big_e
09-06-2011, 11:40 PM
I have an 11 pound 8 year old male toy poodle named Vince. In June I took him to the vet for the following symptoms.
* A skin infection that would not heal
* Blacking of the skin on the belly and around areas where the skin lesions occured and a loss of fur at the skin lesions
* Apparent weight gain
* Lethargy, mental dullness, lost the ability to run up stairs and jump on the bed.
* Low appetite, but no diarrhea or vomiting.
* The vet found his pulse rate to be low for a dog his size
* Rough moist skin on the belly with hyperpigmentation.
I took him to the vet and she ran a routine blood panel, prescribed antibotics and steroids to deal with the skin infection. The blood work came back normal for kidney and liver functions, however T4 levels were extremely low and antibodies measured high. She prescribed levothroxine in a generic chewable form at a dosage of .175 mg once daily for an 11 pound dog. He was a this dosage for about 6 weeks.
The steroids did cause a ravenous appetite and greatly increased urination. The skin lesions started to heal, However after the steroids ran out but, before the antibotics ran out the treatment failed and the lesions started coming back.
The vet prescribed Simplicef and performed another T4 screening. Results were still very low. The levothroxine dosage was doubled to .175 mg twice daily for a total daily dosage of .35 mg a day. He has been at this dosage for about 5 weeks.
After the doubling of the dosage there was noticable improvement in his condition. Hyperpigmentation has greatly decreased and the skin on his belly is thinner, softer, and drier. He had greatly increased mental sharpness, increased play. His gait has changed to more of a prance and he can now run up stairs. He recently regained the ability to jump on the bed. The throxine did not cause him to lose weight.
However several weeks after the Simplicef ran out the skin lesions slowly returned, but was less severe than the previous outbreaks. He also got a mild ear infection.
A few days ago I took him back for another T4 screening about 9 hours after his last dose. The vet prescribed another round of Simplicef and some ear medication. The results of blood panel came back and his T4 levels are still too low.
What happens next the vet has yet to decide, she seems to be stumped. She says she will consult an endocrinologist to determine the next step, but she now thinks I will have to taper down the levothroxine to nothing, so they can send a blood sample to MSU for a full Thyroid panel.
Now I am getting scared. The failure of the levothroxine to bring up the T4 could mean serious illness like cancer. The vet medical papers I'm reading say that other illnesses can cause bad T4 levels, but they don't exactly say what.
There is addison's disease, but he never had the "addison's crisis" with vomiting and diarrhea. Vince is a nervous dog and being upset does not cause those symptoms. I don't know if addisons will mess with T4.
There is also cushings disease, the opposite. The symptoms he is missing are he does not seek cold, he does not pant, he does not have excessive thirst. He did exhibit noticably increased thrist, appetite, and urination in response to the steroids. The cushings like symptoms he does have are frequent skin infections, hyperpigmentation, and low T-4
If I were to completely disregard the bloodwork, I would say the Levothroxine was working, but slowly. However, the T4 levels seem to disagree. I'm lucky, The T4 levels could be flubbed to do the 9 hours since last dosage, the particular brand of Throxine not metabolizing well, or the dog didn't eat all the pill.
Is the hypothyroidism and low T-4 levels despite levothroxine a symptom of Cushings? I'm not finding much about what could cause that to happen. I am concerned that the vet taking him off the levothroxine will reverse his gains.
* A skin infection that would not heal
* Blacking of the skin on the belly and around areas where the skin lesions occured and a loss of fur at the skin lesions
* Apparent weight gain
* Lethargy, mental dullness, lost the ability to run up stairs and jump on the bed.
* Low appetite, but no diarrhea or vomiting.
* The vet found his pulse rate to be low for a dog his size
* Rough moist skin on the belly with hyperpigmentation.
I took him to the vet and she ran a routine blood panel, prescribed antibotics and steroids to deal with the skin infection. The blood work came back normal for kidney and liver functions, however T4 levels were extremely low and antibodies measured high. She prescribed levothroxine in a generic chewable form at a dosage of .175 mg once daily for an 11 pound dog. He was a this dosage for about 6 weeks.
The steroids did cause a ravenous appetite and greatly increased urination. The skin lesions started to heal, However after the steroids ran out but, before the antibotics ran out the treatment failed and the lesions started coming back.
The vet prescribed Simplicef and performed another T4 screening. Results were still very low. The levothroxine dosage was doubled to .175 mg twice daily for a total daily dosage of .35 mg a day. He has been at this dosage for about 5 weeks.
After the doubling of the dosage there was noticable improvement in his condition. Hyperpigmentation has greatly decreased and the skin on his belly is thinner, softer, and drier. He had greatly increased mental sharpness, increased play. His gait has changed to more of a prance and he can now run up stairs. He recently regained the ability to jump on the bed. The throxine did not cause him to lose weight.
However several weeks after the Simplicef ran out the skin lesions slowly returned, but was less severe than the previous outbreaks. He also got a mild ear infection.
A few days ago I took him back for another T4 screening about 9 hours after his last dose. The vet prescribed another round of Simplicef and some ear medication. The results of blood panel came back and his T4 levels are still too low.
What happens next the vet has yet to decide, she seems to be stumped. She says she will consult an endocrinologist to determine the next step, but she now thinks I will have to taper down the levothroxine to nothing, so they can send a blood sample to MSU for a full Thyroid panel.
Now I am getting scared. The failure of the levothroxine to bring up the T4 could mean serious illness like cancer. The vet medical papers I'm reading say that other illnesses can cause bad T4 levels, but they don't exactly say what.
There is addison's disease, but he never had the "addison's crisis" with vomiting and diarrhea. Vince is a nervous dog and being upset does not cause those symptoms. I don't know if addisons will mess with T4.
There is also cushings disease, the opposite. The symptoms he is missing are he does not seek cold, he does not pant, he does not have excessive thirst. He did exhibit noticably increased thrist, appetite, and urination in response to the steroids. The cushings like symptoms he does have are frequent skin infections, hyperpigmentation, and low T-4
If I were to completely disregard the bloodwork, I would say the Levothroxine was working, but slowly. However, the T4 levels seem to disagree. I'm lucky, The T4 levels could be flubbed to do the 9 hours since last dosage, the particular brand of Throxine not metabolizing well, or the dog didn't eat all the pill.
Is the hypothyroidism and low T-4 levels despite levothroxine a symptom of Cushings? I'm not finding much about what could cause that to happen. I am concerned that the vet taking him off the levothroxine will reverse his gains.