Urinalysis

[Marty]

Winnie had her monthly urinalysis yesterday (for bladder stone probs), and one reading came out lower than it had been...so the Vet would like to do blood work for thyroid or Cushing's (she is already on thyroid meds, but I know that can change). I opted to have it done next month, because we ran out of her prescription food, and for the last few days, she has had regular food. I did a search on Cushing's......

[E's]

Sorry to hear this. I had the term "Cushings" in my mind but had never looked it up... just did...

http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/searc ... Bin%2Bdogs

...and can understand your concern. On the plus side, though, your close monitoring of Winnie's health should give you a sizable edge if she does have the condition.

Hoping for the best... and thanks for keeping us posted.

Dot B

[Marty]

Wow...that is a lot of links! Thank you!

[Traci]

Which urinalysis marker was low, and when was her last thyroid function test?

[Marty]

I honestly don't remember the name, just the numbers....it was 117, and it normally is between 121 and 124 and it should be above 114. Her last thyroid test was about 6 months ago, and she had a geriatric blood panel done before her dental in Nov.

Now that I know what Cushing's is, I will be much better prepared to remember things....

[Traci]

Possibly glucose?

I would suggest retesting the urine in a month (for accuracy) and seeing if there are any changes since the last urinalysis. Of course, if there are any sudden symptoms of illness, get it done sooner, plus a chem profile (at least combine both urine and blood glucose levels, maybe specific liver/kidney function). Thyroid testing would be a good idea.

[k9Karen]

Could it have been the specific gravity? 1.0## ?? [Often verbalized as one - nineteen - for 1.019 - or something like that]. If so, a lower number simply means the urine was more dilute than before. Was there a difference in the time of day of the samples? If it was SG, and the reading was 1.014, I think that's OK, but I know human values run lower than canine (1.014 would be mid-range normal for a human specimen).

Hope all turns out OK!

[Marty]

Traci.....her urine is tested monthly.

Karen, I think that specific gravity might have been it. Her monthly tests are always at 9am....I did wake early that morn..530...and she was probably more active as a result.

They want an early morning pee, but they don't have appts till 9

[JMM]

I hope it is not significant and just a normal variation for her.

Mikey gets a monthly urinalysis done, too. It took use a while to figure out what a normal Mikey urine was. He has 1-2+ protein normally, some RBCs and it shows up as moderate blood on the strip, sometimes bilirubin and sometimes not, and sometimes mixed granular casts and sometimes not. He's a bit of a freak LOL

I did panic when we first found the casts. It turns out his kidneys are a little small and have some mild changes that indicate early kidney disease. Now that we know he is quite stable in that regard, I'm okay with it.

[Marty]

Thanks for your reply, but what is a cast? I have a lot to figure out before the next UA....