Any info. about this with dogs would be appreciated!
Including any personal cases if anyone would care to share.
Thank you in advance.
Thrombocytopenia
Re: Thrombocytopenia
See your other post, please. Too many causes and indications for thrombocytopenia, your vet needs to differentiate with testing/further diagnostics.
..........Traci
Re: Thrombocytopenia
Why do you think its not Thrombocytopenia?Traci wrote:See your other post, please. Too many causes and indications for thrombocytopenia, your vet needs to differentiate with testing/further diagnostics.
Re: Thrombocytopenia
What I mean is there are too many things that might cause thrombocytopenia, additional diagnostics are necessary to narrow them down (differentiate and rule-outs). These cases can range from mild to severe to life-threatening, depending on the underlying cause.
Such conditions could include: trauma or liver/spleen/respiratory/urinary/GI/other organ hemorrhage, infectious disease (ehrlichiosis, rocky mountain spotted-fever), immune-mediated-hemolytic-anemia, SLE, neoplasia, drugs (aspirin, NSAIDS, etc)..... if the case is severe, monitoring on a daily basis the PCV, platelets and coagulation/blood clotting factors would be necessary. Other diagnostics could include immunology (ANA, tick disease/titers, infectious disease), bone marrow evaluation, etc.
Such conditions could include: trauma or liver/spleen/respiratory/urinary/GI/other organ hemorrhage, infectious disease (ehrlichiosis, rocky mountain spotted-fever), immune-mediated-hemolytic-anemia, SLE, neoplasia, drugs (aspirin, NSAIDS, etc)..... if the case is severe, monitoring on a daily basis the PCV, platelets and coagulation/blood clotting factors would be necessary. Other diagnostics could include immunology (ANA, tick disease/titers, infectious disease), bone marrow evaluation, etc.
..........Traci
Re: Thrombocytopenia
I don't know what all they checked her for this time with the blood chem test. They said she has no infections and no parasites. They suspect it may be genetic.
I wish I could afford more extensive tests. We are struggling too many things have come up lately and we are taking some serious $ hits that don't seem to end.
Casey returns next week to the vet for a blood test to see if she's responding yet to the prednisone.
Thank you.
I wish I could afford more extensive tests. We are struggling too many things have come up lately and we are taking some serious $ hits that don't seem to end.
Casey returns next week to the vet for a blood test to see if she's responding yet to the prednisone.
Thank you.
Re: Thrombocytopenia
If her platelets or PCV are dangerously low, please at least ask your vet about a consult with a veterinary university specialist....all of Casey's prior history, lab results from last year to now, etc could be reviewed, a specialist may be able to offer more in terms of conservative diagnostics, treatment or options.....again, may only be the price of a long distance phone call (done by your vet, on your behalf).
She may respond well to the prednisone, but since this is the second incident, something else is going on, your vet should be trying to determine what, to prevent it from happening again. Pred may have to be used long-term in such cases, but if it is, you must monitor her bloodwork periodically while on pred (CBC's at least, these are crucial).
She may respond well to the prednisone, but since this is the second incident, something else is going on, your vet should be trying to determine what, to prevent it from happening again. Pred may have to be used long-term in such cases, but if it is, you must monitor her bloodwork periodically while on pred (CBC's at least, these are crucial).
..........Traci
Re: Thrombocytopenia
Was she recently vaccinated? There are rare complications from vaccination that can cause hemolytic anemias and/or thrombocytopenia. A viral cause is also suspect, as are many bacteria or environmental factors (pesticides in particular). As Traci indicated, thrombocytopenia is usually a symptom of another underlying condition, and it can be very difficult to determine the cause.
Wishing you and your beloved furry one all the best. Hope you can figure out what's happening soon!
Wishing you and your beloved furry one all the best. Hope you can figure out what's happening soon!
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Thrombocytopenia
I don't know who they've been consulting with but they have been talking and consulting with someone who is more knowledgable. Both vets I've talked with so far say each case is different so its hard to compare. The more recent doctor is thinking genetics. She is trying the prednisone route but plans to keep her on it longer before trying to wean her off this time. Casey's PVC is 38 while that is on the low side she's still somewhat maintaining. Last year at this time she had a PVC of 19. Casey may be one that will have to stay on Prednisone.Traci wrote:If her platelets or PCV are dangerously low, please at least ask your vet about a consult with a veterinary university specialist....all of Casey's prior history, lab results from last year to now, etc could be reviewed, a specialist may be able to offer more in terms of conservative diagnostics, treatment or options.....again, may only be the price of a long distance phone call (done by your vet, on your behalf).
She may respond well to the prednisone, but since this is the second incident, something else is going on, your vet should be trying to determine what, to prevent it from happening again. Pred may have to be used long-term in such cases, but if it is, you must monitor her bloodwork periodically while on pred (CBC's at least, these are crucial).
Re: Thrombocytopenia
I had a kitty (aptly named Cayci 
), who was on long term pred. She had two incidents of thrombocytopenia a few years apart, the second she was diagnosed with b-cell lymphoma. Her pred was very low dose, and she did well on it, but unfortunately, her lymphoma was malignant.
Not saying of course that your Casey has a malignancy, given her young age, but I sure wish your vet could get an idea on this. Genetics is too vague a term, do you happen to know her breeder or any other information, or was she a shelter/rescued dog?
), who was on long term pred. She had two incidents of thrombocytopenia a few years apart, the second she was diagnosed with b-cell lymphoma. Her pred was very low dose, and she did well on it, but unfortunately, her lymphoma was malignant.Not saying of course that your Casey has a malignancy, given her young age, but I sure wish your vet could get an idea on this. Genetics is too vague a term, do you happen to know her breeder or any other information, or was she a shelter/rescued dog?
..........Traci
Re: Thrombocytopenia
She's a mixed beagle. Mom was purebred beagle, dad was beagle and ?
Casey was a product of my niece not getting her two dogs spayed and neutered. Casey was also taken away from Mom too early, not my idea. She was barely 5 weeks old. Casey was fine until a year ago this week. She is spayed. She is 5 and a half yrs. old.
The doctors haven't found any tumors on her. They've been eliminating possibilities. They said everything is fine except for her low platelets and the PVC dropping to 38.
She was vaccinated in December 2005 for rabies.
I hadn't thought of it until I read Karen's post. I might ask the vet about herbacides or some sort of weed killer. I suspect a neighbor may have been using some along the fence line. I see a sprayer out on his back porch. The only problem with that idea is that my other dogs are not experiencing any symptoms. His own dogs seem ok too.
Casey did have an appetite for beetles and moths as they came out this spring. I haven't seen any lately. Could this be a delayed reaction I missed until it became very noticable to eating bugs?
Wouldn't weed killer cause a more serious reaction with more symptoms?
Wouldn't I have smelled it on her? I haven't used any in our yard. I don't know about the neighbors.
Casey was a product of my niece not getting her two dogs spayed and neutered. Casey was also taken away from Mom too early, not my idea. She was barely 5 weeks old. Casey was fine until a year ago this week. She is spayed. She is 5 and a half yrs. old.
The doctors haven't found any tumors on her. They've been eliminating possibilities. They said everything is fine except for her low platelets and the PVC dropping to 38.
She was vaccinated in December 2005 for rabies.
I hadn't thought of it until I read Karen's post. I might ask the vet about herbacides or some sort of weed killer. I suspect a neighbor may have been using some along the fence line. I see a sprayer out on his back porch. The only problem with that idea is that my other dogs are not experiencing any symptoms. His own dogs seem ok too.
Casey did have an appetite for beetles and moths as they came out this spring. I haven't seen any lately. Could this be a delayed reaction I missed until it became very noticable to eating bugs?
Wouldn't weed killer cause a more serious reaction with more symptoms?
Wouldn't I have smelled it on her? I haven't used any in our yard. I don't know about the neighbors.