Desparately Need Advice

[JJNg]

There are some folks who end up giving their dog thyroid meds AND antidepressants/sedatives. I don't know a single reputable vet who would sanction that. If the dog needs antidepressants/sedatives, s/he doesn't need thyroid meds too -- contradiction in physiological terms.

I agree that in this particular case, it sounds like the OP's dog may not need thyroid supplement. However, truly hypothyroid dogs can also have anxiety disorders that require antidepressant/anxiolytic meds. So it's not necessarily contraindicated for a dog to need both types of meds. Not physiologically incompatible because you're talking about two different systems. Hypothyroidism is a problem with the endocrine system, and anxiety disorders are associated with neurotransmitters in the brain.

[Guest solsavska]

Hi Victoria

 

I have 2 female greys. Astrid, 11.5 years old, started to behave similarly as you described in your post, esp. in the evening and it progressively intensified within few weeks. She would pant and walk around the apartment, and would even "hide" in the bathroom or under the table. My vet tried different anti-anxiety meds but nothing helped much until she prescribed Alprazolam (generic Xanax). It helped tremendously. Astrid is now on 1mg of alprazolam twice a day. It works wonders. After few weeks, she was back being herself, calm and happy.

 

I don't recommend acepromazine. Astrid is also afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks (to the point where she freaks out and shakes for hours as well as have an accident in the house). When I initially adopted her, my vet used to prescribe acepromazine. It was not until few years later when I switched to a different vet who has much more experience with greyhounds and she explained that acepromazine doesn't really take away an edge of a dog's anxiety. It's essentially a tranquilizer so it sedates your dog while he remains anxious. I was told that it often increases dog's fear/panic. My dogs never reacted well to acepromazine.

 

Alprazolam has worked for my dog. She's been on it for about 1.5y. Because of it, Astrid can tolerate thunderstorms in the summer much better while in the past she would often panic during any rainy day in anticipation of a thunder. Unlike with other anti-anxiety meds, you should be able to see results of fairly quickly.

 

Good Luck

Slavka

[Guest tore140]

Thanks for your reply. I really would like to not have to use ace, but we ended up there because I thought my dog had the opposite effect with Xanax. However, maybe he didn't--He got extremely hyper and started doing things uncharacteristic like chew up shoes and drink from the toilet (I figured he should have been sedated). He stumbled BIG TIME as well. Maybe the medicine was working for him, and he was just "high as a kite" having a good time lol

[Batmom]

Hypothyroidism is a problem with the endocrine system, and anxiety disorders are associated with neurotransmitters in the brain.

 

Absolutely. But thyroid hormone affects neurotransmitter output and uptake. And the physiological manifestations that people want to medicate for are opposite in 99.9% of cases -- on the one hand, dulled response to stimuli (if the dog is truly hypothyroid), and on the other, enhanced response. Given that dogs can't talk, I don't know how you'd tell the difference between an overmedicated-hyperthyroid response and an anxiety disorder.

 

I've seen, a few times too often, dogs put on thyroid meds with inadequate or oddly interpreted testing, then put on clomipramine or xanax or valium because dang, all of a sudden the dog has "separation anxiety" or is chewing the sofa, snapping at the dog walker, etc. What's happened next in the cases I've seen is either the dog is taken off meds and recovers, or the dog is rehomed.

 

Add to all that, some of the anxiety disorder meds interact with the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone in odd ways. Some of the anxiety meds blunt TSH release, some act to enhance the action of thyroid hormone (for example, by inhibiting neurotransmitter reuptake while thyroxine is increasing output), some act to directly dampen the effect of thyroxine ..... It would be the rare case where you'd want to give both to an animal who can't talk, particularly one with equivocal hypothyroid symptoms and test results.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Batmom

[JJNg]

Given that dogs can't talk, I don't know how you'd tell the difference between an overmedicated-hyperthyroid response and an anxiety disorder.

You get a solid diagnosis of hypothyroidism before starting any meds. Or if the dog is already on meds, stop all meds and see what signs you're left with. I totally agree with your point in the case of dogs that are equivocal or misdiagnosed with hypothyroidism, and especially if the anxiety signs manifest after the dog is started on thyroid supplement.

 

However, there are many cases where dogs with a lifelong history of anxiety and behavior problems (some on meds, some not) are diagnosed with hypothyroidism later in life. These dogs often benefit from both thyroid supplement and anti-anxiety meds.

 

My severely fear-aggressive/reactive IG had normal thyroid function for years. I diagnosed him with hypothyroidism when he was 11 or 12, and when I started him on Soloxine, I saw a noticeable difference. I didn't realize how much he'd started sleeping (due to gradual onset, and chalking it up to age) until he became more alert and interactive again. It didn't make any difference in his behavior. He was still very reactive to certain stimuli, and antidepressant/anxiolytic meds would have been a reasonable choice for him. I chose not to use any daily behavior meds because his triggers were avoidable for the most part. But I did use alprazolam (Xanax) situationally (storms, clinic visits). Given that his anxiety in these situations pre-dated his hypothyroid diagnosis, I'm pretty sure they weren't caused by overmedication with thyroid meds.

 

I realize that this is just 1 example from personal experience, but I don't believe it is rare for dogs to have both anxiety disorders and true hypothyroidism. I certainly wouldn't recommend not treating a hypothyroid dog because the associated mental dullness and lethargy makes a pre-existing anxiety disorder more manageable.