Greyhound Thyroid Issues

[Guest Buckaroo]

Good Morning,

 

I have been a long-time lurker on GreyTalk and it helped us so much with our adopted greyhound, Buck, so thank you!!!

 

I need some advice regarding Buck and his thyroid issues... Unfortunately, his thyroid levels have been coming back really low. When we adopted Buck, we were told that Buck did have confirmed low thyroid levels and he would need to be on medication. Buck was on 0.8 mg of thyroid medication (Soloxine), which he was given with his breakfast. His previous vet, who recently retired, never did follow up thyroid testing. He would ask if we noticed any changes in Bucks demeanor and we never did, so his thyroid medication remained at 0.8 mg for years. Our new vet has said that Buck’s T4 levels should be at least at 0.8 and we have tested him multiple times that past few months. A summary of the results is posted below, with all blood samples collected no more than 6 hours after Buck had taken the Soloxine:

 

10-04-17: T4 results were not detectable (>0.5); Increased thyroid medication dose to 0.8 mg in morning and at night (1.6 mg per day)

10-24-17: T4 results were not detectable (>0.5); Increased thyroid medication dose to 1.2 mg in the morning and at night (2.4 mg per day)

11-15-17: T4 levels were finally registering at 0.5; Increased thyroid medication dose to 1.6 mg in the morning and at night (3.2 mg per day)

 

We have another appointment coming up and I would like to know if there are any suggestions as to other tests I should have done. The vet is going to check and see if there is a tumor on Buck’s thyroid, run a blood test to see if he has an autoimmune issue, and run for T4 again. I requested that a full panel on Buck’s thyroid be ran, and I’m not sure what else to do. There is a canine endocrinologist in Little Rock. Should I take Buck there for further testing? What range should a greyhound’s T4 levels be? If Buck’s thyroid is tumor-free, the vet plans to continue testing until Buck’s T4 levels are up to 0.8. I’m beginning to worry, and I would appreciate any recommendations you could provide!! Thanks!

[greysmom]

Yes. You should run a full thyroid panel and send it off to a reputable lab for assessing - Michigan State is usually the one recommended. A short test like the one usually run by vets will tell you very little beyond the basics, and that's not enough for greyhounds. Also, I'm not sure what a test will tell you while he's still on the supplementation.

 

Why is your vet focused on 0.8 as a target point? Because that's where he was at before? FWIW, my thyroid dog had a reading of 0.2 that was his "normal" reading (off meds). Greyhounds regularly have very, very low T4s that are just fine.

 

Lastly, you should consider what your dog's personality is and if it has changed. This is how we diagnosed my dog. He also came to us on thyroid supplementation because his readings were low, and he had greyhound pattern hair loss. This was a time when a dog would just be put on supplementation without extensive testing. The dog was returned from his first adoption for being too hyper and uncontrollable. We were fine with him being a wild child. But I began to notice that he couldn't gain any weight. He couldn't concentrate on simple obedience commands. His temperature always ran high, even when he was calm. And he never did grow any hair on his belly or butt. His T4 reading was barely over 1.0 at the time (on meds).

 

So we experimented by taking him off his soloxine. Within a month, he had finally gained a few pounds and didn't look/act like a starving dog. He was able to finally learn some simple obedience commands. He calmed down and wasn't such a butthead to the other dogs, and his temp normalized. He never did regrow any hair, but we understand now that this is normal for many greyhounds. After a couple months, his T4 readings were 0.2, where they remained for the rest of his life.

 

So over supplementation can be as bad as under supplementation. Do some research into the various symptoms of both and see where your dog falls on this spectrum. And consider giving him a trial off the meds to see what a full thyroid test would say at that time. Dr Couto (a noted greyhound specialist) has stated that there are very few greyhounds who are actually low thyroid. They do exist, and your dog may be one, but I think you need to try him off supplementation to find out.

 

Hopefully someone will come along with a better medical perspective for you. Good luck.

[mychip1]

As Chris said - above....I agree.

 

I have one who has low thyroid....He has been on Soloxyn for years and doing great...but yes, once you put them on it, you keep them on it - so the dosage is critical.

 

Good luck.

[NeylasMom]

1) Did he have symptoms that made you suspect hypothyroidism nefore he was tested or put on supplementation?

 

2) Has he ever had a full panel done, or was it always just his T4 that was low?

[Batmom]

You normally don't want to run a full panel while he is on thyroid medication. To get useful findings from a full panel, you'd normally take him off the medication for 6 weeks or so, then run your panel.

 

Your vet might want to consult with the endocrinologists at MSU (Michigan State University) for their recommendations on testing and suggestions as to what's going on.

[tbhounds]

Omg that is an incredible boatload of soloxine!!! Not good! I highly suggest your vet speak to an endo at MSU. Goodness

[MaryJane]

Very high dosing levels - that would make me uncomfortable as excess can cause racing heart. Maybe talk to vet about stepping back the dose until you talk to a specialist and run further tests. Suggest that you include the free T4 along with the total T4 along with the TSH. They may also want to run the Total t3 and free t3 to get a complete picture.

[Guest Buckaroo]

Good Morning,

 

Sorry for the delayed reply! I read through the posts last night and decided to find another vet for a second option. I must admit, I lost some sleep... I feel terrible that I didn't do my research before the increase in Buck's medication was initiated I have posted on local greyhound forums on Facebook to find recommendations for vet familiar with greyhounds. I have also decided to slowly decrease the soloxine dosage until we can get an appointment. We were going to have a full panel ran on Thursday, but I have cancelled it due to the information provided (thank you!). A full panel was ran before Buck was started on the medication, but since it was interpreted by a vet that may not have been as greyhound savvy as I would like, I'm not sure Buck actually really needed the medication to begin with. He did have symptoms that were associated with hypothyroidism (hair loss, lethargy, etc), and I was advised to have him tested when I adopted him, so he may need the medication, just not in the quantity that he was being prescribed. The vet did not say why she was set on Buck's thyroid levels being at 0.8. I didn't questions her, and looking back I should have. When I have the second opinion, I will ask the vet to discuss the issue with the endocrinologists at MSU. The Greyhound Health Initiative was also recommended, so I may try that as well. I wanted to say thank you for taking time out of your schedule to reply. The information provided has been extremely helpful and has helped guide me in the right direction. Thank you!

[NeylasMom]

Can you get, and share the results from that original panel? I wouldn't freak out. If he had the full panel and had symptoms that improved with supplementation then he may very well meed the medication and its possible that with age you would need to increase the dose. I wouldn't do anything drastic. If you can step back down to the dose he was on if he wasn't becoming symptomatic again until you can see a new vet that seems safe. I certainly wouldn't try to take him off of it completely.

[cleptogrey]

i've been going thru the same thing w/ felix

 

here are his #s, after 6 weeks of 0.2mg soloxine his levels fell to 0.6!! but he was tested 6 hr. after dosage. tbhound mentioned that it is better to test 4-6hrs. next round i'll go in at the 4 hr. mark. he is presently on 0.3mg/2xs daily.

when T4 was tested a couple of months agoin april it was 0.5- but he was just over his first treatment for anaplasmosis.

TEST RESULT RANGE

T4 0.7 0.8-3.5 ug/dL

Free T4 8 8-40 pmol/L

TSH 1.05 0-0.60 ng/mL

as tbhound mentioned and my vet agreed, it is only necessary to test the T4 now that he is on a supplement.

we shall all wait and see.