[Allan's Girl]

I was just going over Emma's blood work from last month. This is not the first time I have looked at it, but something caught my eye this time. The results for her thyroid, T4 level was 1.1. According to the lab anything less than 1 is low. They called her results normal.

It is my understanding that low-normal is hypothyroid for a golden. So here are my questions....


is her level low-normal because of her age (20 weeks) ? Is this normal? She was sick (vomiting and diarrhea) when the blood was drawn, could that make a difference? Should she be retested? I am just confused as to what this means if anything.

 

[Claire's Friend]

It is not because she is a puppy. I had a full blood panel run on Jordan before she was spayed. She was totally normal. Thyroid results can be off during an illness. I would certainly have the test redone once she is off the antibiotics for awhile. Young dogs CAN have thyroid problems , don't let anyone they can't.

 

[Tahnee GR]

I agree-both the antibiotic and being ill can affect T4 results. T4 can be affected by illness, stress, medication, heat cycles, etc. However, as far as I know the TgAA test for autoimmune thyroiditis is not affected by these outside stressors. If you suspect her thyroid may be an issue, I would run a full panel on her. She is young for true thyroid problems but it is not outside the realm of possibilities.

I would wait to retest her until she is healthy and happy.

 

[Allan's Girl]

Thank you Claire's friend and Tahnee GR. I called the vet right after I posted this and they said pretty much the same thing. Illness can affect the levels and she should be tested again once she is healthy and off meds. Thank you so much for you responses. You guys help keep me sane! :--crazy:

 

[Claire's Friend]

Just looked up J's results from Dr Dodds and noticed this.
She has 2 categories now a Case Specific (Age and breed) and a General Range

Jordan CS GR
T4 2.07 1.60-3.80 .80-3.80

FT4 1.37 .85-2.30 .55-2.30

T3 was the same for CS and GR

I think this will make it so much easier for our vets to read now.

 

[Sally's Mom]

MSU will tell you that non thyroid illness will cause low thyroid levels. And you really need to run a thyroid panel not just a t4 to get the whole picture.

 

[Claire's Friend]

Just heard back from Dr. Dodds. She said there certainly could be a connection between the two. Do you know if a full panel was run?

 

[Allan's Girl]

they did not run a full thyroid panel

 

[Claire's Friend]

I think that would be you next step then. Either MSU or Hemopet. If by some chance the thyroid is causing the UTI's you might never get the chance to do blood work when she's clear. The e-mail I sent you from Dr. Doods has her address. Why don't you check with her. She is always happy to answer questions.