Red Dog NZ

That's great news .... It sounds as though it is probably IMHA and a PCV of 27 is heading in right direction.

Our Flynn had IMHA and SRMA ... diagnosed when he was 6 months old. He is now 3 years old and quite the healthy chap. Our vet was learning with the combination of his illnesses but things I would advise from our experience, what I read on forums and on the net .... the best chance is to use a combination therapy ... Flynn only started on prednisone for his SRMA ... five weeks later we were dealing with IMHA and a PCV of 15 so we added azathrioprine. Another option as mentioned in earlier posts is cycloporine. The other thing is that because of the high doses of pred is is advisable to use a stomach protectant eg. zantac. It is a battle and unfortunately a lot of dogs do not make it. This article is quite good in explaining IMHA http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=398258

Sheridan ... yes I thought others would have posted to your thread. It has been a very busy time on the site with a lot of new members in the past few weeks. I have bumped up your thread and also have asked the moderators and administrators to comment if they are able to.

Sheridan ... I was not a Trilo Mum - our dear Sabre was on Lysodren. From what I see on a forum I belong to and it really varies from dog to dog but generally the time frame is more in months not weeks. There are a few dogs on trilostane where rear hind weakness never seems to go away. The yahoo group has been mentioned ... the forum I am active on has great resources and knowledgable members - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/. With regards to the diet ... one low in fat and high in protein is generally recommended.

Fantastic news Loraine! Yes, we must see pics.

Nzgojo ... I remember when our dear Sabre was diagnosed with cushings syndrome ..... we had to scrap for funds to do his tests and afford his medication but we managed..... just. I am not sure on the price of meds in Australia but generally Lysodren is the cheaper of the two to treat .... but there are still the ACTH stim tests to ensure that the meds are working as they should. But with Lysodren there is a loading dose where they take the meds twice a day for a period of time - then an ACTH test and if they a re "loaded" they then move to a maintenance dose - which is about what you would give as a daily dose when loading .... I am being simplistic and am generalising to give you an idea. Once on a maintenance dose you generally test every three months. I am unsure of the costs of trilostane in Australia but do know that in the US - Lysodren treatment is cheaper than trilostane. The lower the weight of the dog ... the cheaper the treatment as the dosage is based on a weight per kg basis. Sabre was a Hungarian Vizsla and weighed 30kg when we began treatment but he lost weight and eventually became a 23 - 25 kg dog! Just to correct Dogmad ... the pitutary tumor is the more common form of cushings - about 85% of dogs with cushings syndrome have this from whilst the remainder are adrenal. Unfortunately the only real way to treat cushings is through the treatment - and without treatment cushings will progress. I fully understand where you are at ... this is the position we were about three years ago and it was a very tearful time!!! My advice would be to try and see if the cheapest option of treatment was possible.

I have never used Cushex Drops but unfortunately they do not work. They have done no research as to their claims (this information came direct from the company). The two most accepted ways of treating cushings syndrome is with Lysodren or Trilostane (Vetoryl). If you want some info and some guidance with testing/treating cushings pop over to this cushings forum K9 Cushings. All the best ... my cushings dog has now passed but he was successfully treated with Lysodren.

Lorraine ... so sorry to hear the news on Zedley. Hugs to you and Zedley from across the Tassie.

Great to hear the pup is feeling better. With Flynn ... and his drug regime we found that it did affect his growth. He has managed to sneak into the standard height for a vizsla but was obviously meant to be bigger when you see the size of his feet! From experience.... if your pup is on high doses of prednisolone see if the vet will allow you to add a gastroprotectant. Our vet did not allow us at the start ... reason being that she believed we would only be at high doses for a short period but after 5 weeks we believe he got an ulcer and had a bleed internally and he was diagnosed with IMHA! We were then allowed to use liquid Zantac which I just brought from the pharmacy but the vet gave us the dosage.

Our Hungarian Vizsla was diagnosed with SRMA from symptoms when he was 6 months old. He is to finally have his last meds tomorrow ... after 16 months of slowly weaning him .... we went really slowly due to him also being diagnosed with IMHA five weeks after the SRMA being diagnosed. What symptoms did your pup have and how did the vet diagnose the pup? If it is SRMA the dogs turn around very quickly with high doses of prednisone ... we saw this happen within 24 hours but he still remained rather vacant and "zonked" for many weeks. Has your vet prescribed any meds yet? Sometimes they will also prescribe an immuno-suppressant such as azathiophrine along with the prednisone.

Poodle Mum ... you seem to have covered all bases with the meds which is good ... including the gastroprotectant. The latter being very important with high doses of pred .... as we were to find out when initially our vet would not let us add this to the mix when diagnosed with SRMA (the meningitis) .... five weeks later Flynn had gastric bleeding and then diagnosed with IMHA. Things can be a roller coaster with the PCV at the start ... with fluctuations ... it was with Flynn and I have seen this from reading others experiences. Great to hear she is eating and following you around. Take care.

Hi Poodle Mum Our Vizsla was diagnosed with IMHA over a year ago (along with meningtitis) and he is a happy wiggly pup today (will be 2 years old in June). IMHA is an emotional battle for the owner, as you well know, and there are two great forums which have some great info and can give you a hand along the way. These are http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CIMDAsupport/ and http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Auto-...yguid=338270381. Flynn's PCV was 15 when diagnosed ... we climbed to 22 then came back to 19 ... at this stage we added azathioprine (but this does take a few weeks to kick in) as we were only using prednisone. We have slowly weaned him off prednisone and he is still on azathioprine ... looking at taking him off this completely this week.

Hi Poodle Mum Our Vizsla was diagnosed with IMHA over a year ago (along with meningtitis) and he is a happy wiggly pup today (will be 2 years old in June). IMHA is an emotional battle for the owner, as you well know, and there are two great forums which have some great info and can give you a hand along the way. These are http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CIMDAsupport/ and http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Auto-...yguid=338270381. Flynn's PCV was 15 when diagnosed ... we climbed to 22 then came back to 19 ... at this stage we added azathioprine (but this does take a few weeks to kick in) as we were only using prednisone. We have slowly weaned him off prednisone and he is still on azatioprine ... looking at taking him off this completely this week.

I am so sorry to hear the latest on Shiloh. My thoughts are with you. RIP dear Shiloh

Flynn was a "usual" Vizsla pup before diagnosis. He went downhill one day so quickly .... the day before playing at the beach then very quiet the next day, then he started shivering and I felt him and he was SO hot. He turned around with the high doses of pred but I would say that he still had that zombie look. Three weeks later he was still really lethargic, then another two weeks later we mentioned this to the vet ( as we had both thought previously it was the high doses of pred) and his gums were white. I would find out what the vets plan of attack is and if Shiloh is going to be on high doses of pred for some time I would see if the vet would be ok with adding a gastroprotectant. We used zantac ... just bought from the pharmacy but was given the dose from the vet. Generally the dog is on a tapering dose over a period of a minimum of 6 months and a lot of dogs take over a year. It took many months before Flynn was back to his normal self ... more likely due to the IMHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) than the SRMA. Today you would not belive that he was still on meds. Underlying causes are to my knowledge, with what I have read, quite hard to determine. Generally there is a trigger which can set the SRMA off. Some believe vaccinations may be a factor as well.

I am an owner of a pup (now 19 months old) who was diagnosed, by symptoms, with steriod responsive meningitis (SRMA) in December 2009 - at 6 months old. To my knowledge the only test that can be done to give you a reasonably definitive diagnosis involves a spinal tap. Unfortunately this is a very expensive procedure here in NZ and you cannot do this once steriods have been taken. Flynn had an extremely high temp and was shivering ... the vet where were holidaying gave antibiotics as he wasn't sure what was going on. Back at home we noticed that he had a stiff neck and couldn't drink from his water bowl nor wanted to put his head down to eat. I lifted his bowl for him and he would eat and drink. He yelped when we lifted him up and he looked like a total zombie. Three or four days of not really knowing what was going on, and a pup that looked to be at deaths door, the vet suggested we just threw steriods at it. Flynn started prednisone on a dose of just over 3mg/kg ... within 24 hours we saw a huge turn around! We had further complications 5 weeks later ... he got a gastric ulcer which started to bleed (due to the high doses of pred) ... then also diagnosed with IMHA!!! We then added in azathioprine as the prednisone alone was not holding his PCV. Flynn is still on meds today - as we have done it slowly not wanting to rock the boat with going on holidays as we did not want a relapse whilst we were away. He is completely off his prednisone but is on azathioprine every other day. We will be weaning him off the azathioprine soon and crossing our fingers for no relapses. It may not be SRMA but I thought I would post my experience so that you could rule it out or go ... that sounds similar. Other immune-mediated diseases also respond to steriods as well. From research and the forums (I am not a vet ) - that I am on generally doses of prednisone have to be as high as 2-4mg/kg per day to be an effective treatment regime. I hope that you can find out what is wrong with Shilo.

"j" occy had so many other issues and, as said earlier, you would know when it was the right time to let him go. Occy's beautiful memories will remain with you forever. RIP Occy.

j I have sent you a PM.

Yes ... Kelly Louise it absolutely applies to Lysodren as well. Sorry "j" re the reference range of where you want to be of 1- 5 (27.59-137.95 nmol/l) this applies to Lysodren users. Trilo patients tend to do better at higher levels.

I presume this is the post value - 10 nmol/l. Did the vet/specialist advise you to give prednisone? (Sorry just say she gave you something not familar with) Were his electrolytes checked as well? Sometimes you can tell this by offering a little salt in your hand. So you can understand the results I usually convert to the american reporting of ug/dl ... you divide by 27.59 and your post should be between 1 and 5. If you convert his results they are 0.36 . As you can see this is very low - the reason for giving him cortate. I am not familiar with this form of corticosteriod - most vets give prednisone orally for 2 - 3 days ... sometimes longer dependent upon the symptoms. I can't remember whether he is on Trilostane or Lysodren but neither of these drugs should be given until another ACTH stim is done to ensure they are in the appropriate range to recommence at a lower dose. Any ACTH stim test should be done at least 24 hours after the last dose of pred. Some dogs can take as little as a week to bump into range whereas others ... like my Sabre can take months. As Kelly Louise said ... pop over to the K9cushings site ... you can give the full history and results and everyone can assist you along the way! All the best and take care.

Hi Michelle If you cannot find the group ... here is the link. They are a great group dealing with a number of immune mediated issues CIMDA Support Group.

Groupfive ... as said elsewhere - I am so sorry you had to let your Fellow go. I had been following this thread after the possible IMHA diagnosis of Flynn yesterday morning and we met again elsewhere last night ... we are now travelling down the same path together after a probable diagnosis last night. You have made the absolute right decision. For us ... we hope that Flynn is able to fight all his issues (SRMA, IMHA and possible polyarthritis)... things will pan out over the next two weeks ... maybe we will even have to make a decision tomorrow if his PCV is decreasing. RIP Fellow

Kelly Louise, this is fantastic news .. let's just cross our fingers that your next visit will be her next scheduled ACTH stim .... well that's what I hope for with Sabre.

Kelly Louise .. not good news and let's hope the specialist gets down to the problem. I will send you a PM ... if I can work out how to do that!

Kelly Louise that's great to hear that she is within range. Yes ... costs are an issue even when things are not that expensive but they all tend to add up in the long run.