# autoimmune disease



## Saca (May 20, 2007)

One of our neighbor's goldens has been diagnosed with autoimmune disease. Last Sunday while visiting they commented on how much weight Sami had lost and it was a perfect opportunity to mention my concern with her nearly white gums. So Monday they took her to the vet and did confirm she's anemic with x-rays showing slightly enlarged liver and spleen. Yesterday they got the blood test results back confirming the autoimmune disease. 

Has anyone on the forum encountered this disease and if so, what was the treatment (cortisone shots I think??) and how did your doggie respond to the treatment. This gal means a lot to us, almost as if she was our own (we'd have her in heartbeat). Just a year ago we lost one of our own to hemagiosarcoma so when we saw Sami's gums, heard she wasn't eating with her usual gusto and the x-ray results, we were on "red" alert. She's only 6 years old and much too young to leave us yet!

I'm hoping the prognosis is better for autoimmune than it is for hemangiosarcoma. Any info you can provide both nutritionally as well as side affects from the treatment would be appreciated and shared with Sami's folks. Thanking you all in advance


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Penny and Maggie's Mom knows alot about this. Her Cody who has auto immune disease.
Hopefully she'll see this or you can PM her.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Was she diagnosed with AIHA (auto immune hemolytic anemia) or now maybe IMHA (immune mediated hemolytic anemia)?

Here are some good references for AIHA:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_imha.html

http://www.geocities.com/aihadogs/

http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1614&articleid=399

It is probably not as immediately threatening as hemangio but it is very very serious.

I know there are some on the board who have had experience with it, and hopefully they will see your post.


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## lalala (May 3, 2008)

Do you know what type of autoimmune disease she has? There are so many variants to the disease. The treatment often involves steroids because steroids suppress our immune system as a whole so the body doesn't get attacked by our own cells.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

We adopted Cody in Sept 2006. He had come into rescue in mid-Aug and was found to have an autoimmune anemia. Cause was never known although he had been terribly neglected. He was covered with ticks and fleas and had terrible skin infections. His diet had to been poor at best. The standard of treatment is very high doses of prednisone....... 1 mg per pound to start. Many require blood transfusions, further medication. There is a tremendous amount of info here: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ about hemolytic anemia which can be helpful even if they determine it is not hemolytic. It is MOST important that they have a vet that is familiar and up to date on treatment..... luckily our vet was well versed, but many need a specialist or university hospital. It's a long road.... but one that can be successful (see Cody's pics on my profile page). CBC's must be done frequently as the pred is GRADUALLY tapered off. COdy was started on meds in Aug and it took us until the following April to finally wean him off. During that time, he was having CBC's every 2-3 weeks. However, his hematocrit has been stable in the low 40s since April of 2007 and he is happy and well. BTW, there is a board associated with the above site also http://www.vetnet.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=vetnetbbs&access=00000000000000&mode=tlist&subject=7 I hope this is not too rambling...it is certainly something that has touched us and I am passionate about. Bottom line, there is hope. They need extraordinary care that is familiar with the disease. I also found that I was obsessed with his diet.... trying to provide the very best of nutrients. Also, these dogs are rarely ever vaccinated again. Please PM me if you want to talk further.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Another survivor of AIHA ( infact I think he had Evan's ) is a member here..... goldenz2. Her Angelo's success story is profiled here on the Meisha's Hope site. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/archives19.htm He was the inspiration that gave me hope when we were going thru it with Cody. She may have good input too.


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