Myxedema hyperthyroid...

[Janiethedob]

last weekend, Saturday morning, I noticed Janie limping on her rear right leg/foot. A couple minutes later she was fine, walking normal. Later about noon time, I noticed her limp again; this time on her near left. I thought that maybe It was actually her left leg last time and I just seen it wrong. My German Shepherd and Janie always play, so I was thinking she hur it somehow while playing... I looked at it but didn't see anything. So then I thought that maybe she just walking on it the wrong way and hurt it, because now she wasn't limping, again... Later, afternoon/evening time, I was outback in fenced in dog area, we have a doggy door and a ramp going from door to the ground, Janie was laying on the ramp whining. Whining and whine and whining, she was having hard time standing up. She finally was able to stand up after about 5 minutes with my help. Sunday came around, she was fine it seemed like. The only probably was she was having a hard time getting her back legs up on the bed that night, where she slept every night. Monday came around, she didn't get up to go outside in the morning, she just laid there for an hour or so. We gave her an asprin, and with that she got up and was fine for a few hours, just had a stubble when walking. Approximately 5 hours later, the asprin wore off and she went back to bed. She didn't even greet is or act happy to see us when we got back home. During night if she got touched, she would kinda grunt. The next morning, Tuesday, she was worse. Her eyes were dilated and she was swollen. Still not able to stand at all, if we tried picking her up she'd fall back down. We gave her another asprin, since it seemed to help the day before, but to no avail. The asprin was given to her at about 9 am. We called the vet at 12ish, because she was getting worse, swelling more ect. The appointment was at 2:30 pm, however we took her in about 1:30, because she was just decreasing. Thankfully, he was able to see us early. First thing he did was check her heart, the second he did that he said that she was ready to check out because her heart was barely beating. Next thing was blood, which couldn't be drawn, we only got 1-2 drops of blood. The vet tried in both fronts legs and in the neck... He took her back for x-rays, and finally got blood through rear legs. Janie lied on X-ray table for 30 minutes, without moving, even though I was not with her... X-rays showed a dilated heart, fluid or something around the heart, lesions in the lungs, inlarged bladder, and all other insides pushed up and over, into chest cavity, and masses throughout her body. Blood work showed that Calcium was elevated and Thyroid was slightly elevated. The only thing he could think of was Cancer. Our options were; euthanize, take her home, or take her to a 24/7 vet who was top of the line. He gave her no more then a day to live, and may not even make it to the other vets, whom was about an hour away. They would run all kinds of tests, which would cost nearly $5,000.... for just the tests. So we chose to bring her home and let her pass peacefully. About 15 minutes after we left the vets office, he called us telling us that he did research after we left, because the more he thought about it, the more the situation didn't make sense. He found out that Myxedemia/Coma show almost every symptom that Janie had, plus it's known to be found in Dobermans... We went back to the office (thankfully it was only 10 min away) and picked up Thyroid meds and she had a pill immediately . Later that night, 9ish pm, Janie was pretty much dead. She was breathing, but lifeless. We told everyone that she was not going to make, to tell her bye. Next thing you know, morning came (Wednesday) and she was still alive! She pretty much lied down all day... (she never once lost her appetite) Thursday; she got up, still with a small limp, like her rear legs were stiff, but she was alive. She continued to increase everyday, although when night came around, she was comepletely worn out. Today, marks 8 days after the vet visit. She still swells up very little during the day, most days, and she still isn't 100%, but she is sooo much better! Another vet app. Will be made in the next couple days, to run more X-rays and blood work. But we are searching for someone who specializes in Dobies.

Sorry for the super-long post lol. If any of you have any insight on this, it'll be greatly appreciated ! Thanks.

 

[JanS]

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry you and your baby are going through this.
It sounds like you're doing all of the right things, but I have no insight since I have no medical experience.
I'm guessing a few like @Archer and @Tropicalbri's might have more insight.

I'm glad she's doing a little better now anyway.

 

[Max Hawk]

last weekend, Saturday morning, I noticed Janie limping on her rear right leg/foot. A couple minutes later she was fine, walking normal. Later about noon time, I noticed her limp again; this time on her near left. I thought that maybe It was actually her left leg last time and I just seen it wrong. My German Shepherd and Janie always play, so I was thinking she hur it somehow while playing... I looked at it but didn't see anything. So then I thought that maybe she just walking on it the wrong way and hurt it, because now she wasn't limping, again... Later, afternoon/evening time, I was outback in fenced in dog area, we have a doggy door and a ramp going from door to the ground, Janie was laying on the ramp whining. Whining and whine and whining, she was having hard time standing up. She finally was able to stand up after about 5 minutes with my help. Sunday came around, she was fine it seemed like. The only probably was she was having a hard time getting her back legs up on the bed that night, where she slept every night. Monday came around, she didn't get up to go outside in the morning, she just laid there for an hour or so. We gave her an asprin, and with that she got up and was fine for a few hours, just had a stubble when walking. Approximately 5 hours later, the asprin wore off and she went back to bed. She didn't even greet is or act happy to see us when we got back home. During night if she got touched, she would kinda grunt. The next morning, Tuesday, she was worse. Her eyes were dilated and she was swollen. Still not able to stand at all, if we tried picking her up she'd fall back down. We gave her another asprin, since it seemed to help the day before, but to no avail. The asprin was given to her at about 9 am. We called the vet at 12ish, because she was getting worse, swelling more ect. The appointment was at 2:30 pm, however we took her in about 1:30, because she was just decreasing. Thankfully, he was able to see us early. First thing he did was check her heart, the second he did that he said that she was ready to check out because her heart was barely beating. Next thing was blood, which couldn't be drawn, we only got 1-2 drops of blood. The vet tried in both fronts legs and in the neck... He took her back for x-rays, and finally got blood through rear legs. Janie lied on X-ray table for 30 minutes, without moving, even though I was not with her... X-rays showed a dilated heart, fluid or something around the heart, lesions in the lungs, inlarged bladder, and all other insides pushed up and over, into chest cavity, and masses throughout her body. Blood work showed that Calcium was elevated and Thyroid was slightly elevated. The only thing he could think of was Cancer. Our options were; euthanize, take her home, or take her to a 24/7 vet who was top of the line. He gave her no more then a day to live, and may not even make it to the other vets, whom was about an hour away. They would run all kinds of tests, which would cost nearly $5,000.... for just the tests. So we chose to bring her home and let her pass peacefully. About 15 minutes after we left the vets office, he called us telling us that he did research after we left, because the more he thought about it, the more the situation didn't make sense. He found out that Myxedemia/Coma show almost every symptom that Janie had, plus it's known to be found in Dobermans... We went back to the office (thankfully it was only 10 min away) and picked up Thyroid meds and she had a pill immediately . Later that night, 9ish pm, Janie was pretty much dead. She was breathing, but lifeless. We told everyone that she was not going to make, to tell her bye. Next thing you know, morning came (Wednesday) and she was still alive! She pretty much lied down all day... (she never once lost her appetite) Thursday; she got up, still with a small limp, like her rear legs were stiff, but she was alive. She continued to increase everyday, although when night came around, she was comepletely worn out. Today, marks 8 days after the vet visit. She still swells up very little during the day, most days, and she still isn't 100%, but she is sooo much better! Another vet app. Will be made in the next couple days, to run more X-rays and blood work. But we are searching for someone who specializes in Dobies.

Sorry for the super-long post lol. If any of you have any insight on this, it'll be greatly appreciated ! Thanks.

Oh my ..I am so sorry.. What a thing to have to go through..I have never heard of this..I appreciate your post so much so the rest of us are aware. Did your vet not give you a long term prognosis?

 

[Max Hawk]

In researching it on line and it says that it's quite rare but somehow our Dobermans are perhaps more prone to it than some.. I am so sorry ..what I saw said it's not a very good prognosis ..Go to pet md and see what you think. I really feel so bad for you..I hope she can recover..I lost my 2 year old to wobblers in February so believe me I can really sympathize. I would put the link here but my internet keeps booting me.

 

[Max Hawk]

Thyroid Gland Disorder in Dogs | petMD Sorry was having a terrible time getting anything to work. Here's a link .this is all I've read so far.

 

[Janiethedob]

In researching it on line and it says that it's quite rare but somehow our Dobermans are perhaps more prone to it than some.. I am so sorry ..what I saw said it's not a very good prognosis ..Go to pet md and see what you think. I really feel so bad for you..I hope she can recover..I lost my 2 year old to wobblers in February so believe me I can really sympathize. I would put the link here but my internet keeps booting me.

Yeah, that's what I seen, too. The vet printed a sheet out of it, it said a its found mostly in dobies, especially spayed females... and it's very rare. Ps- I'm so sorry to hear about your Dobie! I can't wait for the day that there is a simple cure for things like this.

I'm so very thankful that he looked this up, after I left! I've never heard of a vet continueing research like he did.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Janiethedob]

Oh my ..I am so sorry.. What a thing to have to go through..I have never heard of this..I appreciate your post so much so the rest of us are aware. Did your vet not give you a long term prognosis?

He really had no idea what was going on... at first he thought it was cancer, but then he found out about this.

 

[Janiethedob]

"Myxedema coma generally has a grave prognosis. Most patients who have died of this disease have died within a day of having begun treatment, even though their vital signs appeared to have improved."

It's been over a week since treatment and she has yet to die. But who knows, this may not even be what's wrong with her. But I'm sure that if it wasn't this, she'd be gone.

 

[Kaiser2016]

Interesting detail about spayed females. At what age was Janie spayed?

Do you know how her litter mates are doing, just to rule out something genetic?

I also think that since she has survived so much longer than expected (a day is just crazy!), that maybe it could be something else?

 

[Janiethedob]

Interesting detail about spayed females. At what age was Janie spayed?

Do you know how her litter mates are doing, just to rule out something genetic?

I also think that since she has survived so much longer than expected (a day is just crazy!), that maybe it could be something else?

She was a tad over a year old when she was spayed. I've tried getting ahold of her ma and pas and siblings owners, but no luck yet. If I remember right, either her mom or one of her sisters died, but I'm not positive though and idk why.

Ps- if anyone knows of anyone who specifies in doberman a in Missouri, please let me know!

 

[Kaiser2016]

Over a year old is pretty good actually. 18-24 months is ideal for Dobes but at least it was not at 6 months.

 

[Max Hawk]

Thyroid Gland Disorder in Dogs | petMD Sorry was having a terrible time getting anything to work. Here's a link .this is all

She was a tad over a year old when she was spayed. I've tried getting ahold of her ma and pas and siblings owners, but no luck yet. If I remember right, either her mom or one of her sisters died, but I'm not positive though and idk why.

Ps- if anyone knows of anyone who specifies in doberman a in Missouri, please let me know!

I know that there can be some bad side effects in spaying and neutering to young..a year is supposed to be okay but I'm so paranoid anymore that I would want to wait for at least 14 months ...I don't think anyone really knows for sure .many things can contribute. I don't neuter my males at all anymore..My first Doberman was neutered young thanks to the breeder insisting on it and he died at 3 of an auto-immune disease but I of course can't claim that neutering was necessarily the cause of his illness. Please keep us update on how she does or if you find out that she has something else and he misdiagnosed it.

 

[Max Hawk]

Plea

Yeah, that's what I seen, too. The vet printed a sheet out of it, it said a its found mostly in dobies, especially spayed females... and it's very rare. Ps- I'm so sorry to hear about your Dobie! I can't wait for the day that there is a simple cure for things like this.

I'm so very thankful that he looked this up, after I left! I've never heard of a vet continueing research like he did.

Thanks everyone!

If it's something rare it can for sure confound a vet. They learn on the job at time..school can't cover it all. Vets are people to and there are some truly exceptional ones ...just as there are so so ones. I have to applaud yours for going that extra mile and trying to figure out what was going on.

 

[Janiethedob]

Thyroid Gland Disorder in Dogs | petMD Sorry was having a terrible time getting anything to work. Here's a link .this is all

I know that there can be some bad side effects in spaying and neutering to young..a year is supposed to be okay but I'm so paranoid anymore that I would want to wait for at least 14 months ...I don't think anyone really knows for sure .many things can contribute. I don't neuter my males at all anymore..My first Doberman was neutered young thanks to the breeder insisting on it and he died at 3 of an auto-immune disease but I of course can't claim that neutering was necessarily the cause of his illness. Please keep us update on how she does or if you find out that she has something else and he misdiagnosed it.

She was probably over 14 months, but just not quite a two years yet.

But yeah, I've always heard that fixing an animal is the best thing, but I'm finding out more and more of reasons that fixing an animal is no good. One thing I don't get is, fixing an animal is so un-natural.

I will keep you guys posted!

Ps-thanks for the link! I read it, and it's interesting.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

It is rare (hyperthyroidism) more so than hypothyroidism. The swelling comes from the glycoproteins in the mucin. Some will present with a dermatological condition and is usually accompanied with cardio pulmonary conditions. Often it is seen in older dogs. I know we always encourage yearly blood tests to get a baseline when the animals arec5yrs. That way we could see changes in thyroid levels and be able to diagnose it earlier before it progressed to this extreme. Prolonged undiagnosed thyroid issues and subsequent lack of treatment progresses to this very critical condition. I know mortality rates are very high with this condition and immediate treatment is essential to recovery.
With hyperthyroid the metabolism is increased making the system work harder and depleting the function of the thyroid and usually affecting the kidney and heart function as well. Swelling of mucosal membranes can cause fluid in the pericardium, cause decreased oxygen levels. It is cascading for the organs, gastrointestinal tract etc. I am glad the Dr was able to catch the classic symptoms and figure it out and get treatment started immediately. Usually a echocardiogram is done to determine the damage to the heart and careful monitoring is required. How old is she? Normally it presents in older dogs.
I wish you the very best with her treatment in managing this condition.
I am sure she experienced bradycardia (slow heart rate) and that contributed to her almost coma state. If cells cannot be oxygenated her body, respiration is slowed and not able to keep organs healthy through sufficient blood flow.
Keep us posted of her progress. Prayers for you both that is can be brought under control without having damaged her organ and heart and that tissue swelling does not continue.

 

[Janiethedob]

It is rare (hyperthyroidism) more so than hypothyroidism. The swelling comes from the glycoproteins in the mucin. Some will present with a dermatological condition and is usually accompanied with cardio pulmonary conditions. Often it is seen in older dogs. I know we always encourage yearly blood tests to get a baseline when the animals arec5yrs. That way we could see changes in thyroid levels and be able to diagnose it earlier before it progressed to this extreme. Prolonged undiagnosed thyroid issues and subsequent lack of treatment progresses to this very critical condition. I know mortality rates are very high with this condition and immediate treatment is essential to recovery.
With hyperthyroid the metabolism is increased making the system work harder and depleting the function of the thyroid and usually affecting the kidney and heart function as well. Swelling of mucosal membranes can cause fluid in the pericardium, cause decreased oxygen levels. It is cascading for the organs, gastrointestinal tract etc. I am glad the Dr was able to catch the classic symptoms and figure it out and get treatment started immediately. Usually a echocardiogram is done to determine the damage to the heart and careful monitoring is required. How old is she? Normally it presents in older dogs.
I wish you the very best with her treatment in managing this condition.
I am sure she experienced bradycardia (slow heart rate) and that contributed to her almost coma state. If cells cannot be oxygenated her body, respiration is slowed and not able to keep organs healthy through sufficient blood flow.
Keep us posted of her progress. Prayers for you both that is can be brought under control without having damaged her organ and heart and that tissue swelling does not continue.

Thank you!!!!!

She is three years old.

 

[Max Hawk]

It is rare (hyperthyroidism) more so than hypothyroidism. The swelling comes from the glycoproteins in the mucin. Some will present with a dermatological condition and is usually accompanied with cardio pulmonary conditions. Often it is seen in older dogs. I know we always encourage yearly blood tests to get a baseline when the animals arec5yrs. That way we could see changes in thyroid levels and be able to diagnose it earlier before it progressed to this extreme. Prolonged undiagnosed thyroid issues and subsequent lack of treatment progresses to this very critical condition. I know mortality rates are very high with this condition and immediate treatment is essential to recovery.
With hyperthyroid the metabolism is increased making the system work harder and depleting the function of the thyroid and usually affecting the kidney and heart function as well. Swelling of mucosal membranes can cause fluid in the pericardium, cause decreased oxygen levels. It is cascading for the organs, gastrointestinal tract etc. I am glad the Dr was able to catch the classic symptoms and figure it out and get treatment started immediately. Usually a echocardiogram is done to determine the damage to the heart and careful monitoring is required. How old is she? Normally it presents in older dogs.
I wish you the very best with her treatment in managing this condition.
I am sure she experienced bradycardia (slow heart rate) and that contributed to her almost coma state. If cells cannot be oxygenated her body, respiration is slowed and not able to keep organs healthy through sufficient blood flow.
Keep us posted of her progress. Prayers for you both that is can be brought under control without having damaged her organ and heart and that tissue swelling does not continue.

Thanks so much for the information, if I read it correctly when i was researching that there are different types the more common type does seem to affect older dogs..but the more rare type of hypothyroid can affect younger dogs..So sad for our breed seems to be prone to hypothyroid. Crap what next.

 

[Archer]

Hyperthyroidism in dogs is almost always Malignant. Hypothyroidism is very common in Dobermans, typically autoimmune in nature and benign unless there's cardiac involvement.

My suggestion is to see a Veterinary Internal Medicine specialist, or there is an Endocrinologist in Kansas City.

I am dealing with autoimmune hypothyroid with cardiac involvement in one of my Dobermans. She is only 4. She's had chronically low normal
Thyroid since her first blood panel at 6 months. I advise to contact your breeder to not only inform them of the news, but to see if the parents are affected by thyroid disease of any nature or any other endocrine conditions.

 

[strykerdobe]

Hyperthyroidism in dogs is almost always Malignant. Hypothyroidism is very common in Dobermans, typically autoimmune in nature and benign unless there's cardiac involvement.

My suggestion is to see a Veterinary Internal Medicine specialist, or there is an Endocrinologist in Kansas City.

I am dealing with autoimmune hypothyroid with cardiac involvement in one of my Dobermans. She is only 4. She's had chronically low normal
Thyroid since her first blood panel at 6 months. I advise to contact your breeder to not only inform them of the news, but to see if the parents are affected by thyroid disease of any nature or any other endocrine conditions.

Our boy Yago with Occult DCM had a low normal thyroid. Our holistic vet bumped it up to mid range to just above. Seems to be doing much better. And his coat is better. And since the thyroid can cause heart issues (and other organ and gland functions) we decided to bump his level up.
Most vets will say well its still in the normal range so its ok. Well I think it depends on the dog and breed and age! These are just ranges!
Since Dobermans are notorious for thyroid issues! Each dog is different.

 

[strykerdobe]

last weekend, Saturday morning, I noticed Janie limping on her rear right leg/foot. A couple minutes later she was fine, walking normal. Later about noon time, I noticed her limp again; this time on her near left. I thought that maybe It was actually her left leg last time and I just seen it wrong. My German Shepherd and Janie always play, so I was thinking she hur it somehow while playing... I looked at it but didn't see anything. So then I thought that maybe she just walking on it the wrong way and hurt it, because now she wasn't limping, again... Later, afternoon/evening time, I was outback in fenced in dog area, we have a doggy door and a ramp going from door to the ground, Janie was laying on the ramp whining. Whining and whine and whining, she was having hard time standing up. She finally was able to stand up after about 5 minutes with my help. Sunday came around, she was fine it seemed like. The only probably was she was having a hard time getting her back legs up on the bed that night, where she slept every night. Monday came around, she didn't get up to go outside in the morning, she just laid there for an hour or so. We gave her an asprin, and with that she got up and was fine for a few hours, just had a stubble when walking. Approximately 5 hours later, the asprin wore off and she went back to bed. She didn't even greet is or act happy to see us when we got back home. During night if she got touched, she would kinda grunt. The next morning, Tuesday, she was worse. Her eyes were dilated and she was swollen. Still not able to stand at all, if we tried picking her up she'd fall back down. We gave her another asprin, since it seemed to help the day before, but to no avail. The asprin was given to her at about 9 am. We called the vet at 12ish, because she was getting worse, swelling more ect. The appointment was at 2:30 pm, however we took her in about 1:30, because she was just decreasing. Thankfully, he was able to see us early. First thing he did was check her heart, the second he did that he said that she was ready to check out because her heart was barely beating. Next thing was blood, which couldn't be drawn, we only got 1-2 drops of blood. The vet tried in both fronts legs and in the neck... He took her back for x-rays, and finally got blood through rear legs. Janie lied on X-ray table for 30 minutes, without moving, even though I was not with her... X-rays showed a dilated heart, fluid or something around the heart, lesions in the lungs, inlarged bladder, and all other insides pushed up and over, into chest cavity, and masses throughout her body. Blood work showed that Calcium was elevated and Thyroid was slightly elevated. The only thing he could think of was Cancer. Our options were; euthanize, take her home, or take her to a 24/7 vet who was top of the line. He gave her no more then a day to live, and may not even make it to the other vets, whom was about an hour away. They would run all kinds of tests, which would cost nearly $5,000.... for just the tests. So we chose to bring her home and let her pass peacefully. About 15 minutes after we left the vets office, he called us telling us that he did research after we left, because the more he thought about it, the more the situation didn't make sense. He found out that Myxedemia/Coma show almost every symptom that Janie had, plus it's known to be found in Dobermans... We went back to the office (thankfully it was only 10 min away) and picked up Thyroid meds and she had a pill immediately . Later that night, 9ish pm, Janie was pretty much dead. She was breathing, but lifeless. We told everyone that she was not going to make, to tell her bye. Next thing you know, morning came (Wednesday) and she was still alive! She pretty much lied down all day... (she never once lost her appetite) Thursday; she got up, still with a small limp, like her rear legs were stiff, but she was alive. She continued to increase everyday, although when night came around, she was comepletely worn out. Today, marks 8 days after the vet visit. She still swells up very little during the day, most days, and she still isn't 100%, but she is sooo much better! Another vet app. Will be made in the next couple days, to run more X-rays and blood work. But we are searching for someone who specializes in Dobies.

Sorry for the super-long post lol. If any of you have any insight on this, it'll be greatly appreciated ! Thanks.

Sorry to hear about this is happening.

Very good info! It also mentions about being treated using intravenous levothyroxine.
Hypothyroidism and Myxedema Coma - VetFolio
www.vetfolio.com/internal-medicine/hypothyroidism-and-myxedema-coma
Hypothyroidism is a common endocrinopathy in dogs but is rare in cats. Lymphocytic thyroiditis and idiopathic thyroid atrophy are common causes of this condition. Specific thyroid function tests, in conjunction with clinical signs and physical examination findings, are used to help