Autoimmune Disease in Dogs

[EvelynD2]

Our dog went in to have his teeth cleaned but the called and said they couldn't give him anesthesia because his platelets were really low. They put him on an antibiotic thinking it was an infection but that didn't help. The then thought it was an autoimmune disease and put him on steroids. He has been drinking so much water he is having multiple accidents at night. They will recheck his levels tomorrow and make adjustments to his meds based on his lab results. Do any of you have dogs or cats that are on steroids daily? I know he will have to be on them the rest of his life. How does your pet do on steroids? I am hoping the accidents stop when they can lower his dose. He does not typically have accidents.

 

[faerywings]

Oh Evelyn, your poor dog!
With all of the pets I have had, I don't think I ever dealt with an autoimmune disorder. Kidney/liver/cancer/chronic UTI and kidney stones-- sure all of that but not autoimmune.

Is the vet sure it isn't kidney-related? I would imagine they ran all of the blood work for it since that is critical for anesthesia.

I have no suggestions about the accidents other than to get training pads and put them where he is having the accidents.

Good luck and give him lots of pets from me!

 

[AZK]

Hi Evelyn, so sorry to hear about your doggo! Yes, steroids definitely increase water intake (sometimes they're hungrier too!), which can result in the accidents you're seeing. I always tried to warn clients to watch out for that. And yes, you are correct that if the dose decreases, the accidents usually do as well. I hope you got a good report at your visit today!

 

[EvelynD2]

Oh Evelyn, your poor dog!
With all of the pets I have had, I don't think I ever dealt with an autoimmune disorder. Kidney/liver/cancer/chronic UTI and kidney stones-- sure all of that but not autoimmune.

Is the vet sure it isn't kidney-related? I would imagine they ran all of the blood work for it since that is critical for anesthesia.

I have no suggestions about the accidents other than to get training pads and put them where he is having the accidents.

Good luck and give him lots of pets from me!

Thank you so much, Chris! They did run bloodwork and that is how they found out his platelets were so low. We are taking him today so I will keep you all posted. We love him so much! He is such a big sweet fur baby!

 

[EvelynD2]

Hi Evelyn, so sorry to hear about your doggo! Yes, steroids definitely increase water intake (sometimes they're hungrier too!), which can result in the accidents you're seeing. I always tried to warn clients to watch out for that. And yes, you are correct that if the dose decreases, the accidents usually do as well. I hope you got a good report at your visit today!

Thank you so much, Angie! Yes, he has been drinking soooo much. He doesn't seem to be eating an extra amount of food but he is sure drinking a lot!

 

[zanthia]

so sorry to hear about your dog . hope you can find out whats is up

my previous dog was on low dosage maintenance prednisone for many years ( it initially was higher ) but for different reasons. never had any issues with increase water intake and he was born with a humongous appetite ( but no it didnt get worse )

 

[mimes1]

We’ve had our dog on short term steroids before and it definitely made him pee more. I hope your dog gets to feeling better soon!

 

[bcgal00]

You poor fur baby. I hope things improve soon.

 

[EvelynD2]

so sorry to hear about your dog . hope you can find out whats is up

my previous dog was on low dosage maintenance prednisone for many years ( it initially was higher ) but for different reasons. never had any issues with increase water intake and he was born with a humongous appetite ( but no it didnt get worse )

Thank you so much, Zanthia! We took him to the vet today and his platelets came up from 37, 000 to 90,000. The normal range is 160,000-500,000. It does seem like the prednisone is working so the vet lowered his dosage by not quite 50%. We are hoping that helps his excess thirst and other issues.

 

[EvelynD2]

You poor fur baby. I hope things improve soon.

Thank you, Rae!

 

[EvelynD2]

We’ve had our dog on short term steroids before and it definitely made him pee more. I hope your dog gets to feeling better soon!

Thank you! I hope your pup is better now!

 

[EvelynD2]

We took our fur baby, Rocky, to the vet today and his platelets came up from 37, 000 to 90,000. The normal range is 160,000-500,000. It does seem like the prednisone is working so the vet lowered his dosage by not quite 50%. We are hoping that helps his excess thirst and other issues. I am so thankful that we had taken him to get his teeth cleaned when we did because the bloodwork they did found his platelet issues. His platelets were dangerously low. Thankfully, that have more than doubled since he started medication. He will get checked again in three weeks and rechecked again until the lowest dosage possible is determined to help him keep his platelets where they need to be.

 

[zanthia]

Thank you so much, Zanthia! We took him to the vet today and his platelets came up from 37, 000 to 90,000. The normal range is 160,000-500,000. It does seem like the prednisone is working so the vet lowered his dosage by not quite 50%. We are hoping that helps his excess thirst and other issues.

with prednisone you need to lower slowly whether or not maintenance or getting off completely. if you stay on long term, you want the lowest possible dosage that works for your dog. so if the new dosage is not working raise it up slowly but i hope it is working for you. do let us know.

 

[EvelynD2]

with prednisone you need to lower slowly whether or not maintenance or getting off completely. if you stay on long term, you want the lowest possible dosage that works for your dog. so if the new dosage is not working raise it up slowly but i hope it is working for you. do let us know.

Thank you so much, Zanthia! The vet lowered his dose but also added another medication that will, prayerfully, also raise his platelet levels. He is 8 years old but we love him so much and sure don't want to lose him.

This is a layout with Rocky

Rocky

• EvelynD2
• Aug 3, 2023
• 2
• #cheeryo #karen schulz designs

[url=https://www.oscraps.com/shop/digital-scrapbooking-collection-love-my-dog-karen-schulz-design...

 

[zanthia]

Thank you so much, Zanthia! The vet lowered his dose but also added another medication that will, prayerfully, also raise his platelet levels. He is 8 years old but we love him so much and sure don't want to lose him.

This is a layout with Rocky

Rocky

• EvelynD2
• Aug 3, 2023
• 2
• #cheeryo #karen schulz designs

[url=https://www.oscraps.com/shop/digital-scrapbooking-collection-love-my-dog-karen-schulz-design...

Sure hope it works - love your page with rocky - he is a handsome boy but to be honest my favorite part of the page is the stamp/brush you used. That is my boy Cooper , he was the one i was referring to being on prednisone . He died over 6 years ago.

 

[EvelynD2]

Sure hope it works - love your page with rocky - he is a handsome boy but to be honest my favorite part of the page is the stamp/brush you used. That is my boy Cooper , he was the one i was referring to being on prednisone . He died over 6 years ago.

Oh, Zanthia, I know how hard it is to lose a fur baby! Your Cooper was a beautiful boy!