Strange Anemia
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I hope Mickey is fine. How is he doing right now? Is the red blood cell level normal already?
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Well, Mickey is still with us and his quality of life is pretty good. His red blood cell level is not normal. His PCV was at 28 when I had him checked this past January. Normal would be between 37-45-ish. He is still on prendesone and that has caused his liver and spleen to enlarge alot and he is VERY heavy. He also tires quickly and pretty much lays around all day. But he is happy and not in any pain and he is loved. Mickey turns 10 years old this June and we are happy to have him with us! Thanks for asking.
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Thank you so much for your posts. My 4 year old female Beagle Baylee became sick on Saturday. She was breathing very rapid, coughing, very lethargic, shivering due to fever and not eating but would drink now and again. We are living in Germany right now so had to wait till Monday to take her in to the vet. They thought it was just a respitory infection and gave her 2 shots and send us home. She perked up for a few hours after we got home then went back to a sick little girl. So in the morning took her back and then did xrays, and blood tests and come to find out she was severly anemic her blood count was at 10. And she does have a respitory infection in her lungs but they cannot find out why she is losing blood (anemic). So they kept her over night giving her fluids and possibly a transfusion said they would do a ultrasound and send out lab work to a outside lab to rule out parasites and other things. Waiting on the call from the vet office as I write this. I could not sleep at all worrying about my baby girl so I have been on the internet all night looking at reasons why she is going through this. As of now my vet bill is 500 Euros scarry but she is so worth it. I just cannot believe how sick my baby is....but your posts have given me hope and I thank you.....
I saw this last post by shellymg30 and wanted to update on Maggy ( 9 1/2 yr old female-see other earlier posts to see her road path of anemia struggles). It is just short 2 weeks of one year since we got Maggy diagnosed with anemia - it is scary and I can understand why you were up all night reading online trying to figure out what is wrong with your Baylee. We still have never found out why Maggy was loosing her own red blood cells, we have grown to accept that fact and moved forward with treatment. She is doing well now. She is currently on 5 mg of prednisone every 3 days and 100 mg of cyclosporine everyday. As we have weened her from prednisone (she was on higher dosages for months), she no longer gets bladder infections, which is such great news. Cyclosporine is a more expensive immune suppressent drug, but it is working much better for her and her symptoms. Her gum color is doing great too. Hang in there shellymg30, we did a blood transfusion (September, 2011) and it was expensive, but so worth it all. We have been given a whole year with her since this started, it was a lot to go through emotionally and see her so ill, but it has been worth it. She is doing so well on this maintenace mediction that our vet has prescribed. I hope that your vets in Germany can find the right path of treatment for your Baylee. Our pets are family, hang in there!
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As of Friday she still was not any better than when I brought her in the vet on Monday. Blood count is still the same they waited for 2 days for a result from a outside lab to see if it might be a parasite just to rule that out. So on Friday I got the result that it is not a parasite and they are dumbfounded why this is happening to my baby. I rushed into the vet right away to talk about what we need to do next. With tears in my eyes I got to see my baby she was so weak but her little tail pouded again the kennel she was in...she knew her mamma was there....Well the 2 vets and I decided for me to take her home over the weekend because what they were doing for her there I could do at home and she would be with her family I have to give her Vitamin K shots 5 times a day and try and keep her hydrated.She is in her favorite spot the fan pointed on her for xtra air 
trying to keep her as comfortable as I can. I just cannot believe her gums and inside of her ears are almost completely white. And her tummy is not pink at all she is still breathing so fast but I am hanging on for Monday we have scheduled her blood transfusion one of the vets is going to bring in her dog to help out. And then we will go from there. Thank you so much for posting it does give me hope that there will be a good outcome. This is all so draining but she is my baby and I will do anything I can for her.... I will keep you posted and if you could say a little prayer for Baylee...
trying to keep her as comfortable as I can. I just cannot believe her gums and inside of her ears are almost completely white. And her tummy is not pink at all she is still breathing so fast but I am hanging on for Monday we have scheduled her blood transfusion one of the vets is going to bring in her dog to help out. And then we will go from there. Thank you so much for posting it does give me hope that there will be a good outcome. This is all so draining but she is my baby and I will do anything I can for her.... I will keep you posted and if you could say a little prayer for Baylee...
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Hello Everyone,
Our little guy, Milo, is 6 1/2 years old and has been going through something very similar with similar presentation, severe anemia, a blood transfusion, and just started on Prednisone and cyclosporine because they think it's likely non regenerative anemia caused by an autoimmune disease affecting his bone marrow. They said it could also be cancer of the bone marrow or lymphoma but we have opted out of doing the bone marrow biopsy in hopes that's it's an autoimmune disease and not cancerous. He had also been on rimadyl for elbow pain 2 months before all of this began. The transfusion was 4 days ago and just began on the steroids so we are still in the roller coaster phase of frequent vet visits, high emotions, and high costs. Would love to hear an update on how Mickey and Maggy are doing? I hope they are doing well. We are hoping and praying for similar results with Milo.
Our little guy, Milo, is 6 1/2 years old and has been going through something very similar with similar presentation, severe anemia, a blood transfusion, and just started on Prednisone and cyclosporine because they think it's likely non regenerative anemia caused by an autoimmune disease affecting his bone marrow. They said it could also be cancer of the bone marrow or lymphoma but we have opted out of doing the bone marrow biopsy in hopes that's it's an autoimmune disease and not cancerous. He had also been on rimadyl for elbow pain 2 months before all of this began. The transfusion was 4 days ago and just began on the steroids so we are still in the roller coaster phase of frequent vet visits, high emotions, and high costs. Would love to hear an update on how Mickey and Maggy are doing? I hope they are doing well. We are hoping and praying for similar results with Milo.
Update on Maggy for Milo
Hello,
Sorry to hear your little guy Milo has been diagnosed with severe anemia. You asked to get an update on Maggy, she is doing well! We feel blessed! Maggy was originally diagnosed in fall of 2011 with having a blood transfusion, eventually going on prednisone and clyclosporine. She successfully regained maintaining her own levels of red blood cells after several months of steroids. Maggy is now 13 1/2 years old and has been doing really well for the past 4 1/2 years since this all began. Maggy did relapsed with her anemia this past January which we followed with 4 months of prednisone (skipping cyclosporine) and she is now weened off. She is holding her blood levels, we believe diet and exercise have helped her. Maggy gets steamed broccoli, steamed sweet potato, liver and cream of wheat (with peanut butter) with her dry dog food. She walks about 2 miles a day. We watch her coloring on her gums, inside of ears and white area of the eyes for symptoms of change. We do get her blood draws to watch the levels of full RBC and the reticulyte (new red cells growing). We have a great vet who listens and researches with us down this unknown path of why this is happening. Tips we have learned, prednisone should be given with something like succlafrate (coats the stomach to avoid steroid causing ulcers), watch for UTI's (prednisone weakens the immune system), watch for weakness in legs as the length of steroid usage continues. We wish you and your Milo the best, prayers and hope with you all.
Hello,
Sorry to hear your little guy Milo has been diagnosed with severe anemia. You asked to get an update on Maggy, she is doing well! We feel blessed! Maggy was originally diagnosed in fall of 2011 with having a blood transfusion, eventually going on prednisone and clyclosporine. She successfully regained maintaining her own levels of red blood cells after several months of steroids. Maggy is now 13 1/2 years old and has been doing really well for the past 4 1/2 years since this all began. Maggy did relapsed with her anemia this past January which we followed with 4 months of prednisone (skipping cyclosporine) and she is now weened off. She is holding her blood levels, we believe diet and exercise have helped her. Maggy gets steamed broccoli, steamed sweet potato, liver and cream of wheat (with peanut butter) with her dry dog food. She walks about 2 miles a day. We watch her coloring on her gums, inside of ears and white area of the eyes for symptoms of change. We do get her blood draws to watch the levels of full RBC and the reticulyte (new red cells growing). We have a great vet who listens and researches with us down this unknown path of why this is happening. Tips we have learned, prednisone should be given with something like succlafrate (coats the stomach to avoid steroid causing ulcers), watch for UTI's (prednisone weakens the immune system), watch for weakness in legs as the length of steroid usage continues. We wish you and your Milo the best, prayers and hope with you all.
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