure. I still owe them $850 for the one night she was there. The cost of vet care can be downright scary and it varies so much from area to area. When I worked for a vet we charged $200 for a dental and here they charge $800. Difference between midwest and NY.
I know how scary it is, I have been there waiting for the phone to ring praying for good news. When Lady was younger I almost lost her to an infection but the vet saved her. It was the best phone call I had ever received and I pray you get one of those calls soon.

 

[darthtang aw]

Actually had to go reread your first post......did they run tests to determine the intestinal infection? Curious what kind of infection...viral..parasitid caused...etc. this or as stated the baytril could have brought on the anemia. Most parasites would show up in bloodwork...some may not. But after rereading your first post I doubt parasites r the issue. Unless they didnt run tests and just diagnosed intestinal infection based off symptons.

 

[meowzer]

IMO...I think they just diagnosed the intestinal thing yesterday by symptoms......NOW I feel like I should have questioned it

You know.....I said to my husband OVER AND OVER last night...How do they know it is intestinal.....they ran no tests until today when we brought her back STILL with fever, BUT now yellow....There are no signs of parasite in the blood work they did today
BTW her bellirubin was 19

 

[monsinour]

cats and dogs are different in size so a higher reading might not be that bad. Have you looked up what normal should be?
edit: From ehow.com
"Normal levels of bilirubin in a dog's urine are less than 1 milligram per deciliter (mg/dl). Once the bilirubin reaches 2 mg/dl, then the dog will become jaundiced."
edit2: Not sure if you have seen this yet, but it has news of hope for ya. Ask your vet if they are giving this kind of milk to your pup to help with liver issues. http://www.vetnet.co.uk/forum/bilirubin-levels-2009121817030620794.htm

 

[darthtang aw]

Normal reading would be 3 to 5. The high number is due to the rapid destruction of the red blood cells. Bilirubin is what red blood cells are transformed into when broken down. Size does not matter. A level of 19 is typical for a jaundice/anemia sufferring dog.
Get the anemia under control...then the search for the under lying cause can begin.

 

[meowzer]

All I know is they were gonna get her started on a high dose of steroids to stop the destruction of the red blood cells.....
I'm gonna call in 15 minutes to check on her......I will ask again about how they are going to find the cause....

 

[darthtang aw]

Let them handle the anemia first.....that is the more immediate serious threat.

 

[mantisman51]

I lost my little Buddy on Monday. He was a 15lb "cockapoo". He quit eating and drinking, but had no fever or any other symptom. The vet ran a bunch of tests; blood, stool and urine. Nothing was wrong as far as she could see. He went out on the porch Monday evening and laid on the top step. When we went to check on him a few minutes later, he was dead. He was my Dad's dog until my Dad died in 2002. Then my Mom's until her alzheimers got too bad and we've had him for the last 6 years. I really hope your little guy pulls through. It is far more heart-breaking than I thought it could be.

 

[al&burke]

Hey meowzer sorry you are going through this, sorry I called your dog a boy.
Have faith in your vet, stop reading about the disease right now on the internet. Give the dog some time and when she pulls through then read about it, you are just going to get all the negative out of the internet now wuth the state of mind you are in, send some good vibes to Pixie, she needs it right now. Good luck she looks so cute in the picture.

 

[meowzer]

Darth....I just talked to the vet, and YES that is what we are doing....dog is the same....obviously too soon to see any results.....They have my cell #, and know to call me no matter what time if anything changes....I told them if I want to be with her
Mantis....I AM SO SORRY.....only a true pet lover understands the pain
AL...LOl.....No worries about the sex thing....AND YES....I AM NOT reading anything else.....I had a little conversation with the doc about that too LOL...I told her the articles scared the crap out of me

You know......If my cell phone rings I am gonna freak out

 

[al mc]

There is a lot of good info already posted.
AHI, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia is usually a secondary problem, but many times is more serious than the primary problem. Based on the info you provided I suspect it was triggered by an infection not medication as there was a fever on your vet visit before any medication was administered Can't be positive, just my feeeling. Usually, the primary problem is an infection that triggers an over reaction by the immune system to the infection. The body gears up it's immune system when a bacteria is seen in the body but during the process starts attacking (by mistake) some of it's normal cells. In this case you may have had some bacteria on the surface of the red blood cells and in it's effort to 'kill' the invader the body started destroying the red blood cells as well.
Massive doses of corticosteriods are given to block or shut down this over exuberant immune response. At the same time your vet may be trying to diagnose/treat what he/she suspects is the primary problem. But, the critical part is to stop the immune system from continuing to attack the blood cells. Usually a transfusion is given only when absolutely necessary because you will be introducing more blood cells that the immune system may attack because they are 'foreign'.
Had one of these last week. To put more pressure on me it was a 14 year old dog of a freind of my wife. Dog had HCT (hematocrit...measure of red blood cell number) of '9' (normal is 35-45). Because of age and finances she elected to treat him as an out patient. We got lucky....HCT 6 days later was '24'. Doing much better. Still have not identified cause, but he did have a fever and is still on antibiotics. In our area it is not unusual to think of Lyme Disease as a cause.
You will be hoping to get the following news along the way. HCT stable and/or rising in next 24-48 hours. As this stabilizes the strength/appetite returns. The jaundice may take days to go away.
If all goes well you will be using cortisone for weeks at progressively lower doses.
Post some numbers either here or PM. Most important ones HCT (sometimes also called PCV even though they are not exactly the same thing). WBC (white cells) temperature. Sometimes after starting IV fluids the HCT will drop slightly because the fluids are rehydrating your dog and thus 'diluting' the blood...but it helps to flush out and dilute the bilirubin.
Think positive. It should work out OK....just hope the initiating problem was an infection. Al

 

[al mc]

Transfusions are certainly stop gap measure as you need to balance the positive.....we all need red blood cells to carry oxygen, versus triggering some immune stimulation because you are introducing something into the body that is 'foreign' to the body

 

[meowzer]

Thanks AL.....I will get the #'s tomorrow when I call for an update....I remember her rambling off the counts.....just can't remember what they were.....I do know they were low.....
They did tell me that even after release, there will be a lengthy recovery time which will include lots of meds......as already stated, right now their main concern is stopping the red blood cells from attack......then the jaundice......then we go from there....the doc figures a good few days before we know anything more
OH YEAH....Here it is $30 a night to stay (THANK GOD) I remember how costly vet care was when I lived in NY.....I would have had to sell my car to treat her

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Mc http:///forum/thread/384593/sick-doggie/20#post_3369678
Transfusions are certainly stop gap measure as you need to balance the positive.....we all need red blood cells to carry oxygen, versus triggering some immune stimulation because you are introducing something into the body that is 'foreign' to the body
OH YEAH....she started breathing heavier too today, and the doc explained the red blood cells and the oxygen they carry......so she was going downhill....good thing we brought her right back today....

 

[chain]

So Sorry to hear this news. Will be praying for you and your doggy and truly hope she gets well quickly.

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/384593/sick-doggie/20#post_3369680
OH YEAH....Here it is $30 a night to stay (THANK GOD) I remember how costly vet care was when I lived in NY.....I would have had to sell my car to treat her

I dont think i can stay in a hotel for $30 a night. Thank goodness it is cheap for ya.