Thyroid
Mattie was tested for thyroid issues a couple of months ago. Her level was 1 on a scale of 1-4 being normal. So the vet put her on meds, 1/2 a pill once a day. She went in Thursday and was retested. Her level is now .8. So now they are moving her pill up to 1 pill a day. How can it go down when she was on meds? Just curious. I have never had a dog with thyroid issues. The vet said we'll see how she does on this dose and just kind of go from there. She did loose 2lbs though.  1lb a month  Thanks for your help Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
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I don't know how the levels went down while on the meds but I think they take a while of use before they actually help. My dog was borderline low. we started on one pill, twice a day and when retested we had to move it up to one and a half twice a day. The change in my dog was remarkable! he got back to his regualr happy, goofy self, stopped getting sick with stomach issues and loose poops, lost a few pounds and in general just got his "happy" dog face back.  But it took a few months of giving the pills to see the big difference.We get tested once a year now and he has been at one and half pills, twice a day for about a year now. I think you will be happy with the results of treating the thryoid. The pills are small and relatively inexpensive. If you think she is losing too much weight quickly, the vet can always retest. |
| Whatever is causing (has caused) the thyroid to fail may have continued thru the meds. Thankfully your vet is now aware of it and can adjust as needed. You'll have to have her tested several times a year just to make sure all is well. |
| Think of it this way: her levels were decreasing as her thyroid was being destroyed (idiopathic hypothyroidism is due to the body attacking the thyroid gland for no known reason - i.e. a haywire autoimmune response on her body's part). The initial meds probably compensated for decreasing function some, but not sufficiently - i.e. if she hadn't been receiving her meds you might have seen an even larger decrease. By increasing the dose hopefully that should turn things around. As others have noted it's a bit of trial and error to get the levels right. Happy she's already responding well. That's very encouraging. Kristine |
| What is the name of the med and the dosage? My vet started Oscar on 0.2 mg of levothyroxine two times a day from the beginning, and it has worked well, though his levels were just below normal when we started, not anywhere near as low as Mattie's. I'm pretty sure this is a conservative dose, as my vets are always cautious when adding something new to Oscar's system, but this dosage got his levels right where my vet wanted them. (Oscar weighs 115 lbs.) I thought I've read somewhere that, at least until you get the desired blood levels, thyroid meds needs to be given twice a day, as you are trying to build up a store of thyroxine, as well as leave some to recirculate in the body. Maybe this is contributing to the decrease in her levels. Laurie and Oscar |
| Mattie is on Thyrosyn .8mg She started on 1/2 a pill once a day now is on 1 pill once a day Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
So her dose has been doubled, and she's taking it once a day.  Might want to talk to your vet and see if there is any benefit to giving her 1/2 tablet (0.4 mg) twice a day versus 0.8 mg once per day. Not sure if it will help, but I seem to remember my vets advocating twice a day in order to build up the level stored as well as provide thyroxine for circulation and usage. Maybe it just keeps the levels more stable if given every 12 hours. Have you seen any changes in Mattie since starting the thyroid meds, even though her blood isn't really registering the addition yet, like added energy, or an improvement in skin condition? Laurie and Oscar |
| Laurie When I spoke to the vet yesterday, they said some vets recommend giving half the dose in the morning and evening. He doesn't feel it really matters. So I decided to give it to her morning and night. Her skin has improved a hundred percent since we got her, and her attitude has changed for the better. Still a little cranky but somtimes Frankie deserves the attitude. Hopefully all goes well will keep you posted. Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
| I'm not sure if it's the same in dogs as humans, but for humans it is recommended dosing once a day in the morning before the 1st meal of the day. |
| Lisa, glad to hear that there have been improvements, even though her level isn't quite where you want it to be. Hope that the increased dosage gets everything sorted out. Dawn, my vet recommended twice a day in the beginning, but said we could go to once a day when Oscar's levels were in the acceptable range. I've just kept him at twice a day as he gets other meds every 12 hours as well, and it's hard enough to stay on top of what I am giving and when.  (He takes seven different meds on a daily basis, more when he gets an infection.)Lisa, sounds like you have your hands full with your pups right now. Hope everything is sorted out soon. Laurie and Oscar |
| barney's external symptoms all got better with is dosage, but when we had his thyroid levels tested last they were still low, so we're having to up his dose too. don't know if they went down or just didn't go up, though. |
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