Hypothyroidism and vaccinations

[zefi]

I thought I'd start this thread in case others have dogs with similar problems as Billy. Those who know me already know Billy's story (its on my website under health issues) but I'll go over it again here.

When Billy was 1 yr old I vaccinated him with a C5 vaccine (thats a 5 in one vaccine) cause thats what the vet said was the 'safest' way to go. Billy was never a very active pup, he tended to be a bit lazy and I called him my 'heat seeking missile'. Then when he was 2yrs old I revaccinated him with the C5 again. The vaccination was in January. In August he was mated and when the girl left to go home he was 'offcolour' and not quite himself. He had bad breath (which he'd never had) and he was just 'not right'. You know what I mean.

I took him to the vet to have a look and the vet suggested we remove a crooked tooth he had in the back of his mouth as that might be causing the bad breath (Billy wouldnt chew on that side so it was prone to periodontal disease). I asked the vet to run a blood test for thyroid as well while he was there as his grandfather has hypothyroidism. While under aneastheticthe vet found a tumour under his tongue and removed it. Luckily it wasnt cancer but it was still scary. His thyroid was .5 below normal and the vet wanted me to put him on meds. I opted to wait. He showed no other symptoms and in the weeks after the tumour removal Billy was a different dog. He played like a maniac, he became a ball chasing lunatic, he was so full of life. I retested him and he was low but not below normal. The following January I didnt vaccinate him but retested his thyroid and he was above midrange normal!

The year after that I vaccinated him again. Stupid? Yes, but how do you know these things? Again, I gave him a C5 cause I didnt know any better. I vaccinated him cause he and Scooter were both therapy dogs visiting nursing homes and I needed a certificate to continue the work. Shortly after that I decided to move to Tasmania. When Billy started to act different, cold, moody, depressed, losing hair, I thought he was upset cause of the move. It wasnt till, stuck at home with a broken ankle, that I actually took the time to look closely at him and I realised just how much of his thick show coat he'd lost. I also noticed he was licking his lips. The tumour was back!

Because of the ankle it was 2 months before I was able to drive to the vet so I treated him homeopathically till then - cleansing his system etc. By then there was no doubt in my mind that I'd poisoned Billy with the vaccination. The same symptoms? Twice???

The tumour was removed. This time it was still benign but a bit more worrying than the last. This time his thyroid levels were way below normal. This time I put him on thyroid meds. By then it was too late. Billy had already lost a lot of his hair and had a skin infection which pretty much destroyed the rest of his hair. Right now he's almost a chinese hairless dog with some hair on his head, his ears and his legs. I had him tested for SA and other skin problems... He has some infection with no name that no one understands or can explain.

With the thyroid meds Billy is a happy boy again. He runs and plays, he lost weight and is happy again. His skin infection has cleared up, he no longer smells and he is my baby boy again. Except that he is almost totally bald.

Billy is never being vaccinated for the rest of his life (he is 7 now). Pagan, who is 5 is only getting vaccinated when she needs it. Montana had her year vaccination and will only be vaccinated as needed from now on too, and no one will ever be given a C5 again. I seriously believe that hitting a dog's system with so many things at once as you do in a 5-in-1 vaccine is more than some immune systems can bare. Billy probably had a weak thyroid, a succesptibility to problems given that his grandfather was hypothyroid. Perhaps his grandfather also just had a weaker thyroid and was sent over the edge by over-vaccinations. I dont know. I dont care. I am now VERY careful about vaccinating my dogs.

[Helen]

Oh my gosh!  I had no idea this had happened to Billy.   I'm so glad to know he's okay.  Tell him that Auntie Helen still thinks he's beautiful!

Scary stuff. 

Helen

[zefi]

If you look on my website on the Billy Story page you'll see photos of him in his glorious show coat and then when he had lost hair. I should take some photos of him now, almost entirely bald on his little body to show you. He is still the cutest little man, but yep... he's almost bald. He wears specially made little polar fleece jumpers all winter and in summer I ordered him some lightweight fabric ones to stop him from getting a sun burn. At night he loves to take off his 'jammies' and get under the covers with me. I'm seriously thinking of getting him a heating pad for when he cant sleep with me. Actually, I HAVE a heating pad for my litter... He can use it when they arent!

[Helen]

Yep, he's still a cutie pie!  He's got sort of a Rasta Jamaican look to him now.  How cute. 

He reminds me of the two Chinese Hairless dogs I was watching on the Dog Whisperer yesterday.  The owner had so many adorable little outfits for them! 

Helen

[Liz King]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your problems with Billy. There is something else to consider about vaccines. Most vaccines that are injected, even those for human use, are preserved with mercury. Can you believe it?? There has been some talk about the fact that autism tends to present in a child at about 3 years of age - the same time children begin to get their vaccinations. I thought it was just a coincidence, until I found out about the mercury-based preservative. Now I sympathise with women who are resisting getting their children vaccinated. But back to you and Billy --  there is a pretty clear link between thyroid problems and mercury poisoning.  Some people are clearly more sensitive to mercury poisoning than others, but mercury is just NOT one of those things we should be putting into our bodies. Just to be on the safe side, I am having my old amalgam fillings (silver color, also contain mercury) replaced with gold ones when they wear out, and all new work I have done is in gold. (I make my dentist very happy.)

Just out of curiosity, is Billy's grandfather also related to Zak and Montana?

[zefi]

Hi Liz and welcome to the forum. No, Billy isnt related to the standards, he's a toy poodle.

And that mercury thing really does give me food for thought. I thought that it was the 5 in one that shocked the system by overloading it that caused the problems.... I've been giving my puppies 3 in 1 vaccines since and recommend the new owners do the same. If kennel cough is needed that can be given at a later date. Same with rabies. In fact, many years ago in Greece thats how I remember vaccinations being given... in a series rather than a single shot. I remember when vaccination time came round with Timmy I would have to take him in once every 2 weeks or something for 3 shots... each shot was a double: parvo and hepatitis is one single shot I remember, then lepto and something else, then last rabies on its own. Perhaps thats the safest way to give vaccinations, but then if mercury is a problem, then that would be injecting MORE mercury....

We cant win can we?

[Liz King]

I should probably research this more before I reply, but I think that Europe has been fairly pro-active about banning the use of mercury (thymol) in vaccines, at least for humans. Here in the US, business interests rule the day, and medical advocates have not been successful in getting US pharmeceutical companies to modify their manufacturing process -- so, obviously, the veterninary industry isn't about to, either. But, you might talk with your vet about thymol content in vaccines and see whether you can get vaccines that are made without it.