Just Got Nemo's Bloodwork Back :(

[Guest Matty]

So, first thing's first, there is or was a tick bourne disease. There is another screening necessary to find out whether or not the disease is active, or has passed. They're giving us the option of either treating it as if its active (45$) or testing to determine if it's active (135$) and then possibly the treatment.

 

Also, he tested positive for hypothyroidism. After searching around, I saw that there are a number of threads here about getting a full panel done before starting any supplements. He had a urinalysis done which put his thyroid level at around .5, and now they're doing the free t4 blood test.

 

AS someone who is still new to this, will the free t4 test confirm the presence of hypothyroidism? He's still new to our house, so I don't know if he's showing any of the signs or if this is just his personality. Any advice would really be appreciated.

[robinw]

Do you know what kind of tick borne disease they will be treating for? Not all of them respond to the same treatment. Having treated a dog for babesia, I would probably recommend going for the extra tick test.

 

Also, does your vet know that greyhound norms are different than for other dogs? Here is a great booklet that talks about weird greyhound health stuff.

[Guest Matty]

Do you know what kind of tick borne disease they will be treating for? Not all of them respond to the same treatment. Having treated a dog for babesia, I would probably recommend going for the extra tick test.

 

Also, does your vet know that greyhound norms are different than for other dogs? Here is a great booklet that talks about weird greyhound health stuff.

 

Sadly I do not - the vet isn't open during hours that I am in the area of my home (I work about 60 miles/2 hours away), so my girlfriend has been taking him. I'm just nervous because of the conflicting information, and since he's new to the house I can't really confirm if he is showing symptoms, or if its just his personality. Trying to get in touch with her during the work day is tough because of the nature of our jobs. I'll see what I can find out this evening.

[robinw]

Do you know what kind of tick borne disease they will be treating for? Not all of them respond to the same treatment. Having treated a dog for babesia, I would probably recommend going for the extra tick test.

 

Also, does your vet know that greyhound norms are different than for other dogs? Here is a great booklet that talks about weird greyhound health stuff.

 

Sadly I do not - the vet isn't open during hours that I am in the area of my home (I work about 60 miles/2 hours away), so my girlfriend has been taking him. I'm just nervous because of the conflicting information, and since he's new to the house I can't really confirm if he is showing symptoms, or if its just his personality. Trying to get in touch with her during the work day is tough because of the nature of our jobs. I'll see what I can find out this evening.

When Phoenix had further testing for tick disease they actually saw the little critters swimming in their sample. I think that is pretty rare, but some meds, such as Imizol (used to treat babesia) shouldn't be taken lightly, not that you are taking it lightly .

[tbhounds]

My guess is your hound tested lyme positive on the snap 4dx test. To confirm whether it's an active infection or not your vet will send the rest of the blood to the lab to run a quantitative c6-- the results of that test will determine if your hound needs to be treated (if the results are >30). I think it's a good idea to run the test rather than give your hound antibotics he might not need.

As far as the thyroid results---a greyt % of hounds T4 results will run that low. Yes, further testing should be done before starting supplementation. (free t4 and tsh).

Edited February 29, 2012 by tbhounds

[Guest Matty]

Ok, I got in touch with the vet office - they also were able to suggest some pet insurance companies (something I had wanted to do), and provide some better information than what I was getting second hand from my poor girlfriend (I tend to obsess until I fully understand stuff, and she was getting caught in the middle).

 

He tested positive for anaplasmosis. They're not sure if its an ongoing infection or not, so we can either check and see if its current, or if we want to just go ahead with the antibiotics (doxycycline).

 

As for the hypothyroidism, they said that he tested relatively low for a greyhound (0.5) but he's not clinical, so they want to run the free t4 screening to confirm it before they recommend any supplementing. We're definately doing the free t4, and they seemed to be pretty aware of the idiosyncrasies of greys which is good.

 

Whew, that's less bad than I was expecting!

[tbhounds]

For anaplasma you want to run a CBC to check the platelet count. You may want to run an anaplasma PCR.

[Guest Matty]

For anaplasma you want to run a CBC to check the platelet count. You may want to run an anaplasma PCR.

 

According to the vet they checked platelet count on the initial blood screening, and it came back normal, as did the white cell count.

I'm considering just doing the antibiotics. I'll talk with my girlfriend when I get home and see where she wants to go.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Matty

[MaryJane]

IMO, do the extra tests as you will not likely be able to do them after the series of antibiotics and get the same results. Tick borne diseases can be hard to get rid of and that's why I suggest doing the extra tests as I assume that they are going to do a titer and it's something that you might need later to check against to see if he is getting better (level going down).

 

I would also wait (if there are not symptoms) on any extra thyroid tests (or supplements) until you have the tick borne disease taken care of -- that way you are dealing and fixing one medical issue before moving to the next.

[NeylasMom]

IMO, do the extra tests as you will not likely be able to do them after the series of antibiotics and get the same results. Tick borne diseases can be hard to get rid of and that's why I suggest doing the extra tests as I assume that they are going to do a titer and it's something that you might need later to check against to see if he is getting better (level going down).

 

I would also wait (if there are not symptoms) on any extra thyroid tests (or supplements) until you have the tick borne disease taken care of -- that way you are dealing and fixing one medical issue before moving to the next.

 

Also, if you are going to supplement for hypothyroidism you need a full panel, which would include TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). That tends to run high in greys with thyroid disease. I would not supplement based on free T4 alone. And .5 is not really low for a greyhound at all imo, especially if he is not symptomatic, which at this point you don't know.

 

Here's another good site for greyhound values.

[Batmom]

Also, if you are going to supplement for hypothyroidism you need a full panel, which would include TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). That tends to run high in greys with thyroid disease. I would not supplement based on free T4 alone. And .5 is not really low for a greyhound at all imo, especially if he is not symptomatic, which at this point you don't know.

 

Here's another good site for greyhound values.

 

Yep. Need the TSH. The free T4 can be even lower (in its own reference range) than the T4 and still be normal. But, if he isn't showing any symptoms, I probably wouldn't bother with either test.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Batmom

[duncan41]

TSH - absolutely! I have one whose only symptom is lethargy ; imagine that! A lethargic Greyhound! LOL Seriously - just get the whole panel done thru Michigan State or Hemopet. That way you will have all the information needed to make a good decision.

[JJNg]

A couple quick comments...

 

Just about any other illness can cause thyroid levels to be low. So I would definitely second the recommendation to treat the tick disease first before even considering addressing the thyroid issue.

 

The last time I checked, Hemopet does not include TSH in their thyroid panel, one of the reasons that I prefer not to use that lab.