Wow! I can't believe it is the same glider! He must feel terrific! I know it was not an easy decision to start him on thyroid medicine. It is amazing that the vet was able to determine the correct dosage with absolutely nothing to go on. I am sure many gliders' quality of life will improve thanks to you and Riker! You must be a very proud glider mom!
I'm going to ask our vet to run tests on Bonnie, she simply isn't losing weight!
Keeper of Handprints on my Heart, You left your Footprints on my soul. My precious loves that left to quickly, Peanut, Katie Isabella, Kiwi, Bonnie and Monroe.
Spread your wings and glide free of pain, Until the day I see you again.
K After the last update Riker's weight kept dropping until he hit 124 grams! Got a little concerned at that point, and the vet agreed we didn't want him dropping any more, so his meds got adjusted again, and I gave him a weeks worth of Ensure with his dinner for some calories to make sure he could gain weight. Within about 10 days he was up to 138 when we adjusted his meds down. No more Ensure and he seems to be stabilizing right around 130/132 grams.
And I think I mentioned really early on, but his tummy hair had gotten really thin, and he had almost bald patches under his arms-sides of the chest. The hair on his chest/tummy is filling back in and thickening, and no more bald patches!
One of the most obvious symptoms that took the longest were his dry ears, around the edges, and they looked like cracks on the backs. That's all gone now and his ears are nice, soft, supple and shiny looking, like they should be. We're still fine tuning his meds but shouldn't have to much longer-we think where he is now is what'll work for him.
The first two pics are at his low weight of 124 grams...second two are earlier tonight at 130.
Last edited by Xfilefan; 10/20/0702:43 AM.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
We've also got some pics of his crazy nails we think thickened due to the thyroid issues...although the two that were really, really bad seem to be straightening out with time and meds
Edit: come to find out (and I wasn't told this until after I posted earlier) the reason the one really bad one I was looking for to photograph I couldn't find is apparently my husband took him out and quicked him badly in an effort to try and get that nail growing better. I would NOT have done that, and I'm not a happy camper-It's no wonder he fought me and cried for this last trim! I couldn't figure out what his problem was, and apparently he thought I was going to hurt him! He'd always been SO good for trims...I hope he forgets and learns to trust me again.
In any case, he still has some pretty thick nails, none of the others twisted and broad like that one was, but still a lot heavier than any of my others. It seems to be one symptom of thyroid issues.
Last edited by Xfilefan; 10/20/0702:47 AM.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Two more of his nails (Suz had wanted to see these, since Mareki seems to have the same problem) and one of his tummy hair that's filling in that had thinned to almost nothing. Then just a before and now pic for good measure.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Commander Riker Update-Thyroid
[Re: Xfilefan]
#401654 10/20/0703:22 AM10/20/0703:22 AM
He looks so good Jen!!!! You know tho, even with the "low" weight of 124 he didn't LOOK thin, he still looked filled out & fluffy.....not as fluffy, but definately not skinny.
Chris Illusion, Malcom, Isabell, Annabelle, Zach, Isis, Aly & Indy AND Miss Emmy & Miss Chloe kitties
My Angels: You are always in my heart.
You've flown to the rainbow and wait there for me Someday I will join you together to be
Re: Commander Riker Update-Thyroid
[Re: glidrz5]
#401665 10/20/0704:48 AM10/20/0704:48 AM
No, but you could feel his bones under his coat...ribs, shoulders, hips. Not emaciated, but not much padding either. She wants him to stay between 128 and 138 grams, which is about right. Not overweight, but a little padding.
Jen/Colin Commander Riker 12 16 02-10 04 12 you will be FOREVER missed Sinbad, Gabby, Baby, and Alley
Re: Commander Riker Update-Thyroid
[Re: Xfilefan]
#402641 10/22/0707:34 AM10/22/0707:34 AM
Jen, you've done a great job with him! He's really looking MUCH improved now Thanks for the nail pix - they do look a lot like Mareki's do. My vet is the one who suggested that it's probably due to the hypothyroidism when I asked her about them. It's very interesting to compare Riker's symptoms with Mareki's - they're all identical except that Mareki's appetite never waned. Mareki has now been on the medication for 13 days, we are starting to see a little bit of weight loss and the fur above her eyes is growing back in now