# How much time between thyroxine and food?



## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

bumping up
If it doesn't matter whether they are given together, that would be a lot easier in the mornings because he likes to eat the second we wake up


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

My vet told me it didn't matter. I don't know how correct that is but both of my Goldens are on Soloxine and their blood levels are always perfect when I have them tested.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I"ve been told it doesn't matter, too....but I take the human version, and my doctor says 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Dr. Dodds said that in order to ensure proper absorption thyroid meds should be given at least an hour before or 3 hours after a meal.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

My rescue vet said it didnt matter either. CoCo was put on it last week.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

nixietink said:


> Dr. Dodds said that in order to ensure proper absorption thyroid meds should be given at least an hour before or 3 hours after a meal.


This is actually how we have been giving it--in the morning he gets the Rx when I first wake up and then I wait an hour to feed him (and he acts soooo hungry!),
In the afternoon it is much easier because he gets his dinner around 4 or 5 and then his Rx at 7 or 8.

The Dr said we'd see "a big change" (he takes .8mg 2X day) but there really has only been a very slight increase in his energy level. Could this be because we caught it early? Or could this mean he needs even a higher dose of the thyroxine? (I think the vet said this was the top dose, or maybe he meant is the largest mg/tablet that is made). I am supposed to get his blood checked again 6 weeks after we started the medicine.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

I never noticed a change in energy level in either of my goldens, both of whom are on Soloxine/thyroxine. Beau takes .6 mg twice a day and Baylee takes .4 mg. What I noticed with Beau is his weight stabilized. What had caused me to get him checked was a sudden weight gain. With Baylee, who has been on medication since the age of 2 years it was more a behavioral issue. She had an "edge" to her that gradually improved. It may have been more related to training than the thyroid but I never did see a change in "energy" level.
Both are 9 now, Beau was started on medication only a year ago.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

It does matter, but if you have to give it with food, you will just have to give a little bit more meds. For years I gave it with food, but once I got hooked up with Dr. Dodds and started giving it an hour before, my dogs have only needed a 1/4 to 1/2 a dose of the normal amount. JOY weighed 70 lbs and only took .15 BID. Erin (17 years old) weighs 45 lbs and takes.3 BID. We have had to up Erin's a little as she got older. Also we didn't catch Erin's until she was a full blown thyroid dog. (I didn't get her until she was 9)


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Claire's Friend said:


> It does matter, but if you have to give it with food, you will just have to give a little bit more meds. For years I gave it with food, but once I got hooked up with Dr. Dodds and started giving it an hour before, my dogs have only needed a 1/4 to 1/2 a dose of the normal amount. JOY weighed 70 lbs and only took .15 BID. Erin (17 years old) weighs 45 lbs and takes.3 BID. We have had to up Erin's a little as she got older. Also we didn't catch Erin's until she was a full blown thyroid dog. (I didn't get her until she was 9)


Good info to know. Dr. Dodds first started Baylee on the .4 mg. I must have forgotten about the timing with meals. I'll change the way I have been the giving meds. Dr. Dodds recommended thyroid meds for Beau more than a year ago but my regular vet felt it wasn't indicated at the time. Then about 6 months later the symptoms started showing up and Beau was retested. My vet sort of had to "eat crow" when he realized Dr. Dodds was right in the first place....


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

The weight issue was what got Brooks tested. He had ballooned (in a little over a year) to 94.7 lb. So his food was cut back 25% and 6 weeks later he had not lost a single ounce (really, he weighed 94.7 again).
Now that seemed impossible with his food being cut back so the blood test was done.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

It seems to me ,with him weighing that much, he should be on a higher dose. Who suggested this dosage? How old is he? Sorry if you already said.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

lgnutah said:


> This is actually how we have been giving it--in the morning he gets the Rx when I first wake up and then I wait an hour to feed him (and he acts soooo hungry!),
> In the afternoon it is much easier because he gets his dinner around 4 or 5 and then his Rx at 7 or 8.
> 
> The Dr said we'd see "a big change" (he takes .8mg 2X day) but there really has only been a very slight increase in his energy level. Could this be because we caught it early? Or could this mean he needs even a higher dose of the thyroxine? (I think the vet said this was the top dose, or maybe he meant is the largest mg/tablet that is made). I am supposed to get his blood checked again 6 weeks after we started the medicine.


We give him his meds at 7 and 7 schedule with meals an hour after. Vito acts so hungry in the mornings too! As if the world is going to fall apart if he has to wait an hour to eat. :

How long has Brooks been on the medication? Vito gets .5 mg 2x a day, but he never had a weight problem. If anything, we have a lot of trouble keeping any weight on him. He was exceptionally yeasty (ear infections and lesions) and lacked energy so we decided to have him tested. It took a good 3 months before we noticed a difference. Here is the post I made about the differences post thyroid meds. Oh, and he was only considered "low normal".

Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums - View Single Post - Hypothyroidism update


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I give it with some cheese about an hour or hour and a half after they have had breakfast. When Jasper was getting two pills a day, I gave him his second one with his dinner. Now he is only getting one a day.

I did see a significant improvement with Jasper in about 6 weeks. But he was also having multiple symptoms of hypothyroidism, including lethargy, depression, joint pain, muscle weakness, mental dullness, oily coat and thinning coat. I'm not sure why it took almost a year for the vets to diagnose him, and they only tested his thyroid because I had asked them to run a full tbd panel on him and their panel included the thyroid panel. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and I could see all the symptoms after he was diagnosed that I couldn't see before.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Claire's Friend-he was put on this dose as a trial and will be re-tested to see if the dose needs to be adjusted in a few weeks. He is 5 years old.
Nixietink-I appreciated reading your update. 
Fostermom-It's funny how I didn't realize anything was actually wrong with Brooks. I attributed his lethargy to this incredibly hot summer. Since I didn't feel like going on long walks, I assumed he felt the same way.....


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

lgnutah said:


> This is actually how we have been giving it--in the morning he gets the Rx when I first wake up and then I wait an hour to feed him (and he acts soooo hungry!),
> In the afternoon it is much easier because he gets his dinner around 4 or 5 and then his Rx at 7 or 8.
> 
> The Dr said we'd see "a big change" (he takes .8mg 2X day) but there really has only been a very slight increase in his energy level. Could this be because we caught it early? Or could this mean he needs even a higher dose of the thyroxine? (I think the vet said this was the top dose, or maybe he meant is the largest mg/tablet that is made). I am supposed to get his blood checked again 6 weeks after we started the medicine.


We were also told to give the medication one hour before a meal or three hours after for best absorption. We are in the process of increasing Toby's dosage now. We add .1 and then retest every 6 weeks. I think we've got it at a good level now, but won't know for another 2 weeks. 

I got the vet to write me a prescription for Thyroid Tabs at KV Pet Supply (kvsupply.com) in 1000 tablets in both the .5 ($67.95) and .1 ($15.69) dosages. This way I can increase as needed without needing to score the tablets to get the dose we need. I originally did this when both dogs were starting supplementation at different doses. Now we just have Toby so we have a lot of thyroid medication! 

I'm noticing changes in Toby with this last increase, primarily his energy level, though it may be because it's a tad bit milder now....in the lower 90s instead of the upper 90s and 100s. Instead of totally conking out at 7 p.m. he's now back to running around the coffee table squeaking his Wubba.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

fostermom said:


> I give it with some cheese about an hour or hour and a half after they have had breakfast. When Jasper was getting two pills a day, I gave him his second one with his dinner. Now he is only getting one a day.
> 
> I did see a significant improvement with Jasper in about 6 weeks. But he was also having multiple symptoms of hypothyroidism, including lethargy, depression, joint pain, muscle weakness, mental dullness, oily coat and thinning coat. I'm not sure why it took almost a year for the vets to diagnose him, and they only tested his thyroid because I had asked them to run a full tbd panel on him and their panel included the thyroid panel. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and I could see all the symptoms after he was diagnosed that I couldn't see before.


It's interesting how the vets don't always suspect thyroid when dogs present with symptoms you describe. With Barkley I begged our vet to run a full thyroid panel because he had lethargy, worsened allergies, oily coat and thinning fur. At the same time Toby gained weight and was less energetic than usual--which was alarming because he was always so high energy. The fur on his flanks got very clumpy and curly--much different than everywhere else--and it looked as though it was thinning even though I wasn't finding it on the floor. Both tests on the dogs came back low normal but I got her to agree to do a trial run for each of them just to see. She saw the difference for herself, researched and discovered that low normal in goldens is actually low. 

We never needed to increase Barkley's dose but Toby's thyroid absorption has been a continual issue. Our vet thinks we caught his hypothyroidism at the earliest stages.


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

Once he starts losing weight, it might have to be readjusted again back down. Also just for the future , other meds ( like Pred) can affect thyroid meds, so just make sure this is something your vet is taking into account if it ever comes up.


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