Realised I haven't updated on here!

Following Remy's last test - where his thyroxine was double the maximum of the range - me and my vet have both spoken to Dr Dodds about him and his persistent hypothyroid symptoms (these haven't responded to soloxine at all since they started 6 years ago despite increasing the dose).

Dr D has recommended that he be tried on T3 as well as his soloxine at a lower dose (he's now on 0.5mg twice a day, down from 0.8mg).  The soloxine was lowered first and his symptoms got worse - it was done over 3 weeks and in the third he started being totally out of it at times, more lethargic and generally 'off'.

My vets can't get the T3 for some reason - apparently they've tried everywhere, knowing that it's a human drug, but couldn't source it; I was able to source it in one phonecall from the pharmacy down the road..... Anyhoo, I've actually ordered it from Mexico - T3 in the UK is ridiculously expensive (some pricing error that nobody cares to sort because so few people are on it, as I understand), I'd be paying nearly £1 a tablet and when he's at the dose Dr D wants him on, he'll be on about 6 tablets a day! :-O

A very kind person offered to send me some to try him on while I wait for it (it takes about a month to arrive from this particular store, a long wait but the price is fantastic), so I've started him on 20mcg a day, from Monday just gone.  He'll be going up to 25mcg on monday, and building it up to the 140mcg that's been suggested (which is a very low dose - starting dose for a dog his size is 240mcg a day).

So far, so fantastic!  Now, normally, Remy spends most of his time laying down; he will go out and play but only if I go out first.  Otherwise, he'll only go outside of his own accord when he's desparate to 'go'.  He's never played properly with Raine, and rarely plays with the other dogs - and even more rarely with me.  He just doesn't have the energy.  And on walks, by the end of a walk round the park (about 40 mins) he's usually miles behind just plodding along.  He no longer zooms off after squirrels, and rarely goes off the path into the woods.

Since he's been on his tiny dose of T3, he's taken himself outside on a cold day without his jammies on, without needing to go, and started playing with Raine and two of the others :-O he's also been more 'with it' and listening better, and yesterday, he RAN up a very steep hill at the park (we have an odd amphitheatre thingy with a big hill for seating) for no reason at all!  He's never been up that hill.  Never even thought about it.

I am beside myself :-D He's still a fair way off the dog I used to have - up til he started slowing down at 2yrs old, he was insane, a typical dobermann, absolutely mental.  Every walk was done at a run and I remember taking him for 3 hour walks and him not even slowing down (which shows how much I've slowed down since then - I can do 90 minutes tops these days, with a rest halfway!).

The downside is that the training issues I had with him when he was younger - ridiculously huge stubborn streak and determination to do what he wanted like you wouldn't believe (above and beyond your average dobe) - faded as his energy dropped, so my well-trained lad is probably going to go now lol!  We've already had one walk where I had to have him on lead as he flat refused to do as I asked and was trying to raid the traveller's rubbish.  Sigh.  But if I get my puppy back after 6 long years, then I don't really mind - I am starting to brush up his recall already just in case!

That is lovely to hear of the improvement :-)