Hyperparathyroidism

[Patty]

I'm relieved that Bing now has a diagnosis, at least he can have treatment and be able to manage it somewhat. It's good to hear that he is on an upswing.

renaultf1 - what does Hyperpara mean in the terms of a disease?

[agilebasenji]

Opps, i thought the OP came back and said it was hypOpara, not hyperpara?

I don't know anything about the *para part, but I do know it is almost always easier to add than supress a body's production of hormones.

[renaultf1]

Agile…my bad, it is hypo...but still para.

[mramsay]

OK, here goes. There are two quite separate hormone-producing glands: the thyroid & the parathyroid, either of which can cause problems if they go wrong.

Hyper means excessive activity & hypo means under-activity. Hyper can be caused by a tumour on the gland or by kidney problems. Hypo, which Bing has, is caused by autoimmune deficiency where the body effectively fights itself. In the latter case the seizures are caused by a calcium deficiency which results.

His calcium tablets, which he has been having for months, contain vitD but not enough for him to absorb the calcium fully so he, from Monday, now has a stronger vitD supplement. To complicate things he has been on a steroid to stimulate his appetite, the loss of which is linked to the condition. These tend to supress the ability to absorb calcium!

Anyway we are progressing slowly with his calcium levels needing to checked every two weeks for now.

Mike

[Basenjimamma]

I hope he bounces back and will start eating again. Sounds like you are on the right track, please let us know how Bing is doing on his regimen.

Is this fairly uncommon?

[mramsay]

Hi Mamma!

Well, I'm not sure how common it is in Basenjis - I suspect it might be more common than in other breeds. We have owned 20+ dogs over the years - almost all Danes - and haven't had anything like it before.

Jean Dodds has promised me she'll be in touch when she reaches Europe so I might find out more then.

Mike

[Basenjimamma]

Good to hear, Mike.

I had a mutt that passed away in April, he had the more common hypothyroidism, no -para. But with all my other dogs, none have had thyroid issues…

[renaultf1]

Actually, hypOparathyroid is really uncommon in humans - it is much more common to have hypeRparathyroid - which is usually detected by too much calcium in the blood. I wonder if it is really uncommon in animals as well.

Kind of interesting because I'm pretty sure my endocrinologist said it is opposite with the regular thyroid - hypOthyroid is more common than hypeRthyroid.

It will be really interesting to hear what Dr. Dodds has to say. If you don't mind, please keep us posted.

And did I say that I love the name Bing - really cute!

[mramsay]

Thanks for the link Aggie! It's such an awesome menu that it puts us to shame. It is some years since we used to collect raw tripes from the abbatoir & cut them up & freeze them for our Danes. They were never healthier.

[Patty]

mramsay,Thank you for the explanation on Hyperparathyroidism. I can't say I've ever come across it but have heard of a basenji or two with thyroid problems but did not have details, only some symptoms.

I'm praying for Bing and hope it can always be controlled.

[jules]

just a thought have you always had his jabs every year?

[mramsay]

No! Too many of our dog-showing friends have advised against it because of adverse reactions experienced.

[mramsay]

Just heard from Dr Dodds and she says we should carry on as we are since it seems to be working well. She discounts Fanconi as a possibility so we're more upbeat about his chances now.

Certainly, each day he becomes more Basenji-like!!!

[Basenjimamma]

Good to hear that he is doing better and that DR Dodd seem to think that you have found what works..
Feel better Bing..

[jules]

im glad to hear that he is doing better ,iv looked at his reatives and no he is not closely bred to my girl but at least now you are on top of it im keeping my fingers crossed for him.

[mramsay]

Thanks! It's great seeing glimpses of the old Bing returning…

[seko]

I own Bing's brother and he has hypothyroid problem with is controled now for the past year but never encountered any seizure problem.
You should still DNA test Bing for Fanconi as Thorn came back as an affected.

[mramsay]

I read a very interesting article today about the benefits of vitamin D. It is now believed to have the most amazing benefits if taken in sufficient quantity (which happens to be about twice Govt recommended levels). Among other things it is extremely effective against auto-immune disease, MS, osteoporosis and even certain cancers. The article was in reference to humans, not dogs, but it didn't take us long to extend the logic to our little Bing's problem. This may explain the considerable improvement in him these last few days.

[Patty]

mramsay - I'm so glad that Bing is continuing to improve.

From Seko's comments it seems that there could be an inherited problem. I wasn't aware that either of these are genetic. Do you have any other information?

I'm assuming I know Bing's father who was shown for a while and looked a very nice dog - at that time I wasn't aware of problems (at least his owner didn't mention it) but he did come from very mixed lines.

Incidentally, I'm pleased to read that you've been made aware of adverse reactions to yearly jabs. Do you use nosodes?

[mramsay]

Um. No! What are they?