Thyroid & Hair Loss - Page 3

DDR-DSH - Yep, the flea thing was the next thing the 1st vet said after we determined it wasn't any type of mange (sarcoptic/demodectic etc)...so she put her on capstar, frontline and sentinel and something else which I can't remember. They NEVER found a flea on her, but the vet did say just 1 flea bite could wreak total havoc if she was highly allergic...I think we have eliminated that (we don't have fleas), but I continue to watch her for them although the allergy test did not say she was allergic to fleas. The vet seemed to think the combination of all the allergens caused her to go over that "threshhold" - hence, the hair loss, itching, etc. But , like I said, Fred says he's missing it altogether and it's some showlines that have the immune deficiency and need a boost with the Soloxine... I gave her a bath the other day to rid her of any surface parasites, etc...used Adams shampoo and then sprayed her with the flea spray (I realize it may have been somewhat harsh, but I did this as a precaution incase she had picked up a flea from the neighbors, etc....and I knew it would cleanse her skin well - also, although the alcohol in the spray would most definitely cause her to overproduce oils, I thought that might be a good thing since she was so dry...but the alcohol would also help her pores to close and kill any topical infectious etc., etc.... Thanks for the advice on the olive oil/corn oil - I will try that! I actually put some of my Palmer's cocoa butter (from my prego days) on her backside the last time I gave her a bath and I think it relieved her dryness for a few days. Someone told me emu oil is good , too, but haven't tried that yet. Boy, hodie & LMH I hope what you said about predisone is not right, but it probably is - she is on it now - I will stop - SHEESH! Blitzen - you are definitely right about the vet dermatologist, but honestly, with all the $$$$$ that has been spent on her to get to this point, my husband drew a financial boundary line and said we will cross no further after we try the Soloxine. I just don't want to give up, but this has been going on now for over a year and my husband says this is ridiculous - I could have purchased a titled proven-producing breed female from Germany for what we paid for her and all her medical bills. You wouldn't BELIEVE what we have spent on this female. When do you throw in the towel? If this doesn't work, I will try my best to find her a compassionate family that might try to take on the burden and dedicate more time and $ to find her a cure (as I can't stand the thought of putting her down) , but my husband says you have to know when to stop interfering with the inevitable and cut your losses. The problem with that for me is how do you "cut your losses" with a member of the family? And how do you explain "cutting your losses" to 4 children that love that sweet and loyal hairless GSD? Not an easy thing to do...not AT ALL. :( But then again...if I were hooked up in a hospital, I'm the gal that would come back TICKED and haunting the family member that had me unplugged!!! If it were my husband hooked up, he would probably tell the Dr.s "No quality of life for me - YANK that thing!"

GSDLVR-- If she's been on the prednisone for any length of time, she has to be weaned off it gradually--you just can't go cold turkey. Tell the vet the dosage she's on and get a proper leveling off---I feel awful for this dog--Her condition probably could have been avoided. Please try putting her on a strong dosage of antibiotics after you're finished with the steroids. There is hope for this dog.

GSDLVR, DO NOT STOP The prednisone or other steroid without talking to your vet first of all. If you do, you could end up shutting her endocrine system down...... Steroids are excellent drugs and are produced in the body naturally. They are not terrible or horrible drugs when given for conditions which can be helped by them. However, like many drugs, depending on what is really wrong, they cause a variety of side effects. For example, I have severe arthritis. It has gotten to the point that I can not function. No medicines I have taken to date have helped very much. So now I am on a low dose prednisone and I can function. If and when side effects show up, I will have to deal with that. But one should always educate oneself about the risks and benefits of any drug. For me, the benefits at this stage of my life FAR outweigh the risks. Again, I am NOT suggesting you stop the prednisone. I was simply saying that IF your dog has Cushings disease *(and I doubt that it does) prednisone would be contrindicated. Again a vet should be advising you on all this. Good luck.

GSDLVR: Now, I feel very ignorant. What is the difference between Soloxine and Pala-Tech? My girl was diagnosed a few years back with a thyroid problem and put on Pala-Tech. She gets blood work done every 3 months. Her hair is sparse on her sides (symmetrically speaking). Her itching started out being only seasonal (November-March). Now, it's increased in frequency. She receives a Depo-Medrol (steroid) shot which does help her to some degree. Now, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be doing something different for her????

I don't think Pala-Tech is a thyroid drug. It is a skin supplement, fatty acids, omegas, etc.. To be sure ask your vet. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but honestly, skin problems in dogs are better treated by vet dermatologists than GP's. Don't waste years dealing with a GP for allergies when it will only take a dermatologist 2 hours to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment. In the end it is well worth the little extra money you will spend to get an expert opinion. Most GP's will keep using steroids and fatty acids whether or not they help the dog. It's all they know.

One final word, that I would not use any alcohol on the skin. This will draw oils OUT of the skin, and it is very drying. Completely the wrong thing to do, in my opinion. Trust me just try the selenium sulfide shampoo to debride the skin, follow directions, and then put a thin film of olive oil on the skin to moisten and lubricate it. The selenium sulfide shampoo used to be made into a veterinary prescription item, but it was expensive and I found out that the old formula Head and Shoulders worked just as well. The problem would be to find it. It's been reformulated now, but it may work just as well in the new formulation. This provided almost immediate relief from the itching. The problem is that the dry skin crusts over in places (rafts of skin cells) and these little crusty areas provide a warm, moist habitat for Staph bacteria, which further aggravate and complicate things. I used to have a bitch very much like this, with the thickened black hairless areas on her tail and rump. It actually rolled up around the tail like a Shar-Pei! It's so common out here in California in summer that one of my vets called it, "The California Wedge", like a hairstyle. It comes with the flea season. The things I told you worked really well with my bitch. And I suppose that I could have spent infinite amounts of money on her at the vet, fooling around and getting nowhere. I saw other people doing that, and going in for their annual summer prednisone shots and some tablets.. I think they were called "Chloe" or something. Oh, they brought quick relief, but I remember that some of them even had to be put down eventually because of the damage that did. I did not have to go through all of that. But, I came from a time when people did a lot of things for themselves and didn't have guilt pangs and threat of arrest for "cruelty" if they didn't spend thousands of dollars on exotic tests and vet treatments. Of course, the veterinarians do not like it if you do anything for your own dog (but they will not hesitate to use their medical facilities and veterinary license to take business from the boarding kennel owners, even if it is against the vet code of ethics) You can go to any length in how much money you spend for even the most innocuous problem, and many people do, if they don't know to do anything else. Well, I said that I would never go in this deep with a dog, but I did spend approximately $1,000 every year, and I did spend $5,000 on one dog a few years ago, then lost the dog anyway. It's a crapshoot and there are lots of surprises when you have / raise dogs. But as yet, there is no law against putting a dog down humanely, and here is the cold reality: Every dog that takes an inordinate amount of resources, takes it from every other dog in the program. That's not fair to your other dogs, and it's illogical because it will hurt your program and activities with your better dogs. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It's never easy, but most of us have had to make these decisions. But try the simple homeopathic remedies first and if you are on the right track, you should see some new downy hair growing in in as little as two weeks.

Thanks DDR-DSH - I will go get some of the shampoo & corn oil and I already have some olive oil. How often do you think I should shampoo?

PalaTech makes thyroid medication. I use it for two of my rescue dogs. They also make other vet meds and a few supplements.

Thank you, Hodie. I did put a call into my vet to ask about the Soloxine vs Pala-Tech. I asked for a referral to a dermatologist since we're on our 3rd round of steroid shots...and she's still itching. She's also suppose to start Hydroxyzine on 11/18 but obviously if we get our referral to the dermatologist we won't be starting the antihistamine (sp?). Still waiting to hear back from the vet on the referral though.

Crazee, if you do take your dog to the dermatologist, you will probably have to take her off all steroids for a few weeks before the appointment if the doctor intends to skin test her. I've forgotten, but I think it was no steroids for 2 weeks before the appointment. I didn't have a referral for my dog, I just called a dermatogist and made an appointment. Good luck.