peacefrog

Thanks Di that means alot. It definitely is the "wait and see" that is worrying me, from all the things I have read online on it it is a very touch and go process and dogs have declined after making some progress seemingly without reason and very quickly. I am off to see my girl very soon, I just pray there is some positive news today!

Hang in there groupfive, I hope today brings some progress for your boy

Does anyone have any experience with this terrible condition?? My gorgeous little 6yo maltese x shih tzu has been diagnosed with Immune mediated thrombocytopenia, she is currently at a pet hospital receiving the very best of care. We first noticed she wasn't herself on Sunday night, she wouldn't eat and was very quiet and lethargic, by Monday she couldn't walk properly in her back legs. Her usual vet immediately referred her to a specialist. She was in terrible condition when she went in, they did tests and her platelet count was zero and her red cells were dropping. She was given a shot of cortisone and we were told we just need to wait, it may take up to 4 days to see any improvement. The next morning they called and said she still wasn't responding but this wasn't unusual or critical jsut yet. We went to visit her yesterday and she looked so much better, alert and lively, and scoffed her dinner. The vet said she is in very good condition and they have held off on giving her any further pain meds but her red blood count was still dropping and this was a concern. He also told us this condition has a 50% mortality rate!! Anyway her red cells dropped from about 26 when she was admited to 20 yesterday and if it went to 18 they would give her a blood transfusion during the night. We rang at midnight to see if she needed it or if she had perked up and it was down to 16 so they gave her the transfusion!! Needless to say I was a wreck all night and was expecting the worst this morning. However the vet has called and said she is a very chirpy little girl this morning and she is very pleased with her. We are going to see her again this afternoon and hopefully we will see some positive progress by then. But I am just wondering if the blood transfusion has just helped her temporarily . The vet said it may take up to 4 days for the platelets to come back and if they don't start picking up they will try a stronger course of treatment. Do they keep giving her blood transfusions and we wait? The immediate concern is a sudden bleed, but how long can she hang on if her platelets and red cells don't start responding??

Any news this morning??

Groupfive, all the well wishes in the world to you your precious little mate!! My little girl was hospitalised at the vet specialists yesterday, her blood work came back and her platelets are 0 and her bloodwork isn't where it should be (red or white up or down, I just can't get my brain functioning to remember anything they've told atm), they started her on cortizone over night but she isn't repsonding as yet and some other blood thing has dropped off overnight so she may need a blood transfusion very soon if that doesn't pick up. Apparently it takes a few days for the cortizone to start working but the waiting to see if she will perk is killing me. Edit to add: I saw the vet this afternoon and my baby has ITP (immune mediated thrombocytopenia). She is very active and looking so much better, but not out of the woods until her levels creep up. Here's hoping our babies pull through!!!! Sorry for the hijack of your topic but I came in here to see if anyone else had gone through the same illness with their dog and whether my girls symptoms might be similiar - and low and behold I saw your topic.