Hey guys, I’m writing you because i got out of ideas. My case is as follows: I have female Akita and she’s adorable, very calm and loving dog. When she was about 6-7 months old she got sick from salmonella which the vets I visit didn’t catch on time, so they suggested to give her cortisone pills, the thing was that from this therapy she got even worse. After several vets I’ve changed I finally managed to find salmonella bacteria from one sample that I gave to laboratory ( no one from veterinary doctors didn’t tell me to do that) So we started to treat her for this bacterial infection with antibiotics. The treatment went for 3-4 weeks and she finally got cured from this salmonella thing. But the main problem is that probably this bacteria unlocked something that no one knows what is it. I even tried other city’s specialists but no one know what it might be they only suggests. So now she have swollen limbs and joints and when she tried to stand up she feels pain and barely doing it by herself I’m helping her for standing up. The only medication that helps for now is prednisolone cortico 5mg, i give her one pill per day, and she’s feeling fine as much as possible. The thing is that when she is about to get her period cycle we are stopping the treatment and she’s doing alright without medications. This last for the whole period she’s in heat and after that situation repeats, we are starting the cortisone 5mg per day. The vet we are visiting right now tell me that this will be her lifetime treatment, but I know that cortisone pills can be very harmful and that’s not a solution for me, I really hope for any alternative treatment to allow her live her full life. She’s now almost two years old about 34-35 kg. Any suggestions will be appreciated Thanks in advance guys
I'm so sorry that your young Akita is suffering like this. they are not my breed, but Akitas seem to be prone to several autoimmune conditions. This site appears to give a good overview - I'm sorry if you have already found it. Akitasbygoodomem.com.au/immune.html Afraid that's not a live link, but the site comes up if you type it in. I found it by searching, Akita Info - autoimmune disease.
Thanks for it. The only close to Maya’s case is trombocytopenia because of the low palette count, but I tasted her for this disease and the result was negative. They said that it could be immune mediated poly-arthritis
I do not know if you have seen this Dimitar, but this seems to be a good article about Immune mediated polyarthritis: https://vetspecialists.com/immune-mediated-polyarthritis-impa/
This is only a guess, but has your vet ruled out hormonal problems. It just seems strange that the period she's in season she seems much better. Only a thought
Did the vet do x-rays and blood tests? Links that has similar symptoms to your girl https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-health/joint-effusion-swelling-in-dogs/ https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/septic-arthritis-in-dogs
Thanks again guys for being active with our case Yes we made like 20+ blood tests at which everything seems normal except the platelets count they are about 30-40 which is pretty low, normal they should be above 200. We also made x-rays and everything seems normal on the bone it’s not destructive. We even made Arthrocentesis but not a sing from bacterial infection. Real mystery... Thanks for it, her situation is similar to this but there are no lameness, lack of appetite or fever. The thing is that my Vet is pretty sure that is not hormonal problem, without making any tests. Which is pretty strange to me, cus like you said Chris, she’s feeling very well on her heat period, even without medications
If it is hormonal it should show in blood tests but I think it would need specific laboratory tests for hormones, not just basic blood tests Has she been seen by a canine endocrinologist? Also, if she is OK on prednisolone, have you tried reducing it from 5mg/day to 2.5mg/day? I would suggest cutting the tablet into quarters and start with 3/4 of a tablet to see how she is, then down to 1/2 tablet. If she did have to stay on it for life then the lower the dose the better. I know that medication for life is not ideal but then neither is the alternative. Pereg, the dog in my avatar, was on very high dosage of phenobarbitone every day, but in her case there definitely was no alternative.
Yeah I only tested her TSH hormon and it was in normal range. About prednisolone, right after her hear period ends and the joint pain reappears, then i gave her 10 mg a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, otherwise if i cut the dosage she’s feeling ill, barely standing and etc. After one or two weeks I’m trying to cut it in half 5mg a day only in the morning, and if she’s not feeling ok I change to 10mg. And we end up at 2.5 mg a day when her cycle period is coming, like tree four weeks before her heat starts , we are at 2.5mg a day. And at the last week I’m not giving her at all, and she’s doing alright... Like I said right after her cycle ends, she’s at worst, and then with time we’re reducing the dosage of prednisolone.
@Malka It’s kinda messy but I know you get it Malka And no, unfortunately there’s no canine endocrinologist in Bulgaria
Got it in one, Dimitar, no problem! OK, what I would suggest is that you ask your vet to have a full thyroid panel done, not just TSH but also Free T3, Reverse T3, and Free T4. It would probably have to be done in a specialised laboratory as usual tests done at a veterinary clinic just check TSH. Presumably the blood tests she has had done would have checked her liver enzymes as I think they are usually part of a full blood test that can be done at the surgery. I know that it was for a different problem as Pereg had epilepsy, but she had to have three-monthly basic blood tests which my vet could carry out at the surgery, but also every six months blood had to be sent to an outside specialised laboratory for the full panel and also her phenobarb level. Prednisolone, like Pb is processed through the liver, so they both can cause similar problems hence the liver enzyme levels needing regular checking. If your girl is doing OK with the way you are balancing her prednisolone, as long as when you up the dosage you then reduce gradually, and as long as she is not on a high dose for any length of time, I think you will just have to accept that she will have to stay on it. I wish I could give you more help and advice.
I am a little concerned that when your Akita comes in season, you discontinue the prednisolone dose completely. The usual instruction is to gradually taper off, or reduce the dosage to prevent the dog developing Cushing's Disease or kidney problems. If your vet has not specifically told you to stop giving the tablets, please check this with him/her.
@CaroleC Yeah, I spoke with my Vet about that, and he’s ok with it as long as we reducing the dosage in small portions every week, like I’m doing it.
@CaroleC - if the prednisalone is cut down to 2.5mg as Dimitar said, then stopped about a week before her season is due, it should not cause any problems as he has already been tapering it off. He seems to be balancing the dosage correctly in the way that his Akita's body can cope with it. It is a worry when it comes to treating an unknown disease but it sounds to me that he is doing right by his dog. Especially as he has spoken to his vet about it. [I should take my own advice - when I take 60mg of prednisone if a bad allergic reaction to something starts, and that is a very high dose for my weight, I have been known to cut if down daily instead of every two-three days - but I have never told my doctor that ]
