Keegie's trip to the white Coat

[shais_mom]

Well, Keegan went to the drs today for a thyroid check.
And I noticed on Thursday she was itching and had scabs all over her chest and belly.
Well Dr. Brad noticed her belly right away b/c she rolled over when he walked in the door for a belly scratch. He said that her coat looks great but then I showed him on her back where all the hair that grew in had broken off, he said YIKES!!
And she gained 4 pounds. So off to the back she went for a blood test came back with shaved paw and a blue vet wrap.
I told him I was panicking b/c I thought she had fleas and he said no he didn't see any signs of fleas. Huge sigh of relief.
He said that her scabby belly was probably b/c of seasonal allergies. He gave her a shot of cortisone, gave me a perscription for Keflex, prednisone, and a new thyroid med that she is to get twice a day. He also told me to keep her on the food she is on, as it is the senior formula and reduced fat. Supplement her with green beans and pumpkin. I also give her frozen bil jac in her kong and with her pills, so I dug out an old set of measuring cups, and am using the cup measure in her dry food so I can have a more accurate measure of that. And the 1/4 c in her bil jac so I can keep an accurate measure of that too.
They ran another thyroid test and her levels are still low which probably determine the reason for her weight gain instead of loss, and the breaking of the hair.
And throwing in a years supply of Heartgard made for a sizable chunk on the Mastercard!!

Good thing I love her so much, b/c I told her that she was becoming an expensive past time!!!!

[captain]

Yes ...... hope the Mastercard has Keegie picture on it!!! (seeing as you are using for her!!!!)

[shais_mom]

Yup I should have one custom made with this pic on it

[Uabassoon]

That would be one cute Visa card.

[shais_mom]

[Logan]

Staci, I hope the new medication will get Keegan straightened out. Thyroid disease can be a tricky thing in humans and dogs I guess and getting those levels straightened out sometimes takes lots of testing and $$$$$.

Hug that beautiful red girl for me.

Logan

[tatsxxx11]

Oh Staci! Poor Keegan girl As Logan said, thryoid disease can be so tough to treat. And those allergy issues...ugh! Hopefully the new meds will get her back on track very soon. Those Rx's and especially those blood tests, sure add up at check out time! Although Star and Cody don't have weight issues, I need to keep Cody's wt. on the lower side due to hip dysplasia. I find using the meas. cup really helps to keep everyone's figure trim! Give the big, beautiful "red" a big hug from me!! Feel better soon, Keegan girl!

[lovemyshiba]

Oh Keegan--such a brave girl at the white coats office--be sure to take all of those pills your mommy has to give you!!!

I sure hope everything can make her feel better--allergies and thyroid problems--yuck!! At least she has a wonderful mommy to take care of her!!!!!!

I use a measuring cup for my dogs' food also--when Abbey got a little, um, hefty, I just cut her back a little, and she's as athletic looking as ever. I realize with the thyroid problems it's more difficult, but at least you can keep track of what you give her!!!


Many many hugs and kisses to beautiful Keegan!!!

[Cincy'sMom]

Oh NO, not the measured food!!! AGHH!!! Cincy feels your pain, Keegan!!

We finally heard back fromour vet...Cincy's thyroid is normal. She has been prescribed a mile a day walk for 2 weeks, then a weight in...guess I better get off here, and out walking!!!

[wolf_Q]

Aww poor Keegan! Hope you can get everything figured out! It can't be fun to have an itchy belly!

I have to run to the vet tomorrow for another supply of heartguard...I've only bought the 6 months supplies, how much did it cost you for a year?

[stacwase]

What's bil jac?

I'm glad to hear that your vet is getting everything straightened out. How long has Keegie had thyroid problems? Do they get synthroid, like humans? Is the medication expensive?

[shais_mom]

Bil Jac is a frozen dog food made of fresh meat. It has to be kept in the freezer/fridge. It is great to put pills in, or to stuff in Kongs. But Dr. Brad said it is one of the best foods there is, so use it sparingly like I have been, or it will put on too much weight.
Kylie the cat even likes it!!
http://www.biljac.com/

[ramanth]

Originally posted by captain
Yes ...... hope the Mastercard has Keegie picture on it!!! (seeing as you are using for her!!!!)

LOL! I thought about doing that with Kia's pic.

I hope Keegan is feeling better.

Kia's been itching her ears. I bought her a cone to keep her from making them bleed like she usually does.

[shais_mom]

Aww poor Kia!!
Sorry Stacwase I realized I didn't answer all your questions!!
Keegan has only been diagnosed with hypothyroid for about 3 mos. I noticed that she was getting very thin, bald spots on her back, crusties on her back, and is pretty heavy. She needs to lose about 15 pounds.
Hopefully once we get her thyroid regulated it will help her lose weight. She is so active.
She didn't eat any food yesterday. I put the green beans in it so I don't know if she didn't like that or what So Today I measured out her dry food one cup and she got a half cup of the bil jac with her pills/food/kong. Then she will get one cup of dry when I get home and prolly another half cup of BilJac
And she got about 20-25 min of hard play chasing her ball.

Amy, seriously, if this doesn't work for Cincy, I would try another vet. Did they tell you what the levels were? He/she seems pretty dismissive. Dr Brad was first like that when Keegan was heavy, and when I told him she didn't eat much of course he didn't believe me. Then the next time her hair had fallen out and she had still gained weight. Now we are where we are. *sigh*
Keegan's first test she was at 1.0 the normal is like 1.2 to 1.6 or something. This last test she was 1.1 still low but getting there.

[shais_mom]

Dr. Brad told me to watch for signs of her being ravenous or very thirsty and pottying alot. He said the pred will make her do that and if I need to cut back on her dose I can. Well, since she has been out of the crate for about 2 months now, she peed in the living room while I was at work. Poor thing. It was a huge spot too. And her water dish was empty so she didn't get her 2nd dose of pred today we are going to once a day on that till its done