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Thread: My big boy Gable - sweet Gabe is now at peace

  1. #1
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    Default My big boy Gable - sweet Gabe is now at peace

    I had Gabe , who is 7 years old, at the vet for blood work because I was worried about Cushing's, but the vet said the blood work came back perfect, except for low thyroid. Tested further on the thyroid and it came back low normal.

    The only thing that showed as "high" was his Triglycerides and Urinalysis:

    His Triglycerides were: 1129 ref. range: 29 - 291

    Urinalysis: ph: 7.5 ref. range: 5.5 - 7.0
    Protein: 1+

    Does any of this mean anything?

    For a while, Gable has been drinking a lot (this all started before Lena's diagnosis and where in fact, I first heard about Cushings). He had fur loss along his rump, and pees rivers, but never in the house. He pants constantly, but he's a big boy around 75 - 80 pounds. He's some lab mix, not really sure what else is in there. He has had episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, which also started before Lena died, but he has a sensitive stomach and sometimes swallows things whole. His teeth are fine. His stomach issues are a lot better now that we don't feed him anything new or give him treats that he might swallow.

    As I've mentioned, since Lena died he has thrown up a couple of times, and his stool is almost always loose. After a few months of Melatonin, his fur has come back like puppy fur and he hasn't lost anymore. I still think that the fur loss was due to his rubbing against the boxwoods in the backyard.

    Lately though he seems to drool a lot more. Even when he's lying on the floor, he now leaves wet marks from drool. His panting has always worried me, he breathes hard even when he's sleeping. The vet has listened to his heart and lungs and says they're fine.

    I don't know...maybe I'm just being paranoid because of Lena; and I know he still misses her; he knows when I'm sad...but sometimes I feel like something is wrong. He doesn't eat his kibble as much as he used to, but will still beg for table food and snacks.



    Thanks,
    Joan
    Last edited by Joan2517; 11-09-2016 at 01:31 PM. Reason: forgot to put the reasons for suspecting Cushings
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    High elevations in the triglycerides is commonly found in dogs with hypothyroidism, I think I would probably have another thyroid panel done and sent to Dr Dodds.

    Hugs, Lori

  3. #3
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Thanks, Lori....who and where is Dr. Dodds?
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Dr. Jean Dodds is considered an expert in canine hypothyroidism and founder of Hemopet and Hemolife, here's a link to her bio: http://www.hemopet.org/education/jea...erinarian.html

    Hemolife is where the blood samples are sent, a bit of info regarding: "Hemolife is unique in routinely offering expert clinical interpretive diagnostic comments that take into account the age, sex, and breed type, and activity of the animal; this yields an expected normal reference range for an individual pet (termed the “Case Specific” range on our reports) that differs from the generic broad reference range for the species (termed “General Range” on our reports)."

    http://www.hemopet.org/veterinary-di...aboratory.html

    A few of our members have emailed her with questions and she responded rather quickly even if their vet did not use Hemolife for the diagnostic testing.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Thanks, Lori~
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Hi Joan,

    Can you look at the blood chemistry and tell me if it included T4? If so, can you post the result? A high fat diet can also cause elevations in triglycerides. Was Gable fasted for the blood test? Does Gable have a lot of carbs in his diet and was the urine specimen collected by free catch or cystocentesis, which is a needle through the abdomen directly into the bladder? Both a high carb diet and any foreign matter in the collection container can cause high PH.

    Glynda

  7. #7
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    He was not fasted and he does like to eat. I feed him Wellness CORE Grain-Free Original Formula, but he gets a lot of table food. My husband doesn't listen to me and feeds them whatever he's eating.

    The first T-4 came back as 0.5 (LOW) ref. range: 0.8 - 3.5
    they did it with a catheter

    Then they used the same sample to test further and that came back 10 ref range: 8-40
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Hi again.

    Thank you for the quick response. The second thyroid test from the same specimen would be the Free T4 which is well within the normal reference range. This is a much better hormone to assess as it is much less likely to be influenced by non thyroidal illness or drugs. If your vet isn't that concerned about a thyroid problem, that result is the reason why. As for the high triglycerides, an inflamed pancreas and low thyroid can increase trigyclerides so I'm wondering if Gable was having any GI issues when these labs were done and if Dr. Jean Dodds would consider a Free T4 of 10 pmol/L low enough to warrant possible supplementation. If not and Gable was acting and eating normally at the time of the test; no hemolysis was noted on the lab report and had it been a fasted specimen, a result of 1129 would definitely be looked at as Gable having hypertriglyceridemia/hyperlipidemia. If it were me, I would talk to the vet about the need to recheck triglycerides with a fasted specimen at some point in the future to rule out the aforementioned condition(s).

    Glynda

  9. #9
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Thanks, Glynda...I think I took him because of the loose stool and he might have been throwing up. He has a sensitive stomach for such a big dog and does have a lot of stomach issues. I've had him to the vet many times for diarrhea and vomiting, and after being on this forum for the last 10 months, thought he might have pancreatitis.

    He seems to have gotten older since Lena died and I worry about him. I don't know if he's still sad or if there is something wrong that we are missing.
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: My big boy Gable

    Hi Joan,

    I have been following your thread form the beginning. So much good advice and I really hope Gable is ok. I don't know how long dogs grieve for but it could be possible your boy is still missing Lena. That is of course, if nothing can be explained medically. My sister's dog was very close to Tank. I have had to bring her to the vet once already and put a call in. Even expecting her to be grieving, there were a couple of times she just didn't look right and wasn't eating/abnormal stools.

    With that said, it's hard to ignore that you noticed some of his symptoms before Lena passed. I'm sure that's why you're worried. I know you won't give up on him. He is in the best hands.

    ~Kat

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