Spent The Night In Emergency..

[hikinghounds]

Thanks for the update. He sure is a handsome happy guy.

[greysmom]

Have they considered giving him Amicar to help his clotting?

 

Hope things are still going well!

[Guest Doreybelle]

Just read this post, hoping your baby is okay! He sounds like such a trooper.
Sending good thoughts to you and your Neko

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

Just picked Neko up from OSU, they did a CBC and his PCV is at 20% now, not a significant increase but at least its not decreasing. His cobalamin test came back fine but his folate is low so theyre starting him on supplements. They did not do a bone marrow biopsy because they did a mucosal bleeding time test and it took him 30 min to clot (should be under 5 min). His anemia is still non-regenerative.

 

 

At this point they are absolutely stumped and have contacted 6 other specialists on the east coast to consult with (we will hear more in the coming days about their ideas) and in the meantime the pathology department on OSU's interest has been peaked and they want to run a large number of clotting tests on Neko's blood to try and figure out what is going wrong with his platelet's clotting (because they would like to do research on him I do not have to pay for these tests so they can test away!)

 

We would really love to do the bone marrow biopsy as it would give us great insight into why he is not regenerating blood cells, but we really should not cut open his humerus if it is taking half an hour for just a tiny cut to clot. Once we figure out what the clotting issue is we can move on to the anemia.

 

One idea that one of the specialists that came onto neko's case this week had is that his cobalamin levels may be normal but not functioning properly. This is apparently a very rare disorder and we would need to fly a urine sample overnight on ice to penn state to get it run. This may be the next step (along with letting the pathology department play with his blood) in trying to deduce what is going on with him. ( I will know more when OSU contacts me with their consensus from specialists on the east coast.)

 

for now he is stable and I would like him to stay that way. The waiting to find out what the heck is going on with him is killing me!

[galgrey]

I hope you get answers soon. You've got to be so exhausted from the stress of all this. Hugs to you and Neko.

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

The worst part is that I'm having to deal with final exams through all this! I missed most of my classes last week (dead week) taking him to appointments and this week are exams (bio, Organic chemistry, physiology and common diseases of small animals) not fun topics to handle with while dealing with my pup!

 

luckily the exams are going well.. but the stress is ridiculous!

[Houndtime]

I think you are standing up very well. Good luck with your exams.

[hikinghounds]

Wow, it sounds like Neko is getting some great help at OSU. I'm so glad he's at least stable. Hang in there with finals. Still sending good thoughts to you both.

[Remolacha]

I am sorry you are still looking for answers, but good news that he is stable!

[silverfish]

Poor you and poor Neko. So good to hear that he has all the specialists interested and running around in circles, but how sad that there's a need to.

 

Good luck avoiding the bone marrow biopsy, but another thought is that if it does need to be done, better now while he's in fairly good shape than wait until he takes a dive again. Hopefully this will not happen, but it's just a thought. I lost a dog once while the vets were saying 'let's wait until she's a bit better before we do 'x' '.

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

We'll see what the specialists say.. If they think the bone marrow biopsy is the only way to go then I'll see if they'll do it and keep him in ICU until they are 100% confident he is stable and wont need any transfusions.. I would really like answers but I definitely think its best to listen to the 9+ specialists on his case right now (maybe some of the ones just joining will have some new ideas)

[TINMANPDX]

Checking in to see how things are going.

Wow - those ARE difficult finals - sending good wishes to you and Chevy!

[RedHead]

WOW! You have a lot to deal with. It sounds like you have an awesome team working on this right now, so if anyone can figure out what is wrong, I'm sure it's them. Hoping for some answers soon.

[DesiRayMom]

Well, if it's GOT to be something puzzling, it's good that the specialists are wanting to do free stuff to figure it out!!

 

Still sending good thoughts & white light.

[TwiggysMom]

I can't imagine dealing with such a worrying and confusing condition at the same time as going through final exams! That you can handle both so well is amazing!

 

Neko looks so happy to be at the parade! He is a beautiful boy.

 

I'm glad he is holding steady, and maybe improving a bit. Sending good thoughts for a diagnosis and treatment plan!

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

Just got through my last three finals today and I have a massive headache but they're done (and i did fairly well!)

 

I got a call from the resident on our case today at the vet school and they spoke with a thrombocytopenia expert at auburn university who wants us to go ahead with the coagulopathy research (we are starting that as soon as the Dr. Bird over in pathology is no longer ill) and they want us to do the bone marrow biopsy with surgeon glue handy in case we need it. I may ask them if they think a plasma transfusion prior to doing the biopsy may be beneficial just to decrease the risk of bleeding because i would be willing to pay for it. Hopefully all this will happen friday or first thing next week.

[gracegirl]

Have you/they looked into using amacar before this procedure? Can't hurt, might help. Keep us posted!

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

I have talked to them about amicar and they seemed very hesitant about using it even after looking into it. Ill bring it up again though and see if they think itd help.

[Charlies_Dad]

I'm glad your exams went well. Poor Neko and poor you to have to go through all these tests. Good thoughts for your boy.

[greysmom]

I have talked to them about amicar and they seemed very hesitant about using it even after looking into it. Ill bring it up again though and see if they think itd help.

 

Have them contact Dr Couto at Ohio State re the Amicar - it really is a life saver for hounds with bleeding issues and he has done a ton of research into the problem

[KF_in_Georgia]

Relevant Amicar links:

 

http://www.deerhound.org/Health/Claymore_Articles/Claymore_Post-op_bleeding_2011-04.pdf This article discusses the greyhound study of amicar and how it could pertain to bleeding issues in deerhounds.

 

http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=osu1306419376

 

Amicar is useful for preventing the breakdown of blood clots once they've formed. If Neko's blood isn't clotting properly in the first place, amicar might not be the solution.

 

(I lost a dog to immune mediated thrombocytopenia. Her immune system destroyed her platelets, so her blood wouldn't clot. Amicar wouldn't have helped her.)

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry Neko's problems are still unsolved, but it sounds like you have a super team working on it! I hope they find a cause and solution soon

 

and for finishing your tests!

[tbhounds]

Think this just got touched on but, Amicar only helps to strengthen a clot -if he's not forming clots Amicar won't help.

[Guest Nekos_Mommy]

Yeah Neko's problems are due to him having enough of all the clotting factors, but they are not coming together properly. They had told me that they did not think neko's condition made him a candidate for Amicar.

 

On a lighter note, today was a beautiful day in Oregon and I took my boy out to enjoy the first sunny day in a while! Doing my best to relax and enjoy his company during the waiting period.

 

 

[Charlies_Dad]

Great pics. Neko is a beautiful pup.