Hypothyroidism

[LaFlaca]

Talk to me about hypothyroidism in Greyhounds. Wendy had a geriatric blood panel that came up a little "off". She has been a bit "off" herself for about two weeks now. Skipping meals (but gained 1.3 lbs.), not wanting to go outside (especially in the morning), barking a vocalizing excessively at night.

 

The vet is going to run the blood work again to be certain, but I'm already nervous. Please share your knowledge and experiences. Thank you!

[Guest bernadette]

I just went through this within the last month... Vinnie (will be nine years old in August) had been off and symptomatic of SOMETHING. Bloodwork revealed questionable thyroid levels to my non-greyhound savvy vet. He suggested meds. I emailed the results to Dr. Dodds at Hemopet, she also advised to treat. I also emailed Dr. Couto's team at OSU, they said no need as his levels are normal for the breed. I chose not to medicate.

 

You will see, as I did, that this is a very hot topic with much debate.

[Brindles]

Hypothyroidism is often misdiagnosed in greyhounds. If she does truly have it, it's an easy fix. Your vet will likely prescribe Soloxine and have you come back some weeks later to repeat bloodwork until the dosage is properly adjusted.

[LaFlaca]

What are Vinnie's symptoms? Wendy's are just vague "offness" (she'll be 6 in Dec.). Would you ind sharing Dr. Dodd's email address just in case?

 

Hypothyroidism is often misdiagnosed in greyhounds. If she does truly have it, it's an easy fix. Your vet will likely prescribe Soloxine and have you come back some weeks later to repeat bloodwork until the dosage is properly adjusted.

 

I agree. This is a condition that is often misdiagnosed. I've been refreshing my knowledge-base by re-reading Dr. Stack's and Dr. Dodd's writings on the subject. It's a wait and see situation right now.

[seeh2o]

Jean Dodd's email: hemopet@hemopet.org

 

She usually gets back to you within 24 hours or sooner, no matter where she is on the planet.

[seeh2o]

LaFlaca and Bernadette - symptoms of hypothyroid can be very very subtle. I'm glad I chose to treat Carl otherwise he may have gone blind. He developed subtle corneal rings that were misdiagnosed by two vets (one who claimed to be experienced with greyhounds, he other misrepresented himself as an animal ophthalmologist). One diagnosis was Pannus, the other with a different corneal disease. They both treated him incorrectly, precious months went by with his eyes slowly getting worse and I finally switched vets who knew immediately that neither eye diagnosis was correct and who drew a thyroid panel at that visit, then she referred me to a real animal ophthalmologist who diagnosed his eye condition within 5 minutes or less. His T4 was .67, there was more, but I'm not finding a copy of the lab work right now. Yes, corneal problems are a documented issue when a dog is hypothyroid, but it isn't one of the most common symptoms. His eyes got better within months of being treated. I think about the things that you can't see when left untreated.

 

And with that, I am done with my the retelling of Carl's situation. I don't want to be part of this thread getting hijacked and turned into yet another Dodds vs MSU debate.

Edited June 11, 2012 by seeh2o

[Remolacha]

Yes, a very hot topic! My only suggestion is to get the full panel done, not just the T4 test. That seems to be where a lot of the misdiagnosis comes in, as the levels that are low for most dogs are not low for sight hounds. Doesn't mean your dog isn't hypothyroid, just means you need to do a more extensive test.

[Guest bernadette]

Increased panting (we had one night where I thought his heart was going to come through his chest- have not had another night like that since, thankfully), decrease in appetite (one meal a day, we are still dealing with this... I started to add chicken broth to his food, hasn't done much... added scrambled eggs yesterday so he ate with a little enthusiasm... sometimes I have to handfeed him to get him started, sometimes it works, sometimes not). He has become VERY VERY slow on his walk. He starts off very well but about halfway through our 20 minute walk (sometimes not even that long), he will be super slow, sometimes stopping altogther. Sometimes he will trip over and also drag his toes. I had his back nails cut shorter this weekend just to maybe help with that a bit. He has also (not sure if this is a symptom or just a habit) licked his front paws A LOT but this isn't exactly new, he has been doing that for years. This is the jist of it... if I think of more I will add it.

I am suspecting LS although I was told by an animal communicator yesterday that she suspects Lymes (which my stupid vet didn't want to test for). I think I have zeroed in on two greyhound-wise vets near me and will be switching.

 

Dr. Dodds emailed me almost immediately from hemopet@hotmail.com

Edited June 11, 2012 by bernadette

[seeh2o]

....finally switched vets who knew immediately that neither eye diagnosis was correct and who drew a thyroid panel at that visit, then she referred me to a real animal ophthalmologist who diagnosed his eye condition within 5 minutes or less. His T4 was .67, there was more, but I'm not finding a copy of the lab work right now.

 

Just for clarification, he had a full thyroid panel at the final vet that we use now, I had the results in hand when I went to the real ophthalmologist. She uses Dodds lab for thyroid panels.

Edited June 11, 2012 by seeh2o

[NeylasMom]

Yes, a very hot topic! My only suggestion is to get the full panel done, not just the T4 test. That seems to be where a lot of the misdiagnosis comes in, as the levels that are low for most dogs are not low for sight hounds. Doesn't mean your dog isn't hypothyroid, just means you need to do a more extensive test.

This is the bottom line. You should see low free T4 and elevated TSH if the dog is hypothyroid.

 

And also keep in mind that other illnesses can cause problems with the thyroid so I would want to make sure everything else was well within normal on the blood panel.

 

You could very well be dealing with hypothyroidism, it does develop later in life in some dogs, just be thorough and do the appropriate testing, then use common sense if you do start her on meds and make decisions based on whether symptoms improve or worsen.

Edited June 11, 2012 by NeylasMom

[Burpdog]

You have to know your dog. When I've had a senior I've done a free T4 only. I have medicated one at .8 and others not until they are under .4 with symptoms. They can either need to lose weight or gain weight. You can also have a sick thyroid which means something else is going on. Most of the dogs I do a free T4 on are at least 11 or older and if I choose to medicate, they have symptoms and nothing else is showing up. With the older ones, I strive for quality of life.

 

With Isaac, because I was not comfortable medicating without the full panel, we did a full panel at Michigan. It was kind of inconclusive and two vets indicated (one is an alternative vet) that we should go ahead and try.

 

If I had a young one, I'd definetely do a full panel.

[Guest LindsaySF]

I would run a full thyroid panel. T4, free T4, and TSH. I would not diagnose hypothyroidism based on low T4 alone, as that can fluctuate throughout the day.

 

What in the bloodwork you ran was off?

[Batmom]

I would run a full thyroid panel. T4, free T4, and TSH. I would not diagnose hypothyroidism based on low T4 alone, as that can fluctuate throughout the day.

 

 

Yep. I've had the experience more than once of a dog who had a miniscule T4 one day and a high one the next. It isn't a good diagnostic.

 

Best to get the free T4 by equilibrium dialysis. MSU's premium panel will have this; you might be able to get it through Antech or Idexx too. fT4ed (free T4 by equilibrium dialysis) + TSH gives you the best combination to help evaluate thyroid function in the presence of other illnesses, medications, or stressors. When you send for the panel, be sure to tell the lab what other medications the dog is taking or has taken recently, and tell them about any recent illnesses/injuries.

[LaFlaca]

Thank you all so much for your input. I'm going to wait for the second blood test and urinalysis results to come back and then ask for a printout of the labs. All I have to go on right now is the ambiguous "her levels were low". When I get the full picture, I'll be back for your insights and opinions. Blessings to you all for your caring concern.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The good news is that hypothyroidism is easy to treat.

 

The bad news is that it can be hard as all get-out to diagnose, as you've noticed.

 

My vet is reluctant to use MSU for thyroid testing: he says more test results than not have been "inconclusive", and he hates trying to explain that to clients who paid money for tests and expected to get useful information. I'm not saying not to use MSU. But I am saying that if your vet should be unenthusiastic about MSU for thyroid testing, he might have prior experience that soured him.

 

ETA: If Wendy turns out to need thyroid supplements, usual treatment is pills once or twice a day. Thyroxine is the generic; Soloxine is a preferred brand and is not much more expensive than the generic. You can't get the pills from a people-pharmacy because people don't take pills at the same (much higher) strength that greyhounds take. But you can order the pills online, and they are not expensive. You need a prescription to place an order. Also, expect your vet to retest a couple of times the first year, then annually thereafter.

Edited June 12, 2012 by KF_in_Georgia

[LaFlaca]

I just wanted to thank all of you who took an interest an offered your advice while I waited for answers. Thankfully, all test results were within normal parameters for Greyhounds. My thinking now is that she was out of whack due to very noisy construction going on behind our house and the additional noise-stress of evening T-storms. She seems back to normal now.

[tbhounds]

Greyt update!

[Guest LindsaySF]

Glad to hear.

[rycezmom]

Glad Miss Wendy is feeling better Irene. Isabella doesnt like noise either......goes right off her feed.

[LaFlaca]

Hi, Ms. Isabella! Wendy is right there with you about noisy-noise. Car motors starting are her pet peeve. She's still doing well. Auntie Leslie. The electric saws and jackhammers are gone now so I have to assume that the "offness" was from the 3 weeks of constant, thunderous racket.