Need Information

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

Can anyone help me,

 

We are new to this forum and are in need of some help.

 

My vet told me that my 9yr old grey Emma had Hypothyroidism. After doing some reading and contacting another vet I found that the T4 levels are not too low for a greyhound. The last thing that was suggested to me was to have Michigan State Univ. do a true thyroid test. What I need is the contact information on how to get that done.

 

Please get a second opinion if your vet tells you that your grey has hypothyroidism based only on T4 levels. Emma was started on Soloxine because her T4 level was 1.1, well within the range for a greyhound.

 

Any assistance in this would be greatly appreciated by me and Emma.

[Guest greyttech]

Michigan State University Diagnostics Center for Population and Animal Health

 

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu

 

Your vet will have to call them to set up an account, but its pretty easy. All the info they need is on the website.

[Guest GreytMuse]

Two articles for you and your vet to have on hand:

 

Greyhound Medical Idiosyncrasies by Dr. Feeman, DVM

Greyhound Bloodwork by Dr. Stack, DVM

 

An excerpt from Dr. Stack's article:

 

T4

Greyhounds: .5 - 3.6 (mean 1.47+/- .63)

Other dogs: 1.52 - 3.60

These figures are from a University of Florida study of thyroid function in 221 greyhounds - 97

racers, 99 broods, and 25 studs - so it included both racers and "retired." While greyhound

thyroid levels are a whole chapter unto themselves, a good rule of thumb is that greyhound

T4s run about half that of other breeds.

 

Good luck and please let us know what happens! Welcome to GreyTalk!

Edited November 27, 2008 by GreytMuse

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

Thank you so much, actually the other vet I contacted was Dr. Stack via email.

 

Thanks for the good information!

[ahicks51]

Michigan State University Diagnostics Center for Population and Animal Health

 

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu

 

Your vet will have to call them to set up an account, but its pretty easy. All the info they need is on the website.

 

Unless things have changed in the past year or two, we just sent payment with the sample.

 

Complete an endocrinology form:

 

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Submittal%...docrinology.pdf

 

Standard canine is test 20010, $41. Note: Sample "May be shipped via regular mail." No special speed required.

 

Premium canine is test 20011, $59. Note: "Refrigerate or freeze sample prior to shipment." and that "We recommended shipment with ice packs and second day or better delivery."

 

Collection protocols are given with each test.

 

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Bin/Catalo...oid&Id=1388

http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Bin/Catalo...oid&Id=1427

 

They used to have a feature where for $4 or whatever they'd have an expert in endocrinology interpret the results *specifically* for sighthounds. I don't see that now.

 

Print it out and bring it to your vet when you take the sample. They can ship it, or you can ship it; if you want the premium test, then they can provide you with a small plastic foam cooler and an ice pack. USPS Express will probably run $20-25. They might do this for you. Your PO might have a pickup time for next day service that is BEFORE their closing time, so check first- or use FedEx or UPS.

 

Package the tubes securely to prevent spills or leaks in the event of breakage. Label samples carefully as "CANINE BLOOD- DIAGNOSTIC" or something like that. A blood spill at the PO with no indication as to species will mean they'll think it's human, and that's really bad.

 

 

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Can anyone help me,

 

We are new to this forum and are in need of some help.

 

My vet told me that my 9yr old grey Emma had Hypothyroidism. After doing some reading and contacting another vet I found that the T4 levels are not too low for a greyhound. The last thing that was suggested to me was to have Michigan State Univ. do a true thyroid test. What I need is the contact information on how to get that done.

 

Please get a second opinion if your vet tells you that your grey has hypothyroidism based only on T4 levels. Emma was started on Soloxine because her T4 level was 1.1, well within the range for a greyhound.

 

Any assistance in this would be greatly appreciated by me and Emma.

I live in Michigan, and Henry too was misdiagnosed as Hypothyroid. (Fortunately GT helped me figure that out) I had trusted the vet originally because he said he was 'grey savvy' when I asked. Upon further questioning, I found out this vet felt that the simple fact that his parents used to have a greyhound 10 some years ago made him 'grey savvy'. I now have a new vet, who has two greyhounds of her own.

 

Also, for anyone else out ther who has a seizure dog, (sorry to go off topic) Phenobarbital can cause a lower T4 count too, and this also can cause misdiagnosis of Hypothyroidism. Here's a post freemandvm wrote on that~ http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=3045912

 

How long have you had Emma? Has she had any symptoms of late, such as wieght gain or etc.?

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

I have had Emma going on 7 years in Jan. She has not displayed any of the symptoms that were listed in Dr. Stack's report. They only thing that my vet was going on was that she has a bald butt and that she is not as active as she once was. I have not changed the amount of food that she gets in years and she maintains her usual 62 to 63 lbs. I have always feed the same food, sicence diet and have not put her on senior because her brother Toby is just 5 and very active.

 

I too thought my vet was "grey savvy", until about 6 months ago when Toby had a UTI. There are 3 vets working in the same office and he ended up seeing all three of them in 6 weeks time. They started him on Cepro for 7 days(not long enough) and of course....the UTI returned. Then a new vet gave him chepalexin.....not a sulfer drug(didn't work) then he saw the third vet and went on baytril(that did the trick). And almost $1000 later he was fixed. Oh yea there was a CT of his back in there for some reason. Then all this with Emma......GOTTA FIND A NEW VET!!!!

 

Anyone living in the Winston-Salem, NC area that knows a grey savvy vet please let me know!!

[Batmom]

twoskinnydogs, how low was her T4 and what is your vet's scale for normal? If it wasn't really very low and you're not seeing any symptoms, you might not want to bother with the thyroid panel at this time.

 

My Zema is 10 now. She has a bald butt in summer. She has always had a bald butt in summer. She grew up from being a rather wild thing to more of a classic lazy greyhound a couple years ago. She has rather high thyroid as greyhounds go.

[patricia]

Good luck with your testing and please keep us updated. When you call MSU they will tell you if your vet already has an account set up with them. When we had Flashy's profile done we paid at our vets office as well as the fed ex fees to have his blood shipped over night on ice. There were 2 different profiles that you could have done and we did the most expensive one as it was not that much more expensive and it also came with a detailed report by the Assistant Prof. Endocrinology Section Chief and our Flashy is one of the few and rare hypothyroid babes.

 

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

Thank you everyone! I am so glad I joined this group, you all have been such a wealth of information. I will keep everyone updated. I stopped the Soloxine yesterday.

[Batmom]

Depending on how long she was taking the Soloxine, you might need to wait awhile to get her tested at MSU. There's a bunch of info here -- http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/FAQ/Endocr...roid_Canine.php -- one of the questions deals with that issue.

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

**UPDATE**

 

Emma saw a second vet today, she agreed with Dr. Stack and Emma was given a clean bill of health. She suggested that I wait on the thyroid test done at the Univ. of Michigan unless she shows any signs of Hypothyroidism.