Patrice - 36. page

[Patrice]

Hi Cindy,
Welcome! I am sorry to hear about Abby. But I am glad to hear that you chose to find a vet you are comfortable with. Many owners seem to end up with vets that either are not knowledgeable enough or they have outdated information. On Second Chance we spend a lot of time helping owners make the tough choice to change.

True, even with a super vet, this condition requires hard work on your part as you are doing at home nursing care. We can educate you and help you do this successfully. Our moderators have all gone through this and we are very experienced.

3 weeks is not a long time with this but it may feel like it a has been more than a month!

What we need are as many detail as you can provide. We would really like to see any lab test results. You can upload these on our Urgent Advice page.

Describe in detail her specifics such as weight, age, health history and all the treatments she is on with dosage info and side effects. How is she feeling and behaving?

You will hear from others soon.
Mt best
Patrice

[Patrice]

Testing

[Patrice]

Audrey

Audrey Before Prednisone

 

Big-eyed Audrey

[Patrice]

Alyssa,
Sorry you are outputting so much cash right now. You may be able to get by for the routine check for the PCV by skipping the full CBC and just having a simple spun PCV, it takes a little tiny bit of blood, is prepared and visualized by “hand.” Shouldn’t cost more than $20, in my opinion. Only do a full CBC every 3-4 weeks (or longer if there is stability in the PCV value.)

So here is what is happening with the skin. Hyperthyroidsim (very very rare in dogs as organic disease and generally due to excess supplementation) leads to some side effects. How severe they are depends on the dosage and the length of time at the higher levels of T4 and Free T4. These higher levels stimulate more rapid cellular activity and you can see the result of that in this list.
The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include the following:
Fatigue or muscle weakness.
Hand tremors.
Mood swings.
Nervousness or anxiety.
Rapid heartbeat.
Heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat.
Skin dryness.
Trouble sleeping.

Why the skin dryness? Because skin cells are a type of cell that are constantly being replaced. The higher cellular activity of hyperthyroidism means that skin cells are being produced at a rapid pace and that also means that old cells are being sloughed off at a more rapid rate. I know, science can be such a drag to understand, but in this case it really helps you understand why the dry skin.

In the meantime, give Sassie 1,200mg (360mg omega 3) fish oil capsules, 2-3 day. I use this dose for my Giants and I only use Nature Made brand because it is certified mercury free. They love chomping them down and come running when they hear the bottle rattle. If Sassie won’t chew them, then puncture the tip and squeeze the fish oil on her food. If you want, you can also use the Nature Made 1,000mg (300mg omega 3) capsules for a more conservative dose.

Washing will really dry the skin out more. Try gentle brushing every day to stimulate the oil glands and get the oil out onto the skin. You will see a lot of flaking so put her on a towel to do this.

By the way, this is a great regular supplement for humans and dogs. It helps treat all manner of canine and human diseases. In dogs it is especially helpful treating heart disease, kidney disease, canine cognitive disease, canine allergies, canine arthritis etc. You get the idea. I take my fish oil daily as well.

I do not recommend fish oil for dogs that are currently at risk of low platelets, such as in thrombocytopenia, or who are actively destroying red blood cells, as in AIHA IMHA.
good luck!
patrice

[Patrice]

Maybe sampling a little too much wine? I know I feel like that when I’ve had a few glasses with dinner..
patrice

[Patrice]

Sadie Chillin’

[Patrice]

Sweet Max

[Patrice]

Trish,
Willie picked up a ringworm infection from a harness borrowed from the orthopedic surgeon after he had knee surgery. That stuff is difficult to eliminate on surfaces of all kinds. I don’t doubt they cleaned the harness, but it is a persistent nasty thing.

It was a very difficult two weeks for us, a relatively expensive vet visit and a few very effective but expensive treatments. It was a battle with time as I watched more huge patches of hair fall out on one side of his body. If it wasn’t stopped it would have spread to many more areas of his body. Willie was in his harness 24/7 and we could not bath him with the medicated shampoo properly because of his knee. So everything had to be like a sponge bath.

But we did a great job and stopped it from spreading. It all healed within about 2 weeks.

I would ask her to stay away. Even if she thinks she is clean it can be all over her clothing and shoes, the car, on her body and even in her hair. I think an immunocompromised dog would have difficulty controlling this. Willie wasn’t, but he had just had surgical stress. Steer clear.
my best
patrice