Raz Has Low Platelet Count

[Guest gzgreytfun]

I keep trying to post for advice on this topic but posts just disappear? Am I doing something wrong?

[Guest gzgreytfun]

Not sure what happened to them but here goes: Raz was bleeding from his gums. We thought he needed dental care as he has never had "good teeth". My husband,Bill, took him to our vet. She went to OSU and has a grey. He told her about the bleeding and she looked him over and the office scheduled a dental 3 weeks out. On the 24th Raz went in for surgery. I got a call from vet shortly after. She said they could not do dental surgery as his platelet count was very low. His other cell counts are normal. His kidney and blood sugar are normal. Platelets at 16 then 29 on retest. She said it could be immune mediated. They did tbd tests and all negative. So Raz came home with 409mg doxycillin 1xday and 20mg prednisone 2xday. All good for 3 days. Last night Raz peed on bedroom floor twice but probably due to steroid. But this am he would not eat his breakfast and he has never been a fussy eater. Later in am he ate a bit...not even half. I was looking for advice here. I don't want to ignore this if there's anything I can do. Bill was able to get him to take the meds with some peanut butter.

PS The bleeding gums tapered off and quit while we waited the three weeks. He is not scheduled to go back for 2 months.

[NeylasMom]

Can you post the blood work results with reference ranges? Did they test for TBD?

 

You may want to check out this article about "normal" greyhound values, including low platelets:

http://www.greythealth.com/blood.html

[Guest gzgreytfun]

The only values that were off were his platelets. The vet said that greys run a bit lower than other dogs but the low end of the range was 100,000. I did read on a veterinary doc on line that the low could even be in the 60,000s for greys. But Raz was at 16, then 29,000.

I asked about his RBCs as he had been bleeding but she said they were in normal range. WBCs also normal.

 

Thanks for the article. It says 80,000 range so he is still low.

 

I guess the two things I am most worried about are 1) his sudden lack of appetite and 2) the lengthy wait until we return to vet

 

I was reading online about dogs not doing well with this diagnosis and kept tearing up here at work.

[oldrunners]

My girl went through this last fall. She went in for a regularly scheduled dental (with bloodwork before) and vet noticed that her platelets were lower than they had been at her previous physical, so the vet redid the platelet count. This value was even lower, so we did the TBD test, but started doxy right away. Vet also pulled blood a third time, this time with a larger bore needle, and again the platelets were quite a bit lower. In the meantime the TBD test came back negative. By this point Sasha's platelets were in the low 70's. Vet said that she wasn't too concerned about the actual number, but that the numbers were consistently going down. So, Sasha remained on the doxy, since it has a tendency to suppress the immune system, and was put on pred for 10 days. By day 3 of the pred, there wasn't enough water in the world for Sasha to drink, I was taking her out every hour, and twice at night, and whenever she slept she peed herself and whatever she was sleeping on, including my sofa and both Elaine's beds. Even going out every hour she sometimes didn't make it to the back door, or off the porch. I went out and bought several cheap comforters to use as beds, and washed them daily, sometimes multiple times. The good news is after all the meds were done, retest (with large bore needle) had her back into the normal range, and she was able to have her dental.

[tbhounds]

Few things stand out--I assume there was no platelet clumping? Clumping would falsely decrease the count. Also, is your hound on any tummy meds-Pepcid, Prilosec? And finally-no recheck for 2 months??

[Guest gzgreytfun]

He is not on any tummy meds at the present. The only other med he is on is pednisolone drops for his eyes.

 

My error on the return appt. It is July 24th so 1 month. That seems long but maybe not? My husband picked him up so made the appt and I thought he said 2 months.

 

I didn't ask about the clumping but I can contact the office. Also should I ask about a tummy med? Or can I treat him OTC?

[tbhounds]

Both doxy and pred are really hard on the tummy. A human pharmacist would tell you to give the doxy on an empty tummy-vets will say to give with food. I would start either 20mg of Pepcid (1-2 times daily) or 20mg of Prilosec (once daily). Ring your vet to let them know what's going on with him.

[Guest gzgreytfun]

Thanks oldrunners for the suggestion about the bedspreads. Raz is drinking lots and peeing lots, lol! I thank you also for the good story of Sasha's recovery. YAY!! Is she still

 

on any maintenance meds then?

[Guest gzgreytfun]

I have some Prilosec here so could start tonight. Should he take it with anything? They usually get a spoonful of yogurt in PM so I could give with that. I will call tomorrow AM and check in with vet.

[moofie]

Throp's operatation was delayed due to low platelets, i think his results were 120 which appears in normal range (was 180 few months earlier) but they only saw 2 platelets on microscope and smear used was thin. They sent bloods off to lab for coagulation tests, D-Dimer i think its called as i've had test on myself and that came back ok. He did have high blood pressure post op bet whether that was related i dunno.

 

Think we've less problems with TBD in UK though did see a rescue hound with post dental bleeding issues that turned out to have lungworm (relatively new issue).

Edited June 28, 2016 by moofie

[Guest gzgreytfun]

UGH. Something else to worry about.

[oldrunners]

Many folks suggest going to thrift stores to get cheapo comforters. In my neck of the woods I can get a nice, used comforter at the Salvation Army for $25-$30. However, I can get an ugly, new comforter for $19.99-$23.99 at Big Lots or Odd Lots, and none of my dogs have ever complained about the color of the comforter they are sleeping (and sometimes peeing) on. Walmart sometimes has cheapo ones on clearance, usually the outdated cartoon kids' ones. I can wash and dry them easily, load up on the bleach, and when they start to look kinda sad, I have no problem throwing them out.

[tbhounds]

I have some Prilosec here so could start tonight. Should he take it with anything? They usually get a spoonful of yogurt in PM so I could give with that. I will call tomorrow AM and check in with vet.

 

Prilosec could be given with the yogurt ;-)

[XTRAWLD]

When Kasey had low platelets during chemo I just kept trying to keep getting food into him and high caloric/iron food. I bought a bag of lentils and made it just for him. Now I know it takes a while for platelets to regenerate but this made me feel a bit better. Keep him well fed so his blood can rebound.

 

He was also on Pepcid for some acid reflux, never hurts to give.

[Guest gzgreytfun]

Raz ate his dinner as usual. Yay! He was up 3 times during the night to pee. Needless to say, neither of us got a good night's rest but...oh well. He didn't pee on his bed or the floor so that was great!

 

This am he refused most of his food again. Boo! I gave him 20mg of Prilosec with a bit of peanut butter. I had missed giving it to him the night before as Bill did "cookie time" their signal for bedtime pee break and settling in.

 

One thing I was concerned about was that after he came in from peeing during the night he would pant for maybe 10-15 minutes. Not super heavy panting but definitely panting. Right when I was going to get up he settled down and quieted. I noticed he did it again after the second pee break but not as long. He did not run around while outside and it was a cooler night for a change so I wondered about the panting.

 

Am planning to call the vet today to update her on things so I will mention the panting too but wondered if anyone here had any info or advice. Raz does pant after exertion and he runs "hot"--meaning he is a fan- and AC-vent hog! Hoping this is just a reaction to the meds

 

I think I have a bag of red lentils in storage that I could cook up and add to his food. I was relieved that he ate his whole dinner. Hopefully now with the Prilosec he will eat his breakfast too.

[XTRAWLD]

When platelet levels are low it is best to ensure there isn't a lot of activity (minimal walks) and minimize potential injury (like jumping on the couch and potentially missing). Low platelets can cause a lack of clotting in case bleeding happens. Also keep an eye out for any potential bruising.

 

Gotta give his body a chance to recover.

[Guest gzgreytfun]

He hasn't been very active at all. Just slow strolls out to pee and poop. Most of the time he spends on his bed or blankies. That's why I wondered about the panting.

[Guest gzgreytfun]

Just finally heard back from the Vet's office. She wants me to use Pepcid 20mg 2x day not Prilosec. Got the message thru office personnel so unable to ask why. I will pick up the Pepcid on the way home.

Since I gave Razzy the Prilosec this am I would assume to start Pepcid tomorrow. Also the Vet feels that the panting I described is a side effect of the meds. She said to contact them if anything changes. Haha- I would even without permission!

Thank you to everyone for your assistance. This group is such a wonderful resource--life saving in fact!

 

Oh and update to this am's not eating. I gave Raz the Prilosec before I left for work. Bill called around 9:30 and said that he ate his food. Yay!

[tbhounds]

Not sure why Pepcid over Prilosec either (Ohio State prescribed Prilosec for my girl--vet preference I suppose). I'm a bit too late but, panting is a known and rather common side effect from pred (as well as muscle wasting, pacing, increased drinking etc....)

I have a love/hate relationship with pred.

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey lived a very good life on pred but agreed, it's a love hate relationship.

 

I've never given Prilosec so I'm more familiar with Pepcid. If you give it regularly too, twice a day (that's what Kasey had, I believe 1.5 tablet at a time) it really really helped him and he was noticably different without it. Just make sure you get it in him before you give it with food. The generic version takes about 30 mins before food while the brand name i think is like 15 mins. Something about the speed of the outer coating dissolving....