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To, Mustang Sally (Siberians and Sighthounds).
Hello,
You replied to a post I made about a month ago concerning my greyhound's being diagnosed with hypothyroid. I am trying to determine whether they really need to be on thyroid meds and if so if they need to be on the level they are being given. Maybe you could help me. I have 2 greyhounds, a 7 yr old female and a 10 yr old male. The male was diagnosed about a year after we adopted him in 2000. The vet wanted to test his thyroid because she thought his hair looked thinner then the last time he was in. I couldn't notice any difference. He never seemed to have any other "hypothyroid" symptoms. They did a T4 test and he was put on 0.6 thyro-tabs which he has been on since. My female who I just recently adopted was tested last year because of her age (6 at the time) and was found to be hypothyroid also. She also showed no obvious symptoms, not even thin hair. They put her on 0.8 thyro-tabs. She started panting a lot and wanted to lay outside a lot to cool off. I decided to have a thyroid panel done by a different vet on both dogs to see if they really are hypothyroid. According to the new vet, the panels show they are both indeed hypothyroid. The female was dropped down to 0.6. Since they had to be weened off the meds for six weeks for the panel, I never noticed any real change in them when they were off the meds except they both gained a little weight and the male shed a lot but he is shedding a lot while on the meds. These are the thyroid panel results: Male: age 10 Free T4 (Equil. Dialysis) Free T4-ed (ng/dL) 0.3 Free T4-ed (pmol/L) 3.9 T4 0.8 ug/dL cTSH 3.7 ng/mL Female: age 7 Free T4 (Equil. Dialysis) Free T4-ed (ng/dL) 0.2 Free T4-ed (pmol/L) 2.6 T4 0.4 ug/dL cTSH 0.82 ng/mL Do either of these results indicate true hypothyroidism? I would really appreciate if you could help me out. I have been doing a much research as I can online about greyhounds and thyroid and I realise that greyhounds have lower than normal thyroid levels. Thank you Mike Wolf. Please email me directly : |
#2
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"Mike Wolf" wrote:
Hello, You replied to a post I made about a month ago concerning my greyhound's being diagnosed with hypothyroid. I am trying to determine whether they really need to be on thyroid meds and if so if they need to be on the level they are being given. Mike, I'm not Sally but I have sighthounds (Basenjis) who are hypothryroid. Two of my three HT dogs are and were always asymptomatic. You only start to see problems when the HT has been on going and is getting bad. Why wait until your dog is "sick" to start treatment? HT is a deficiency of sorts. The body is not producing the right levels and so we supplement. Stop trouble before it starts. If you knew you had a calcium deficiency you wouldn't wait until your bones got brittle, would you? Same thing. I have my vet send blood for a _full panel_ to Hemopet in CA and use Dr.Jean Dodds for my thyroid analysis. She works with many sighthounds, including Greyhounds. You cannot get a full thyroid picture with only a T4/T3. I'd recommend you do that, or at least send her your results and see what she says. She'll probably recommend a full panel. http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM HTH -- -Andrea Stone Saorsa Basenjis http://home1.gte.net/res0s12z/ |
#3
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If you read my post I have had a full panel on both dogs and they are
both currently on thyroid meds. There is a theory that greyhounds have lower normal thyroid levels than other dogs so I am trying to figuire out if my dogs have low normal or low thyroid because I wouldn't want to give them thyrod meds if they don't need them. |
#4
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"Mike Wolf" wrote in message ... If you read my post I have had a full panel on both dogs and they are both currently on thyroid meds. There is a theory that greyhounds have lower normal thyroid levels than other dogs so I am trying to figuire out if my dogs have low normal or low thyroid because I wouldn't want to give them thyrod meds if they don't need them. Dr Dodds takes into account the breed, age, sex and what the dog is fed (raw or commercial, if you include this on the form). The two different vets you had do panels probably sent them to the same lab. Most times you have to request the sample be sent to Dr Dodds or send it yourself. She is very thorough. Like the previous poster mentioned, you can send Dr Dodds the results you already have for a comment. Her advice would be much better than any advice you can get here. And she knows greyhounds well to boot. René |
#5
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On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 19:57:50 GMT, "AndreaS"
wrote: "Mike Wolf" wrote: Hello, You replied to a post I made about a month ago concerning my greyhound's being diagnosed with hypothyroid. I am trying to determine whether they really need to be on thyroid meds and if so if they need to be on the level they are being given. Mike, I'm not Sally but I have sighthounds (Basenjis) who are hypothryroid. Two of my three HT dogs are and were always asymptomatic. You only start to see problems when the HT has been on going and is getting bad. Why wait until your dog is "sick" to start treatment? HT is a deficiency of sorts. The body is not producing the right levels and so we supplement. Stop trouble before it starts. If you knew you had a calcium deficiency you wouldn't wait until your bones got brittle, would you? Same thing. With all due respect, that's one point of view; there are others that disagree. Hypothyroidism is unquestionably overdiagnosed in Greyhounds. If a dog is borderline hypothyroid without symptoms, it is not "sick", and it's not at all the same thing as a calcium deficiency. I don't take any medications unless it's been proven to me that I need them, and that includes thyroid supplement (since I have no thyroid, it's been proven to me that I need it). My practice with respect to my animals is the same. I have my vet send blood for a _full panel_ to Hemopet in CA and use Dr.Jean Dodds for my thyroid analysis. She works with many sighthounds, including Greyhounds. You cannot get a full thyroid picture with only a T4/T3. I'd recommend you do that, or at least send her your results and see what she says. She'll probably recommend a full panel. Some people might say that she'll probably recommend thyroid supplementation. (Personally, not a big fan of Hemopet.) We're not talking tick-borne diseases here; any lab can do a full thyroid panel. And yes, a full thyroid panel is necessary to evaluate possible hypothyroidism. Mike, sorry that I forgot to get back to you about your dogs' thyroid values. "Normal" levels of most values can vary somewhat from lab to lab. The parameters I have are as follows: TSH (ng/ml): 0 - 0.64 T4 (nmol/L): 2.1 - 25.7 Free T4 (pmol/L): 1.3 - 23.5 I'm not qualified to interpret lab results; all I can do is compare results to my information as to normal results, if the measuring units are the same, and I don't know whether they are in this case. Is your vet aware that Greyhounds' normal thyroid values are lower than other breeds'? A hypothyroid dog will tend to be cold, not hot. My Greyhounds all have normal thyroid function, but they get pretty woolly in the winter and consequently shed a lot, even in mini-tufts. Common symptoms of hypothyroidism are weight gain, lethary, cold intolerance, dry skin (but GHs tend to have this normally), hair loss (ditto). If you keep your dogs on thyroid supplementation, watch them carefully for signs of hyperthyroidism. Mustang Sally |
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#7
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What are the symptoms of hyperthyroid? When my female greyhound was
first put on thyroid meds (0.8 for a 64 lb dog) she started panting a lot. She seemed like she was hot all the time and wanted to lay outside in the cool grass at night, even when the temp was in the 40's. Now she is on 0.6 for the last couple of months and isn't having those symptoms right now but she seems to be losing weight and I just noticed a sore between her toes on her rear leg. I don't know that would have anything to do with hyperthroid. My male's personality has changed recently. He has been on thyroid meds for about 4 years at 0.6. Since he has been off of them for a couple of months for the panel and put back on at 0.8 for the last month he now acts very timid when I take him to the dogpark on weekends which is totally opposite how he used to act. He used to love to run and play with the other dogs but now he stays glued to my side. At home he is still very playful. I don'y know if any of this is related to his thyroid. But since going back on the thyroid meds he is shedding like crazy! |
#8
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wolfsmike wrote,
"What are the symptoms of hyperthyroid? When my female greyhound was first put on thyroid meds (0.8 for a 64 lb dog) she started panting a lot. She seemed like she was hot all the time and wanted to lay outside in the cool grass at night, even when the temp was in the 40's. Now she is on 0.6 for the last couple of months and isn't having those symptoms right now but she seems to be losing weight and I just noticed a sore between her toes on her rear leg. I don't know that would have anything to do with hyperthroid. My male's personality has changed recently. He has been on thyroid meds for about 4 years at 0.6. Since he has been off of them for a couple of months for the panel and put back on at 0.8 for the last month he now acts very timid when I take him to the dogpark on weekends which is totally opposite how he used to act. He used to love to run and play with the other dogs but now he stays glued to my side. At home he is still very playful. I don'y know if any of this is related to his thyroid. But since going back on the thyroid meds he is shedding like crazy!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Those are good questions. I have been through a similer scenario and I still don't know if my Greys need to be on thyroid meds and if they are getting too much. Is excessive shedding related to too much thyroid or not enought? Is timidity towards other dogs related to too much thyroid or not enough? |
#9
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