New here , hypothyroid possibly more

[emmagirl]

Yes, I would be glad too! It’s 7:15pm est, and This is Emma’s “me” time since I’m on the laptop or doing whatever all day, and she’s making it known, so I’ll write about it ASAP- within the hour. Ok? . Talk to everyone then.

[Joan2517]

Thank you, Sharon! This could be so helpful to so many members.

[emmagirl]

Hi Joan, I started at 8pm and just finished. I'm sorry if its long, I wanted to get all of it in. I sure hope it helps and keeps your boy off the antibiotics. I hope it helps every single pup as well as it has helped Emma. I posted it under Emma's heading.....alright?

All the best, Sharon

[Earthmama]

Hi Joan, I started at 8pm and just finished. I'm sorry if its long, I wanted to get all of it in. I sure hope it helps and keeps your boy off the antibiotics. I hope it helps every single pup as well as it has helped Emma. I posted it under Emma's heading.....alright?

All the best, Sharon

I don't feel like it's fleas . He wears a topical flea prevention monthly and we haven't had any fleas or signs . He might get a mosquito bite though because the mosquitoes aren't repelled by the flea meds . His skin is smelly though and yeasty . He rubs his chin around a lot and chews his feet . It really started with his ears last year and ear infections . He would scratch them and not let them heal and then the cone thing began . When we took it off he bloodied his chin kicking it raw . His skin around his muzzle turned dark like they talk about in Dr Dodds hypothyroid books .

[Earthmama]

Ok I have test results finally . I don't know if there is a way to upload a picture or how to . I can try doing that or type out what values you think are needed . His liver test looked fine really and glucose was normal too . The vet has not gotten back to us about any suggestions . It's like once his tests were normal it's like no more followup . I really think there has to be something going on with him . They did t4 and his levels were fine too . They did not do free t4. The vet said it wasn't necessary since he was already diagnosed hypothyroid and being treated . We sent the original tests out to Dr Dodds for diagnosis but the retests were all in house t4. In my gut I know there is something else going on with him . Either diabetes insipidus or cushings . He pants all the time and drinks a lot and pees a lot . He can't stand when he can't drink . He drinks like half a bowl of water in the morning . Then he's fine for a bit . But does the same afternoon and evening . He has been like this for a long time . I was wondering since his liver test seemed normal does that deftmean no cushings or can it be normal and he still be cushings but need some other test first ? Basically does normal liver test completely rule it out or does he still neee act or something ?

[Harley PoMMom]

If you would type the values that are abnormal with the normal reference ranges and units of measurement that would be great...as an example: ALP 200 U/L (5-50).

80% to 90% of dogs have a steroid induced isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) so if one of those dogs has Cushing's, you are gonna see anywhere from a mild to severe increase in ALP.

Now, there is that 10%-20% of dogs with Cushing's and their ALP does not elevate that drastically, I have seen this situation a couple times on the forum, so it could be that your boy falls in that 10% - 20% group.

I'm including a link to an article titled: Diagnostic approach to polyuria and polydipsia (Proceedings). Polyuria is excessive urination; polydipsia is excessive thirst. The link: http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com...-proceedings-0

And here is another article: Diagnostic Approach to PU/PD: Urine Specific Gravity
https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/20...upd-urine.html In this article one of the things that is mentioned is testing for leptospirosis. Have tickborne diseases been ruled out?

[Earthmama]

Ok all I can tell are in normal range

Total T4 1.9 ref 1.0-4.0
Glucose 83 ref 63-114
ALT 51 ref 18-121
AST 40 ref 16-55
ALP 21 ref 5-160
Cholesterol 148 ref 131-345

There is alot more on the labs but everything is normal and I don't know what numbers are important . Let me know if there is something specific I should look for

[Harley PoMMom]

Those normal values definitely aren't what we are used to seeing in dog's with Cushing's. Was an issue ruled out with the kidneys or bladder, such as an infection or stones? Was an urinalysis done?

[Earthmama]

no urinalysis was done actually. But he's had these symptoms for so long. The vet had him on apoquel for 2 weeks and antibiotics and probiotics because of his gut and the hotspot. He finished the apoquel and antibiotics a few days ago. He was so smelly so I gave him a bath and washed the scabby stuff off his tail fur. Well that started him chewing on it again despite his cone. So I called the vet and she wanted to see him again. She said we should keep him on the apoquel at least another month to get him passed this itchy cycle and then work on balancing out his gut health so he doesn't keep having itchy skin. So I asked her about his constant drinking in light of the normal lab results. She said maybe we should check his urine. So we got one today while he was there. She ran an in house UA and said its' too concentrated, ph is not right and some blood in it. So she sent it off for culture rather than just giving him an antibiotic yet again because we don't want to mess with his gut further. She said if it's not infection maybe we do need to look further at cushings testing, he may have an issue with that yet just be low enough on tests that it's not showing up on the labs. I'm not certain what she meant specifically but I'm glad we are still looking for what's going on vs the feeling I got before, all normal labs = nothing needs done. His constant drinking she said could be due to raised cortisol levels because of his stress with all the skin issues. That makes sense. BUT he's been like this ever since I remember, so although cortisol makes sense due to that, why would it have been going on for literally the last 2 years ? anyway still working on his issues. I'm supposed to measure the amount he drinks over the course of the next 2 days as well.

[Squirt's Mom]

Something for you to look over. My Chihuahua developed horrid allergies; she was literally chewing her skin off and it seemed to happen overnite. Nothing we tried worked for long until a friend told me about a new drug called Cytopoint. She got one shot and within 3 hours had stopped itching. That shot lasted 4-5 weeks then she needed a second. By that time her skin was completely healed. That second shot lasted over a year! She didn't have any allergy signs at all for that time. Earlier this year she needed a 3rd shot and that was months ago...she is still not itching. She has had NO side effects from any of the shots. Here is some info comparing Apoguel to Cytopoint. You might talk to his vet about the two.

https://mckeevervetderm.com/wp-conte...-Cytopoint.pdf

It is VERY possible the stress from infections, allergies, etc. can raise the cortisol enough to cause false positives on the testing. Another thing to keep in mind is that cortisol acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and will often CONTROL allergies while it is running high. Then once the cortisol is back to more normal levels with treatment, things like allergies, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions will come roaring to the forefront. So with everything going on, I personally would put Cushing's on the back burner and worry about getting everything else balanced out.

Hugs,
Leslie