Loraine Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 (edited) My Zedley has had an itchy skin since he arrived here 3 years ago. He has had bloods done in the past. Today the vet re-looked at his results and called the pathologist. Seems his Thyroid is low, but the hormone that usually makes the Thyroid push more stuff was low and should have been high. So now we are starting the lad on a low dose Thyroxine for a couple of weeks. His heart rate was very low too. Hopefully this will solve his problems as we are close to the end of the camel meat elimination diet and his skin is no different. Edited October 16, 2008 by Loraine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 That's really great that you've gotten to the bottom of Zedley's problem. You should see a huge improvement over the next couple of weeks. Pele, my 3.5 yo Bull Terrier is hypothyroid. She was diagnosed just before her second birthday. I suggested that the vet check for it as my previous BT was also low thyroid so Pele's symptoms rang a bell in my mind. Pele's heart rate was low too. Zedley will feel much better soon :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Thanks for that Bully. I am a bit p'd off as the other vet in the surgery ignored those numbers. However, now we hopefully are on the right track. Apparently I cannot expect to see any improvement/difference for a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trifecta Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Many years ago I had a Kelpie/BC girl who was hypothyroid. She was started on Thyroxine, but following a series of visits to a homoeopath who "hit" upon her constitutional remedy, we were able to phase it out. From time to time she would become itchy but once I knew what to give her, the scratching would subside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Many years ago I had a Kelpie/BC girl who was hypothyroid. She was started on Thyroxine, but following a series of visits to a homoeopath who "hit" upon her constitutional remedy, we were able to phase it out. From time to time she would become itchy but once I knew what to give her, the scratching would subside. We tried homeopathics with Jessie but it didn't work, but a combination of homoeopathics and thyroxine worked fine. With Pele I've got her on both. We have managed to cut her thyroxine right down. The thyroxine will take several weeks to kick in. Has the vet suggested another blood test after about 6 weeks to check that it's working and that the dosage is correct or needs to be adjusted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Ollie is on thyroxine - he takes half a tablet twice a day (12 hours apart to keep the dose even). His thyroid issue comes from having chemo for his MCT. He really picked up once he started on the thyroxine - it makes a big difference, although it took a little while to get the dose right. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Many years ago I had a Kelpie/BC girl who was hypothyroid. She was started on Thyroxine, but following a series of visits to a homoeopath who "hit" upon her constitutional remedy, we were able to phase it out. From time to time she would become itchy but once I knew what to give her, the scratching would subside. We tried homeopathics with Jessie but it didn't work, but a combination of homoeopathics and thyroxine worked fine. With Pele I've got her on both. We have managed to cut her thyroxine right down. The thyroxine will take several weeks to kick in. Has the vet suggested another blood test after about 6 weeks to check that it's working and that the dosage is correct or needs to be adjusted? I've also gone down the homeopath route to no avail. He is seeing the vet in 2 weeks time, and althought she has not yet said 'blood test' I believe she will suggest it (if not I will). As he is coming down off steroids and just finishing a course of antibiotics I know she wanted to wait until he only has Thyroxine. I tell you, if this does not work I think I will have him skinned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 (edited) Loraine may i ask what type of itching was you boy doing - just scratching or licking and chewing as well??? And were there other symptoms? Edited October 3, 2008 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Loraine may i ask what type of itching was you boy doing - just scratching or licking and chewing as well??? And were there other symptoms? FTP my boy's skin is always pinker than normal. I know that stress (like having foster dogs at the house - stopped that) makes him really itchy to the point where he scratches parts until they bleed He does not appear to lick overly nor chew to a silly point. (IMO all dogs will scratch, chew and lick at times but not to the point of blooding themselves). I have checked the garden and walk sites for bad plants, he has been on many types of different meats for elimation purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 (edited) Loraine may i ask what type of itching was you boy doing - just scratching or licking and chewing as well??? And were there other symptoms? FTP my boy's skin is always pinker than normal. I know that stress (like having foster dogs at the house - stopped that) makes him really itchy to the point where he scratches parts until they bleed He does not appear to lick overly nor chew to a silly point. (IMO all dogs will scratch, chew and lick at times but not to the point of blooding themselves). I have checked the garden and walk sites for bad plants, he has been on many types of different meats for elimation purposes. Yeah going through the same thing here - pulling my hair out and my boy has his bucket on all day to stop him licking/chewing which create hotspots on him. My vet believes it's Atopia but have not rules out Hypothyroidism. Edited October 3, 2008 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 Loraine may i ask what type of itching was you boy doing - just scratching or licking and chewing as well??? And were there other symptoms? FTP my boy's skin is always pinker than normal. I know that stress (like having foster dogs at the house - stopped that) makes him really itchy to the point where he scratches parts until they bleed He does not appear to lick overly nor chew to a silly point. (IMO all dogs will scratch, chew and lick at times but not to the point of blooding themselves). I have checked the garden and walk sites for bad plants, he has been on many types of different meats for elimation purposes. Yeah going through the same thing here - pulling my hair out and my boy has his bucket on all day to stop him licking/chewing which create hotspots on him. My vet believes it's Atopia but have not rules out Hypothyroidism. FTP last year we had bloods done and the thyroid was showing as low, but the TSH (I think that is what it is was kinda normal so the vet ignored the low thryoid. This week the other vet called pathology for a better explanation as the second TSH thingy being nornal poiints away from thyroid, however, Zedley's heartrate is low (90 instead of 110), he is itchy, a bit lethargic - all pointers towards thyroid problems. Might be worth you having another test run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Panda has a thyroid problem, his T4's were down to 4 now on Thyroxine. At one point the lethargy and lack of excericse tolerance were put down to a heart problem. He has seen a cardiologist but it is all related to the thyroid. He has lost 1.5kg since being on Thyroxine. His itchy skin problem (dry and flaky like dandruff) has been helped enormously by a weekly bath in Malaseb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share Posted October 5, 2008 Panda has a thyroid problem, his T4's were down to 4 now on Thyroxine.At one point the lethargy and lack of excericse tolerance were put down to a heart problem. He has seen a cardiologist but it is all related to the thyroid. He has lost 1.5kg since being on Thyroxine. His itchy skin problem (dry and flaky like dandruff) has been helped enormously by a weekly bath in Malaseb Hesa these numbers can be scary, I believe that Zed's was 9 I am glad that the thyroxine has helped Panda and I am hoping it does the same for Zedley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 We were back at the vet today for Zedley's check up. His heart rate has increased which is a good sign (gone from 90 to 108), and he is a tad less red-skinned. He took himself off the elimination diet just refused to eat it (once the cortisone stopped his appetite dropped off, and he tunred his nose up at the camel). We go back in another two weeks when he will have bloods done. It is looking as if all his itching may be been thyroid related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 We were back at the vet today for Zedley's check up. His heart rate has increased which is a good sign (gone from 90 to 108), and he is a tad less red-skinned. He took himself off the elimination diet :p just refused to eat it (once the cortisone stopped his appetite dropped off, and he tunred his nose up at the camel).We go back in another two weeks when he will have bloods done. It is looking as if all his itching may be been thyroid related. That's great news Loraine - nice to be able to get to the bottom of something often so hard to diagnose (itching I mean). Hope things continue to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 We were back at the vet today for Zedley's check up. His heart rate has increased which is a good sign (gone from 90 to 108), and he is a tad less red-skinned. He took himself off the elimination diet just refused to eat it (once the cortisone stopped his appetite dropped off, and he tunred his nose up at the camel).We go back in another two weeks when he will have bloods done. It is looking as if all his itching may be been thyroid related. That's great news Loraine - nice to be able to get to the bottom of something often so hard to diagnose (itching I mean). Hope things continue to improve. I can but hope that this is the end of the otchy problems, but I will not count my chickens just yet Once Zedley has his next bloods done then we can look at making sure he is on the correct amount of Tyroxine for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Zed seems to be improving Panda's heart rate is much better, he is now on 1 tablet am and 1/2 pm, will have his bloods checked next week. Have you tried Malaseb for the itchies?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Zed seems to be improving Panda's heart rate is much better, he is now on 1 tablet am and 1/2 pm, will have his bloods checked next week. Have you tried Malaseb for the itchies?. Hesa - Zedley comes out in a worse rash when I have used Malaseb Totally a pest of a dog ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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