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Insatiable Appetite In Italian Greyhound- New ? Post 26


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Charlie's behavior has not improved. Still waking me several times a night wanting to be fed. He seems to be enjoying going to daycare 3 days a week.

 

In a few days he will have his first follow up test after being on thyroid meds for just over a month.

 

Question: Should the full thyroid panel be done or will just a T4 be sufficient? Vet thinks T4 alone will be enough to see any change. He is currently taking 0.1mg twice a day.

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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bumping for input

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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Have you tried a "filling" type food at bedtime to keep him from waking you? Boiled potatoes, eggs, etc.

 

I know you are probably bumping for blood testing deets, I'd say why not do a full panel if it's not too costly? Not sure what you have to lose and you'd be gaining more info. From what I understand with thyroid is they should have tested first for the baseline and T3 and T4, and ongoing checkups should be TSH and Free T4. A full would include T3 so it's only one more than the norm?

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Xtrawld, yes, I've tried other filling foods, even given him a full extra meal at 11pm. But it's as if a timer goes off in his head and he still wants more food several times during the night. I'm ignoring him for the most part and just getting him out to potty without a reward afterward.

 

The initial big thyroid panel sent to Idexx was titled, " Thyroid Panel 4 with FT4ED" and cost $261. It was one my vet picked out of a few options. She had suggested just the T4 in a month's time. I'll discuss with her what the options are. Running the pricey panel monthly would be rough but I would prefer to do it every 2-3 months.

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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my vet did the full panel once and told me that once they are on meds then just the t4. how about feeding him dinner at bedtime?....mmmm.....can this be habit, like getting up to pee at night....we all know about that. delay breakfast and serve maybe lunch and dinner spanish style-....that's really late!

 

how old is he again? could part of this be dementia? i hate to sound like the grim reaper but it does strange things to dogs especially at night.

Edited by cleptogrey
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I had a Russian Blue cat that was low thyroid. At 22, I did not want to put her through all kinds of stuff. My vet said I could never fill her fast enough . She was a big cat but 3-4 cans of food plus kibble would not hold her overnight. She held on to 26yo. My 15yo Stand Poo is low tyroid also and she is eating like no tomorrow. She has lost weight and drinks water all day. Waiting on tests to come back

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If that's the case, then I agree that freeT4 will be your most important marker.

 

The endocrine system is so slow, it takes months to see change. I think tho you can already tell the dosage might not be high enough because of lack of change in attitude. Lots of factors play into dosage, including time of day the meds are being consumed and with or without food. The best you can do is keep testing till it stabilizes but if the increments are small you'll be at this game for a while.

Edited by XTRAWLD

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10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 2010
12.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015

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Today was Charlie's first re-check after being on soloxine 0.1 twice a day for a month. Initially on the full thyroid panel his T4 was .7 and today it was .9 . We are now upping the soloxine to 0.2 twice a day.

 

He has gained nearly 1 lb. despite increased activity (doggy daycare 3 x a week). He continues to wake me up at least 2-3 times a night wanting to be fed. I make him go out and potty. He expects a treat afterward but is not given one. He sits in front of his food storage cabinet or in front of the shelf where the treat jar is for at least 10 minutes before giving up and going back to bed. Last night he woke me up 4 times.

 

He has had a slight increase in urination and water intake, but I attribute this to increased activity at daycare. He has not had a potty accident in the house in over 3 weeks now.

 

Charlie will be retested after a month on the new dosage.

 

At that time if his behavior shows no improvement and if his T4 continues to stay low, my vet has other suggestions on what to try next:

1. test for Cushings anyway even though the full thyroid panel showed no indication of it. It will be the "urine cortisol creatinine ratio test". She did say to get a fresh catch when he wasn't stressed to minimize a cortisol response to it in his urine.

 

2. change his food to Royal Canin Satiety to see if his hunger decreases.

 

3. I told her how I've been using Composure Max to reduce Mazy's storm-phobia and she wants me to try it with Charlie at bedtime.

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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Sorry if Ive missed this but does Charlie have a negative stool for any type of parasite?

 

You must exhausted Ducky. I hope whatever is troubling Charlie gets resolved soonest.

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Hmmm, well it doesn't surprise me the change in the dosage. Is Soloxine best when given on an empty stomach? - I laugh as I say that because Charlie is always eating ;) Twice a day too - I wonder why that would be. Maybe it's just absorbed differently. Dosage amounts as I mentioned before can change when given on an empty stomach. Consistency is what matters. If you just give it at time intervals without worrying about food is fine, but the dosage will be changed to compensate for it. Again it's a long haul because the system is slow. Doesn't surprise me at all that there is a correction to the med, or that he's still been acting the same as before you started.

 

I agree with testing for Cushings, at least it's something you can rule out, and I think they have often been connected. I think the testing is a bit time consuming though (if I remember that test right it's take blood in the morning, give a steroid, and then test a few hours later - I can't recall a urine one)? Maybe I have that mixed up with another test....there are so many.... I think he has to be NSAID free in order to do that as well.

 

The food recommendation is interesting. I'm however not familiar with that script food. Composure Max also sounds interesting, maybe calm him down a bit so he isn't spazzing about food so much?

Edited by XTRAWLD

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10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 2010
12.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015

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