Wags update

Wow, have I been remiss about talking about the Wagster and what's been going on.

So, he's got this whole Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia thing going on. The first line of defense is to suppress his immune system to prevent it from attacking his own red cells. Well, as anyone with an autoimmune disease and a pet knows, the best way to do that is with steroids, specifically oral Prednisone. Thirty milligrams, twice a day. That's a pretty significant dose if you ask me. But we have to start out aggressively.

Now I'm learning that my new favorite lab test is counting PCV. That is Packed Cell Volume or, how many cells are in a finite amount of blood. The normal range is in the mid- to high-40s. On January 15th, Wags' PCV was 22. On January 22nd it was almost 28. This morning it is 33. He's got nice pinkness returning to his tongue, gums and ears. His appetite is healthy (especially with the appetite bump that steroids always provide). He's drinking vast quantities of water, and urinating vast quantities out, as he should.

So, we wait, we closely monitor, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and cross our fingers.

Things are going well so far. I won't bore you with all of the things that might have caused this and all of the things that we're potentially wrecking with high-dose steroids. We just have to take it one thing at a time.