Symptoms: Low mobility (lack of energy, weakness), low cold resistance, slow wound healing, fragile skin, hair loss, obesity tendency, hyperlipidemia, anemia, etc.
Risk: Moderate, will not directly affect life and health, but may cause other diseases if not treated in time
Classification: endocrine diseases
Frequency: cats : very rare dogs: high
Key words: lack of energy/loss of appetite/obesity/high blood lipids/anemia/slow wound healing/aversion to cold/low resistance to cold
About Hypothyroidism
A condition in which the thyroid gland in the neck does not produce enough hormones.
Thyroid hormones are necessary hormones to promote metabolism. Insufficient secretion of thyroid hormones will reduce the metabolism of the whole body and cause various symptoms. The cause is an inflammation of the thyroid gland caused by an autoimmune disease in which the autoimmune system attacks itself.
This kind of disease often occurs in elderly pets, so it is also said that this symptom is caused by increasing age and is a disease that is not easily noticed by the owner.
Once the disease occurs, it cannot be completely cured, and it must be supplemented with oral thyroid hormones throughout life. This disease is difficult to prevent, but studies have shown that there is a possibility of heredity. Whether there is a diseased person in the family can predict the possibility of the disease to a certain extent by consulting the breeder. Also, it is not recommended for breeding if the pet is sick.
In cats, if the treatment for excess thyroid hormone is thyroidectomy, the side effect is iatrogenic Sexual hypothyroidism.
This condition usually cannot be completely cured. Like dogs, thyroid hormone drugs need to be taken for life. In addition, before surgery under general anesthesia in elderly dogs, some hospitals recommend measuring thyroid hormone levels first.
Diagnosis: Diagnosis is confirmed by blood tests (especially thyroid hormone levels in the blood). There are many hospitals that entrust external institutions for testing, and if the inspected hospitals have introduced the latest testing machines, they may be tested immediately.
The atrophy of the thyroid can also be confirmed by ultrasound. After diagnosis, thyroid hormone values should be measured regularly every 1 month to 1 year, but the interval can be considered according to the previous examination results, clinical symptoms and the needs of the owner.
Treatment: Treatment is performed by taking thyroid hormone supplements orally. There are individual differences in the amount of medicine required. Whether the dosage is excessive or insufficient requires regular measurement of the thyroid hormone concentration in the blood and adjustment of the dosage at any time.
After recovery: no serious problem, stable state can be maintained for a long time through oral administration of drugs.
