thyroid levels

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Are we all on the same page that shelties need higher thyroid levels than most other breeds? That the t-4 is in the upper 1/2 to 1/3 of normal?

If a vet test result is 1.8 it is not considered normal for shelties. Shelties should test higher?

Best,
Kate
 
Well T4 is just a small bit of the picture when it comes to hypothyroidism. I will not diagnose hypothyroidism on the basis of T4 level alone. I want a thyroid panel which includes at a minimum freeT4, T4 by ED and TSH. TAA(thyroid autoantibodies) is also nice as is T3. Dogs can have a low T4(almost 0) lowT4 by ED and low TSH, No TAA. These dogs are not hypothyriod but usually have another condition that is causing the T4 level to drop. It called euthyriod sick syndrome.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5079729_euthyroid-sick-syndrome-dogs.html

Once I diagnose hypothyriodism, I use T4 to regulate the medication and then I want to see a level of atleast 2, but ideally closer to 3. Levels is the 4-5 range are generally are too high and we start to see signs of hyperthyroidism.
 
thyroid

After I spoke to the vet about how shelties need to test very high normal thyroid to be truly normal he ran a full thyroid panel. He put her on .1 mg soloxine twice a day.

She has been on meds for a month and 1/2 with marked improvement although the itching presists even with benedryl, which I discontinued. After review, she is running at a 1.7 thyroid. The vet listened to me and we have upped her .1 soloxine to 1 1/2, twice a day.

My vet listened, it makes a difference. She also tested negative for cushings.
 
The count levels and metrics that you use are different from what I get from Bacca's blood counts.

For example....in October 2010 he got the following results

T4 - 21.8 where normal is supposed to be 15.0 to 51.0 nomol/L
Free T4 - 39.1 where normal is supposed to be 14.0 to 40.0 pmol/L
TSH - <0.03 where normal is supposed to be 0 to 0.60 ng/ml

When he was first diagnosed they tested his T3 originally, but it was within range, so was not tested again. And his TgAA was negative. Also not tested again.

Of course, I don't know what any of these individual readings mean.

It's like you are talking a different language then here in Canada. So I feel like I'm comparing apples to oranges.
 
Let me get this straight because this is confusing. Shelties need a higher than normal Thyroid level to be normal for them? Is that what I am understanding? About what age should we start to be concerned?


Donna
 
The problem with thyroid disease is that they can have for years, without you knowing about it. Mostly the symptoms tend to lie dormant until the dog is older.

It is only because Bacca needed bloodwork that we discovered it, otherwise, we would not have known (he's just coming up to 3 years old).

I don't think its something to worry about necessarily unless your dog is experiencing issues. For my vet (and I would love to hear from Dr. Mac and Dr. Shelli here), the giveaway for her was Bacca's "lopsided" face. It was more pronounced before he went on meds. But even now, one eye is still a little smaller than the other, and his lipline is also uneven
 
thyroid

Hi Barb V.

Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue.

The rescue that I volunteered for, trusts this sheltie rescue implicity for information about thyroid. You can email them and see if they will convert your thyroid levels information so we can all be on the same page.

I asked my husband to help but he doesn't speak Canadian either; a little humor from Amerca for you.

Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue. They have a contact box. They helped me very much indeed, all the way in New Jersey.

All the best,
Kate
 
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