Prince's Blood Test Results - Page 1

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Ruger1

by Ruger1 on 15 August 2013 - 00:08

I hope no one will mind another thread about Prince..I just wanted the discussion on the lab results to be separate..

Prince had his blood work done this evening..I am happy to say that the heartworm and fecal were both negative without the use of any preventives, He had a CHEM 15 / CBC / LYTES and Thyroid Level T4...Nothing was abnormal except his K was a tiny bit low, ALKP was a tiny bit high.  ,,,His TT4 was 1.6 ....normal range is 1.0 - 4.0 and therapeutic is 2.1 - 5.4...????? He is in normal  range, but very low and not therapeutic,,...I am suspicious about hypothyroidism with him on the extreme low end of normal. Opinions?..

I had three family members in the hospital over the last two days and have been out of my mind. I didn't get a change to email Dr. Dodds,,I went to Dr Dodds website and got as far as printing off her lab test sheet..I asked the vet today to draw extra blood and store it for me which he did until I decide what else I want to test for..

Ruger1

by Ruger1 on 15 August 2013 - 01:08

The more I am researching and thinking about it, it appears that Prince's T4 results might indicate the possibility of hypothyroidism?..

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/howtoanayzeyourdogsthyroidtestresults.pdf

by hexe on 15 August 2013 - 02:08

Deanna, the in-house T4 testing is best used for monitoring the efficacy of the medication so adjustments can be made in dosage AFTER a diagnosis of hypothyroidism has been made; to get to that diagnosis, however, the most accurate testing is a complete thyroid diagnostic panel, which covers T3, T4, Free T3, Free T4, thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH] and thyroid hormone antibodies.  While Dr. Dodd's Hemopet does offer that testing as the OFA Thyroid Expanded panel, it is a bit pricier [$120.00, plus another $15 for OFA] than Michigan State University lab's fee [$47.00], and generally speaking, Michigan State's test is considered the 'gold standard' for canine thyroid testing.  Given that everything else in the bloodwork was normal, save for the slightly low potassium and slightly elevated AlkPhos, if it were me I'd save myself the $73 difference in lab fees and just have my vet  submit a serum sample to Michigan State.  While you won't get back a lengthy consultation report with treatment recommendations, you and your vet will have the full picture of Prince's thyroid function and can decide from there if supplementation is indicated. [My hunch is that he does need it, and it will make a significant difference in his behavioral compliance.]  It's best if the blood sample was drawn while the dog was fasting [nothing to eat since prior evening], but it should be fine if it's a non-fasting sample as long as the serum isn't lipemic after the whole blood has been spun down.

While I have absolutely no doubt that a major portion of Prince's recent behavioral 'acting out' at home is directly attributable to you having gotten somewhat lax in reinforcing the Rules of Life with him, I'm a firm believer that whenever a dog exhibits a marked change in behavior for the worse, it isn't fair to the dog or the owner to embark on behavioral modification work without first ruling out any health issues that are either causative or contributory to the problem.  Hypothyroidism has unfortunately become extremely common in the breed, and in the European show lines especially, and often the primary tip-off that there's a problem is inappropriate displays of aggression...hence everyone's urging you to have him checked out before he goes to Kelly's Kamp for Kanines Who R Too Full of Themselves. Wink Smile

 

by Blitzen on 15 August 2013 - 09:08

Deanna, just ask Dodd , read below - the highlighting is mine. As I have already told you, Dodd knows the breed, is chairing the GSDCA Health Committee. She interprets thyroid results based on the breed, age, activity level. She doesn't just read a chart and say - low normal for a canine, no therapy needed at this time. Some dogs with low normal T4's do benefit from replacement therapy, I've owned 2 of them so am not just talking.  Why dismiss an opportunity to get an opinion from the thyroid expert. If her association with the GSDCA is a problem for you or anyone who has been advising you on this that's just wrong. She works independently of that club and anyone who knows Jean will back me on this - no one tells Jean Dodd what to do or say, she is her own person.

Visit the Pet Video Library
In part 1 of this 2-part video series, Dr. Becker talks to Dr. Jean Dodds, founder of Hemopet Advanced Canine Thyroid Testing and Canine Food Sensitivity Testing.

Dr. Becker's Comments:


Today I'm extremely excited to interview, via Skype, Dr. Jean Dodds. Dr. Dodds has graciously agreed to talk with me this morning, at a very early hour for her in California.

Many of you have probably already heard of Dr. Dodds. She lectures worldwide on clinical pathology and hematology, blood banking, immunology, endocrinology, nutrition, and holistic medicine.

In 1986, Dr. Dodds started a non-profit organization called Hemopet, which set the standard for veterinary transfusion medicine. Then in 1991, Dr. Dodds created the Pet Life-Line, which is a greyhound rescue adoption organization that physiologically feeds transfusion medicine. The doctor also started Hemolife at the same time. Each of these endeavors has achieved worldwide recognition.

How I Learned About Dr. Dodds

I met Dr. Dodds in 1999 when I began using her lab for thyroid tests for my clinic patients. I switched to Dr. Dodds' lab when I recognized other veterinary labs doing thyroid tests lumped every dog and cat together to develop norms and averages.

For example, 2 year-old male, intact Chihuahua test results were compared to the normal reference values for 12 year-old female, spayed Huskies. And while all dogs are the same species, there are significant metabolic and physiologic differences between those two groups of dogs, as an example.

Dr. Dodds recognizes normal reference values vary depending on several factors specific to the animal's breed, gender, age, health status and other variables. She has developed a massive databank of information which we now use to capture and track test results based on physiology.

I asked Dr. Dodds why it is that she's the only resource worldwide who takes into account dynamic physiologic factors in test results.

Dr. Dodds responded that she wonders the same thing herself!

For example, Michigan State University has a larger computer database of test results than she does, and access to the same decades-old information demonstrating that thyroid and other lab parameters vary with the breed, gender, age and so forth of the animal. Dr. Dodds thinks it's pretty odd that only her lab takes all these factors into account in determining normal reference values for lab test results.

There are a lot of reasons I personally prefer Hemolife over other labs. Probably the biggest is that in addition to the more precise parameters she uses to compare test results, Dr. Dodds also personally reviews every blood test that comes through Hemolife and adds her own comments. This is like a little bonus I receive when I send tests to her lab, and I find it extremely helpful.

Are Autoimmune Diseases in Pets on the Rise?

Next I asked Dr. Dodds about the condition known as autoimmune thyroiditis. It feels to me as though this disease is on the rise, but it also could be we're simply diagnosing it more accurately in recent years.

Dr. Dodds feels both situations are in play, both in pets and in humans.

Many of you reading this are aware that immune-mediated or autoimmune diseases are on the rise across the globe. Dr. Dodds says this is partly a problem of environmental exposure, but we also have better diagnostic tools available today, such as critical thyroid antibody testing. This tool wasn't available in veterinary medicine 20 years ago.

I recognize this to be true because when I was in college 20 or so years ago, we certainly learned about hypothyroidism, but we heard very little about autoimmune thyroiditis.

Dr. Dodds believes in addition to environmental exposure and improved diagnostics, another factor in the rising rate of autoimmune diseases in dogs is inbreeding and line breeding of purebred and hybrid-breed dogs. This has increased the genetic predisposition of some animals toward immune-mediated disease.

Early, Hidden Signs a Pet Has Hypothyroidism

Something else I learned after vet school when I began my practice is that vet students are taught there's nothing wrong with an animal until there are obvious signs of illness. Signs, for example, like hair loss, lethargy, or a change in mood.

What I found in my practice is an animal can show up in what appears to be vibrant health, but there's underlying metabolic disease (as an example). I asked Dr. Dodds about hidden symptoms in a hypothyroid dog that we should be looking for but do not.

Dr. Dodds points out that less obvious signs of hypothyroidism can be present for up to a year before classical symptoms appear. And unfortunately, it's not until 70 percent of the thyroid gland is damaged by autoimmune-generated destruction that classical signs present.

So an animal doesn't just wake up one morning with hypothyroidism – the disease has progressed to the point where it's obvious.

Early signs are typically behavioral in nature, for example, erratic or unstable temperament, passivity, irritability or aggression. Or the pet doesn't pay attention when you call him. There are a variety of subtle changes taking place the family often doesn't notice because they occur slowly and progressively.

Sometimes it's an infrequent visitor who points out changes in the pet's behavior.

Subtle weight gain is another symptom – idiopathic obesity, which is obesity with no apparent cause. The animal isn't eating more or exercising less, yet is gaining weight gradually.

Often the skin and hair coat look very healthy, but metabolically a significant amount of damage is occurring.

Link Between Vaccines and Autoimmune Disorders

I asked Dr. Dodds if she sees any link between vaccinations and increasing numbers of autoimmune disorders.

Dr. Dodds says the connection is clear. Vaccines are an environmental trigger of sorts, along with too many drugs in general – flea/tick products, heartworm products, etc.

We're subjecting pets to constant and repeated exposure to chemicals and drugs. Dr. Dodds believes vaccines are not clean, pure products. She says they contain remnants of tissue cultures and other chemicals. Dr. Dodds believes these are toxic tissue cultures being injected into animals. There are a few intranasal vaccines in existence, but most vaccines are injected.

I next asked Dr. Dodds about her involvement as co-creator of the Rabies Challenge Fund.

Dr. Dodds explains the Rabies Challenge Fund is a not-for-profit charitable trust. Their work involves concurrent five and seven year trials to determine that rabies vaccines don't need to be given every one, two or three years as currently required by law. These trials have already been validated in France, but U.S. regulations are different, so the French data can't be validated here.

The Rabies Challenge Fund is halfway through year four of the concurrent trials. So within the next two years, Dr. Dodds hopes to have a trial that will not only license a five-year vaccine for dogs, but will also point to exactly what antibody level in the blood is truly protective against rabies for dogs. At the moment, we only know this information for humans, and extrapolate for animals.

I am personally very excited about this research. It will ultimately allow us to provide a rabies vaccine that protects pets against the disease without making them toxic through repeated, unnecessary vaccinations.

You can learn more about this important research at http://rabieschallengefund.org.

Dr. Dodds' Hemolife Lab Testing Service

I next asked Dr. Dodds about Hemolife's reputation for accuracy, reliability, and a patented method for interpreting test results.

Dr. Dodds points out that her 25 year database is indeed patented. It allows her to factor in the age, breed and activity level of animals as part of the results measurement – for example separating 'couch potato' dogs from Iditarod racers. Obviously, those variables in activity level point to different metabolic needs.

Dr. Dodds has 48 years of background in clinical pathology as well as veterinary medicine, and as a result she is extremely concerned with reliability, reproducibility and rigid standards for running assays in her lab. Hemolife's technology since 2009 runs only environmentally safe, non radio-isotropic assays for thyroid function in dogs.

Dr. Dodds recommends annual thyroid testing for dogs that are genetically predisposed to hypothyroidism. For those of you interested in having your dog's test results sent to Hemolife for analysis, you can ask your veterinarian to send them there.

You can visit the Hemolife webpage, read about how to send in samples and download the appropriate form to take with you to your vet. Your vet can send the blood test to Hemolife and they'll return the results to both your vet and you. As guardian of your pet, both Dr. Dodds and I believe you should have a copy of all lab test results. You may need them while traveling, in the case of an emergency, or if you move or have some other reason to change veterinarians.

 


by Blitzen on 15 August 2013 - 10:08

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcjDMv985l8



 

Ruger1

by Ruger1 on 15 August 2013 - 11:08

Blitzen,,I loved the video!..I want you to know that I would have wanted to send the sample to Dr. Dodds, but because my regular vet already has the sample and uses MI State and  because they do not have the full 2.5 ml of serum that Hemolife is requesting, I am going to send it to Michigan State for a Canine Thyroid Diagnostic Profile which will test for TT4, TT3, freeT3 & T4 TSH, TgAA ,T3AA, T4AA,...It going to be most practical, and  due to the craziness in my life over the last few days I have not been able to dedicate as much time as I would have wanted to, to contacting Dr Dodds,,,Depending on the results of the blood work I am not opposed to re-testing and sending another sample to Dr Dodds ASAP...thank you so much for all your help..:)

Hexe, thank you for commenting,,I am so glad you commented I needed to hear your post confirming that MI State was a reputable lab...I really wanted Hemolife to run the test, but it was going to be a bit of an issue and I wanted the blood sent ASAP ..Above in my reply to Blitzen is the test that the vet is ordering and it is $47 ,,,It appears to be the one that you mentioned...:)  Just noticed your highlighted link,,thanks..

by Blitzen on 15 August 2013 - 11:08

It's up to you, Deanna. You can always talk to Dodd about the results.

by 1GSD1 on 15 August 2013 - 14:08

That's fine, just run what you plan to with Mich. His T4 is low I think for a young dog.  We have used Jean too but I think you'll be fine.

Two Moons

by Two Moons on 15 August 2013 - 15:08

poor dog.

by 1GSD1 on 15 August 2013 - 15:08


What I mean Deanna is thyroid function is lost gradually, just like pancreatic function in EPI. I would expect mid range at least since most hypothyroid dogs I was told were 5 or 6 and older. Don't remember the source and it was not Jean. If he's 3 and that low, I would be worried he was on his way to needed medication. This also could be why he was having yeasty or whatever it was skin issues. 





 


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