Moby - Hyperthyroidism
Took Moby to the vet today.
He had started drooling a little. He had been losing weight and old symptoms were more prominant.
My vet put him under anesthesia to take a good look at the teeth and do any neccessary work on them. From what my mother told me, he had some "spurs" in his teeth. I'm not sure what that means. I guess Dr. K corrected what was wrong. I'll have to find out more information from her later. Hopefully he doesn't have maloclussion on top of everything.
She also got bloodwork from him. Thyroid levels have shot up to over 6 (My mom said she thought it was like 6.3 but didn't write the exact # down). Dosage was increased to .50 CC
Another problem we've been having is that his lower incisors grow very fast and we end up having them cut down because they're so dangerously long. Not sure how to get that problem to stop, cardboard doesn't seem to be cutting it.
Poor Mobes. He always gives me this pathetic look. I want to make his problems go away!
He had started drooling a little. He had been losing weight and old symptoms were more prominant.
My vet put him under anesthesia to take a good look at the teeth and do any neccessary work on them. From what my mother told me, he had some "spurs" in his teeth. I'm not sure what that means. I guess Dr. K corrected what was wrong. I'll have to find out more information from her later. Hopefully he doesn't have maloclussion on top of everything.
She also got bloodwork from him. Thyroid levels have shot up to over 6 (My mom said she thought it was like 6.3 but didn't write the exact # down). Dosage was increased to .50 CC
Another problem we've been having is that his lower incisors grow very fast and we end up having them cut down because they're so dangerously long. Not sure how to get that problem to stop, cardboard doesn't seem to be cutting it.
Poor Mobes. He always gives me this pathetic look. I want to make his problems go away!
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Lynx
- RESIST
So the roof of the mouth is red and sore from contact? Some pig's teeth are pretty long. An xray might show what is going on. If the incisors are trimmed, can the mouth close? As you know, it is usually the molars that overgrow and then the incisors overgrow because they can't wear normally.
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Lynx
- RESIST
Pinta's xray of elongated roots in the guide gives a good representation of how the front incisors might look (all incisors vary some in length -- the top and bottom ones don't fit a fixed pattern but you can see the relationship and where the wear happens).
http://www.guinealynx.info/elongated_roots.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/elongated_roots.html
Update on Mobes.
Checked T4 today, it's down to 5.3 (from 6.8), but Dr. K felt (and I agreed) that we need to treat a little more aggressively, so his new dose is .5 cc in the morning and .25 cc at night. He had gained weight from the last time he was in, but he is still not over 900 grams.
Teeth were rechecked and are fine. No spurs or long incisors.
Checked T4 today, it's down to 5.3 (from 6.8), but Dr. K felt (and I agreed) that we need to treat a little more aggressively, so his new dose is .5 cc in the morning and .25 cc at night. He had gained weight from the last time he was in, but he is still not over 900 grams.
Teeth were rechecked and are fine. No spurs or long incisors.
We lost Fanny a couple of weeks ago very suddenly. She had been doing very well and was finally calmed down and gaining weight. The gross autopsy revealed a hole in her stomach. She wasn't on any NSAIDs and as far as my vet knows, the Tapazole should not have had this side effect. She was at a high dose of 1/2 pill twice a day, but without the Tapazole she was at risk of dying from a heart failure. We're pretty sure we would have lost her a long time before if she hadn't been on Tapazole.
Since no one has studied Tapazole in regards to pigs, it is unknown if it could have contributed to the stomach rupture. We do know this effect is not known to happen in other animals so we are assuming it's unlikely to have been the cause. My vet lost a sheepdog patient to the same problem a few months ago and that dog was not on NSAIDs or Tapazole so the stomach rupture could have been "just one of those things".
Since no one has studied Tapazole in regards to pigs, it is unknown if it could have contributed to the stomach rupture. We do know this effect is not known to happen in other animals so we are assuming it's unlikely to have been the cause. My vet lost a sheepdog patient to the same problem a few months ago and that dog was not on NSAIDs or Tapazole so the stomach rupture could have been "just one of those things".
I'm sorry to hear about Fanny. That's really interesting about the rupture. The more stories I hear about these hyperthyroid pigs the more aware I am that it's not the hyperthyroidism that's needing constant concern, it's being on the lookout for other things like kidneys, heart, and other unexpected things like the bee that stung Vicki's pig!
If Moby can get over 1000 grams by his one year mark of treating his hyperthyroidism I'll be happy.
If Moby can get over 1000 grams by his one year mark of treating his hyperthyroidism I'll be happy.
I took my Oliver to the vet yesterday for a check up. We've had him 3 1/2 years, and he was at least one year old when we adopted him. All of the time we've had him he has been very hyper, drinks a lot, eats twice as much as our other pigs but doesn't gain much weight. He has been to the vet before and we mentioned these things but she didn't find an underlying cause.
I work from home so I am able to spend a lot of time with him during the day to help calm him. Yesterday our vet (she specializes in guinea pigs, btw) mentioned that she had her first suspected case of a guinea pig with hyperthyroidism, and that she was able to feel enlarged glands under its chin. She said Oliver has the same thing and she highly suspects hyperthyroidism.
His prognosis is good, in that we have been managing it and he is not underweight because I am able to feed him enough, and he willingly eats all. Otherwise he has a clean bill of health. If he started losing weight despite eating then we would look at additional options.
She didn't draw blood, so it's not a definite diagnosis, but it's very likely that he has it. I just wanted to post this in case someone else is looking for more experiences with this issue. :)
I work from home so I am able to spend a lot of time with him during the day to help calm him. Yesterday our vet (she specializes in guinea pigs, btw) mentioned that she had her first suspected case of a guinea pig with hyperthyroidism, and that she was able to feel enlarged glands under its chin. She said Oliver has the same thing and she highly suspects hyperthyroidism.
His prognosis is good, in that we have been managing it and he is not underweight because I am able to feed him enough, and he willingly eats all. Otherwise he has a clean bill of health. If he started losing weight despite eating then we would look at additional options.
She didn't draw blood, so it's not a definite diagnosis, but it's very likely that he has it. I just wanted to post this in case someone else is looking for more experiences with this issue. :)
averyl - a T-4 blood test is worth doing if only to get the data on the T-4 count. Currently there is no norm established for pigs so definitively diagnosing hyperthyroidism isn't easy.
The more info we can get the easier it will be for future suspected hyperthyroid pigs.
Tapazole is the med for Hyperthyroidism. Is your pig on it?
Chances are he also needs heart meds due to the suspected hyperthyroidism.
The more info we can get the easier it will be for future suspected hyperthyroid pigs.
Tapazole is the med for Hyperthyroidism. Is your pig on it?
Chances are he also needs heart meds due to the suspected hyperthyroidism.
I don't see any treatment above. Hyperthyroidism means everything is revved up which means the heart and other organs are working harder/faster than normal. The idea of treating with Tapazole is bring everything to a normal speed thereby reducing the chance of organ failure like a heart attack and an early death. At least this is how I understand it.
My namesake Diva was the pig Averyl was talking about. Dr. Barksdale is currently looking for the best way to take a blood sample so that she can do a T4 on Oliver (and 2 other pigs she has identified as possible hyperthyroidic piggies.) If anyone could share information on how much blood was needed for the test and the site at which the blood was removed from their pig, it would be of great help in diagnosing Oliver and these other pigs so they can get the proper treatment.