B12/folate deficiency?

[Beata_s]

Hello guys , I have so many question but will try one at the time 😊

Can Vitamin Bs deficiency cause the drop in T4/T3 levels ? No antibodies present and no other signs of hypo except hair loss/ lack of growth/ poor quality ?

Some hematology abnormalities sugestive of pernicious anemia ( will test for B12, folate , iron/ ferritin and Vit D) .

I suspect dietary deficiency.

I would also be grateful for some links related to Vit Bs and thyroid and WHY their are crucial for thyroid ? Thank you so much

( it is for dogs - I now have 6 Dogs with hair issues and one tested for thyroid and levels dropped significantly but no antibodies and makes no sense why the two would be hypothyroid ! I have 2 other with hashimoto also . All 6 were fed same diet - salmon/ rice ONLY no other ingredient and no vitamins added ! ) one made significant improvement in change of diet so I suspect diet responsible for vitamin deficiency which caused the drop in thyroid function and led to hair problems ?)

[Gambit62]

Beata_s - really suggest that you speak to a vet - the metabolism of B12 in animals is likely to be quite different to that in dogs.

[Beata_s in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you and yes of course I plan to , already made appointment for next week - but I’m starting to think that one of the dogs ( no antibodies present ) is actually not a hypothyroid ! Vets wouldn’t even looks in to deficiency problems ( usually just over dose ) but seen someobodys post here who had similar hematology abnormalities like 4 of the dogs and this person had low B9,B12, ferritin and Vit D and we are unable to stabilise one Hashi dog for almost 2 years now on T4 meds so desperately looking for some answers

[Gambit62 in reply to Beata_s]

cat person myself - and have had a fair amount of experience of hyperthyroid cats (including catching one greedy so and so early with the result that he was treated as an oddity through being an overweight hyperthyroid cat. However, my understanding is that hypothyoridism probably wouldn't be as much of a problem for cats as it is for humans as they can actually manage perfectly well without a thyroid.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Gambit62]

Something about that triggered a memory - and so off I went and found this:

When do we see hypothyroidism in cats?

Hypothyroidism in cats is typically seen secondary to treatment for hyperthyroidism; it can occur after surgery is performed (a bilateral thyroidectomy) to remove the overactive thyroid glands or from radioactive iodine therapy (called I-131).Cat laying on the floor Note that hyperthyroidism can also be treated with an oral medication called methimazole, but we rarely see hypothyroidism from this form of treatment.

(Note: If your cat was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, don’t worry about the rare likelihood that hypothyroidism will develop as a secondary side effect from treatment. Thankfully, when this does occur, it is relatively transient and doesn’t typically require therapy. That’s because extra thyroid tissue [called “accessory”] in the neck and chest cavity can make up for the low thyroid levels and actually produce adequate amounts of thyroid hormone to compensate.)

pethealthnetwork.com/cat-he...

The underlined bit is fascinating...

[Beata_s]

Thanks guys ; yes cats are often hyper and dogs are almost never hyper ! They take huge amounts of T4 compared to people and it’s twice a day due to shorter half life ; if given too much they just “dump it” and become hypo again mildly though .

I’m just shocked that I get so much low thyroid function and I have to think whether something else it’s causig it - like vitamin / mineral deficiency ??? Will investigate at the vet though

I also want to take one off the T4 as I don’t think he has hypothyroidism but something is lowering his function ( T4 meds are not working for him )

I learnt so much here, can’t thank you guys