Guest Oakleylove Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 A little background...I have a 7 year old female. Last April she was "diagnosed" with low thyroid. What prompted the test was that she got a skin infection and started loosing hair (suddenly). I still think this happened due to her getting fleas. I just think she was allergic to the flea bites. I can't remember what her levels were, but they did a T4 and fT4 test, and determined them to be low. She was put on .4mg Soloxine, twice per day. She was re-tested in November, and her levels were still low. They upped her dosage to .6mg of Soloxine, twice per day. Which brings me to today. They re-tested her on Tuesday. I got the results back today, and her T4 still registered low. The results do n't give a specific number, only >.05 (LOW) and they give a reference range of 3.0-5.0. Her vet said with her being on .6mg Solxine, its very odd for her levels to still be low, so now they are taking her off the meds completely for 2 months. Another thing that I found odd is that her mannerisms and behavior have never changed. The only changes I've seen is she has gotten some hair in her otherwise balder spots. She has always been a happy, social girl...and loves her sleep, as most Grey's do. I'm pretty sure I am going to switch Vet's to a more Grey-friendly practice. Has anyone else had these kinds of issues? I just don't want her to be on something unnecessary, and I've always had a suspicion that a true low thyroid was never the problem. Any advice is appreciated!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonder Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Here's the range for a greyhound T4 Greyhounds: .5 - 3.6 (mean 1.47+/- .63) Other dogs: 1.52 - 3.60 These figures are from a University of Florida study of thyroid function in 221 greyhounds - 97 racers, 99 broods, and 25 studs - so it included both racers and "retired." While greyhound thyroid levels are a whole chapter unto themselves, a good rule of thumb is that greyhound T4s run about half that of other breeds. Edited February 21, 2013 by Wonder Quote Kari and the pups.Run free sweet Hana 9/21/08-9/12/10. Missing Sparks with every breath.Passion 10/16/02-5/25/17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeh2o Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) First a heads up: thyroid is a hot potato topic here on GT. You will probably get lots of strong opinions. That being said, I would urge you to contact Dr. Jean Dodds from Hemopet. She literally wrote the book (recently) on canine thyroid issues. She works with greyhounds (has a greyhound blood donor program and greyhound adoption organization), so she is very knowledgeable about this topic. Dr. Dodds will personally respond to your email questions for free and usually within a day. I encourage you to email her with what you wrote above to get her expertise and feedback. Her email is hemopet at hotmail dot com Edited February 21, 2013 by seeh2o Quote Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog) Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Did you get a TSH? Once she's been off the meds for 6 weeks, I would either get MSU's premium panel with fT4 by equilibrium dialysis and TSH .... or just leave her off the meds. If she isn't having any problems and they aren't changing anything, there's no point to medicating her. I wouldn't use Hemopet or Dr. Dodds. There isn't really a range for greyhound T4 -- it can be zero and completely normal. It isn't *really* zero -- we simply don't have assays sensitive enough to measure it well. Edited February 21, 2013 by Batmom Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Completely agree with Batmom on this. Diagnosis of hypothyroidism can be very tricky in greyhounds. Need to look at TSH, clinical signs, and sometimes also response (or lack thereof) to medication. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Henry's first vet said his thyroid was low and should be medicated. I had one of the docs at OSU look at it, and they said it was well within the normal range for a greyhound. I don't think their service is free anymore (sigh) but I was glad for the second opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyPoopon Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Another vote for Batmom's view. I have two on thyroid meds, but only after the MSU panel, which includes an interpretation by an endocrinologist. Quote Standard Poodle Daisy (12/13) Missing Cora (RL Nevada 5/99-10/09), Piper (Cee Bar Easy 2/99-1/10), Tally (Thunder La La 9/99-3/10), Edie (Daring Reva 9/99-10/12), Dixie (Kiowa Secret Sue 11/01-1/13), Jessie (P's Real Time 11/98-3/13), token boy Graham (Zydeco Dancer 9/00-5/13), Cal (Back Already 12/99-11/13), Betsy (Back Kick Beth 11/98-12/13), Standard Poodles Minnie (1/99-1/14) + Perry (9/98-2/14), Annie (Do Marcia 9/03-10/14), Pink (Miss Pinky Baker 1/02-6/15), Poppy (Cmon Err Not 8/05-1/16), Kat (Jax Candy 5/05-5/17), Ivy (Jax Isis 10/07-7/21), Hildy (Braska Hildy 7/10-12/22), Opal (Jax Opal 7/08-4/23). Toodles (BL Toodles 7/09-4/24) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45MPHK9 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Ditto, Batmom. Quote Tricia with Kyle, our senior mutt dog Always missing Murray Maldives, Bee Wiseman, River, Hopper, Kaia, and Holly Oaks Holly“You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.“ -Bob Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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