tbhounds Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Great news!!! Good boy Night!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Great news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FullMetalFrank Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 That is wonderful news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mychip1 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Continued good thoughts for Night. Quote Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the BridgeThe WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Just a quick update: Night is losing some weight, but he continues to eat and behave normally. I guess the high dose of prednizone can make them lose weight. We go back to the vet this friday, and if his RBC count has continued going back up to normal, we can begin very slowly cutting back the prednizone. I will update again Friday night after our vet appointment. Keep those prayers coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Pred seems to just melt the muscle off our hounds. Hopefully, it will stop when the dosage is reduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Just another update: Night and I went to the vet yesterday. His RBC count is up to 46! So, we are beginning a VERY slow taper of the prednisone. Without knowing what caused the IMHA we have to keep a very close eye on him for a relapse, but I am hopeful, cautiously hopeful. Thank you again everyone! I will keep you updated if anything changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Okay-- weird-- I was just thinking of Night!! So glad he seems to be heading the right direction. Keep the updates coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Night and I go back to the vet today. His PCV values went down to 41 last time, so I am not sure what will happen today. Today is a big day as far as vet appointments because he will either be maintaining that PCV, in which case we are doing ok, or if it has dropped again, we have to decide what to do next. I don't know how much more I can afford financially, but I am hoping to get more information today. I will update when I get home. Thank you all so much for the prayers and support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Fingers crossed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Did you get a tick panel done yet? If so, did anything come up positive? Thinking good thoughts for your pup Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Update: PCV is back to 45 which is the low end of normal for a greyhound, so that is good. However, what is very concerning is he continues to lose weight. He is down to 58 pounds now. He was originally 79 pounds. The vet said it could be that he is very sensitive to steroids, but we are at a pretty low dose now, so for him to continue to lose weight is a concern. So, we are testing for babesia. I hope we can get some answers as to why he is losing weight like this. For now, he still has a great appetite and seems happy, so we are going to keep fighting this. I will let you know as soon as I find out the results of the babesia test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) Glad his hct (pcv) is up slightly. I still think the weight loss is do to the pred. When my lil girl was on pred we used to remark that her hiney disappeared -- she used to have thunder thighs--they melted down to toothpicks. Pred is one of those darned if you do darned if you don't drugs. Is he taking any other immune surpression drugs like imurane?? Edited July 15, 2011 by tbhounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 tbhounds...no he is not. I am glad to hear that the weight loss could still be due to the pred. That gives me some hope. He is on no other meds other than the pred. We have one more week on the 40 mg/day of pred, then we cut down to 20 mg/day for two weeks, then he is done. We are hoping that once he is off the pred he doesn't relapse. So much is up in the air right now! What a vicious disease this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I definitely agree that the weight loss could still be due to the pred. 40 mg/day is not really that low of a dose. I know you're probably anxious to get him off the pred, especially with the weight loss, but I would urge you to be cautious about tapering too quickly. With Night being on prednisone only, and having had a drop in PCV recently, I would personally wean more gradually. Tapering the immunosuppressive drugs too quickly can risk triggering a relapse. For most immune-mediated diseases, specialists typically recommend decreasing the pred dose by 25-50% every 2-4 weeks. When down to 12.5-25% of the original dose daily, the next step is usually to go to every other day dosing for 2-3 months, and then possibly even every 3rd day, before stopping completely. Most specialists believe that this slow weaning process should take a total of at least 6 months before meds are completely withdrawn. Perhaps your vet is tapering more quickly due to the concern about Night's weight loss. But now that you're down to the lower doses, and if his weight starts to stabilize, I'd consider asking about drawing it out a little longer. After doing 20 mg/day, I'd at least go down to 10 mg/day for a couple weeks, then 10 mg every other day for a couple more weeks before even considering stopping. JMO - there are many ways to taper immunosuppressive meds, and I tend to be on the more conservative side because I'm paranoid about causing a relapse by tapering too quickly. Also keep in mind that some dogs with IMHA need to stay on a low maintenance dose of immunosuppressant medication for life. This is determined by close monitoring of PCV during the very gradual taper, and if the PCV starts to drop, the previous dose may be what the dog needs to stay at. If you miss this by weaning too quickly, you may end up having a full-blown relapse and need to start over from scratch. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandlot13433 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 jjng-thank you so much for that...I will definitely bring this up with my vet. I am glad to hear that the weight loss could definitely still be due to the pred. This is very reassuring for me. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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