Sandy,

Yes, we have been through this. I linked to my thread from almost a year ago. Look through it for comments from Meghann, one of the vets that contributes to this forum.

We were told the two main things that cause low platelets (thrombocytopenia) are cancer and immune-mediated (and tick-borne disease). We also tried the prednisone and doxycycline. Sadly for us, our pup probably did have cancer and we lost her after a couple of days. However, it might make you feel better to know that her count was quite a lot lower than your Sweetpea's, she was down to only 2000.

I have since learned of several dogs that did recover from the low platelet issue. If yours is immune-mediated, the prednisone should help very quickly so I think it seems like a good sign that you no longer are seeing blood spots.

I can't tell you what is right or wrong in your situation but I completely understand wanting her to be with you. And you're right that age is a factor as well (ours was only 7). I do know that a year later I still second-guess some of the decisions we made, even though I believe we would still make the same choice. I think this is a very difficult situation because you cannot tell for certain what is wrong without either doing some type of exploratory surgery or just waiting to see if the drugs help.

I wish you well, please let us know how Sweetpea does.

Here is a link that might be useful: dog with low platelet count

prairie, yesterday, I did a google search for thrombocytopenia and your post came up. I am so very sorry for the loss of your dog. I know what you mean about second guessing yourself. You just can't do that. Yesterday, I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I couldn't decide what to do. My good friend said to me, "what is your heart telling you to do?". My heart was telling me to bring her home. I felt happy and upbeat with that decision despite the fact that I thought I had a dyeing dog on my hands. I am just so glad she is here. She is where she wants to be regardless of what happens.

Thank you fro your post. It did help me a great deal yesterday.

Sandy

Thank you for the condolences, Sandy.

How's Sweetpea doing? I've been thinking about you and hope she pulls through this.

She isn't doing well. I am crying as I type this but I think we are going to have to put her down. I don't know what happened but after the bleeding in her mouth all but stopped after starting the predisone, she stopped eating. She is still drinking a ton because of the prednisone. She is very lethargic. Every morning I take her downstairs to go out. She always comes back up with me while I get my shower. Today I fully expected her to not come upstairs. I found her halfway up the stairs on the landing after my shower. I guess she tried to come but was just too weak. Bless her little heart. During the night last night, she vomited DARK brown with some blood clots. I don't know if the clots were the clots she had swollowed or if they were just clots from her stomach. Her vomit almost smelled of poop.

I got to thinking maybe the doxycycline may be making her sick as I read some dogs cannot tolerate it. Especially if they have liver problems. The emergency vet commented her liver was mottled and that it could have been age related. Anyway, I am wondering if the doxy is just making her really sick. Kinda like a cancer patient on chemo. I just don't know what to do.

I called my vet to make an appointment for her to come to my home tomorrow to put her to sleep. She called back today saying she wanted to evaluate her first and to bring her in today at 4pm. She may very well tell me it's time. She is very good about that and I do trust her opinion. It's just so hard making that decision. I just wish she would go peacefully on her own.

It is especially hard. My husband and I adopted her together before we got married. She was our first dog together. We got her when we moved into our first apartment. I got her from the pound and it was truly, love at first sight. I had to have her. We are celebrating our 10 year aniversary this year. I can't imagine my Sweetpea not being here with us. Seems like she been around forever. This totally breaks my heart.

Anyway, thanks for listening.

Sandy

Sandy, I'm so very, very sorry. I'm not a vet, but it sounds to me as if she is bleeding into her abdominal cavity and internal organs. The dark brown, stinky vomit sounds like blood. Chinook did this. She also had blood in her stools - you can tell because they look very dark and tarry. I don't think it's the doxycycline, I think it's the bleeding and lack of platelets.

I will be thinking of you this afternoon, and I hope your vet has reason to be hopeful but I am fearful for you. I understand about you and your husband adopting her together. For many of us these pups truly are our babies. I wish I could tell you something to make it less hard. I think the most important thing is that you have done everything you could for Sweetpea and she knows that and she knows that you love her.

Sending all my best thoughts your direction,
Ann

I am so sorry you are going through this. My first Rottie, Kang, also had ITP. He lasted about a month before the prednisone killed him. They used to use much higher doses several years ago when he was sick, and most animals probably died from the pred as much as their real disease. We save a lot more with lower doses nowadays.

I haven't kept a patient in the hospital for ITP yet- I think they do better at home, so I think you made the right decision.

Your dog isn't taking any anti-inflammatory medications like Rimadyl or Deramaxx is she?

I hope she can be stabilized and she gets better. You and your family are in my thoughts.

maghane, I am sorry for your loss and thank you for your well wishes. She is not on any of those things. Thank you prairie love for yoyr thoughts as well. We took her yesterday and my vet wasn't ready to give up. We brought her home. She is going through water like crazy. She is still getting up to go out to pee but usually can't make it back in the house very far before she has to lie down. She is just really really weak. I hope she is just weak and tired and not suffering. This will be day 3 of no food for her. I am not expecting her to make it much longer. It will be a miracle if she pulls out of this. I am just doing my best to comfort her and care for her. I am sleeping downstairs at night with her so she doesn't try to attempt the stairs again.

I'll keep you updated and let you know what happens. Thanks for checking in!

Sandy

We're still sending good thoughts your way.

Ann

Just wanted to update. Sweetpea seems to be doing ok at the moment. I also see a homeopath/osteopath with her as well and after todays visit, she seems better. Much better than this morning. Twice I had to go out and pick her up from ground. I even had a talk with her and told her it was ok to go, I would be ok. I know it sounds silly. This afternoon, she is able to walk more. Practically jumped out of my SUV when we got home rather than me having to drag her out. She's about 80 pounds. Overall, she is acting like she's feeling better. Tmorrow will be day 5 of her not eating. She is still drinking tons of water. Not exactly sure why. She is going through a gallon of water a day, if not more. I knew prednisone made them thirsty but not this thirsty.

Anyway, I'll post again when I know more. Thanks for listening.

Thanks,
Sandy

Sandy, I'm mostly a lurker, but I just wanted to add my "best wishes" to you and Sweetpea. I lost my collie to this same thing a few years ago, and it's just devastating to go through, having to make choices constantly about care and meds, etc. I'm glad to hear she's feeling better, and I really hope she'll pull through yet - some dogs do!

Good luck to you both,

Jamie

Jamie, did they tell you your dog had Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia? Do you mind sharing a little bit of what happened in your case? I understand if it's too painful. Sweetpea has made good progress today. She actually ate some chicken breast today. Not much but it was a start and I am happy about that. Today was day 5 of no food for her. Her gums and tongue are starting to turn more pink rather than being on the white side. She seems to be feeling a little better. More alert. A couple of times she asked to go out and she just sat under the bushes looking around. I'm just happy she felt like sitting up for that long. She is still drinking tons of water. I have been adding soem chicken broth today but she's not crazy about that. She will get up to go find plain water instead. I think I'll ask my husband to pick up some pedialyte. I have read that's good for dogs that are not eating.

Sandy

Sandy, how's Sweetpea doing?

Ann

I just read this post Sandy, and I just wanted to reach out to you to let you know that I'm thinking of you and Sweatpea. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. While reading your posts, it's so clear to me that you are a Godsend to this dog.

I hope everything is ok.

I'm sorry, Sandy - I just saw this. I'm glad to hear that Sweetpea was doing better last week, and I hope she continues to improve.

Pandora had idiopathic thrombocytopenia, which basically means they don't know what caused it. She was checked for lyme disease, but tested negative, and because I adopted her at an older age (before that, she was a stray found wandering the countryside), we had no history other than her 5 years with me to go on. She had to stay in the hospital, because she was so incredibly bad that she had to have a constant IV just for fluids and meds (she couldn't take them orally). In her case, it was only around 3 days before we made the choice to put her down, given her age (estimated around 11), the fact that her platelets kept dropping at an alarming rate, and no response to any medications they tried at all. I wish I could say that money wasn't an issue, but it did factor in, although if the vet had given me hope that she would be able to live a normal life after recovery, I might have chosen differently. But our vet warned us that once this happens once, it tends to repeat, which kind of solidified my decision to let her go. Collies aren't "fighters" - and I could see that Pandora had already just "given up", which was a big part of my decision. If there had been any spark of willingness to fight left in her eyes, I would have done whatever I could to find the money to pay for further treatment. I try not to question my judgment, but some days I still wonder...

I don't want to discourage you in any way though!! Like I said, Pandora was a really bad case, and our vet felt it was unlikely that she would recover since she wasn't responding to any medications, and we had no idea what the cause was. In your case, it sounds like your vet has quite a lot of hope left for Sweetpea's recovery, and I really hope that things turn out well for you! :-)

Jamie

I wanted to add - in case you stop back to update...Lucy (my EPI dog) prefers beef broth to chicken, so don't be afraid to try that! :-)

Jamie

gabro...what a wonderuful thing to say. I appreciate that more than you know!

I wanted to come back and update. I'm so sorry it has taken so long for those of you that were interested to find out what happened. My mom is in the ICU after surgery so I have been busy with her as well. She's fine though.

Sweetpea is still hanging around. When I took her back to the vet about a week ago, her platelets had gone from 16,000 to 116,000 but her red blood cells were at 2%. Her gums were nearly white. It was not looking good. Our vet wanted us to take her for a transfusion but again, we opted to bring her home again. The reason I chose to bring her home was because even though she was nearly at rock bottom, she was actually behaving better than she had before. I actually thought she was going up rather than down. In the office, she tried to get a dog bone some other dog had dropped on the floor. I bought a bag and opened them up. She started eating them right there. A few days prior to this, she would not have eaten. This would have been day 7 of no food for her. The vet said to try hamburger which I stopped and bought on the way home. She gobbled that up. Since then, she has only gotten better. The vet started her on some chinese herbs to stop any internal bleeding that may have been going on. Her sister had gone through this exact same thing with her old dog and the dog lived 2 years longer after this treatment.

Sweetpea seems to be on the mend. We still have her on prednisone twice a day. The vet said we would try and taper it down but she will likely need to stay on it for the rest of her life. She is eating like she used to. Harrasing me for food whenever I go near the kitchen. lol She does get extremely tired when moving around too much but I think that is to be expected. I am very pleased with her progress. I took her back to the vet on Wed. She didn't even want to do any bloodwork at that appt. She was satisfied with the color of her gums etc that she was getting better. She wanted me to wait a bit longer to do bloodowrk. She goes back next Wed for that.

I appreciate everyone helping me along with your support and stories. I will be sure and post another update soon.

Thanks,
Sandy

Wow, It is so good to hear that your Sweetpea is doing better, Sandy. Thanks for the update. So often we don't get that chance to have more quality time at home with our pets once something goes haywire. I am thinking of you, your mom, and Sweatpea tonight.
Nancy

11 to 12 isn't really that old for a dog, unless they have genetic health issues.

Most dog food is garbage and has horrible things in it. Legally government wise pets have the same food protection status as factory farmed animals. Yet Americans spend more money on pet food per year then baby food!

Orijen

Innova Evo (cheaper and about as good)

instincts

wellness, grain free.

are good. If you do switch,do it, SLOWLY

( i get my sources from more the You tube and Ann N Martin/ Feline future,Dr Pitchairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats, countless online sources/ect)

I hope Sweet pea makes a full recovery and you do not have to make any more expensive or painful choices.

Thanks for the update Sandy, and Congratulations!!!! That is wonderful that Sweetpea is doing so well!! Thank goodness she's eating again, that is just fabulous.

Your vet should be commended for being willing to look to alternative medicines when "normal" ones weren't working. That is just amazing, and something not easily found.

I'm glad your mom is fine as well. When it rains, it pours, eh? In any case, things are looking up, just in time for spring. Congrats again... :-)

Jamie

runswalken...we actually are raw feeders. The bag of dog bones I purchased at the vet were Innova but I only bought those because that was the only thing she would eat at the time. She would normally never get those. She is back to her full raw diet now.

She is still doing good. I need to talk with the vet on Wed becuase she is peeing everywhere. I am assuming it is the cortisone. When she gets up from her spot there is literally a puddle under her. You would not believe the amount of towels I am washing.

Otherwise, she is the same as she was before this illness occured. I am very pleased with her progress. I only hope we are able to wean her off the pred.

Thanks,
Sandy

The constant puddles are probably the prednisone. I cringe whenever Gabriel has to do another round of it (for his spinal problem), because even though I go home every day at lunch to give them a potty break, I still have puddles waiting for me in the house when he's on the pred.

Wishing you luck that you can wean her off of that soon too...

Jamie

Sandy,

I'm so very happy for you and Sweetpea! It's good to hear of a successful recovery from this.

Thanks! I appreciate all of your support. I took Sweetpea back to the vet yesterday and she was pleased with her bloodwork. She still has a ways to go but she was very happy with where she is now. She did have a bladder infection. I figured she did because her urine was very smelly. She cut back to 1 prednisone every twelve hours rather than 1 1/2. I sure hope this helps with the peeing. Thank God for hardwoods! Best decision we ever made.

Thanks,
Sandy

I wanted to post a picture of Sweetpea. I hope this works. She is always hanging around the dishwasher when we load. She loves to lick them clean before they wash. Don't worry...we have a sanitary cycle. lol

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Sweetpea

She's adorable, Sandy!! That is just a great picture. :-) Lucy hangs out around the dishwasher too, and I always have to shoo her away from licking the dishes (not because I have anything against it, but with her EPI, it's not good for her).

Good luck with the pred and the bladder infection. I'm just tickled that she's doing so much better for you!

Jamie

I have no experience with this sort of issue. But I wanted to wish you and SweetPea all the best. She looks like such a nice dog from her picture.

cocooner

Thank You! I think she's pretty cute. We reduced her preds from 1 1/2 pils (30mg) twice a day down to 1/2 (10mg) twice a day. We did it gradually but that's where she is today. I am hoping she will continue to improve. She was a lazy dog to begin with. As long as she is eating and getting up to go out when needed, I am happy with that. I don't think she'll ever run and play in the yard again. That's ok! I hope she lives out the rest of her life in comfort and will pass away peacefully in her sleep when her days are over. That's my dream for her anyway.

Thanks so much everyone!

Sandy

I wanted to come back and update in case anyone is still following our story. I took Sweetpea in for more bloodowrk today. Her red blood cell count at at 1.11%. It has come down from 2 weeks ago when we had bloodwork done. The vet thought her spleen was enlarged. I had noticed her stomach seemed to be swollen. It appears she has some type of cancer. She thought spleen or possibly her liver.

So, I guess my dog won't be one to beat the odds. She thought she may have a week at the most. She is concerned with the possibility her spleen will rupture. I don't want to take a chance of that happening. I do not want her to suffer. I brought her home today but I think we have made the decision to take her back tomorrow and have her put to sleep. This is sooooo hard. I am crying as I type this. The thing that makes it so hard is she is still happy to see me, eating her food, ect. I can see in her eyes she doesn't feel the greatest. I can't figure out how she is mustering up the energy to get around. The reason we made the decision to go ahead is because I don't want to have an emergency situation where she is suffering. I hope I am doing the right thing.

Just wanted to update my not so happy ending.

Thanks all for your support,

Sandy

I'm so sorry for what you're going thru Sandy. I know how difficult tomorrow will be for you and I'm hoping the vet will be able to come to your home vs you taking Sweetpea to their office. I've always found that to be the easiest for us.

Thanks for the update since Sweetpea has been in my thoughts since you posted. She looks so much like a dog I lost to liver disease, and like Sweetpea, one of her symptoms was drinking lots of water.

It doesn't make it any easier, but once you see 'the look' in their eyes, you know you've made the right decision.

Thanks so much! Unfortunaley we will have to take her to the vets office. I feel ok with that since Sweetpea has come to be loved by all there and I think she feels at ease now. One of the reasons we are choosing to do it tomorrow is because the vet will be there that has been seing her through all of this. I didn't want to go to someone new in the office that has never seen her before to have her put to sleep. The only other day she will be there is Sat. I'm worried about Sweetpea making it to Sat in her condition.

I do wonder about liver disease. Sweetpea is still drinking tons of water. Her liver enzymes were also high but the vet felt that could also have been from the prednisone she is on. She did feel strongly it was either that or the spleen. We had done an ultrasound previously at the ER vet. Her spleen was normal at that time but on they said her liver appeared mottled.

The vet did suggest maybe another ultrasound today but I opted to forgo any other testing. It's just been to long and drawn out. In a way, I just want it to be over. I have been sleeping downstairs on the couch for over a month with her because she needed to be let out so much during the night. She is still peeing some in her sleep as well even with me getting up to let her out at least 3 times during the night. She's just drinking too much to hold.

On the bright side, I guess my hubby and kids will be glad to get me back in bed with them at night. This has been hard on them too I guess.

Sandy

Sandy, I am so very, very sorry. I really thought your Sweetpea had beat it. This is the hardest thing to do, but you are doing the best thing for your girl because you love her. I am just so sorry.

Ann

Sandy, I am so sorry. I have been reading this thread all along the way and was so hoping for a different outcome. Your Sweetpea has been lucky to have you for her mom. My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you.

Linda

I am so sorry to hear about Sweatpea. My thoughts are with you and your family.