ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
|
Post by ceedee on Nov 3, 2016 8:49:55 GMT -5
Allie had a Senior Wellness check on Tuesday (she's nine) and the vet called me yesterday to inform me that she was hypothyroid with a T4 of less than 3.86 and gave me a prescription for Thyro-tabs twice a day for the rest of her life. I researched some websites, but the most informative was one posted some time ago by a GRA forum member - www.arizonaadoptagreyhound.org/blood_tests. In this article written by Suzanne Stack, D.V.M., normal T4 values for a greyhound range between .5 to 3.6 Generally I'm not one to question a vet's diagnosis, but the only signs of hypothyroidism I can see in Allie are hair loss in thighs, underside of neck, belly region, but that is not uncommon in a greyhound. She still has high energy and has maintained a very lean body mass throughout her life. I've sent the above link to my vet. Has anyone experienced a similar situation with blood work?
|
|
daylight
Hound Nut
what's so funny Light?....Joker!
Posts: 1,275
|
Post by daylight on Nov 3, 2016 17:34:30 GMT -5
|
|
ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
|
Post by ceedee on Nov 4, 2016 13:42:48 GMT -5
Thank you for the link to the greyhound idiosyncrasies package. Excellent information, a lot of which I was not aware of. Not sure if I'm ready to give a copy to my vet at the moment, as I think I may have offended her by challenging her diagnosis based on the T4 test alone. She told me that the units of measurement used are different in the U.S. and she can't compare the T4 levels from Suzanne Stack's article to the ones submitted by the lab. Fair enough. However, in material I have researched and in the package you sent me, a diagnosis of hypothyroidism cannot be established without three parameters - T4 test, a TSH test, and clinical signs. After a frustrating conversation over the phone yesterday, she agreed to perform a TSH test which, in true hypothyroidism, should be high as the pituitary gland is producing hormones to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce more thyroxine.
Pause........
As I was typing this, the vet clinic phoned with the results of the TSH test. It was normal!!!!!! Allie does NOT have hypothyroidism, and had I not questioned the results she would have been taking thyroid supplementation for the rest of her life with resultant hyperthyroidism and its deleterious effects on the body.
So words of advice to all greyhound owners, read the information package in Daylight's post, and don't be afraid to advocate for your precious pup.
I'm so relieved!
|
|
|
Post by Heather (& KC) on Nov 12, 2016 14:20:40 GMT -5
Wow! Thanks for sharing your story. Good job insisting on the additional test.
|
|
|
Post by lotsoffreetime on Nov 16, 2016 12:10:03 GMT -5
glad you followed your gut....great news that Allie is okay! That article is pure gold!
I make sure I have the article pinned to the fridge just in case we have to go to the ER vet in the middle of the night for any reason with one of the Quints.
I once had an experience at the ER vet with a non-grey savvy vet who refused to give Willy Metacam based on his blood values. Poor guy had a horrible night following surgery for a skin tear with only Tramadol on board until our regular vet opened up for the day and we could get in to see her. The vet did a fantastic job of the surgery, but I was not happy with having such an uncomfortable pup at home with me all night when I myself knew he could take Metacam because his bloodworm was fine for a greyhound.
|
|