Under active Thyroid

[Ivy]

Dallas should be at the 170lbs mark. but has lost weight and is at 152lbs.

[AllisonPitbullLvr]

Buddy was at the 0.6mg BID dose and she's only 80lbs. I don't think it's based solely on a dogs weight.

[Saeleofu]

Originally Posted by Ivy

Dallas should be at the 170lbs mark. but has lost weight and is at 152lbs.

Ah, yup, the big dose sounds about right now lol

[Ivy]

How long did it take for you guys to notice a difference?
Dallas' levels were at 7.8.

[SpringerLover]

Buzz had some pretty dramatic effects (facial paralysis) from being hypothyroid that showed noticeable improvement by 7 days. By 14 days there were no signs of facial paralysis (and it has not returned either). Based on a study my vet sent me from VIN, Buzz's recheck bloodwork was a free T4 drawn at 12 hours post (evening) med then a full panel drawn at 5 hours after the morning med (recommended was 4-6 hours). This gave us the trough (lowest he should get) as well as the peak (highest he should get) to make sure that both values were within the recommended ranges. My vet recommended waiting 8 weeks to recheck bloodwork if I was noticing obvious physical improvements (which I was). Another dramatic effect I noticed is how much dead coat Buzz lost, that needed help coming out. I had to bathe and blow him out multiple times to get it all out.

If you want any more information, feel free to PM me as I've got a lot of notes to reference!

[SpringerLover]

Originally Posted by AllisonPitbullLvr

Buddy was at the 0.6mg BID dose and she's only 80lbs. I don't think it's based solely on a dogs weight.

It is usually started based on weight (.1 for 10#, .2 for 20#, etc.) and adjusted from there.

[Ivy]

Originally Posted by SpringerLover

If you want any more information, feel free to PM me as I've got a lot of notes to reference!

Will do. Thank you.

What prompted me to take Dallas straight to the vet was a nasty allergy of some sort (I think that's what it is). Dallas was chewing himself raw and bloody. That's when the blood work was done and his low thyroid was found. For the skin issue, the vet gave some antibiotics and a topical spray. I have Dallas wearing his coat so he can't get to the rash to itch and chew. Every once in a while I take the coat off and he will go on and continue to chew on himself. I was hoping it would have ended by now, but it hasn't and i'm concerned about it. I called the vet this morning and they said they can prescribe him Vanectyl P, but I really don't want to keep pumping drugs into him.

Does anyone know of a holistic way of helping Dallas with his itchy skin?

[Saeleofu]

Gavroche started dropping weight right away. It took a few months for his coat to be back to normal because the hair as to regrow. He didn't have any major skin issues at the time he was diagnoses, but he always had skin issues off and on before that. Once he was started on the soloxine, the skin issues never came back. His behavior took the longest to change, probably a full year until it was back to close to normal. Hi behavior still isn't 100% what it was before, and I suspect it never will be. Behavior and weight gain were Gavroche's biggest symptoms. I didn't notice the hair loss until it all grew back lol

[Sparrow]

My cat was on meds for an overactive thyroid for five years. Opposite, I know... but similar experience for the info I want to share.

Something the vet had us keep in mind was that as the meds helped normalize her weight, she had to have her dose adjusted accordingly. Seems kinda obvious, but wasn't really something I considered. I'm sure it's trickier with a 6lb cat than a large animal, but just be sure to get bloodwork done regularly if he is overweight and losing now that he's on meds so he doesn't get too much.

[Ivy]

I curious if anyone has or knows someone that treats their dogs underactive thyroid holistically?