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Thyroid Issues

Discussion in 'Diseases & Illnesses' started by Jess041, Apr 20, 2022.

  1. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    Back at the end of July, Missy was incredibly itchy and I took her to the vet to see if it was allergies or whatnot. The vet said she had a yeast infection in her groin area and pointed out that Missy's coat felt extremely course and dry. I hadn't really noticed it changing, but my vet has owned shelties for many years so she would know what is normal course and not normal. I had my friend groom Missy later that week and asked her what she thought of Missy's coat condition, and she agreed it was on the dry side. And a friend reminded me that those are signs of thyroid issues.

    Fast forward 12 weeks. I took her to my friend to get groomed. My friend noticed that her coat still wasn't improved, and now her skin was really flakey. So I made an appointment to take her back to the vet and I wanted to do a thyroid panel. The vet agreed it might be thyroid, so we did the labs. They only did Total T4 and Free T4 by ED. Her Total T4 was .8. The scale is .8 - 3.5. So the lowest it could possibly be in the normal range. The Free T4 was in the lower 25% of the normal range. The vet didn't want to treat her for hypothyroid yet. I tried telling her that shelties who are low-normal do better on meds, but she still wasn't comfortable treating. I suspect she was worried about thyrotoxicosis, or maybe she was hesitant since she knows hypothyroid is over diagnosed in dogs. Anyways, I also wasn't impressed with just doing those 2 tests. I had assumed we were going to test all the thyroid things.

    So I did some research and found the Texas A&M canine comprehensive thyroid panel. I called the office and asked if we could do that one. Since we're in Texas, they send stuff to the Texas A&M lab all the time. The results came back mixed. T3, T4, and Free T4 by ED were low-normal, TSH was elevated, and TgAA was negative. My vet consulted with a colleague and still felt like with those results, she wasn't comfortable labeling or treating Missy as a hypothyroid dog. She suggested re-doing the Texas A&M panel in 3-4 months. Also in the 3-4 months this had been going on, Missy had gained 4 lbs with no change in diet or exercise.

    So here we are in April, 5 months later. It's time for Missy's annual exam and heartworm test, so I scheduled an appointment for that, and also re-do the thyroid panel. Missy was up 2 more lbs despite reducing her food, and then switching her to raw. I got the final results back last night. T3, T4, and Free T4 by ED were about the same. TSH was 3x higher than it was back in November. And this time the TgAA was positive. So finally the vet said we should put Missy on thyroid meds.

    I'm really hoping to see a quick improvement. I need her to get back to a healthier weight. It's really affecting her performance in her favorite game ever- flyball. She is running slower and adding an extra step between the jumps. I can also tell her stamina is down. She did just turn 10 in January, but the change from end of July to now was quite dramatic. She's still happy and enthusiastic to play of course. Her body just can't keep up.

    Anyways, just wanted to share my saga!
     
  2. Sharon7

    Sharon7 Moderator

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    Holy cow. I have to thank you for sharing this. I have learned so much from fellow Sheltie owners on this site. I've never had a dog with a thyroid issue but I know from others, like you said, low normal needs to be treated in Shelties. I hope Missy is back to herself soon. Good for you for staying on top of it and pushing for the more sensitive testing.
     
  3. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    Well that's what I kept reading- that shelties do better if treated when they are low normal. Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue has a whole page on their website about it. But my vet wouldn't budge. And I was surprised because she owns shelties!! I also talked to other vet friends and asked their opinion. One vet friend who has also owned shelties for a long time agreed with my vet's stance on it. I get it. Doesn't make it any less frustrating though!
     
  4. Piper's mom

    Piper's mom Moderator

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    Wow, that’s a whole lot of frustration for nothing and now you have to work at getting that extra weight off Missy! I think the foremost authority when it comes to thyroids is Dr.Jean Dodds. You can order the test through their website and get your vet to do the blood draw. May be worth it in the future or for peace of mind.
    https://labordatenbank.com/hemopet/samples/hemopet_form
     
  5. Ann

    Ann Moderator

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    Your experience certainly proves the point that you have to be your own advocate for your pet (and yourself)! If you hadn't kept pushing and doing research Missy wouldn't have been diagnosed. Good for you! I hope the thyroid meds work quickly to improve Missy's issues. I think that Sheltie Ohio Rescue page is the best information I've seen on thyroid issues in Shelties. Thanks for sharing your saga!
     
    RikyR, Sandy in CT, Sharon7 and 2 others like this.
  6. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    It's actually the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue! I misspoke! https://www.illinoissheltierescue.com/thyroid.html
    So when her T4 came back low-normal initially I tried to explain that page and how the rescue had found that shelties who are exhibiting symptoms of hypothyroid but are still low-normal benefit from treating it. My vet was still hesitant. Even when we did the comprehensive panel at Texas A&M and the TSH came back elevated, she said she wasn't comfortable treating it. She only relented when the TgAA came back positive.

    It's now been 9 weeks since she started taking the thyroid meds. We re-checked the T4 a few weeks ago and it was right in the middle of the range. Missy was down over a pound at that point, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's down another. I can tell just by her expression she's feeling much better. Her energy is up and she's asking me to play with her. Bringing me her disc, even though it's like 100 degrees outside. We've been playing outside in the evenings when it starts to cool down, and she has a little pool to cool off in. Her stamina is much higher. This past weekend for Father's Day, we went to my parents house and spent a lot of time swimming and playing in their new pool. Missy kept up with the young'uns no problem. She is a water-loving sheltie so she swam and ran around the pool just having a great time. 289084238_4325402023772_734679634830730955_n.jpg
     

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  7. Ann

    Ann Moderator

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    Ohio, Illinois....who can keep them straight, LOL? Glad you found the right link, and wonderful news about how well Missy is doing! I'm so happy to hear it. :yes:
     
  8. Piper's mom

    Piper's mom Moderator

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    Great update, Missy is looking fantastic!
     
    Sharon7 and Sandy in CT like this.
  9. Chris

    Chris Premium Member

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    My friend Sheila founded CISR, and theirs is a most excellent site! Having dealt with thyroid throughout much of Colonel Underpants' life, I can tell you it's a sneaky issue with very tricky symptoms. Shelties are also odd -- if they test on the low end of normal, that's actually indicative of thyroid issues. My vet and I discovered that the slow way.
     
  10. Sandy in CT

    Sandy in CT Forums Sage

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    Great information. Glad Missy is feeling better - she certainly looks excellent!!!
     
    Sharon7, Piper's mom and Ron Atkinson like this.

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