Hypothyroidism and Buzz

Buzz has had a very eventful year so far and I hope it will be slowing down shortly! I figured I should give the list an update, mostly because we've learned so much in the last couple of months!

My 14 year old dog presented with partial left sided facial paralysis, increased pain-seemingly all over, weight gain (I was feeding less than a pound of raw a day and he wasn't losing any weight, he weighed in a 60# and should weigh around 50#), and difficulty swallowing. We saw our regular vet who recommended we see a neurologist. The neurologist was incredibly UNhelpful but in a veterinary behavior appointment for my other dog later that week, it was suggested that hypothyroidism could be causing many of these issues Buzz was presenting with.

Buzz was *very* hypothyroid when we tested and was started on brand-name Soloxine at the prompting of many articles (rather than generic).

He's been on meds for almost 3 weeks now and I didn't realize how nasty his coat had gotten until I bathed him and blew out his old coat yesterday. He's all shiny and fluffy and bright now (and boy did he lose a lot of dead coat)!

We also saw the eye doctor for a routine CERF yesterday. He noticed bilateral pinpoint retinal hemorrhages... and recommended we take blood pressures and run a 4DX. We ran a 4DX+, which  was all negative and took blood pressures which showed a slightly elevated diastolic reading (but normal systolic). My wonderful regular vet did some more research and digging for me, to discover that Hypothyroidism can also cause the retinal hemorrhages as well as elevated blood pressures.

As of now, Buzz is starting to lose weight, his coat is changing (for the better), he has no trouble eating and can do so out of a bowl again, and most importantly, his facial paralysis was a thing of the past after only a week on the Soloxine.

I'm so freaking happy I ran into someone who gave me a recommendation based on some obscure signs; and that she was right.

Buzz at Battle Creek recently.

Now we do a thryoid retest (with the new recommendations, we'll be drawing for a T4 just before he gets his morning med and a full panel 4-6 hours post med) in 3-4 more weeks and recheck his eyes & blood pressure too.