Going To Have The Thyroid Discussion

[greysmom]

Hey!

 

Background: Dude came to us already on thyroid meds 2 1/2 years ago. He's taking Soloxine (a .8 and a .4 in the am and a .8 only in the pm). It never occurred to me that we should reconsider this diagnosis until reading about thyroid conditions in greys here on the Board and through some other research. The last time he was tested was more than a year ago and I didn't know then what I know now. The levels then on the standard test were low, but not out of line from what I can remember.

 

As far as I can tell his ONLY symptom is a severe case of bald thigh (and no hair on his tummy or chest). He's not aggressive and doesn't seem particularly sensitive to cold. He is a bit of a fraidy cat - er, dog - but I think that's more the way he is than a result of a thyroid difficiency. He doesn't get dehydrated or drink too much.

 

In fact, there are several things that seem opposite of thyroid deficiency symptoms: I've been taking his temp everyday for a week and it's consistently on the high side (about 102 degrees) all the time. I have trouble keeping weight on him (when he had his leg in a cast and couldn't exercise I didn't decrease his food and he didn't gain an ounce). He's pretty hyper and has trouble concentrating on training exercises (I'd call him ADHD if he were a skin kid). His hair really hasn't grown in anywhere even though he's been supplemented now for over 2 years.

 

SO - we're going back to the vet Wednesday and see about taking him off his soloxine and retesting in 6 weeks as recommended by MSU. I'm armed with reams of paper and I'm sure Dr Todd is going to roll his eyes, but he'll also listen to me and not just dismiss my concerns.

 

Wish us luck!

 

greysmom

[Guest LindsaySF]

Good luck!

[Batmom]

Could be he just needs a lower dose, could be he doesn't need it at all. Hope all works out!

[Guest Greyglo]

Bambi was diagnosed as being hypothyroid when it was determined that she had seven out of twenty known symptoms. Your Dude is asymptomatic and being treated? Hope the vet will be receptive to your discussion and maybe another test?

[Guest ChasesMum]

Would being on meds alter the results of some of a thyroid panel? If I remember closely Chase had positive results for some things... antibodies or something, and was only borderline elevated for others. Her T4 has been stable on the low end for years... but sometimes I also wonder if she needs it, We also have baldness to pat around here.

 

hmmmmm I suppose 6 weeks off meds wouldnt really hurt would it....

Edited August 13, 2008 by ChasesMum

[Batmom]

If the dog is on thyroid meds, the thyroid panel doesn't tell you anything about the dog's baseline condition; it only tells you if the meds are being processed correctly. For baseline reading, they have to be off the meds 6 weeks.

[DonnaBehr]

If he's hyper, he's on TOO MUCH thyroid medication and is hyperthyroid at this point, not hypo thyroid. You should cut him back to .08mg once a day or split the pill and give him .4 AM and PM and see how that works. You should notice a remarkable difference.

 

He will not put on any weight on such a high dose of Soloxine.

[patricia]

We just went through this with the Flashman. I know in my heart of hearts his test was sent to MSU as we had to wait several days for the results. That vet since retired and I had no record of said test. So...we weaned him off his Soloxine very slowly on a schedule per our vet...waited the weeks...and did the test at MSU and he was hypothyroid. Your vet will be able to help you with a weaning schedule.

[Guest ChasesMum]

Thanks Batmom! Good to know...pretty much what I thought but it was early in the morning for me not processing things well lol.

 

Now that the coffee has kicked in (darn kids, waking up at 6am! ) Of course! the hyper and the weight is totally idicative of too high a dose. Chase did the same thing, and we cut her evening dose in half, she has done fine since - her T4 is monitored yearly.

 

Since you are taking him in to the vet already, its kindof a moot point but if he is taking 12 mcg am and 8mcg pm I'd at least cut out the extra half pill, see what that does. I think cutting back to only 8mcg split over the day would be too far. Retest his blood levels in 6 weeks and see how his behavior changes as well. Or see what his vet thinks and try him off the meds.

 

let us know!

[Guest LokisMom]

Cole came to us on thryoid meds. He was underweight by 10lbs, twitchy, panting constantly and drinking excessively. His thyroid tests have never really shown up as hyperthyroid but he had all the symptoms. We just had him retested after 6 weeks off the thyroid meds and he is still testing a tiny bit low. However, he has put weight back on, is calm, no crazy panting, no excessive drinking.

 

We are leaving him off the Soloxine until he develops actual symptoms of being hypothyroid. As it stands right now, he is acting so much better off the meds. If he begins displaying symptoms, we'll discuss it with our vet. I believe Dr Couto has a paper somewhere in which he says a greyhound should only be treated if they have symptoms as it one of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in greys.

[greysmom]

Thanks for all the input everybody! I LOVE THIS BOARD!!

 

This is such a confusing subject for vets as well as people. Fortunately, Dude's vet - Dr Laura - is pretty grey savvy. We talked at length about his history, his dose, his symptoms, basically everything I could think of to bring up!

 

Her opinion - which agreed with mine! - was to take him off his pills entirely (no weaning him off cause soloxine gradually goes out of their systems anyway) and recheck him in 6 weeks. So here we go! Wish us luck!

 

greysmom