Immune Mediate Hemolytic Anemia

'Odie the Black Dog' Photo by: Chandra Brown
Frolicking in Spring Blooms- Austin, Texas

It's tough when a family member gets sick. You worry, you wonder, you try your best to make the poor sufferer comfortable. Recently, our black mini-schnauzer came down with what we thought was her first cold.  A fleeting thought to call the vet for an appointment came and went. She had never been sick before in her life and allergy season was wreaking havoc on the human population, we thought everyone was just a little under the weather. It'll pass. A day later we knew it was a little more than just being under the weather, she wouldn't greet her favorite member of the family and just wanted to lay under our deck. She wouldn't even take her favorite treat. My daughter noticed her tongue looked very pale. We knew it was more than just a passing cold. 

We finally secured an appointment with a vet we didn't know, we had to find out what was going on and quick. The initial physical went well, maybe we were over re-acting, even the vet and tech were a little confounded at what was going on. Doctor Sheih recommended ordering an in-house blood test so a diagnosis could be reached; thank goodness we took her in because the blood test revealed what was going on with our poor Odie. The long scientific sounding words that came out of the Doc's mouth sounded like Latin, "Odie has Immune Mediate Hemolytic Anemia,  a condition that usually has unknown causes and is serious." She fit all the criteria; usually a female, spade smaller breed dog around six years of age with pale gums (in her case tongue because her gums are black), lethargic, no appetite, a heart murmur and can have a sudden onset; blood tests usually come back with red cells in the shape of spherocytes instead of discoids and an extremely low red blood count.  It was a critical care case with a dire prognosis. We were sent home with medication and a warning to watch her behavior, if she digressed she would need to go to the emergency vet hospital for a blood transfusion.  (A normal red cell blood count for an average dog is 50-60, Odie was at a 16. The need for a blood transfusion occurs at 10)

We were so grateful for the expertise and quick actions taken by Dr. Sheih but also very sad as we carried our listless friend to the car. The gloomy thoughts that it may be your last night with your best friend clung on our shoulders. If we didn't have to go to the emergency room overnight and Odie ate some food we were scheduled for a blood re-check in 2 days.  

We saw a little improvement in the time we had Odie on Prednisone before her re-check, she ate a few bites of chicken that I hand fed her, a sign of hope to keep our chins up. In the small amount of time from diagnosis to re-check, I researched all I could about this disease. The death rate was extremely high and many vets related the onset to vaccinations. Heart worm medication was also highly suspect.  I also read accounts of trauma  causing the onset. Odie didn't fit in any of these categories. I only vaccinated when she was little, stay away from other medications because she isn't around other dogs to catch those diseases and she didn't have any trauma. If I had to guess, Odie's onset was due to a genetic trigger and nutritional imbalance. (I'll expound more on this very important finding later in this post). We drove Odie to her  two day re-check, the doc (not Dr. Sheih) came back with orders to send her immediately to the emergency vet for a blood transfusion. The blood count had declined according to the results.  I wasn't ready to lose our sidekick, on the way over to the hospital I kept looking at my husband and daughter with empathy and thinking, "I never thought this year was the year we would have to put our dog down but at least we are together. " 

The hospital staff stole Odie away to the back room as we paced back and forth in the patient exam room awaiting the emergency doctor's advice. We learned a blood transfusion can run around $1000 but is only a band aid solution.  Doctor Locke strode through the door and told us Odie's blood count was at 19. We all took in a deep breathe and looked at each other exhaling sighs of relief, all three of us at the same time. 19 is better than 16. She explained that the previous vet's equipment was not as good as the hospitals and they have more accurate tools. We were relieved Odie wouldn't need a blood transfusion. Dr. Locke put her on an aggressive steroid treatment plan, and we left weary but glad to have our friend with us.

Our emotional roller coaster set me blazing on the research path.  I have known for quite some time that disease whether human borne or animal borne has a root cause in nutritional deficiency. I also felt guilty because for some time before all this happened I was wanting to research a better food program for my dog knowing she was approaching middle age and may need some tweaks to her diet.  Setting guilt aside, I got busy making changes to her diet and also fortifying her immune system with two amazing products I believe has helped her re-gain back her old self but also may be correcting the deficiency at the root (time and blood results will tell). 

I do not like conventional, 'take a pill to cover symptoms' treatment plans, although they are necessary in serious cases.       I want to cure the problem and with a disease such as IMHA, that is quick, deadly and has very little research behind it, I felt there was nothing to lose in supplementing my dog's treatment plan with a high dose whole food vitamin and mineral, found in blue-green algae. It contains over 62 vitamins and minerals, and causes the immune system to act in a balanced nature. I know, steroids suppress the immune system, and I understand that in this diseases particular case the white blood cells need to be suppressed in order to build the red cells back up, but steroids are only a temporary solution or a life-long chronic treatment plan. If I can knock-out the nutritional deficiency (cause) through a nutrient rich diet, I am going to try it. This claim about E-3 Live blue green-algae is what gave me the extra courage to try the product... "but one of the most unique benefits of AFA is its ability to reign in the immune system at the same time that it stimulates it to do its job. We always talk about how many health problems result from the inability of the immune system to stop a disease process in its initial stage. But Campbell pointed out to me that “People think in terms of stimulating the immune system, but we forget that the immune system is by far the main producer of inflammatory mediators and free radicals. Stimulating the immune system may also mean promoting inflammation and enhancing oxidation in the body.” AFA doesn’t let that happen."

I was concerned that blue-green algae was a metabolism stimulator and many humans had lost weight while taking it. My dog was on Prednisone, a drug that effects the appetite, making the dog hungry. I didn't want to mess with my dog's metabolism too much especially since she had lost four pounds and needed to gain the weight back. I decided the nutrient dense quality outweighed the metabolism factor and gave her dosages I was comfortable with. I started this treatment the following day after the initial diagnosis. Odie was also retaining water due to her vascular system being overloaded, her sides paunched out due to water retention. After 2 days on the medication and supplements she re-absorbed most of it and also wet the bed with what seemed like a gallon of the fluid. She was holding over 2 pounds of fluid on her little frame.

I also changed her dry dog food diet to 1/4 dry dog food and the rest a raw mix of food prepared from the Dino-Vite website. I did purchase their vitamin supplement for small dogs as well and follow their recommendations. I went from having to hand feed my dog meals to a ravenous beast that gets me up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning to feed her. (Some of that is the Prednisone, but I like to think the majority of it is the new tasty diet she is spoiled with)

We have had regular re-checks and her red blood count keeps rising, she has gained the weight back too. She had a 36 which is inside the low-normal range, then a 43 for her RBC count. We are on  a medication reduction schedule and she seems to be back to her old self, barking at squirrels, patrolling her territory, wanting to case the hood for places to leave her scent and begging for rides in the car.    We are glad to be on an upward path. The literature gives no promises for IMHA. We don't know if it will be a chronic situation, or if her regression is permanent. Sometimes they can relapse for no apparent reason. I write what we have experienced so others who may find themselves in this same scenario can have a glimmer of hope. I do feel strongly nutrition is a huge key in health and we plan to stick with the plan. Our next re-check is October 28, let's hope for more great news.

Note: We still do not know if Odie's case was a Primary or Secondary IMHA. I do think it may be secondary. The last article in the Helpful Reading section talks about 2 dogs who were stung by bees which lead to IMHA.  I recently was stung by a bee and was delivered a full dose of venom. I have had respiratory difficulties that only feel better when I take the E-3 Live. It's a long shot but not out of the realm of possibility for the cause in our dog.

Some Helpful Reading on IMHA:

http://www.optimumchoices.com/Immune_Mediated_Hemolytic_Anemia-IMHA.htm

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/30/vaccine-causes-autoimmune-hemolytic-anemia.aspx

http://www.optimumchoices.com/Downloads/IMHA_&_AIHA_Case_Studies.pdf

http://www.rawglow.com/bluegreen2.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10200797?dopt=Abstract