Annual Vet Check Brings Bad News - CoBuHe

 Oh CRAP! Sorry to hear about Buddy's thyroid. At least you caught it early. I don't know anything to share with you but I am sending my best wishes for Buddy.

Take care. 

Bevo & Brinxx are both hypothyroid dogs.  Bev didn't have weight issues when he was diagnosed so his food intake stayed  the same.  Brinxx was fat when she was diagnosed.  Initially, I fed Brinxx the same amount as she had been eating.  She didn't lose the weight, so after the first six weeks on supplementation, I cut her food back.  She's finally back down to an acceptable weight.

I wouldn't stress over a mildly elavated BUN, & those ALT numbers, IMO, aren't that worrysome either.  I would consider starting him on milk thistle.  Bevo's liver enzymes were elevated when he was first tested for thyroid issues.  Once we got his thyroid under control his liver enzymes returned to normal.

Bev was started on PhyCox when he was diagnosed as a wobbler.  It didn't agree with his stomach, so we switched to a product called MegaFlex.  I did let Chyna take the remaining PhyCox because she has joint issues as well.  She did well on it, & after about 6 weeks she was getting around better.  Once I ran out, I switched her over to MegaFlex as well.  It's just easier to use the same supplement for both dogs.

I'm glad you had them do the senior blood work.  The thyroid is easily managed and once he's on the right dosage he should do fine.  It's a fairly common problem in Labs, as you probably know. I had two Labs who were maintaned fine for many years with thyroid supplements.  I never heard of the PhyCox but it sounds like it should help his arthritis based on the ingredients.  Buddy, time to lose some weight.  I keep senior dogs thin and that ususally means feeding a lower calorie food because they can't exercise as hard when they got older. 

I know you think of this as bad news but actually it's good news.  Untreated thyroid problems can create other problems.  I think Buddy will be feeling much better soon.  Give him some belly rubs for me. 

I do keep Milk Thistle on hand and will start him on it.  My vet won't know anything about that, no doubt.  lol 

No, I didn't know that hypothyroidism is common in Labs...I've never dealt with this at all. 

Year before last I put Buddy on a diet; and he lost 10 pounds getting him to a reasonable weight (for his huge frome) at 115.  That's why I was so shocked.  I agree that our senior dogs (scratch that...all of our large breed dogs) should be kept lean.

I'm sure you are right about it not actually being "bad news," but I simply don't know anything about this condition.  But, you know I will soon. 

I've learned that aside from the weight gain, sluggishness is a symptom.  He's definately been sluggish.  I've learned that his immune system is affecting his thyroid; and he should get more antioxidants.

HYPOthyroid is no big deal at all -- seriously, if you gotta have a problem choose THAT!!  Billy is hypothryoid and we use Armour Thyroid for him (which is a glandular rather than a synthetic - porcine thyroid) and it really works well.

No big food problems -- you may be able to just give him the same -- see how it goes.  His metabolism should buck up with the medicine.  If anything you may just be able to feed him a tad less. 

Catching this relatively early is a GOOD thing -- usually you don't discover hypothyroid until other more difficult consequences (like skin issues, etc.) tend to arise and getting him balanced should prevent that. 

I've got an article I did on pain management/arthritis -- if you want to email me (not a pm -- it would be an attachment) I'll be happy to send it to you. 

It's a darned good catch by your vet that pretty much just with a weight gain he took blood rather than just chastizing you for letting him gain weight.  that's pretty darned awesome!!

I have lived with two hypo dogs.  I was part of a research trial for a reducing diet which worked quite well.  It was the Eukenuba vet diet reducing formula.  If you want to stick with same food I would likely take him down to two - two and half cups (based on what I fed my dogs).  That would occur by reducing by 1/4 cup per 2 to 3 week period.   I was really carefull to count treats and reduce food by a quarter cup if they had an extended training period or a cookie hunt in the backyard.  For the most part, the pill is the worst of it.  It can be a bit pricey around here.  Purchasing a VERY large bottle and splitting the cost/contents with an other owner in the practice helped us control cost.

I have had wonderful results with Duralactin for pain management.

Barbara, no advice, but good thoughts for Buddy's improvement.  His pic in your signature line always reminds me of Bear - the expression he'd have when chilling out, leaning up against the recliner, I would really see the Lab in his face, so I sort of have a soft spot for Buddy.  Feel better, big guy. 

Yes, the more I read, the more I realize that "hypo" is better than the alternative, "hyper."  And, I suppose we have caught it relatively early...as he hasn't suffered any of the other symptoms I read about:  getting cold easily; shedding; flaking; dark pigmentation; dull coat; balding coat, high cholestrol.

Thanks Tina....that warmed my heart.  He is the sweetest old boy and to know that he has affected others here makes me smile.

I've patted him on the head and scratched his ears and given him a kiss for everyone!  He's laying comfy under the ceiling fan right by my leg. 

 Sending good vibes for Buddy!  Hopefully the medication will have him improving by leaps and bounds.

Awww Buddy boy !!  Take your medicine and feel better soon !!!

Deb W.

P.S.  Maybe Jamison should go into training with you - Lord knows he could stand to lose weight too !!

CoBuHe

So, I need to learn about hypothyroidism. 

Basically you supplement, wait, and re-test until you get the thyroid levels right.  Then you periodically re-test to see if you have to make any adjustments.  I wouldn't do too much with diet until the thyroid levels are correct.  You may find that the weight just melts off - depends on the dog's activity level.

Did your vet do a full thyroid panel (values T3, T4, free T3, free T4, T3 autoantibodies, and T4 autoantibodies)?  If not, I would draw blood for that and send it to MSU (for breed and age qualified results) before starting supplements.  At the very least do a full panel the next time you test.  One thyroid value just doesn't give the whole picture.

MSU - Thyroid Function in Dogs
http://animalhealth.msu.edu/Sections/Endocrinology/Thyroid_Canine.php

MSU - Thyroid Medication and Monitoring
http://animalhealth.msu.edu/Sections/Endocrinology/Monitoring.php

http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html#hypothyroid
"Thyroid supplements should be given to dogs twice a day, rather than once a day, as is done with humans, as dogs metabolize it faster. When testing thyroid levels after your dog is on thyroid supplementation, it is important to draw blood 4-6 hours after the supplement is given."

The above site has a number of links, but several (including its MSU links) are broken at the moment and some are rather old.

Thanks for these links and info.  The vet only gave me 1 number, so I can assume it was not a FULL panel.  He wants to do another draw in 3 months.

CoBuHe

He wants to do another draw in 3 months.

  That sounds about right; it will allow time for the thyroid to return to normal and the lliver and kidney values should return to normal as well. When I saw the title of your thread I was worried, but really, the news isn't that bad. It looks like he's in pretty good health for his age. I hope it doesn't take long to adjust his thyroid meds to the right amount; give him some belly rubs for me.

Given that he's a lab, I would definitely either send the blood to MSU or to Dr. Dodds at Hemopet.  She's got a new "extra" value that she's including in her profiles (she's the one who set up the lab AT Michigan -- she's kind of the 'bomb' of all things dog endocrine.  She's in private practice now ... Hemopet IS her baby -- it's the national dog blood donor thing).  http://www.hemopet.com

 When we did Tink's thyroid panel (she's young but we were grasping at straws trying to figure out the source of her skin problems) it was a really comprehensive reading, so when I send it out to do Billy's next month we'll probably send it to her.  Besides which, she's SO nice about responding in email to questions, and she will work with your vet at no extra cost if he has a question and wants to call and ask her. 

Thryoid values can go up and down -- and one of the reasons for the full blood panel is to find out what level the TSH is (thyroid stimulating hormone) which essentially tells the vet whether the body realizes it's low and is it TRYING to produce and can't or is it just plain asleep. 

ALSO -- and your vet won't tell you this and it's important to get an accurate reading -- once the dog IS being supplemented, when you do the next blood pull, you gotta do it FOUR to SIX HOURS **POST** pill.  That way it's in the system and it's an accurate reflection of what it's actually doing in the body.  Often they do it like right before or after the pill -- and that doesn't give you the picture of what that amount of medicine is doing IN the body.

Dr. Dodds is picky about stuff like that, but it's why she gets consistent results too *grin*