# An unexpected outcome



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Gypsy, my thirteen year old Lurcher, has just been diagnosed as being Hypothyroid (low levels of the thyroid hormone in her blood).

This all started back in the summer when she sustained a tiny cut on her foot. She has had dozens of these over the years so I just kept it clean as usual.
It did not heal as usual so I started to dress it to keep the next door toe from rubbing it. It did not heal so I took her to the vet. This, new, vet was quite derisery in her comment about a tiny cut and the fuss Gypsy was making (this is the dog that could break her leg and keep running). Was told to keep it clean and stop the other toe rubbing (!). Back to the vet for another problem and had the toe checked again. Same advice. No progress so back to the vet. Well you get the picture by now.
I started insisting on my favourite vet so that she could get as fed up looking at the toe as I was. Antibiotics helped a bit but did not cure. By this time the bandage was causing friction problems elsewhere on her foot and we could not heal those up either!
The vet decided to check Gypsy' s thyroid and it turned out to be significantly below normal.
Low thyroid levels can prevent healing and that is what had been going on all this time! 
To look at Gypsy you would not guess that her thyroid levels are low. Nice shiny coat, trim figure and as lively as you would expect a thirteen year old to be.
I cannot tell you what a relief it is to know why the toe would not heal. There was even talk of amputation at one point.

Now that Gypsy is on the medication I can see the behavioural changes that had ocurred. She had gone deaf - I put it down to old age. She was not as responsive - same feeling. When she had her regular water treadmill session at the hydrotherapy centre, yesterday, the therapist said that her pulse rate had dropped from July onwards and was now almost back to normal.

Of course I now feel guilty for not having one of those "old age" blood tests done that the vet offers at booster time. Another lesson learned. :wink:


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

Glad you got to the bottom of it.
It would be so useful if they could just tell us how they're feeling!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

great news, hopefully Gypsy will improve in leaps and bounds

I have the same problem and its amazing the difference a thyroid supplement makes 

Aldra


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