[Neigesdad]

Hi, brand new to the site, but a long time reader. Our little girl Neige is seven years old and about 6 months ago we noticed the lethargy and weight gain. We had her checked then, and although on the "low end of normal" (which I now understand from reading here is really low for Golden) her Dr. said she was ok. Well now Neige is 100lbs and not very active.

We asked for a second opinion and this test indicates that Neige is 5.1, when "normal" is said to be between 8-32. We have started her on the thyro-tabs that the vet has prescribed, we are giving her .5 of a tablet, twice a day. (Neige has always had a sensitive stomach, so we are easing her into the meds.) We are also being careful not to give the meds close to feeding times. If anyone has any thoughts on this course of action I would love to hear them...good, bad or indifferent.

Thank you for being a great site and for sharing so much helpful information!

 

[DNL2448]

Welcome to the forum. I had thyroid dog many, many years ago, so I won't be any help with all the advances. Don't be discouraged if you don't have many posts on your thread today, we have a very low attendance, I am sure everyone is enjoying their Thankgiving. I hope you are too. I am sure you will get several answers in the next few days.

Please post some pictures of your dog, everyone loves the pictures!

 

[Loboto-Me]

I have no experience in this, but I just had to say I LOVE your girl's name. What a beautiful whimsical name you gave her.

There are many people here who will give you some advice and have been there with their pups. Good luck and hang in there, you were wise to get a second opinion.

 

[sharlin]

My Rusty dog started on Soloxine back in April and it has made a world of difference. He was very low and his maintenance dose is 1.5mg twice daily. I don't know what mg size your meds are so can't really say one way or the other. It's very important to have a retest done after 6 weeks of medication to see where things are headed. Once it gets back on track the energy, the coat, everything gets so much better. Rechecks every other month or so also.

 

[booklady]

My dog is hypothyroid and on .8 mgs of levothyroxine twice a day. He has been on it about a year and half and it has made a world of difference. I started to notice the change about two to four weeks in (if I'm remembering correctly.) His weight came off slowly without changing the amount fed, ear infections got under control, his energy level came up and his coat is absolutely gorgeous!

Once the dosage was set, he goes in twice a year to be retested.

Oh! And Welcome!!!!

 

[mylissyk]

The medication really does the trick and quickly gets their energy back and then they can start losing weight. Sometimes it takes some adjusting to get the right dosage, so be sure to have your vet recheck her levels in a month or so to see if they need to change the dosage for her.

 

[Neigesdad]

Thank you to everyone

I just wanted to say thank you for the advice, and I have now put some pictures of Neige up on my profile (The picture of her as a puppy was the very first night that we got her, you can see why we call her Neige).

I have also uploaded her favorite trick under the Video section.

 

[Bozema]

My Bo is a hypothyroid boy too. He was diagnosed at age 5 when his weight very quickly ballooned up to 115 lbs. despite regular exercise and changes to his diet at the time. He has been on Soloxine ever since (starting at 0.8 mg, now down to 0.5). He gets retested regularly. The change in him was dramatic - he lost weight almost immediately, went back on a regular diet instead of a weight loss diet and his energy level went back to puppy almost immediately. It makes me think he was going hypo some time before the dramatic weight gain began, because even as a 3-4 year old, he seemed a little quieter than your typical golden. He had regular check-ups at that time and I don't recall any problems at that time, but perhaps he was borderline and we just missed it.

He is now 9-1/2 years old, and down to a healthy, lean 85 lbs - a good weight for him (he is a oversized when compared to breed standard to be sure). At 9-1/2, he walks 3 miles a day, plays like a puppy and is doing great. He acts like a dog younger than his age.

Hypothyroid is a bummer but at least it's easily managed when it does occur. I suspect Neige will thrive now that you have a proper diagnosis.