So, a little while back we had Sheamus at the vet for a blood panel and he was diagnosed with low T4 and we were advised to follow up with the free T4 blood testing for hypothyroidism..well, we were out of town but the vet called today and left a message that Sheamus's thyroid testing was all normal and no low counts...what does this mean??? I will call them tomorrow, but in the meantime I am confused, first test was positive for low T4 and now it is normal?? he is showing all the classic signs of having hypothyroidism so I was hoping we had a diagnosis and could began a proper course of treatment....what do you think??
I thought I had read somewhere along the way that thyroid levels fluctuate enough that getting an accurate reading can be difficult. Especially if the dog is borderline. They can test low one day and normal the next. I don't remember exactly where I read that, though, so don't take my word for it.
We had a similar problem getting Riley diagnosed. The test from Hemopet came back low, but a test from MSU came back normal. Luckily, the vet we switched to agreed that Riley was symptomatic and wanted to treat. It's made all the difference in the world.
If Sheamus is showing signs, I'd think about having Hemopet run the test and see what Dr. Dodds thinks.
Yep, yep, Hemopet is the way to go. I used MSU the first time and results came back borderline normal, my vet said treatment wasn't necessary. The second time I sent the bloodwork to Hemopet and Dr. Dodd recommended that I treat Hali as her results were "low - normal" and in a golden retriever that is reason to treat.
What many vets don't realize is that low normal is actually low for a golden. We use Dr. Dodds too and do a 5 panel (T4, free T4, T3, free T3 and the antibodies) yearly. It runs about $80. And she gives you and your vet her interpretation.
So, to get an answer from Dr. Dodds would I just have to get a copy of Sheamus's T4 results and send them to her? just wondering how it all works..thanks!
I don't know if she'll interpret a test done elsewhere...? She might, but I would imagine she'll want to run a test herself.
It's really easy to do. All the instructions are on the Hemopet site. I filled out the necessary forms and paid online. Had one of our vet techs draw the blood and spin it to serum. They took care of shipping it to Hemopet (but you can do that yourself, if you want to) and Dr. Dodds emailed me and our vet the results in just a couple days.
We had the complete Thyroid 5 panel, too.
I think there is a modest consultation fee... their fee structure is on the hemopet site. However, I think to make an accurate assessment you would need more than just a T4.
Yes, she'll do consults. However, I think she'd need more than a T4 to go on. When Maggie's annual lab showed a low normal T4, I had our vet draw and spin down the blood sample then sent it off to hemopet. Within a few days, I had an email with the results and Dr. Dodds interpretation and recommendations. It was sent to our vet also.
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