I have posted a few times abouy my saluki peg, finally diagnosed with' probably' under active thyroid, thyroid levels are low, so vet suggested 6 week course,seems a bit brighter and now no longer lame, but that stopped 3 days before we started with thyroxine so,could that be the glucosemen supps, I don't know, as taking them since last August,did say takes a while, but now has had very swollen ears, that seem worse after a walk, but thankfully go down a bit by morning.Vets said no infection, and had a good look, said possible high blood pressure,(how do you check a dogs bp?)and he said he wasn't going to treat, but as usual, come back if they get worse.
What would cause fluid retention like this? has anyone had anything like this ever?this saga goes on and on.
Only one week into six week course of thyroxine, trying to keep positive but am seriously thinking about stopping all drugs, i just can't seem to remember what peg was like before all this started as nothing seems to get better.
Trying to trust in my vet, I just never get a really straight answer,try to remember he doesn't know everything.
ash.

A sign of hypothyroidism can also be problems with a dogs ears so it may just be a side effect of the illness and not the drugs.  Unfortunately as with us you have to work at finding the right drug and doseage for your dog.

Hope all gets better soon.

It can take quite a time for the right level of thyroxine to be sorted out,  the levels of hormone in the blood need to be checked and the doseage adjusted accordingly ;)

this information information on Soloxine will probably be useful to you

Hope this helps
Happy new year
Dill

Dill,
thankyou so much for information, having read cautions and one of them being hypertension, which vet said could be swollwn ears,but did not take dogs bp(found out they take it just like us,except cuff is somtimes put around the tail)Me and my husband have finally decided we really need a second opinion,as again today peggy is really lame again.

I won't stop meds as got to keep on,I need to find vet that knows sighthounds or greyhounds,thankyou so much again for your reply, I know you have answered my posts before,and I am truly grateful,this disease(if it is hypothyroid) does take some understanding,I could probably take a degree in it by now.I'll keep on researching.
Ash.

You're very welcome ashlee,

I know how difficult it can be getting the right treatment for thyroid problems, it took me 9 years to get a correct diagnosis, and another 18 months to get up to the right dosage as giving a full dose would have been dangerous at first   They had to treat me at first like an OAP!! 

One thing that worries me, is that on the net, veterinary sites refer to mg (milligrammes) of thyroxine.  In humans, thyroxine is given in doses measured in μ (microgrammes)   It might be worth checking this as there is an enormous difference between the two, yet I have had to correct doctors who referred to milligrammes   I did ask them if they were trying to kill me!!

  I just found this  site on the web, it refers to sighthounds and retired greyhounds having a lower baseline requirement of thyroid hormones, you might find it very useful.  It also gives contact details for DR Jean Dodds, who would be able to confirm this ;)

Hope this helps too :)

Darn it, just seen my post and where it says &#956 :rolleyes: it should read the greek symbol Mu :rolleyes:

just trying to be fancy - and failing :D

i am on thyroxine myself for hypothyrodism and have found out for you that untreated hypothyrodism can cause myxoedema which is the thickening of the tissues - it should go away with treatment after a while. this is true for humans anyway (my mum is a doctor and also has hypothyrodism) not so sure about dogs but usually it is the same if not very similar.

by the way it takes ages to get to the correct dose and sometimes it needs to be changed with me every 6months or so depending on what my body is doing if you know what i mean

goodluck
hth
anna

Well thanks again people,
I am always uplifted by anyone who writes, Dill, I am going to check the site you mentioned right now.
I am still concerned about the blood pressure thing, I really hate to think my dog has a banging headache and can't tell me,I know I am going to have to show some real patience here,which for animals I have, and humans,not so much.
My sister takes thyroxine,after chatting to her about how it made her feel,I almost wish I had'nt, but did explain a bit of what pegs going through.
I am beginning to think though that she has two sets of problems, thyroid and some sort of joint ,muscle disease,I am not sure thyroid probs could make her lose so much muscle and weakness in her back legs.Still searching,
Thanks once again,glad the doctors didn't kill you dill,
Ash

LOL

So am I ashlee :)  they have had numerous attempts and always fail ;)

Hi

I think that you need to get myasthenia gravis as knowing someone whose dog has gone through it, loss of use of legs i one of the symptoms.  You need a vet who knows what proper blood tests need to be done to find out whether this may be the problem.

TODAY
I spoke to another vet,who actually I work next door to,(I don,t see this vet as it is an hours drive away )very nice man,said I really need to see specialist in orthopeadics (can't spell it), so he gave me address for referral, spoke to my vet who said ok no problem, so wait to hear from them and in the meantime re-mortgage my house to pay for 'specialist vet bill'
Joking aside, apparently this man is supposed to be one of the best in this field so hopefully I might get peg well, up and running like a demon again.
I ;ll keep posting,perhaps good news next time.

Keeping my fingers crossed for her, let us know how you get on

Regards
Dill