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Thyroid problems & allergies

2360 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  suzimalteselover, 
jenniferhope423
Bailey has battled allergies for years on and off. We have always been able to control them with benadryl, and a shot every now and then when it becomes severe enough. Well yesterday I noticed her chewing her feet an awful lot and I rolled her over to check them and freaked out when I realized that she had made them raw and very red! So this morning we loaded up and went straight to the vet. We decided this time to go ahead with the blood test and have it sent off to find out exactly what she is allergic to so we know how to better treat it. While all of this is going on we weighed her and she has gained weight again! So they are also testing her thyroid. I have also noticed that her hair is thinning which I was told may be an indication of a thyroid problem. I am a bit stressed out over all of this because I don't know what is going to come out of it all. Anyone out there deal with these issues have any advice or can tell me what to expect if it is her thyroid? Oh and she has a full blown ear infection on top of all of this!
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jmm
If she is hypothyroid treating it can help with the allergy issues. So it wouldn't be such a bad thing to find. I hope the allergy testing can help you eliminate some allergens from her environment. Don't forget you can ask for a referral to a dermatologist.
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Ladysmom
Lady is hypothyroid. I think it's fairly common in older Maltese. It is very easy to maintain. Lady gets a tiny pill twice a day and a thyroid panel once a year. I think the pills run about $7 a month.

Lady has environmental allergies, but Zyrtec works well for her. I hope you find out what poor Bailey is allergic to.
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jenniferhope423
Ladysmom said:
Lady is hypothyroid. I think it's fairly common in older Maltese. It is very easy to maintain. Lady gets a tiny pill twice a day and a thyroid panel once a year. I think the pills run about $7 a month.

Lady has environmental allergies, but Zyrtec works well for her. I hope you find out what poor Bailey is allergic to.
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Did you notice a weight change after she was diagnosed and started treatment? Bailey has always been a big girl but lately she has ballooned and is really overweight. There has been no change in her diet at all and she is more active now than she has ever been. I am praying that I can help her take some weight off.

Did the vet prescribe Zytrec for Lady and did you have an allergy test done? As expensive as the test is I sure do hope that they find out exactly what she is allergic to and can treat it so she is not so miserable. :(
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jenniferhope423
jmm said:
If she is hypothyroid treating it can help with the allergy issues. So it wouldn't be such a bad thing to find. I hope the allergy testing can help you eliminate some allergens from her environment. Don't forget you can ask for a referral to a dermatologist.
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Is there anything different that a dermatologist would do compared to her vet? I am totally new to having to seek treatments for her allergies as they just really started getting bad.
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Dixie's Mama
Jennifer I'm so sorry that Bailey is so miserable with allergies. I hope they find what she is allergic to quickly so you can make her more comfortable.

The only thing I know about thyroid is with cats. I had 3 cats with hyperthyroidism. I struggled to get pills into one of them once daily. The other 2 were easier. A friend of mine told me that her cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She had a choice of getting the medicine in liquid form or a cream. She chose the cream and applies it to her ear once a day.

As for the weight I believe the following is true. If it is hyperthyroidism they will loose weight while eating voraciously. If it is hypothyroidism they will gain weight. All three of my cats lost weight while eating more as they were hyper. Their fur looked oily and unkept too.

Good luck Jennifer. Hugs to sweet Bailey.
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M
jenniferhope423 said:
Is there anything different that a dermatologist would do compared to her vet? I am totally new to having to seek treatments for her allergies as they just really started getting bad.
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the dermatologist will more likely skin test.
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The A Team
I'm sorry Bailey is having problems. Hope the doctor can figure out what's wrong and get her fixed up. It's not fun being itchy.....

I'm taking Archie to the vet on Monday for his ear and scratching.
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jmm
The skin test a dermatologist does is usually considered the gold standard of allergy testing. The ELISA which is the blood test is known to have some false results. A dermatologist is a specialist - all they see is these types of problems. Your vet is a general practitioner. They're not usually up to date on the latest and greatest because they have to keep up on as much as they can. The dermatologist has a specific focus.
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Ladysmom
jenniferhope423 said:
Did you notice a weight change after she was diagnosed and started treatment? Bailey has always been a big girl but lately she has ballooned and is really overweight. There has been no change in her diet at all and she is more active now than she has ever been. I am praying that I can help her take some weight off.

Did the vet prescribe Zytrec for Lady and did you have an allergy test done? As expensive as the test is I sure do hope that they find out exactly what she is allergic to and can treat it so she is not so miserable. :(
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My vet prescribed Zyrtec many years ago for Lady, before it was over the counter. Lady had seasonal allergies in the spring to pollen. Benadryl didn't work for Lady since she gets seizure drugs. The combination was too sedating. Dr. Chessie called the NC State Vet School to find out what she could prescribe for Lady with all her health issues. Back then, Zyrtec was prescription only and about $85 for 30 pills! :w00t:
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Lacie's Mom
Jennifer -- I have a huge amount of experience with thyroid problems with my Lhasas. Once it is found (by the T4 testing), the medication is inexpensive and easy and they seem to remain fine. But they do need to be retested annually to ensure that their dosage is still correct. As far as the weight that she has gained, it will not come off without putting her on a diet. I use the green bean diet to get the weight off quickly. 1/4 of their regular food mixed with 3/4 of green beans. So, for example, if they are eating a cup of food a day, you would feed them 1/4 cup of their regular food and 3/4 cups of green beans. The weight will come off fairly quickly (2-3 weeks) and then, she won't have a problem with it because she's on thyroid meds.

I'm hoping that this is the problem as it is very easy to correct.

The allergies are a different thing altogether. Lacie has allergies and I have to be careful not to feed her gains or beef and she also has seasonal allergies to pollen. She is miserable during pollen season which is just starting here.

Sending prayers that Bailey Grace feels much better soon. Poor little girl.
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jenniferhope423
We got back the results on the thyroid test and it came back clear! Now we are just waiting on the allergy test. Now she is being tested for a UTI on top of the allergies. It just seems to all come at once when they get sick. Poor baby is just feeling bad :(
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suzimalteselover
Poor Bailey, I hope she's feeling better soon. Mandy had a UTI and Clavamox cleared it up. I hope you get the allergy issues resolved soon, they can be so miserable. I'm glad she doesn't have any thyroid issues. My Mandy is like Marj's Lady and takes a pill for thyroid daily, too.
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