Trouble with thyroid levels

Well I'm not sure I have much of anything useful to add, but we went thru something similar with Sassy, my lab.  She was super low on her first test and so we put her on .8 2x a day too.  Just like Blackhawk, her fur filled in, skin was better, etc.  She seemed a little hyper though.  We'd had her retested after 3 wks on the meds and her levels were fine, but after about 3 months, she went from 98 lbs to 73 lbs.  That was wonderful but I asked the vet if we shouldn't lower the dose since her weight was down so much.  They agreed and we went from .8 in the AM to .4 in the PM (also hoping it'd help Sassy settle down and sleep at night, which it did).  I had her annual retest of the thyroid done in Sept and it was perfect, BUT she too is starting to have skin problems again.  Now she's a major allergy dog, so I think the 2 aren't related at all and that's what I'm thinking could be the case with you.  So, my only thought in your case is if the levels are within the normal range and you've got the incontinence under control, maybe try something like benadryl to get thru the itching/licking phase and hope that it's just a seasonal allergy problem. 

Actually I think allergies and thyroid problems are quite closely related. When Ben's thyroid levels are low, we have to treat him with kid gloves - he's hypersensitive to certain foods, household cleaners, and I have to keep the house and his bedding in particular very clean. That's just my non-expert opinion.

I have the same problem with Ben - his theraputic dose is actually a little high, while the dose below that is too low to control his symptoms. The problem is that natural thyroid function is a very fluid and reactive thing - this is like replacing the directional controls on an F-14 with a rack-and-pinion device - one very sensitive and in tune with the machine, and the other very crude and out of place.

You can help the meds work better at a lower level. Don't give the meds with anything containing calcium, or with meals - half an hour before or two hours afterwards. When I follow this, the meds work so much better for Ben. I got busy this week with the clinic and "cheated" - just dropped the meds in his meals - and guess what has happened? [] It looks like you are doing it already, but divide the two doses and give them as close to twelve hours apart, as possible.

Sea vegetables support thyroid function naturally. You can find these in the Asian foods section of the grocery store usually. Sometimes you can find it frozen. Steam, chop, and offer about 1/8 cup once a day. Brain, if you can find it, is excellent for keeping older dogs in tune - just a dab'll do ya. Failing that, use a high-grade DHA supplement.

I use a supplement called "Cholodin" for Ben. Because your dog is older, you might want to consider this also. It's a specical blend of some of the B vitamins that older dogs find it more difficult to metabolize. It's one of the few supplements with results that are well documented scientifically. I find that it works extremely well in tandem with the thyroid meds to address the alertness, appetite, and skin issues. Warning, it comes in a crumbly tablet that looks like a chewable, but it is not palatable - I even have to trick my Hoover on four legs (Maggie, 13 yrs) to take hers in her food with a little taste of canned fish or wet food. [] But the results are well worth it. MAggie doesn't need her incontinence meds when she's on the Cholodin. I don't know why this would be, but it's true.

Good luck!

That was quick! Thanks for the tips!

I am currently putting his medication in with his food. It's just more convenient and easier to remember. I'll start giving it to him first thing in the morning and before we eat supper from now on. I was wondering if food affected it.

I've heard kelp can help too. His current food contains it, but it's listed below garlic on the ingredients - so I'm guessing there isn't much in there. I'll try the cholodin, too. I've never heard of that before.

You can help the meds work better at a lower level. Don't give the meds with anything containing calcium, or with meals - half an hour before or two hours afterwards. When I follow this, the meds work so much better for Ben. I got busy this week with the clinic and "cheated" - just dropped the meds in his meals - and guess what has happened?

 
Becca - I didn't know about that either and I always give it to Sassy with her breakfast and dinner.  I'm going to start today with giving it separately.  Thanks for the advice and I hope it helps all of us []. 

If you're having thyroid questions, I'd call Dr Dodds.  I've talked to her and didn't even use her lab, but she's very willing to help.
 
[linkhttp://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM]http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM[/link]
 
Also, if you haven't, you will want to do a complete thyroid pannel, not just the T4 values.  I've heard of dogs (and people) where the T4 was fine, but the T3 was low. 
 
And, there are a few values between .4 and .8.  Just off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe .6 was the better dose.

My golden retriever, Buck, was diagnoses with super low thyroid 2 years ago, just about the time he turned 10 (he will be 12 in 3 weeks.)  He had NO symptoms at all and it was caught during a full blood panel before his dental.  He was put on the .8 soloxine twice a day.  Each time he was checked it was perfect--til this past June.  It was low again and the dosage was upped to 1 1/2 tabs twice a day, and tested twice since them, both times perfect.  he has no problem with frequent urination, etc at all.  he did have a kidney infection 6 months ago, his first and only. 
 
He gets his with breakfast and supper.  As a side note, his full brother, earlier litter was diagnosed with low thyroid just about the time he turned 4 and he all the clasic symptoms.  He was on the same thryroid med as Buck and he didn't have a problem with it either.  I hope you can gets worked out for your "baby".

Just a thot -- Billy takes Armour Thyroid rather than the synthetics.  Armour (yes, the hot dog people) is porcine thyroid ... it's a real 'glandular' so it's natural.  Some dogs do awesome on it ... some don't.  It's an individual thing, but man it has helped him SO much.  It's dosed a bit differently. 
 
One of the serious up-sides in BILLY's estimation is HE thinks the pills are 'chewable' -- they aren't meant to be, but HE says they are YUM!!!!! LOL
 
The interesting thing is my 'regular' vet is SO impressed with the way Armour Thyroid has acted with Billy that now he's called theh holistic vet to consult on dosing cos he's got other patients he wants to put on it because they aren't responding as well to the synthetics. 

One of the serious up-sides in BILLY's estimation is HE thinks the pills are 'chewable' -- they aren't meant to be, but HE says they are YUM!!!!! LOL

Dogs are so disgusting! [][][] Those pills are GROSS!

I didn't ever connect them to the hot dog people, LOL.

I wonder sometimes if Blackhawk is just very sensitive to any hormone changes. Years ago, when his late-summer allergies were REALLY bad we tried steriods. We're talking bleeding scabs on his ears, legs totally RAW and nothing else working. He responded extremely well to them - but the urination was so bad we just couldn't use them any more. He would literally walk around the house, peeing almost constantly. Even on lowered doses, the urination was a problem.

When I get our refill, I'm going to talk to Doc about upping his dosage *slightly*. He's worst first thing in the morning, so when I remember to put up his water about 2 hours before our last potty break before bedtime it helps a lot. If that doesn't work, we'll have to try something for incontinence. All that pee just gets really old - really fast!

Homeopet's Leaks No More works fantastically well, for Emma. I'd go ahead and try it. It's homeopathic, so no side effects. It shouldn't affect his other meds, either.

I just had Sassy into the derm vet again today (ucky, weepy feet) and she is running a full blood work-up and one of the things she's checking is the thyroid levels again.  She's wondering if perhaps Sassy's still a little low.  When she calls me next week with the results, I'm going to ask about the Armour Thyroid meds.  Definitely something to consider.
 
 

The excess hunger and thirst are signs of too much Soloxine (or generic L-thyroxine), so it's good that he brought (your vet) down the dosage. But by cutting it in half so abruptly it sounds as if it may be too low now.
Over the last five years we changed our dog's dosage a few times, each time re-testing.

Your boy may do better on a dose in between (always divided into twice daily doses  though).
Even if you have to do a slightly larger dose in the AM and smaller in the PM (which at one point we were doing since two equal doses were too much hormone).
He sounds as if he responds very well to the T4 medication alone, if he hadn't shown much improvement I could see getting him on the T3 also (Armour).
That is good for dogs and cats (yup even cats can go hypo) who have a hard time with the transference of  T4 into T3, the T4 is useless unless the body is able to convert it into T3 by itself (it needs cortisol to do so). It's a godsend though as I think there are many animals who do and just are not helped by T4 alone.
But from what you wrote, it seems he most likely just needs his dosage tweaked. Beware that adding any kelp or  iodine or any thyroid supplements  may change the results also of your blood panel. What you may need to do first is deal with the medication dosage and once that's titrated then ask your vet to monitor the blood panel changes with the supplements.
To do both at once (med plus thyroid supp) may make it harder to get his levels normalized.

If he didn't have an incontinence issue prior I think that it is directly related to the thyroid med dosage. I wouldn't put him on a med for incontinence if that's the case.

I know that there are foods out there from certain companies that help with thyroid problems. A lot of times it is an allergy to something in their diet. I know a breeder that just started using a food called i believe ULTRA from nutro. Its got sea kelp in it that is suppose to be really good for thyroid conditions. Check it out at www.nutroproducts.com