26th March - SUPER PHOEBE!!

Phoebe was at the vets today and her PCV is now at 26%! She is looking much better. The Vet was really pleased and said that he did not need to see Phoebe until next week. However for my own piece of mind I have booked her in for another PCV test on Friday - Hoping for a stress free weekend!

It is really great to see Phoebe improving, it is still early days but things are looking really good for her!

25th March

Phoebe seems to doing pretty well at the moment. She has a relatively large amount of energy at the moment, well it comes in bouts (she is still sleeping a lot in between)! We are back at the vets tomorrow, so fingers crossed there will be another increase in her PCV!

23rd March

Phoebe was back at the vets this morning and her PCV is now up to 20%. There is still evidence of red-blood cell breakdown but this also seems to be reduced. This is good news, but we have been here before so the next few blood test will give a truer picture I guess.
In addition to the medication Phoebe is currently on, she is also on 50mg/day of Cyclosporin.

Things are looking a lot more positive than they were last week, but we still have a long way to go!

20th March

Phoebe's PCV was still around the 16% mark today. She is still holding her own, though she does have less energy than she has had recently. Phoebe is back at the vets on Friday, so we should no more then.

19th March

Phoebe had another blood test today and her PCV has dropped to 16%. This is really not the news I was hoping for today. I was expecting it to have dropped slightly as I felt she had less energy this morning, but I had not anticipated such a reduction.
The vet suggested that Phoebe's antibodies may be reacting to the transfused blood that is still in her system, so the dramatic drop in her PCV may not be as bad as it sounds. Her blood results from last Thursday showed that she is producing new red blood cells, but at a very slow rate. Phoebe is back at the vets tomorrow morning for another blood test.The vet is considering using some alternative immuno-suppressant drugs and a series of injections to help stimulate the bone marrow to produce new blood cells.

Sorry this post is not as up-beat as my last, but I am very worried about Phoebe.

16th - 18th March

Phoebe seems to be be pretty stable on the whole, though I thought she may have had slightly less energy on the 18th of March. She is still being very sneaky with her medication, pretending she has swallowed the tablets when she hasn't! We are back at the vets tomorrow, we should get the results from her blood tests taken last Thursday and the vet will take another PCV test.

15th March - More positive progress!

Phoebe was at the vets again this morning for another full blood analyses. We should get these results on Monday. Her PCV is now at23.5%! This is excellent news, fingers crossed it will continue to rise.
I know it is still early days and the next few weeks will be the crucial time, but I am feeling really optimistic for Phoebe. Phoebe has now got some colour back into her gums and has so much more energy. That said, she thinks she has more energy than she actually has. She was very excited this morning jumping about and wagging her tail. Phoebe really enjoyed the interactions at the vets (apart from having blood taken!) but has been flat out snoozing since we got back home.Phoebe by her very nature is a very excitable dog, but I am trying to keep her calm where possible as I know how imperative rest is to increase the chances of recovery.
It is so good to see her making good steady progress!

14th March

Phoebe seems well today. I have fed her on small quantities of bland food today to allow her stomach to settle down. she is keeping her food down and her diarrhea seems to have subsided.
Phoebe has more energy today, she is constantly wagging her tail and following me around. Though she does tire quite quickly and is sleeping a lot. There is more colour in Phoebe's gums, they are still pale but distinctly pink tinged!
We have a visit to the vets tomorrow, I am hopeful of another rise in her PCV! It is so good to have her back home again!

13th March - Phoebe's Home!

We picked Phoebe up this morning, she seemed very bright and was very excited to see us! Her PCV is still at around the 21% mark.

Phoebe is the brightest she has been since becoming ill. However since coming home she has been a lot quieter and has been sick three times and also has diarrhea. I am sure I am being paranoid now, but after feeling initially positive about her progress I am now very worried again. I just called the vet that has been looking after Phoebe at the Edinburgh Royal Dick and he suggested that I laid off feeding her until tomorrow to allow her stomach to settle again. Phoebe has been through a fair bit this past week and a 3 hour car journey has probably not helped her stomach! If Phoebe is still being sick tomorrow morning I will take her to her vet for piece of mind.

I feel I have been very lucky with both my local vet and the vet who looked after Phoebe at the hospital, they have both been very helpful and caring, always happy to speak to me if I have anything I am worried about.

12th March

I heard from the Vet this afternoon. Phoebe seems to be doing fairly well. The Vet said that she was a lot brighter today and her PCV is up to 21%. This is excellent news as it is the first time her PCV has increased post-transfusion. Phoebe's blood tests today also showed that her bone-marrow is producing new red-blood cells. The rate at which the new red-blood cells are being produced is quite slow, but it is a step in the right direction!
What is more we are able to pick her up tomorrow, I can't wait!
Thanks to some very good friends we have managed to get together enough money to pay her hospital bill (thanks very much, you know who you are!).
I am feeling more positive now than I have since Phoebe first fell ill, though I know she has a long way to go.

10th March

I have heard from the Vet again this afternoon. Phoebe is stable, her PCV has showed no change from post-transfusion yesterday (19%). Phoebe has her appetite back again, and has a lot more energy. I just hope that her bone-marrow kicks into action soon. I asked the vet about thyroid issues and he did not seem to think that this was likely with Phoebe's condition. I am really missing her, I wish I could see her to give her a cuddle! Providing there is no negative change in her state I will not hear anymore news until Monday afternoon once her full blood results will be available, it is going to me a very long wait!!

9th March

I am glad we gave the go ahead for another blood transfusion. The vet was very worried about Phoebe this morning as she seemed very low. Today she has had her second blood transfusion which has been successful (PCV is up to 19%). A bone-marrow biopsy was carried out on Phoebe this afternoon and the results did not identify and growths. The bone marrow did not show any real new red-blood cell growth. So sort of good news and not so good news. We still do not know what is causing the IMHA. They are keeping Phoebe in over the weekend and monitoring her PCV level, she will have another full blood analyses on Monday. The big hope is that the blood transfusion will help in giving the bone marrow a chance to start creating new cells. I really hope she shows signs of recovery soon as we are beginning to run out of options.

8th March

I am missing Phoebe loads at the moment. Her PCV is still at 8% today, though amazingly she is holding her own. Phoebe is having her blood type matched today and will have a blood transfusion tomorrow. This will allow her to have a bone-marrow biopsy later in the day. We should know more by tomorrow evening.

7th March

The vet phoned me today as he is quite worried about Phoebe. Her blood results confirmed that she has IMHA. Her PCV was at 9.1% when the blood was taken, this is the lowest it has been. The blood test results also showed no evidence of red-blood cell generation suggesting a bone-marrow problem. The vet has referred Phoebe to a specialist in Edinburgh.

We took Phoebe to Edinburgh to the small animal hospital. Phoebe is staying at the hospital for the next few days for some tests. Her PCV is now at 8%.
The vet will be carrying out a bone-marrow biopsy tomorrow morning, this will hopefully identify the cause of the IMHA.

Worrying times and a quiet house!

5th March

Back at the vets today. I had to leave Phoebe at the vets today, so that she could have some blood taken, we should find out the results on Wednesday. Phoebe's PCV count has worryingly dropped to 10%. Phoebe seemed quite shaken today after her visit to the vets, but seemed to settle down once she was back home.

4th March

Phoebe seems about the same today, though Kath thought she may have been a little unstable on her feet this morning. Phoebe has not had much energy today, however she is still eating well. We are back at the vets tomorrow morning, I am hoping for some good news!

Not much change in Phoebe today, but I am really worried she may not pull through. I really hope that I am wrong, but she does not seem to be making any positive progress. Phoebe is still eating well (she is putting on weight) and drinking lots, but she has a real lack of energy. I may be being paranoid, but I thing her jaundice may be getting worse. I will see what she is like in the morning, if I think she is deteriorating further I will call the vet.

2nd March - At the vets again.

Phoebe was at the vets first thing this morning. Her PCV test showed a count of 12% , this is a worrying decrease from the last test. The vet prescribed the same dosage of Pred (25mg/day) and another 25mg/day of Azathioprine. Phoebe will be back at the vets on Monday to have a full blood analyses. There is some concern that the IMHA may be caused by a bone barrow problem. If Phoebe does not respond to treatment there may not be much that can be done for her. I am very worried.
Phoebe is still drinking lots, but she still has a fairly strong appetite. She seems to have about the same energy levels as yesterday. I really hope she starts to respond to treatment soon, it would be great to see her getting back to her normal self.

Tired Phoebe

I have been a bit concerned about Phoebe today, she seems to have even less energy. Phoebe has been eating ok today, so I guess this is a positive sign. However she seems to be very lethargic today and her heart seems to be racing. This is perhaps just paranoia, but I cannot help worrying. I am taking her to the vets first thing tomorrow morning, so hopefully we will no more then.