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Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia

BuddytheSphynx

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Hi Everyone -

Going to try to make this very long story as short as possible.

Last March Buddy was not feeling well. After tons of bloods tests send all over the country, x-rays, ultra sounds, thousands of dollars, and so many specialists - he was diagnosed with immune mediated thrombocytopenia around last May. He weighed about 5 pounds (it was not a pretty sight). We went through tons of treatment and medicines etc. His platelet count was sitting very low for months around 7-20 thousand ( normal range is 250,000) So he was at an extremely high bleed risk. The vet finally put him on atopica and steroids. His platelets went up (120 was the highest). Now they are going back down again. Last results we got from the blood test his platelets were at 12 thousand. I feel terrible for Buddy - he has been on medicine for almost a year now. They poke him and take his blood every few weeks. He is a happy little fat boy now - he weights about 13 pounds - the meds make him eat. I just am at a total loss of what to do. He does not act sick at all - he shows absolutely no signs of being in any pain. The last time I talked to the vet her words were " Well im just not sure what to do at this point, maybe we take out his spleen". I know immune mediated thrombocytopenia is rare in cats - but in this case nothing has helped.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you so much
 

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Condo commando

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I'm sorry you and Buddy are having to go through this. Have you by any chance seen a specialist? I'm thinking an Internal Medicine specialist vet.....that's who helped me when I had a cat with lymphoma. One side benefit at this specialist I was seeing was that if anything happened in the middle of the night, you could call them and there was an Emergency Medicine vet on call that would meet you at the hospital right away. I used that service 2-3 times.
 

BuddytheSphynx

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I'm sorry you and Buddy are having to go through this. Have you by any chance seen a specialist? I'm thinking an Internal Medicine specialist vet.....that's who helped me when I had a cat with lymphoma. One side benefit at this specialist I was seeing was that if anything happened in the middle of the night, you could call them and there was an Emergency Medicine vet on call that would meet you at the hospital right away. I used that service 2-3 times.

Hi! We have seen soooo many internal medicine specialist. All over Colorado and Seattle. I think i've seen 7 specialists.
 

Condo commando

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BuddytheSphynx

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Sheldon13

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Has he seen a hematologist? Or has your vet consulted with one?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

Condo commando

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You're welcome. From what I read, they treat with steroids first but after that if the problem flares up again they don't have a set protocol. I think if it were me I would look for a holistic or integrative medicine vet and see if they can suggest a natural remedy. That article from Dr. Becker mentioned milk thistle (not sure what that even is).
 

Condo commando

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@BuddytheSphynx the main thing for me is the food my babies eat - preventive medicine is the best medicine right?

Here's an idea - email Carla at Raw Feeding Miami - [email protected] and say that I referred you. Ask if she has ever heard of IMT and if she has any natural food that might help. Carla mostly has dogs and at this point she knows as much as anybody about nutrition. You don't want raw food but she also sells stuff like colustrum, bone broth (or you can make your own).....
 
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Yoda mom

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@BuddytheSphynx sending a lair full of positive vibes for handsome Buddy ... Jevon certainly has the very best of love amd core ... curious if one of the specialists was from the vet university in Colorado? They were very helpful with my dad’s dog dog.... not sure what the university of Washington can offer any insight ? I have lived in both states and would not hesitate to ask their advice on this condition .


Major hugs to you amd big heeds smooches to Buddy ...
We are here for you...
I am not familar with Buddy ‘s diagnosis but will certainly look into it further .
Found this nov 2018 article mentioning a medication
Prayers and positve vibes sent

Following closely for updates
tagging @Lickleone (((hugs)) as we’ll as @Roki
 
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Condo commando

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@Yoda mom it says that although it's a serious disease the survival rate is very high. I'd want to go see THAT vet. Y'all can laugh but about 10 years ago I needed to have a procedure done and I read an article online, and it turned out the doctor that wrote it was near me, so I tracked her down and she's the one did the procedure. It was considered "minimally invasive" and my doctor wanted to do full blown surgery. LOL at that.
 
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BuddytheSphynx

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@BuddytheSphynx sending a lair full of positive vibes for handsome Buddy ... Jevon certainly has the very best of love amd core ... curious if one of the specialists was from the vet university in Colorado? They were very helpful with my dad’s dog dog.... not sure what the university of Washington can offer any insight ? I have lived in both states and would not hesitate to ask their advice on this condition .


Major hugs to you amd big heeds smooches to Buddy ...
We are here for you...
I am not familar with Buddy ‘s diagnosis but will certainly look into it further .
Found this nov 2018 article mentioning a medication
Prayers and positve vibes sent

Following closely for updates
tagging @Lickleone (((hugs)) as we’ll as @Roki

hi ! We did in fact go to the Vets at CSU Animal Hospital. They were so kind and super helpful. Everyone just seems to be stumped.
 

Yoda mom

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@BuddytheSphynx what was the consensus of best option treatment plan ?
I ask because many years ago I had a Bengal with numbers off the chart down to 6 lbs...
All idiopathic amd I opted not to do exploratory surgeries ... had a looooong talk with the vet ... we took a cra* shoot and he was om prednisole for a year! Then miraculously he took a turn , gained weight and all was well for a wonderful 18 years ... never ever knew what it was ...
he was given antibiotics I had formulated and put in a cooler for the 3600 mile move to Florida from Seattle ... got here with s new vet also stumped ... continued the prednisole .for another severa.l months ... amd he enjoyed a healthy happy life .... stumped to this day

All paws crossed for sweet Buddy ....
He sounds so much like my Omar ...
I am certainly following closely for updates ...
I saw the meds mentioemd im the article I sent amd was curious if the specialists mentiomed it too? What are the latest meds ?
 
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Condo commando

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@BuddytheSphynx some diseases are hard to figure - look at Yoda mom's story - but vets are in the best position to do something. Even if they don't have an answer they can do diagnostics to (hopefully) find out more. Definitely stick with the specialists. Pin them down - "doctor, what would you do if this was your cat?"

Also look into nutrition and diet. Like the saying goes, we are what we eat. Without knowing anything else, I would go for food that is all or mostly meat and has the least chemicals and preservatives. Canned over kibble.
 

Yoda mom

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@BuddytheSphynx found this interesting

Abstract

A young female Somali cat was referred for investigation of chronic intermittent haematuria. Petechiae were found on the ears and ventral abdomen and further investigation revealed severe thrombocytopenia and megakaryocyte hyperplasia. Direct marrow immunohistochemistry detected anti‐megakaryocyte autoantibody (immunoglobulin G), but extensive investigation failed to find secondary causes of immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia, so a diagnosis of primary (autoimmune) immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia was concluded. Thrombocytopenia persisted despite aggressive immunosuppressive therapy (prednisolone, azathioprine and vincristine) but resolved after oral prednisolone was replaced with dexamethasone.
 

BuddytheSphynx

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@BuddytheSphynx what was the consensus of best option treatment plan ?
I ask because many years ago I had a Bengal with numbers off the chart down to 6 lbs...
All idiopathic amd I opted not to do exploratory surgeries ... had a looooong talk with the vet ... we took a cra* shoot and he was om prednisole for a year! Then miraculously he took a turn , gained weight and all was well for a wonderful 18 years ... never ever knew what it was ...
he was given antibiotics I had formulated and put in a cooler for the 3600 mile move to Florida from Seattle ... got here with s new vet also stumped ... continued the prednisole .for another severa.l months ... amd he enjoyed a healthy happy life .... stumped to this day

All paws crossed for sweet Buddy ....
He sounds so much like my Omar ...
I am certainly following closely for updates ...
I saw the meds mentioemd im the article I sent amd was curious if the specialists mentiomed it too? What are the latest meds ?

Meds:
Prednisolone 5 mg: 1/2 tablet (2.5 mg) once daily

He was doing the pred and Cyclosporine 100 mg/ml: 0.1 ml by mouth once daily

however - the cyclosporine was making him throw up so we stopped doing that.
 

Yoda mom

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All paws crossed the prednisolone works for Buddy as well is it did for my boy ...
It seemed like forever he was on it amd then one day all returned to normal ...
A lair full of prayers and positive vibes big hugs and head smooches

I am following closely for positive uodstes!
 

carakitty

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Paws crossed and positive vibes being sent from us here!

I don't have experience with this condition in any of my pets, but I personally had Thrombocytopenia when pregnant with my daughter. I was exhausted all the time, on a double dose of Iron supplements, and ate iron-rich foods whenever possible!

Possibly more Iron or other dietary changes could help?

I love learning about Vet Med topics so I will be watching this thread and reading the articles later.

I hope Buddy keeps hanging in there, and that you are able to have happy, more peaceful years together.
 

Cinderstar95

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We did not because he came back negative for all types of blood cancer.
Hello!
I am not super familiar with this particular diagnosis and I've skimmed the comments here, but firstly I just wanted to clarify Hematologists work with blood disorders. oncologists would work with cancer diagnosis. you can have someone that specializes in blood cancers and they would likely be a hematologic oncologist. But you sound like a wonderful cat parent and like you are taking great care of him. You said he doesn't seem like he's in any pain and he's a happy boy. Thats all you can really hope for. remember, that cats don't think about things the same way we do. they don't future plan or worry like we do. he's living in the moment and as long as he's fat and sassy and happy, then he's doing alright in his own mind. Take that as a comfort. Its super difficult to deal with such a disorder in anyone, let alone a cat for who the same research isn't done. Keep taking him to specialists and do what you can to avoid chances of him having a bleeding episode.
I wish I could give you the answers you are looking for, but you've already gone to the specialists and the vets who can do that best. ANd don't be discouraged just because the vet said they don't know exactly where to go from here. Its not like they are giving up on him, its just not an easy fix. He's so lucky he ended up with someone like you who cares so much about him and is willing to go the extra mile. Thank you for taking such great care of your little guy!
Best wishes!
 

BuddytheSphynx

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@BuddytheSphynx hello checking in on Buddy
(((Hugs) n head smooches

Hi!! Buddy eats and sleeps. Some days ill notice he is lethargic and then the next day back to normal like nothing is wrong. He has been particularly picky about wet food lately - turns his nose up at it. So I have been feed him his dry food a lot more ( Royal Canin) - If anyone has a good wet food for picky eaters. He won't go near it anymore.
 
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