Lilly not doing good

[taztiff30]

You all might remember a tread a few weeks back about trying to put some weight on Lilly.Well now it's just going down hill fast.In the last 2 weeks she is is dropping weight fast and losing hair.She was putting on weight and taking some off now I cant keep weight on her.its like she is losing weight every day.I can see her ribs and her hip bones she has lost hair on her butt. its the middle of winter and she has a thin coat. and she is a saint bernard.I bought liperdern have wormed her up. her feed nothing is working.She is going to the vet tommorrow at 1130 am.when I spoke to the vet by phone last week he told me to try the liperderm and worm her again. but that did not work so he is going to run some test on her.she is not vommiting her bowl movements are firm.
Do you have any ideas what could be going on? ive been googleing everything i can think of.

[Bclover92]

I dont know any of the symptoms but because of the hairloss I thought Cancer.

[taztiff30]

Originally Posted by Bclover92

I dont know any of the symptoms but because of the hairloss I thought Cancer.

ya thats what i thought i have googled signs of that... but she is only 2 1/2 yrs old

[saluki-sue]

What does your vet say about all of her symtoms? If she were my dog I would be having her worked up for thyroid, addisons, cushing and cancer. In other words I would as my vet to run the works and don't stop until we knew what was going on.

Good luck

[taztiff30]

Originally Posted by saluki-sue

What does your vet say about all of her symtoms? If she were my dog I would be having her worked up for thyroid, addisons, cushing and cancer. In other words I would as my vet to run the works and don't stop until we knew what was going on.

Good luck

when first started he thought was worms.. tommorrow when she goes he will be doing test

[borzoimom]

My thoughts are that suddenly a problem with the throid. Have the vet do a full panel. However- it takes ( depending on where you live) up to 10 days to get the panel back. Ask your vet about it. I hope its nothing more than that.

[taztiff30]

Originally Posted by borzoimom

My thoughts are that suddenly a problem with the throid. Have the vet do a full panel. However- it takes ( depending on where you live) up to 10 days to get the panel back. Ask your vet about it. I hope its nothing more than that.

wow 10 days!! I thought that a throid problem would cause her to gain wieght. would it cause hairloss too?

[borzoimom]

Originally Posted by taztiff30

wow 10 days!! I thought that a throid problem would cause her to gain wieght. would it cause hairloss too?

Yes it would. Ask your vet about hyperthyroidism.

[weezyNollie]

BZMom -- you have it backwards. Hyperthyroid causes weight loss, hypothyroid causes weight gain.

Thyroid tests can return in 24 hours, it's if you add additional tests that can take longer -- for instance, start with a T4. Then you can do the Free T4, T4 by TSH, etc etc.

I don't know too many tests that take 10 days except for very specialized tests. TLI/PLI panels, Aldosterone levels, etc. Mostly these are the tests you need to send to a university, not just a lab.

I think Addison's is a stretch. With no other signs, weight loss isn't enough to try that one. Just cause Addison's is not a comon disorder. Cushing's would cause hair loss, but not weight loss. Cushing's causes weight gain. ACTH Stim does take a little longer than 24 hours.

If it were me/my dog -- I'd run a CBC, full chemistry profile, and a T4. Then depending on what those results say, go from there. An ACTH Stim (to diagnose Cushing's/Addison's) is not cheap. And to me, at this point, it might be a waste of money.

Another idea is diagnostic imaging. What about some x-rays of the abdomen? Is there a mass in the abdomen causing maldigestion? Or maybe ultrasound? Ultrasounds aren't cheap either though.

Weight loss is a concern, but with no other real strong signs I wouldn't be throwing away money just for an answer. Start off with the basics, and go from there.

Good luck.

[borzoimom]

lol... sorry... Thats what I get for typing distracted by an event.. lol
Here you go http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/hyperthyroidism.html