Ivan is Hypothyroid - Page 3 - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

**dax0402** · 12-24-2012, 02:35 PM

Have nothing to add but hoping you get everything straightened out with Ivan.

dragonflyz · 12-24-2012, 10:24 PM

Wishing you and Ivan Happy Holidays. Not sure about your question, but I have had fosters here that tend to chill easier than others. My boys are used to the house being kind of chilly so the seldom shiver. I hope Ivan continues to do well.

lestat1978 · 02-05-2013, 04:19 PM

Long story short.

Ivan diagnosed hypothyroid via Hemopet.

In-house retest - low therapeutic range.

Notice Ivan shivering, coat and skin issues not resolving, so in-house retest - same low therapeutic range.

While questioning Dr. Dodd's about Ivan's issues, Nutriscan, etc., she suggested doing Hemopet's thyroid 4 panel. She included, at no additional charge, environmental allergy testing as part of a study she's doing.

Hemopet is suggesting I now lower Ivan's dosage of Thyrozine.

Anyone have experience with their dog being over-medicated? I know over-medicating with hormone replacement, in general, doesn't cause problems in dogs, but there do appear to be cases (ex. Insights into Veterinary Endocrinology: Canine Hyperthyroidism and the Heart) where it can cause issues. Some websites indicate that thinning, brittle hair can be a symptom. I haven't really noticed/paid attention to see if he's drinking or urinating more frequently.

Anyone experience this?

Lori Z · 02-05-2013, 04:49 PM

I haven't experienced this with Eli but wanted to say I'm sorry and hang in there. I'm sure it will be figured out. Eli responded wonderfully to his meds. Just had a yearly check and he is still doing very well on his dosage.

mfkelly66 · 02-05-2013, 06:54 PM

Anyone have experience with their dog being over-medicated? I know over-medicating with hormone replacement, in general, doesn't cause problems in dogs, but there do appear to be cases (ex. Insights into Veterinary Endocrinology: Canine Hyperthyroidism and the Heart) where it can cause issues. Some websites indicate that thinning, brittle hair can be a symptom. I haven't really noticed/paid attention to see if he's drinking or urinating more frequently.

Anyone experience this?[/quote]

I personally have not dealt with this BUT I have heard, anecdotally, of over supplementation causing some issues the most serious of which was aggression. Too much of anything can cause problems. But you obviously know this. Sorry to hear that you are going through this.
Mike Kelly

lestat1978 · 02-05-2013, 08:44 PM

If the in house test that was run twice, which only tests the one value (Can't recall it it's total or free T4) and doesn't give you the whole picture, which I'm assuming it doesn't based on the fact Hemopet is now recommending I change his dosage, I'm annoyed I wasted time and money running it twice. Has anyone else been recommended when they have their initial follow-up test done to do the Thyroid 4 panel?

I thought his thyroid issue was resolved and that I needed to look at allergies, thus doing the Nutriscan testing and env. allergy testing. Would hate to think I've also spent money for these tests if it turns out it was still a thyroid issue all along.

The vet that was reporting to me isn't my preferred vet at the practice and she herself has not seen results come back like this, since they normally don't do as extensive follow-up testing, so she is going to talk to Dr. Dodds herself.

lestat1978 · 02-05-2013, 08:46 PM

And if I change his dose, lucky me will need to pay for the Thyroid 4 panel again.

Amelia_ · 02-06-2013, 02:40 AM

Do you give your medication apart from food? Do you take the test 4-6 hours after medication on an empty stomach?

Sorry you're having trouble with your dosage. Poor Ivan.

Rupert would shiver a lot in the house, even when me and my other half were in shorts and t.shirt. Since being on the medication his has completely stoppe sand I have noticed a huge difference in his concentration levels and mood. I don't know if his levels are right, I sent of his first 6 week checkup off last week to Dr.Dodds so should have the results back soon.

I will never bother doing the tests with anyone else again. Firstly, for me it's the same price to send the results off to the states as it is to send it off to their in house tests over here. Even of it was more expensive, I prefer to have the help and advice which come with the testing from them, and I would want to see what everything is doing not just the T4.

I had 2 panels done before bypassing them and sending the bloods to Dr.dodds myself. My vets were completely in the dark about anything to do with thyroid and didnt even understand how to interpret the thyroid results from their own lab. I felt like every time I went in there I was teaching them! So I forwarded them all my info from hemopet and they eventually agreed to follow their advice.

lestat1978 · 02-06-2013, 09:14 AM

Medication is given at least an hour before meals and he's been tested at the appropriate time interval. I've never had him tested while fasting though - that's never been suggested to me.

I have his new thyroid results in front of me and I'm completely confused by the results v. their recommendations. I mean, I understand their explanation, in general, in regards to their recommendation, just not how Ivan's numbers, specifically, support their recommendation. I'll be contacting Dr. Dodds.

My vet was on board with the initial 5 panel testing and didn't seem to question the results or recommendations at all, but apparently the level of follow-up testing truly needed is new to them.

Ivan has seen improvement since being medicated, but if he did indeed swing too far in the other direction, I'm curious to see what changes will come about once he is truly medicated at the right level.

lestat1978 · 03-14-2013, 03:30 PM

Ivan is still transitioning to his lower .5 mg dose of Thyrozine. I'll be retesting him, hopefully, next weekend.

Behaviorally he seems to have gone backwards. For the first time since being a puppy starting out he was fearful of members of the SAR team. Just hackles up and afraid to go into the person. Once they started talking to him he was fine.

The odd part of it is before starting our search we went up to a circle of people hanging out in the parking lot and he had no problems with any of them. Even repeatedly pushing his head into the lap of a former cop he's seen less frequently, and certainly interacted with less frequently, than the team members he was afraid of.

Also at our last OB class he gave a quick growl to a woman we walked passed. Prior to being put on thyroid replacement Ivan would always find someone to be overly interested in the first class or two, but he's never reacted to someone halfway through a class let alone someone who's been there every night of class and with whom he was previously fine.

Once medicated at the .8 mg dose, we made it through an entire round of classes with no negative reactions what so ever, so was that a fluke or is the decreased Thyrozine dosage to blame?

I am hoping that Ivan's thyroid levels come back too low and that's the explanation for the backslide. His coat still hasn't improved. Still thin down the center of his back, on his sides, tops of ears, etc. His dander is more normal looking (previously had a brown appearance to it), but that could be a result of no longer feeding him salmon, which he came back as intolerant too.

Of course, if it is his thyroid levels, what dose should he be at? Hemopet said his levels were paradoxically low at .8 mg. They said if we decreased his dosage to .5 his levels would actually go up. What if they weren't paradoxically low, but legitimately low?