My oldest pup was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and is started on “ThyroVet”. Anyone else have experience with the disease and meds? I have never dealt with it before in dogs. Sweet little pup, we are really hoping these meds work so she is back to her normal bright self. :yes:
In the scheme of things ranging from easily/cheaply managed to hard/expensive to manage, you’ve probably hit the jackpot on easy/cheap!
I’m not a veterinarian nor do I play one on TV. However, I’ve worked in vet med on and off for the last 20 some years and also had a hypothyroid dog.
So…
A few things that I’d mention:
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give the meds same time each day. When it’s time for blood work to check thyroid levels, the blood needs to be drawn 1/2 way between doses but if you’ve not been sticking to a set schedule in the week(s) prior, you may not get results you’d expect.
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it’s normal to need to check blood work more frequently initially but after things are stable, a blood draw every 3-6 mos is usually sufficient and again, not terribly costly if you’re just pulling a T-4.
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The meds that dogs take for hypothyroid are also scripted for people. So you may find it even less expensive to have a script called in to your local pharmacy. However, in my experience, there can be changes in efficacy between brands. So if you change brands, be prepared to do a bit more bloodwork to make sure you’re on the right dose.
Good luck!
My little man is on 1/2 tab of soloxine 2x/day for hypothyroidism. The meds are cheap, and the vet recommends bloodwork once a year but I do it twice. It’s really no big deal, other than giving the pills at approximately the same time daily- but even a missed dose or two won’t kill anyone!
FDA just recently called the majority of thyroid meds off the market. Only “thyro tabs” by Lloyd are approved; I would make sure that’s what you’re using as the others will likely not be available in the coming months.
Thank you, horsenut_8700.
Here’s the FDA info: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm482928.htm
That said, I have to say that Soloxine was one that I’ve seen most commonly used and our biggest issue is that the human mixes up THEIR soloxine with their dog’s.
Soloxine has been off the market for over a year at this point, along with all the other Virbac products. A Virbac rep was just in here yesterday telling us we will likely not see Soloxine make a return any time this year.
[QUOTE=horsenut_8700;8612900]
Soloxine has been off the market for over a year at this point, along with all the other Virbac products. A Virbac rep was just in here yesterday telling us we will likely not see Soloxine make a return any time this year.[/QUOTE]
For veterinary dispensing, but not on the general market, correct? I didn’t see that it was being pulled for human use. Why do you think they pulled them? Just didn’t have the paperwork in order and it’s been getting used “off label” or what?
This stuff always intrigues me. I’m not working in vet med now so not in the loop ordering this stuff anymore. There’s got to be more to the story. Do tell!
None of them besides lloyd have gone through FDA testing and paperwork. I work in veterinary distribution so I have no idea about the human side 
[QUOTE=horsenut_8700;8613055]
None of them besides lloyd have gone through FDA testing and paperwork. I work in veterinary distribution so I have no idea about the human side :)[/QUOTE]
Huh, I just filled my hypothyroid GSD’s soloxine prescription last month, and I had no problem. Maybe they are using the people version at my vet’s office?
OP, like everyone else here has said, hypothyroidism is very, very easy to treat. My poor guy had lived untreated for a while before I found him - he hardly had any hair left at all! Within three months he was looking pretty good, and by 6 months you couldn’t ever tell he had a problem. We’re going on 4 years now.
Sunsets-thanks for the reassurance. I am anxious to have my dog back to her ‘feeling good’ happy, healthy, self.
My poodle mix lost hair a few years ago, and went bald from mid back to haunches, in a bilateral pattern. He was put on soloxine for about six months or so. His hair grew back in and for some reason we stopped giving the meds (no good reason that I remember, just the vet said if he lost hair again to keep him on it.) I have no vet knowledge but it seems like he needed a jump start with his thyroid. Hair has been back ever since.
He’s on heart meds now (benazepril and salix for the diuretic), which is apparently another fairly cheap medication, as far as most go. I’m lucky 
Update-She’s been on thyroid medication since April, testing T-4 levels a few times. Really got my dog back, for a while! She lost weight, was much happier and back to normal.
Just had it retested today per “norm”, and vet is sending it off to another lab for a full write up, as her bloodwork showed an extreme amount of fat, that their testing equipment couldn’t handle! WTH!?
Her initial bloodwork (prior to the medication for thyroid) was the same-very fatty. After she had been on the medication (.5mg twice a day) , levels were a bit too high and they dropped her down to .4mg twice a day, with good results.
Now, it seems there are issues again…I feel so bad for her.
I will know next Tuesday results from the lab they are sending it off to; vet mentioned Cushings could be a cause, and I will know about the T-4 updates then as well…
Anyone else dealing with both thyroid issues and Cushings?
(For the record, she is on a low-fat diet that we don’t suppose is the cause, but we may retest at different times of the day to make sure).
