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How Soon Weight Gain With Anti-thyroid Meds?

Florrieberry

Florrieberry

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi,
Harvey our 4 year old neutered male has been losing weight last 4-5 months Still running about & eating as normal (greedy as always) Stools tested & bloods done under GA, nil found. Trying anti thyroid meds.
Been on Vitalga 3 weeks, 2.5mg alternate days (purely as its too difficult to cut tablet into 8!)
Thought weight had stabilised but has lost another 20g. Would you expect a positive change by now? Thanks
 
Florrieberry said:
Hi,
Harvey our 4 year old neutered male has been losing weight last 4-5 months Still running about & eating as normal (greedy as always) Stools tested & bloods done under GA, nil found. Trying anti thyroid meds.
Been on Vitalga 3 weeks, 2.5mg alternate days (purely as its too difficult to cut tablet into 8!)
Thought weight had stabilised but has lost another 20g. Would you expect a positive change by now? Thanks
Click to expand...

I am tagging in @furryfriends (TEAS) for you; she has personal experience with thyroid meds. I think in her case the weight gain was pretty immediate.
 
There is so little known about hyperthyroidism in guinea pigs. Although Sweetpea had a high T4 level, we can't be entirely sure that she was hyperthyroid. Maybe by giving the meds we sent her hypothyroid which would account for the weight gain, but maybe it was something else that was causing the weight loss and it caught up with her in the end.
 
Did she ever have any scans?
Re thyroid, my vet says that as there is no standardised agreed level of T3/T4 that diagnosis would be based more on his reaction to the meds.
It just seems ridiculous to see a healthy active piggy dropping weight for no apparent reason.
 
Florrieberry said:
Did she ever have any scans?
Re thyroid, my vet says that as there is no standardised agreed level of T3/T4 that diagnosis would be based more on his reaction to the meds.
It just seems ridiculous to see a healthy active piggy dropping weight for no apparent reason.
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No, we didn't do any scans. It is just so sad to watch them literally shrink before your eyes. Sweetpea was bright and active right to the end.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
No, we didn't do any scans. It is just so sad to watch them literally shrink before your eyes. Sweetpea was bright and active right to the end.
Click to expand...
I hope we're not going to lose Harvey just yet. We lost one just before xmas and one 2 weeks ago. Both unexpected. Five piggies left
 
Not sure if this helps, but Coco is 6.5 years old and going strong. Last year she went from 1066g to ~750 over 7 months. I managed to convince the vet to prescribe Thyronorm. We couldnt get blood for tests, so it was a bit hit and miss. That was December 28. Normally they live outside and she still cant keep her weight on in the cold so she is spending the winter indoors. To get from 750 to 800 g was really hard. You also need to give them really yummy veg and hay (oat hay, cucumbers, spinach), pretty much anything they will eat lots of. She is now at a steady 820 +/- . It is a long haul. Hopefully easier in the spring.
 
Thank you. That's helpful. Yes they do get really yummy healthy treats all the time, and fresh veg 2 x day . I will bear it in mind re meds and it gives me hope for future! X
 
Skittles said:
Not sure if this helps, but Coco is 6.5 years old and going strong. Last year she went from 1066g to ~750 over 7 months. I managed to convince the vet to prescribe Thyronorm. We couldnt get blood for tests, so it was a bit hit and miss. That was December 28. Normally they live outside and she still cant keep her weight on in the cold so she is spending the winter indoors. To get from 750 to 800 g was really hard. You also need to give them really yummy veg and hay (oat hay, cucumbers, spinach), pretty much anything they will eat lots of. She is now at a steady 820 +/- . It is a long haul. Hopefully easier in the spring.
Click to expand...
What dose of Thyronorm were you giving?
 
Skittles said:
Not sure if this helps, but Coco is 6.5 years old and going strong. Last year she went from 1066g to ~750 over 7 months. I managed to convince the vet to prescribe Thyronorm. We couldnt get blood for tests, so it was a bit hit and miss. That was December 28. Normally they live outside and she still cant keep her weight on in the cold so she is spending the winter indoors. To get from 750 to 800 g was really hard. You also need to give them really yummy veg and hay (oat hay, cucumbers, spinach), pretty much anything they will eat lots of. She is now at a steady 820 +/- . It is a long haul. Hopefully easier in the spring.
Click to expand...
Meant to ask ... Is there a reason you wanted thyronorm not vitalga?
 
We are on .1ml of 5mg/ml 2 x day. (Total .2ml) Food is pretty much whenever the bowl is empty. Oat Hay has a high calory content as does alfalfa hay (but they prefer oat). As to why not vitalga, I hadn't heard of it. I am having trouble getting over 850 but it may be a dosage issue. The original dose was for when Coco was 750g.
 
Skittles said:
We are on .1ml of 5mg/ml 2 x day. (Total .2ml) Food is pretty much whenever the bowl is empty. Oat Hay has a high calory content as does alfalfa hay (but they prefer oat). As to why not vitalga, I hadn't heard of it. I am having trouble getting over 850 but it may be a dosage issue. The original dose was for when Coco was 750g.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I hope things continue to improve for Coco x
 
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