Sharma
09-20-2018, 02:09 AM
Hi everyone,
As most, I’m here to make sense of what is happing to a beloved family member.
After finding this site I’ve been reading for the last couple days and already learned so much, thank you for sharing all the knowledge!
Sharma is a 12yo kelpie/Labrador (19kg), my husband got her as a pup and I met her 2 years ago when she was a beautiful, happy, little bit overweight dog. As long as he can remember she’s had the so called “rat’s tail” and drank a lot. Within our first year she lost some weight (but she didn't become unhealthy skinny) and her coat got very dry and a lot lighter/thinner, I started giving her fish oil to see if it would help. When she went in for her yearly C5 vaccination the vet spotted the tail and wanted to do some tests.
ALT 153 U/L 10-125
ALKP 238 U/L 23-212
CHOL 9.92 mmol/L 2.84-8.26
AMYL 489 U/L 500-1500
LYM 0.81 x10^9/L 1.05-5.10
EOS 0.01 x10^9L 0.06-1.23
MPV 8.4 fL 8.7-13.2
TT4 15nmol/L 13-51
The vet put her on Thyroxine. We move around a lot and these are the only results I can find. I can remember that she did another after some time to see what her levels were, and that they were okay, but I don’t have these.
After she got on the thyroxine Sharma became less energetic. She always ran and chased the ball and was far ahead during a walk but the pills seem to make her old. I told the vet this and she thought is was strange because usually dogs become more active. She said to continue and give it 9 months for her coat to become normal again.
After a month on the pills I gave her a spot on flea treatment and within a week she had a big bald spot on her neck :eek: . The next couple months she lost more and more hair, a couple big bold spots on her body, bald legs, feet and nose and she had gone from a thick, soft, dark red to a prickly, thin blond. Basically she looked like a neglected dog.
One morning we woke up to her having a very swollen face, it looked like an allergic reaction to a bee sting, except it was winter and she sleeps inside. So off to a new vet we went (we just moved again). The vet discovered two puncture wounds inside her mouth and said she might have fractured her cheek eating a bone. That sounded like Sharma seeing she always wants to eat (fast) and doesn’t chew her food or bones properly. He was a bit concerned that she was still bleeding and wanted to do a blood test and while doing that we might as well retest the thyroid as he suspected Cushings and thought the hypothyroid could be a side effect of the Cushings. I mentioned what the other vet said, 9 months, but so far I hadn’t seen any improvements so test away.
MCH 26.1 pg 19.5 – 24.5
MCHC 38 g/dl 31-34
LYM 0.40 10^9l 1.00-4.80
LY% 3.7% 12-30
NE% 92.2% 62-87
They couldn’t do the ACTH test because of her cheek. So 3 weeks later we went back for the test and because although the swelling was gone she had developed a bump, she also developed (what I know to be) calcinosis cutis. Turned out she needed a tooth extracted but they still did the ACTH.
Resting serum cortisol 162 nmol/L 20-165
Post-ACTH serum cortisol 408 nmol/L 150-470.
They also tested her skin for mange or mites which came back negative
Because of these results the vet decided to do the LDDS while she was in for the tooth extraction the next week.
Resting 147 nmol/L 20 – 165
post 3-4h 157 nmol/L >40
post 8h 136 nmol/L >40
As of last week she is on 60gr Vetoryl and still on the Thyroxine. During the weekend her left back paw was a little swollen and yesterday her right front “wrist” was swollen. We went back to the vet and he said it’s not a known side effect and has put her on anti-inflammatory meds again, we need to go back if it hasn’t gotten better next week.
So after this long story I’m hoping to see if anyone has any opinions and maybe dealt with swollen paws as a side effect too? I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts.
Thanks so much!
Trish
As most, I’m here to make sense of what is happing to a beloved family member.
After finding this site I’ve been reading for the last couple days and already learned so much, thank you for sharing all the knowledge!
Sharma is a 12yo kelpie/Labrador (19kg), my husband got her as a pup and I met her 2 years ago when she was a beautiful, happy, little bit overweight dog. As long as he can remember she’s had the so called “rat’s tail” and drank a lot. Within our first year she lost some weight (but she didn't become unhealthy skinny) and her coat got very dry and a lot lighter/thinner, I started giving her fish oil to see if it would help. When she went in for her yearly C5 vaccination the vet spotted the tail and wanted to do some tests.
ALT 153 U/L 10-125
ALKP 238 U/L 23-212
CHOL 9.92 mmol/L 2.84-8.26
AMYL 489 U/L 500-1500
LYM 0.81 x10^9/L 1.05-5.10
EOS 0.01 x10^9L 0.06-1.23
MPV 8.4 fL 8.7-13.2
TT4 15nmol/L 13-51
The vet put her on Thyroxine. We move around a lot and these are the only results I can find. I can remember that she did another after some time to see what her levels were, and that they were okay, but I don’t have these.
After she got on the thyroxine Sharma became less energetic. She always ran and chased the ball and was far ahead during a walk but the pills seem to make her old. I told the vet this and she thought is was strange because usually dogs become more active. She said to continue and give it 9 months for her coat to become normal again.
After a month on the pills I gave her a spot on flea treatment and within a week she had a big bald spot on her neck :eek: . The next couple months she lost more and more hair, a couple big bold spots on her body, bald legs, feet and nose and she had gone from a thick, soft, dark red to a prickly, thin blond. Basically she looked like a neglected dog.
One morning we woke up to her having a very swollen face, it looked like an allergic reaction to a bee sting, except it was winter and she sleeps inside. So off to a new vet we went (we just moved again). The vet discovered two puncture wounds inside her mouth and said she might have fractured her cheek eating a bone. That sounded like Sharma seeing she always wants to eat (fast) and doesn’t chew her food or bones properly. He was a bit concerned that she was still bleeding and wanted to do a blood test and while doing that we might as well retest the thyroid as he suspected Cushings and thought the hypothyroid could be a side effect of the Cushings. I mentioned what the other vet said, 9 months, but so far I hadn’t seen any improvements so test away.
MCH 26.1 pg 19.5 – 24.5
MCHC 38 g/dl 31-34
LYM 0.40 10^9l 1.00-4.80
LY% 3.7% 12-30
NE% 92.2% 62-87
They couldn’t do the ACTH test because of her cheek. So 3 weeks later we went back for the test and because although the swelling was gone she had developed a bump, she also developed (what I know to be) calcinosis cutis. Turned out she needed a tooth extracted but they still did the ACTH.
Resting serum cortisol 162 nmol/L 20-165
Post-ACTH serum cortisol 408 nmol/L 150-470.
They also tested her skin for mange or mites which came back negative
Because of these results the vet decided to do the LDDS while she was in for the tooth extraction the next week.
Resting 147 nmol/L 20 – 165
post 3-4h 157 nmol/L >40
post 8h 136 nmol/L >40
As of last week she is on 60gr Vetoryl and still on the Thyroxine. During the weekend her left back paw was a little swollen and yesterday her right front “wrist” was swollen. We went back to the vet and he said it’s not a known side effect and has put her on anti-inflammatory meds again, we need to go back if it hasn’t gotten better next week.
So after this long story I’m hoping to see if anyone has any opinions and maybe dealt with swollen paws as a side effect too? I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts.
Thanks so much!
Trish