Throid Panel question please

[moss]

Hi
Haven't been here for a while, Sunny has been off steroids since last August and is well so far.
He continues to have issues with other dogs and after lengthy consideration he was castrated last week.
Whilst he was at the vets I asked them to take bloods to do a full thyroid panel.  I am assuming by the results I received that what they did was not a full panel.

The results are as follows
t4 34 nmol1/L (13.5-50.0)
Ctsh 0.10 NGO/ml (0.0-0.6)
My vet says this result is fine and within normal range

Please can anyone give an opinion on these results and tell me exactly what test I need to ask the vet for in order to have a full throid panel done
Many thanks in advance
Jacqui

[Catherine]

Jacqui, have a look here to see what extra tests you can have etc. : http://cimda.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,18.0.html

The results look okay to me. Is Sunny showing signs of HypoT?

[Jo CIMDA]

Hi Jacqui

It's good to know that Sunny is doing well off the steroids.

His thyroid results are fine but if you wanted to complete the panel you could include a test for FreeT4.  This is the T4 hormone but free of bound proteins, hence FreeT4,  and it is less likely to be affected by drug therapies and other illnesses that sometimes cause the Total T4 to be reduced.  It is considered to be, theoretically,  a more accurate assessment of cellular thyroid status.

If Sunny's T4 was low and his TSH was high then your vet may have asked for a FT4 test to confirm hypoT.  Happily this is not the case.

Jo



 

[moss]

Thank you for your replies.
Sunny is not really showing signs of HypoT I don't think.  More me grasping at straws really to explain his general miserableness :-(
He is generally lethargic particularly in comparison to my other collies but is show bred as opposed to working so I expected him to be a calmer character.
He recently has developed a hoarse bark and currently has an ear infection so not many signs, his skin and coat are certainly healthy looking
I will chat with the vet with regards to the free t4 testing
Thank you
Jacqui

[Clover]

A complete thyroid profile should include T4, T3, free T4, free T3, and TgAA (TgAA is the marker for autoimmune thyroiditis, the genetic form of hypothyroidism).

[moss]

Thank you x
Jacqui

[patp]

I struggled for over a year to persuade my vet to take Willow's lethargy seriously. She had Free T4 tests and lots of others. All tests were normal. The Florinef was increased and decreased several times.
Eventually she was re admitted to the referral practice and I had to stamp my feet to get to see the top man (Simon Tapin). He, unlike the others, agreed with me that Willow's appetite was rubbish and her lethargy was real.

She is now on hydrocortisone, but coming off it slowly, and a drug called Mirtazapine. This is a human anti-depressant drug that the vet was familiar with because it is given to vet students. A side effect is that it increases the appetite and so he decided to use it on Willow. There have been studies done on its use in cats.
I cannot tell you how much better she has been on this regime!!! She eats and is lively and happy.
I asked my GP about depression in human addisonian patients and he nodded and said that yes they do suffer from depression.