winnie Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 Celeste went to the vet last Monday for her annual exam & shots. Since she is now 7 y/o, the vet also recommended that we do a blood panel. She left a message on Friday stating that Celeste has a low platelet count. She wants us to bring her in to retest. What does low platelets imply? Our vet is greyhound savvy. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 Two articles that might help ... https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/greyhoundpublic/documents/Resources/GreyhoundsLabwork.pdf http://www.recycledracers.org/FAQ/greyhound-blood-values.html Greyhounds have lower platelet counts than other dogs. A lot of veterinarians don't know about the differences in lab results for greys. I printed out the second article and gave it to my vet. Good Luck, and hopefully, it is just a normal "greyhound thing," for your baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigorangedog Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Celeste went to the vet last Monday for her annual exam & shots. Since she is now 7 y/o, the vet also recommended that we do a blood panel. She left a message on Friday stating that Celeste has a low platelet count. She wants us to bring her in to retest. What does low platelets imply? Our vet is greyhound savvy. How low is low? Our boy Tobey this past week had 1000 platelets (125,000 is normal for a greyhound). Severely low platelets is called thrombocytopenia. A number of different causes include tickborn diseases (especially babesia), bone marrow disease, lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma, and immune-mediated response. Obviously the two "good" ones to have are TBD (since it's treatable) and immune-mediated. Immune-mediated basically means that the immune system is going nuts and destroying platelets. Several things can cause this, but in most cases the cause is never determined and it resolves itself over time with medical support. In Tobey's case, we are treating with prednisone, doxycycline, and vincristine, and he'll have his count rechecked after a week on the meds. But, as others said, "low" platelets can be normal for a greyhound, just depends on what your vet meant by "low." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 We're going to call the vets office today to ask what the count was. She didn't say on the message. She is greyhound savvy (did her internship near a greyhound track). We assumed she knows about the greyhound blood work, but maybe not. We have the articles Energy11 shared to compare Celeste's results. We'll keep you posted. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 We're going to call the vets office today to ask what the count was. She didn't say on the message. She is greyhound savvy (did her internship near a greyhound track). We assumed she knows about the greyhound blood work, but maybe not. We have the articles Energy11 shared to compare Celeste's results. We'll keep you posted. Ask for a copy of the entire lab work. It really helps to keep copies even when things are normal, but even more so when an anomaly crops up. Though we think of it as our vet's job, it helps for you to know your dogs 'normal' is as opposed to the lab norms. It isn't always the same. Charting lab work with a simple spreadsheet can help to spot trends. Again, the vets try to do this but busy practices with multiple vets can put them at a disadvantage if the practice doesn't chart lab work. Though in this case if Celeste has had prior blood work done at this clinic then they will no doubt have looked to see what platelets were before. Hope this is just a case of an accidentally misreading of Grey's quirky norms or levels just outside the norm that bears follow up. The norm for each dog is not necessarily the same as the lab's norms. Plus, sometimes labs just get it wrong. Doesn't happen often but enough to be a real possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 The vet left a follow-up message today. She didn't give the specifics, but did mention that Celeste's levels were lower than our two other greys (Bonny and Darcy). They had bloodwork done earlier this year. Celeste has never had a full panel until now. So, at least we know she did check Celeste's labs against other greyhound labs. She did mention that the follow-up blood test for Celeste would be free. We scheduled the appointment for Wednesday evening. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 DH took Celeste in for her follow-up blood test (free of charge). We got the results back. While Celeste's platelets are still low compared to our other greys, the vet said not to worry. She just wanted to ensure that we had a correct baseline for Celeste. Phew. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 ... Celeste's platelets are still low compared to our other greys, the vet said not to worry. She just wanted to ensure that we had a correct baseline for Celeste. Phew. Wonderful news. Was hoping it would be something like that. A good example of why it is important to have baseline values for each dog while healthy. Can be very helpful later if they get sick & show values out of norm. Very glad all seems well. And you said your vet was doing follow up free of charge? Very nice. Sounds like she's a keeper for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grammarules Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have a similar problem with my Shelby. After a months course with steriods her platelettes are still low. Is there a food or suppliment that could bring it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have a similar problem with my Shelby. After a months course with steriods her platelettes are still low. Is there a food or suppliment that could bring it up? You might need to have your pup start another medication like imurane to be given with the pred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have a similar problem with my Shelby. After a months course with steriods her platelettes are still low. Is there a food or suppliment that could bring it up? Have you done a tick panel? Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I have a similar problem with my Shelby. After a months course with steriods her platelettes are still low. Is there a food or suppliment that could bring it up? Have you done a tick panel? If that hound was on a immune suppression dose of pred it would be very unlikely to be harboring a vector borne disease. Suppressing the immune system would have "unleashed the monster" and things would have gotten very ugly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grammarules Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Shelby was sick and was on an IV and antibiotic regeme at the vets overnight then he sent home steriods for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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