My dog has IMT. Will his medicine make him get more infections?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sundance is very handsome! I would recommend calling your Vet to discuss this, since they are the ones that treated him for IMHA. If Sundance is in remission that is good. IMHA is an immune condition that can be initiated by antibiotics, vaccines, tick infections, etc. If an underlying cause wasn't found when he was originally diagnosed we call the Idiopathic IMHA or Autoimmune. Personally I would be very hesitant to continue vaccinations in a dog with an immune mediated disease. I think it is best to discuss with your Vet They may have an automatic computer system for their reminders and don't know they are sending you reminders. I hope this helps and I wish Sundance the best!

Hello, The immunosuppression from the atopica, prednisone, and mycophenolate may have caused a bacterial or fungal skin infection. I have had more than one patient develop an infection while receiving multiple immunosuppressive drugs. I do not believe this is currently life threatening. However, if you begin to notice several affected areas with drainage and/or an odor, I would recommend following up with your veterinarian sooner.

Poor Chantilly, i am sure you are quite worried about her. If your girl has IMHA what this means is that her body is attacking and destroying her own red blood cells. If enough are lost it will make her anemic which can cause the symptoms you report. IMHA can arise without a cause (idiopathic) but many diseases can also cause it as well (secondary IMHA) and low red count is not always IMHA (low red count just means we need to find out where they went or if the body is not producing them). The safest plan would be to have her red count rechecked to see if this is contributing to her symptoms. Pets with IMHA are treated with pred typically but other meds can be used and some cases are more severe then others. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

The problem here is to establish the underlying cause of thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is one of the most common causes. This process usually occurs in the spleen although the liver also plays a role. Thrombocytopenia develops as platelet destruction exceeds compensatory production by the bone marrow. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can be classified as primary or secondary. Secondary processes can be caused by infective diseases or tumors very commonly. Usually to determine a diagnosis more tests needs to be performed like abdominal ultrasound and chest x rays. Infective diseases like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma spp for example should be ideally evaluated as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum (where you can post pics of the blood tests) or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Thunder, he sounds pretty sick. It sounds like you and your veterinarian are trying many different treatments for his low platelets. It is possible that he is suffering from an immune-mediated disease such as ITP, which is immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. This is where the immune system destroys the body's platelets. We can see this secondary to tick-diseases such as ehrlichia. He is already on prednisone, but he may require a second immune-modulatory medication, such as mycophenolate. This medication works with prednisone to reduce immune destruction of platelets. I hope this information is helpful, and best of luck trying to get Thunder's disease under control. I'm sure it is very difficult and frustrating for you.

I'm so sorry that you're going through this, but unfortunately I don't know what "auto immune IPT therapy" is. Can you please repost your question and clarify what disease you're talking about? If so, we'd be happy to help you.

Clyde is adorable! I'm sorry that he's having these issues! I think it is likely that he has relapsed and may need to resume a higher steroid dose. Treating autoimmune disorders like IMPA can be difficult because sometimes as you taper the steroid the signs of lameness and pain resume. Because steroid use can cause some side effects I would recommend calling your veterinarian before increasing the steroid dose because they know all of Clyde's history and can best advise you of dose adjustments. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Clyde is feeling better soon!