Hello Angela! I want to welcome you back, too, although I’m sorry for the problems that have brought you to us. The other ladies have already given you some great information, and the one additional thought that I might add relates to additional thyroid testing. I see that Ginger’s T4 reading was low on both blood panels:
T4 Date given: 02-08-19 T8:49a
T4 <0.5 0.8-3.5 mg/dL
Result Verified The Total T4 result is less than 1.0 mcg/dl. A Free-T4 by equilibrium dialysis may be helpful in supporting the diagnosis of hypothyroidism in patients demonstrating clinical signs compatible with hypothyroidism.Please contact Customer Service for this additional testing.Since the result was consistently low on both panels a year apart, I’m wondering whether your vet has discussed proceeding with a more complete thyroid analysis. This would only involve another blood sample, and since skin issues have been some of Ginger’s primary presenting problems, I’d think it would be very helpful to see whether or not she suffers from thyroid dysfunction. Hypothyroidism itself doesn’t usually cause skin irritation/itching, but it can leave a dog more vulnerable to recurrent skin infections which can indeed cause those problems. Low thyroid can also cause elevated cholesterol levels.T4 Date given: 03-17-20 T8:31a
T4 0.8 0.8-3.5 mg/dL
The Total T4 result is less than 1.0 mcg/dl. A Free-T4 by equilibrium dialysis may be helpful in supporting the diagnosis of hypothyroidism in patients demonstrating clinical signs compatible with hypothyroidism.Please contact Customer Service for this additional testing.
Since Ginger has already tested negative on the LDDS, I do agree that I’d probably want to pursue some of these other questionable areas before proceeding again with Cushing’s testing. At her age, the main goal of Cushing’s treatment would be immediate symptom relief. So if some of her problems are instead being caused by other conditions, that’s all the more reason to investigate them more thoroughly beforehand. Please do keep us updated, OK?
Marianne