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Auto Immune Info Please


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Hi, just after any kind of info or thoughts that may help. My 7 7 1/2 year old gerb shepherd has just been diagnosed with what they think is some auto immune disease. I can't remember what the vet said it was but I think she said the abb. is IMAJ but unable to find anything on it.

Background

I went overseas for 12 days and got back three weeks ago. My aunt looked after my dog for me. Before I went away my dog was happy, healthy and fit. She would run 3-4 about three times a week with no problems at all following me while I worked horses. She fretted a bit while I was away and didn't eat much. I got home and it took her a couple days to start eating properly again (all her meal in one go, she was just picking at it and had some left over 12 hours later for first couple days).

I could see she had lost a bit of weight so I started feeding her twice a day, which she did eagerly. Since I've been home I knew there was something 'up' with her. She wasn't her normal happy self and moped around a lot. She couldn't/wouldn't keep up when I rode the horses, didn't even take chase to a rabbit which she always would do if one ever crossed her path. Her coat is dull and losing hair. I thought maybe she was still sulking, plus the fact she had lost the weight and then thrown in a heat wave, she was just exhausted.

However, the last two days I noticed she was a little unsteady on her hind legs. She would stop and her backend would sway a little and she would need to move a leg to stop. I took her to the vet yesteray afternoon where she had a temp of 40.8. She spent the night there on a drip, antibiotics and painkillers. She was right through the abdomen and would drop if light pressure applied near her hip joints. She also had a little bit of a pant for the past week but it has been very hot here.

This morning she didn't look (to me) like she had improved any. The vet said her temp is back down to 38 something. They done a red blood cell count and it was low (20 ish I think, can't quiet remember). She said she would need to stay I over te weekend. Also said she would be on corticosteroids for the rest of her life starting with 2 a day and hopefully getting down to 1 every 2nd day. She mentioned thaty dog could relapse as well at any time. She neverentiomed anything about the unsteady hindquarters but I will check later.

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Sorry to hear this - could it have been IMHA? If so, and I'm not going to sugar coat this, IMHA is very serious and your vet needs to know what they are doing. The immediate treatment is usually high doses of steroids and and an immune-suppressant such as Atopica (cyclosporin). The cause is often unknown and it comes on very suddenly - basically the body starts attacking and destroying its own blood cells. The treatment is ongoing for several months and with multiple blood tests along the way.

What is her PCV (packed cell volume)or Haemoglobin as these are a critical levels to monitor, also does she have spherocytes and agglutination of the blood?

Have a look at the these websites

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=1390

http://users.cloudnet.com/jdickson/

and join this facebook page - they are very experienced and knowledgeable about this condition. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6228146980/

I have a dog who has survived this, so please feel free to ask any questions.

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Thank you CC. Yea it is either lymphoma of the spleen or IMHA. I opted for not doing the blood test to see if either one of the above two problems, as if it came back cancer and required removal of the spleen I wouldn't put her through it. So I opted for the up the treatment for the IMHA. Her pcv was 25% yesterday and now 21%. Unsure of those others.

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