Woody's serious condition
Oct 5, 2012 14:18:08 GMT -8
Post by Jen on Oct 5, 2012 14:18:08 GMT -8
On September 24th 2012 when I gave Woody his breakfast he slowly walked over to the bowl and stood over it for a minute. He then took a piece out and put it on the floor. After a few seconds he ate it. He did this with his entire breakfast. Later in the day he slowly ate a homemade dog treat. At dinner he repeated what he did with his breakfast. Since this is totally not like Woody, who normally gobbles his food down, I made an appointment to bring him to the vet on Wednesday September 26th. On Tuesday he wouldn't eat his hard food at all but did eat a few pieces of egg. Later in the day he would only eat some plain pasta.
On Wednesday as soon as the vet saw Woody she was very concerned because his tongue and gums were white. He had blood work done which came back with many red flags. One being that his hemoglobin was only 5 where normal is 11. He needed a blood transfusion right away and had to spend the night. He was diagnosed with having Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). My vet said to look back three weeks as that's when the condition was most likely triggered. In that time period I had given both of my Chihuahuas a Merrick pig ear and marrow bone. This is the only deviation to their daily routine which is why IN MY OPINION the Merrick treats exposed Woody to something that his body had no resistance too. I want to mention that a few years ago Woody was diagnosed with Discoid Lupus. This condition could have allowed Woody to be more susceptible in developing Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) because his body couldn't fend off whatever he was exposed to from eating the treats.
On Thursday September 27th Woody had additional fluids so I wasn't able to pick him up until late in the afternoon. He came home with five medications. Woody goes back to the vet on Wednesday October 3rd to have more blood work to see if he's getting better.
The literature given to me by my vet about Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) says that as many as 75% of the animals with the condition never know what caused it. So I do want to reiterate that the involvement of the Merrick treats with Woody developing Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) is MY OWN OPINION.
Update: On Wednesday October 3rd Woody's blood work wasn't as good as we had hoped. His numbers had decreased since the 27th. He goes back for more blood work on Monday October 8th.
Update 2: Thursday October 4th was a great day. Woody started eating normally early in the day and by 6pm had pinked up all over. Hopefully his body has stopped destroying his red blood cells. I also added beef liver to his diet that he just loved! I'll be feeding it to him everyday as long as he's being treated for the IMHA and will switch to three days a weeks once he's fully recovered.
On Wednesday as soon as the vet saw Woody she was very concerned because his tongue and gums were white. He had blood work done which came back with many red flags. One being that his hemoglobin was only 5 where normal is 11. He needed a blood transfusion right away and had to spend the night. He was diagnosed with having Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). My vet said to look back three weeks as that's when the condition was most likely triggered. In that time period I had given both of my Chihuahuas a Merrick pig ear and marrow bone. This is the only deviation to their daily routine which is why IN MY OPINION the Merrick treats exposed Woody to something that his body had no resistance too. I want to mention that a few years ago Woody was diagnosed with Discoid Lupus. This condition could have allowed Woody to be more susceptible in developing Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) because his body couldn't fend off whatever he was exposed to from eating the treats.
On Thursday September 27th Woody had additional fluids so I wasn't able to pick him up until late in the afternoon. He came home with five medications. Woody goes back to the vet on Wednesday October 3rd to have more blood work to see if he's getting better.
The literature given to me by my vet about Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) says that as many as 75% of the animals with the condition never know what caused it. So I do want to reiterate that the involvement of the Merrick treats with Woody developing Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) is MY OWN OPINION.
Update: On Wednesday October 3rd Woody's blood work wasn't as good as we had hoped. His numbers had decreased since the 27th. He goes back for more blood work on Monday October 8th.
Update 2: Thursday October 4th was a great day. Woody started eating normally early in the day and by 6pm had pinked up all over. Hopefully his body has stopped destroying his red blood cells. I also added beef liver to his diet that he just loved! I'll be feeding it to him everyday as long as he's being treated for the IMHA and will switch to three days a weeks once he's fully recovered.
Next Monday he goes in for more blood work. If the results are great, like today's were, we'll be able to start weening him off of the five medications he's currently taking.
Woody's blood levels have remained normal for two weeks and his liver levels are coming down. My vet has decreased all of his medications so he should be back to acting like himself in no time. 
He goes back to the vet this Monday for his weekly blood work to make sure all of his levels are good.