sarahs mum

Thanks again everyone for replies. Still on the IMT rollercoaster, More bloods last week to see how Sar is going. Huge shock, all whites OK, however now low in the red cells, amemia!!! Off to the Uni of Qld for a full stomach scan. Good news there, nothing showed up at all, all organs are clear, liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas etc. So no underlying nasty tumour that they can see. So why the no red cell count??? Vet thinks perhaps the Imuran (which has a side effect sometimes of causing anemia) so Imuran dose cut drastically, and upped the dose of the Prednisone. See how she goes until next week and then check everything again. I am worried about bone cancer, vets think not, that will be the next test, a bone marrow biopsy. Am beginning to wonder if I am being cruel and just clutching at straws for my own selfish reasons. Should I keep pursuing this or just do a wait and see on the treatment. Maybe see another vet specialist - or soemone who has treated lots of other dogs with this condition. A vet at the Uni suggested this was one way to go. My own vet has been fabulous though but is finding this all very frustrating. Sar is still not her old self, and is lying around a lot - but I guess with the drugs and now the anemia - that is to be expected. Will keep everyone posted. Keep sending the good vibes our way please. Sarahs Mum XX

Hello everyone who is involved in the Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia rollercoaster. Our gorgeous Sarah has slipped a bit since the my last posting. Bloods taken this week showed her white cells back down again and my vet has put her on a cocktail of drugs (Imuran and Doxy + Prednisone) to see if this will knock this IMT on the head. She is not the same happy super placid kid that she was prior, but we are hanging in there with her ravanous hunger and thirst from the cortisone and are due for more bloods in a week or so so see how it is all going. I hope the future looks bright and I am looking everywhere on the net to see if there are some good outcomes for us all. Does any one have a happy sotory that they can pass on to give me a glimmer of hope? Thanks to the the people that have replied I really appreciate the advice. Sarah's Mum X

Hi there I am new to the Dogz online forum, however have been searching all over to get information on Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia, and can see that there are lots of people who have experience with this scary illness. Just thought I would put down my recent experience with IMT. My much loved 'substitute daughter' 6 year old gordon setter Sarah who is normally healthy as, was running a temp and would not eat her dinner one night a couple of weeks ago. I got her to my vet early next morning thinking she had an infection of some sort. To my absolute horror after the temp was taken (41c) the vet sprang into action and put her on an immediate antibiotic drip etc and bloods were taken, the vet was extremely worried and was suggesting all different illnesses, cancer, tumours, lymphoma etc etc. She was telling me that there was something seriosly wrong with her as 41c was really really high for a dog and she needed to get the temp down and investigate the reason for it. To her credit the vet did lots of tests including a full xray to try to narrow down what was causing the extremely low white cells that showed in the blood tests. Overnight stay at the vets, more bloods the next day, I was convinced I would be saying goodbye to my special girl that day, however the vet was terrific and as I was so distressed I am sure I only took in half of what she was telling me. Sarah slowly rallied without the need for a transfusion and her bloods were slowly slowly looking a little better and temp was going down slowly. I brought her home after 2 days at the vets and she has been on antibiotics. More bloods every couple of daysto monitor what the white cells were doing and also cortisone tablets to knock out the immune system to give her body a chance to heal itself. I am happy to say that the bloods that were done yesterday are all showing levels in the normal range. Sarah's IMT was only a mild case as the vet said I was lucky to get her in and treatment started quickly. I know there are no permanent aspects of this but I am guardedly optimistic in hoping that when the cortisone is finished in quite a few months time that we will have turned te corner and keep this at bay. Just thought I would tell my story and maybe help someone else. Thanks for reading, Sarah's Mum X