Very Low Thyroid Levels

[dante2zoe]

Dante would grow hair during the winter and when he blew his winter coat, his tush would be bald again. His thyroid was fine. I love the look of monkey butts, though, so it doesn't bother me to see a nekkid hiney!

 

Good luck!

[Batmom]

ETA: The main tests you want, if the dog has suspicious symptoms, are fT4ed (free T4 by equilibrium dialysis; this is the most accurate method) and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone).

fT4ed measures the amount of hormone that's available to be used. The plain T4 that appears on many chemistry panels measures hormone that's bound to proteins and NOT available for use plus the available portion.

 

The plain T4 measurement can suggest that you should run a full panel but can't diagnose hypothyroidism -- it fluctuates too much from hour to hour and day to day. You can have a hound whose T4 is 0.0 one day, 1.5 the next, 0.2 in the morning, 2.2 in the afternoon ... and that is all normal.

 

I don't run a full panel on my own dogs unless the dog has symptoms such as unusual degrees of lethargy, exercise intolerance, cold intolerance. I have had hounds who were pretty bald (butt, belly, underside of neck, etc.) all year, and some who were bald only spring through fall. None of them had low thyroid function. They were just greyhounds .

[JJNg]

With the only clinical sign being hair loss, I would also have to disagree that a T4 alone is adequate for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, especially for a greyhound. Lots of other reasons for hair loss. I find that with my dogs, their hair comes and goes depending on season, activity level, diet, etc.

[NeylasMom]

Also worth considering that its not without risk to medicate a dog who isn't hypothyroid and potentially creating a hyperthyroid animal. Lots of potential issues, but the one that comes to mind and concerns me the most is heart disease.

[LadyGrey]

I appreciate all your responses on this situation. I am going to go to another vet to have a full panel thyroid done and make sure the lab is experienced. How do you feel about the vet school in Birmingham, AL? I don't know where each individual vet would send the panels to be processed. Would it be Gainesville, FL? That is supposed to be one of the best vet schools in the country.

[tbhounds]

Most clinics will refer to MSU for their endocrinology testing---even other vet school institutions :-)

[kudzu]

Wasn't aware there was a vet school in B'ham. Does UAB have one? There are vet schools at Auburn & Tuskegee though.

 

Only university I've heard of the tests being referred to was MSU. Similar to tbhounds comment, one of my dogs admitted to UGA vet school had thyroid blood work referred up to MSU.