# Help! Extremely low platelets....



## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Something is wrong with my baby and nobody knows what it is. He has been tested for several things and everything is coming back negative. The vet said they think there is something new around and that they don't know what it is. She said they have seen a significant rise in dogs coming in with very low platelets. Ambrosius's aren't just low, his count is 12 - EXTREMELY low.
Any ideas anyone?

I am so terrified of losing this one. Of course the loss of any of mine will hurt and I'll cry, but to lose Ambrosius - I will be beyond consoling with this one. Yeterday, the day I was at the vet worrying about losing him, is 2 years to the day, Nov. 5th 2011, that I lost Yeti, my heart dog. Ambosius was pretty much tossed into my lap a few months after that loss, wormed his way into my heart like no other, and now I think I'm losing him too. 

If anyone has any ideas please toss them at me. The vet's simply do not know and neither do I. He is not vomiting, no diarrhea, he does have a fever - 103.8, won't eat but will drink water, just sleeps, no nasal discharge, no signs of jaundice, heart normal, lymph nodes normal.

I'm attaching his blood test for those who understand them. My first thought was leukemia but as you can see the blood tests don't indicate that. Again, if you have any ideas please share them.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

No helpful ideas, but sending positive thoughts to you and Ambrosius.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Same here ... Sending good thoughts and prayers.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Thank you both. I am so desperate for any suggestions on this though. The vet's have no idea, I have no idea, nobody does. I'll be taking him back either tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest for another go at more tests and brainstorming. 

If I lose this one.... I dunno....I don't know how much more loss I can take.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

See if you can contact a vet teaching hospital, and fax or email them his blood tests, and ask for a consult with your vet.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

have the vets tested for Erlichia and other tick borne diseases?


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

All tick borne diseases were tested for and all came back negative. He was started on a very high dose of doxy just in case but he has shown no repsonse to that and should have by now - he's been on doxy since Monday and any response should have been present within 24-48hrs.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Was the blood done in house or was it sent out to a lab? If it was done in house, I might ask about having the CBC re-run at a lab, just to make sure the numbers are right. 

What about an abdominal ultrasound? Make sure the various filtering organs look ok. 

Have you looked into something autoimmune? 

I hope your vet gets to the bottom of this soon and fixes Ambrosius up for you!!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

He's not making orhe's destroying red cells and platelets. Not making them would be a bone marrow issue. Destroying them can be viral, bacterial, tick-borne diseases, liver function, spleen issues, kidney problems.....
Positive thoughts going your way. Hopefully he will get better soon. If he gets worse there may be enough newer symptoms to pinpoint the problem.


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## Marky82 (Sep 30, 2013)

I have low blood platelets as a human. The doc said it was an autoimmune disease called _Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura_ (ITP). Basically my body's immune system mistakes the platelets as a threat and kills them. If my count gets really low they would put my on prednisone. 

Looks like dogs can have this too (found this thread on the forum).


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

My puppy developed Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia after her third puppy shot (dhlp) in July. She presented with bruising on her ears and stomach. Those were the only symptoms however the vet knew immediately what it was and ran blood tests to confirm. Her platelets were under 50,000 on their in house lab but they also sent them out and they confirmed it. She was immediately put on doxy to rule out a tick born disease and also prednisone for the IMT. She was initially put on 5mg of pred 2x a day but after the first (of many) blood draws they upped it to 7.5 mg twice a day. She responded nicely to the prednisone and we have slowly been tapering her off of it. All blood draws since have been in the normal range around 250,000. She goes in for another blood draw on Friday to see if we can stop the pred, she is on one 5mg every other day right now. I can't recall off the top of my head if her other counts (top ones) were off like your chart shows but I think they were on the low end of normal.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Sorry for taking so long to get back here. We've been insanely busy with doctors, tests, etc...



Ambrosius is going down fast. Platelets are down to 2, he is losing 3-4lbs daily, a bit more active but still not wanting to eat.

X-rays and ultrasound came back all good. He is still on doxy 500mg twice daily, iron supplement and started Prednisone 20mg twice daily. He is also getting probiotics. I'm syringe feeding him something like Ensure (can't recall the name right now and am at work so can't check) that is available by prescription only. He is supposed to go back in tomorrow for another check on his blood to see if the Prednisone is helping. If it isn't then they will pull some bone marrow.



Please please please send good vibes and healing thoughts to Ambrosius. I've gone through too much loss lately and if I lose him....


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

reynosa_k9's said:


> Sorry for taking so long to get back here. We've been insanely busy with doctors, tests, etc...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Prayers sent and good vibes big time .......................... I so hope the best for both of you!


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Oh no! Continuing to send good thoughts.


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

Prayers for Ambrosius, how long has he been on the prednisone? Did his platelet count go down even after the prednisone? It can take a bit to kick in but seems that it usually works for Thrombocytopenia which is what it sounds like your dog has. Did he recently have a vaccination or on any antibiotics? 

This tells about Thrombocytopenia...

http://www.vetinfo.com/low-blood-platelets-in-dogs.html


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts.

dogsrule, believe me I have read up on EVERYTHING. The vets are even stumped with this. By the way, we have had 3 different vets look at Ambrosius. We still think it may be some type of tick-borne disease, maybe even a new strain of ehrlichia.
The prednisone was just started yesterday and we're waiting 48hrs (until tomorrow) to re-do the blood work. If he isn't responding to the pred. by then (which he should) they will do the bone marrow.


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

reynosa_k9's said:


> Thanks everyone for the good thoughts.
> 
> dogsrule, believe me I have read up on EVERYTHING. The vets are even stumped with this. By the way, we have had 3 different vets look at Ambrosius. We still think it may be some type of tick-borne disease, maybe even a new strain of ehrlichia.
> The prednisone was just started yesterday and we're waiting 48hrs (until tomorrow) to re-do the blood work. If he isn't responding to the pred. by then (which he should) they will do the bone marrow.


Oh yikes! I sure wish they would have started the prednisone back on the 6th when you posted this! Could have been a week on it already. It sometimes takes up to a week for the pred to start increasing those platelets. It sure sounds like Thrombocytopenia, however I know when it strikes they usually treat for a tick borne disease also, they did with my pup too. I am confused as to why they are stumped when it sounds so much like Thrombocytopenia, why are they not thinking it is? Just curious, cause prednisone is the first thing to try with IMT and like I said, it doesn't work overnight, although it should stop it from dropping lower. At least he is getting large dose too, my pup only got 7.5mg twice a day to start with but she was under 20lbs and only 4months old. With that low of platelets are you seeing bruising? I know they can just spontaneously bleed with really low platelets. Prayers your dog get better......


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## 5 s corral (Dec 31, 2007)

sending lots of prayers


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Sending prayers and good vibes your way. I hope all ends well for you and Ambrosius.:grouphug:


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Just another quick update here:



Ambrosius is having blood work done again this afternoon. I think he is beginning to improve a bit though. I was able to get him to eat 1lb ground turkey and 1 1/2lbs chicken hearts last night. I also syringe fed him another can of that high-cal liquid he's on with a couple eggs thrown in, a few ozs of beef liver and even a banana all tossed in the blender. 

It's not much for a growing boy his size but it was more than he has eaten in all the days added together in nearly a week.



I think I forgot to mention his bright blue eyes aren't even blue anymore. The iris has turned a dirty brown/yellow and clouded over. The whites are still white though. Anyway, his eyes looked a bit more clear today. Still not back to blue but not as dirty looking as before.

I am truly grateful for all your kind words and virtual hugs. After that remark from my supervisor your words are all the more special to me. Thank you.

dogsrule, IMT is not considered because he has absolutely NONE of the symptoms of it other than low platelets. We really do think it's a new strain of ehrlichia. 

Also, other than now, Ambrosius has never had any medications or vaccinations. Before anyone says anything about that please note that when he first came to us he was a confiscated neglect/abuse case that had been exposed to parvo (the other dog in the yard had already died from the parvo). He was 8-10wks. He couldn't be vaccinated then due to possibly being sick. Later when we knew he would be OK he was hanging out with the litter Galahad came from and they were all getting their shots. Ambrosius was exposed to the shed viruses from those and other dogs being vaxed at the ranch. 
GD's do have so many health issues and after losing Yeti so young to lymphoma and leukemia I have tried to keep it all as organic/homeopathic/natural, etc. for Ambrosius. But, as long as idiot BYB's indiscriminately breed without any health testing dogs will still have serious health issues.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

reynosa_k9's said:


> Just another quick update here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So glad there is some improvement ..... still sending good thoughts and many prayers your way. I understand the vaccination issue. I have my own thoughts on that as well with my own dogs due to Leeo. I have changed my vaccination schedules as well ............. going more holistic this year.

Hope to read more good news soon ................


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## Whistlejacket (Jul 26, 2012)

I'm so sorry to hear about Ambrosius. I have no idea what his condition could be, but I hope the vets finally find out and that he recovers soon.

Lots of hugs to you.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

So, Ambrosius is not out of the woods yet, BUT, his platelets are coming up. He even ate some this morning without me having to shoot it down his throat with a syringe.
I teared up with relief when I saw his blood work last night. His platelets are at 18, not good but much better than the previous count of 2. 
I'm afraid of being too optimistic here but....uhhhh, yeah, I'm feeling optimistic. I was so happy I even broke my 'no dogs in the bed' rule and let Ambrosius sleep with me. 
Everyone still pretty much believes this all is from a type of ehrlichia, tick-borne disease, kind of thing. There have been a number of dogs in this area with a similar illness with platelets as low as zero, some responding with hospitalization and several weeks of doxycycline, some not making it.

Don't break out with the pom-poms yet but get them ready... I think we will be going into cheer mode pretty soon. 

If he comes through this, as soon a s he has gained his weight back, I'm taking Ambrosius to a photographers and have his pic done.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

reynosa_k9's said:


> So, Ambrosius is not out of the woods yet, BUT, his platelets are coming up. He even ate some this morning without me having to shoot it down his throat with a syringe.
> I teared up with relief when I saw his blood work last night. His platelets are at 18, not good but much better than the previous count of 2.
> I'm afraid of being too optimistic here but....uhhhh, yeah, I'm feeling optimistic. I was so happy I even broke my 'no dogs in the bed' rule and let Ambrosius sleep with me.
> Everyone still pretty much believes this all is from a type of ehrlichia, tick-borne disease, kind of thing. There have been a number of dogs in this area with a similar illness with platelets as low as zero, some responding with hospitalization and several weeks of doxycycline, some not making it.
> ...


Yay!!! ... Not getting out the Pom-Poms yet ... but this is a great relief in itself .... and no "If's" allowed.  Letting him sleep with you IMHO is also good therapy ... might help his stress level. I always allow the sick dogs in my bed.


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## Whistlejacket (Jul 26, 2012)

Fantastic news! Glad to hear Ambrosius is doing better, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him to make a full recovery very soon!


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

Glad to hear he is doing better and his platelet count is coming up, hope/pray he continues to improve! I can't imagine not having the dogs sleep with us, especially when they are not feeling well. One of my girls had to have a cyst removed from her face a year ago and the first night home she slept with her head (in the cone) on my stomach ALL night long...I wouldn't have had it any other way. Glad he is getting some extra tlc by being able to sleep by you.....


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