Hi... Has anyone had Antech screw up your progesterone test? I think I've just had my first.

Monday, the 15th, she was 1.6 then on Thurs., she was 1.3 Say what? Joel called them and they said they'd rerun it.. It was same. Now, I have never seen #'s go backwards...ever.

Here comes the weekend so I have no idea where she is really at~ I'm going on her behaviors(she's not a hussy and doesn't stand/flag hard until she's ready) and Noah's. Both were telling me yesterday, it's time. Which would be about right going off the Monday, 1.6

I'm thinking someone somewhere didn't handle the blood right or what?

Thanks for any input~

From experience, sometimes the numbers can and do decline a little or stay level for a period of time. Remember, you are not looking for a progesterone number per se, but rather a rise. An inflection point. This is important and the reason you should continue to test for progesterone well past the point of ovulation to make sure she did in fact ovulate.

It is also within the range of accuracy for that test - 1.3 - 1.6 for that test might in fact be the same thing.

Sherri
I have had a bitch go backwards on the early on stages of progestrone befor. We were taking one of my girls to donna reeces once in the winter, and she was 2.90 on a Monday so we actually thought okay lets drive on up to her house on wed morning . Donna said to take her to hutchinsons first and do one more progestrone so we did and my husband stayed in town and waited for the results. Since they do them in house. She now was on wed only 2.70 so she was holding .
So he drove back to my house because a snow storm was brewing .
We then did one more test on a Friday and she was 8.0 so we then had donna ship the semen out Friday and had two viles in my semen box.
we bred her on Saturday and on Sunday .We had 3 puppies.
We used camelot farms.

It wasn't a big litter. But we should have been covered during the most fertile days .
So they can go down again as long as its befor they have the 5.0 surge.

sue halling
gregoireslabradors.com

I have had the same thing....my girl was 0.7 on day 5....then 0.5 on day 9.....waited until day 11 to do another test....it was 0.7 !! We decided to take her to the stud on day 12 (the stud owner suggested that we let the dogs tell us when she is ready)........did AIs on day 15 and 17....she had eleven puppies !! Go figure ??

Also have had the girl go down not a whole number but tenths of numbers. So bet just normal.

We have had horrible results from Antech... to the point of pulling blood- spinning & getting serum- splitting the sample- submitting under two different bitch's names and getting two different sets of numbers- both of which were different than we got from Hutch. Went a long way to explaining the misses we'd been having. Just our own experience, but not a path we're willing to go down again.

They lost two of mine!! Two different bitches a year apart!

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I've just in all these years never seen this before so was taken aback. Now, I have had them stall out from LH and not read the text books and ovulate until 5/6 days later..

I'm doing another prog. in the morning. Anxious to see her #.

Elizabeth, who do you use now? I've never had any trouble w/ Antech before. I've been using them a long time now. It was me, who got my vet clinic to start using them for lab work, etc.

Thank you to those of you who wrote me privately too~

My vet refuses to use Antech even when they offered her FREE lab testing for 90 days....she only uses IDEXX.
I have had Antech lose my samples before as well.

Any lab can err but I've had this happen with both Antech and Idexx. If the progesterone level is significantly below ovulation, it can go up and down in tiny amounts. Measurements of ng per ml is small. I've presonally seen levels go down as much as 0.4, come back to the prior no. then continue moving upward again.

It's not usually an error. When levels are measured in these minut amounts, this can happen. If the blood is drawn a different time of day it can influence it a small amt. These are small units of measure (ng/ml).

I have this in my older notes but can't exactly explain it on the list,it's minut amounts

A ml is 1/1000 of a liter.

A nano is a millionth 1/1000000 of a liter.

I had this happen 2 times with Idexx and 1 time with Antech in 16 years. The cap color was correct. Each time it happened, the bitch got pregnant.

Be cautious, Antech and Idexx results are not exactly the same in case you ever change labs, try not to with a bitch mid-cycle.

Hi Holly, Would you please email me privately please?

Thanks,
~S

Be sure your vet is using a red top non separater tube.

Antech did a test years ago: 3 blood draws from the same bitch all on the same day/time, all collected in different tubes and all 3 results were different. Antech now puts the info on red top NS tubes on the bottom of their test results.

Good luck with your breeding.

We used red top non separator tubes and used same bitch- two different samples/same time and still got different results with Antech. Not confidence inspiring at all....

I am aware of that and know the breeder personally. Once the breeder informed Antech they started putting the info at the bottom of their test results because they realized the importance of collecting the blood properly.

Morning, She was on day 17 yesterday and at 10:30am, her prog. # was 4.7. I have never had a girl go the way this season has went nor be so late in it~ First time for everything, huh?

I must admit, I'm still not convinced her #'s are right but I'm covering her so I should be fine~

We also sent blood to another lab to compare too. We shall see~

I did ask, Joel, if he's ever had any trouble w/ Antech and he said no. Only time was when courier lost things.

Currently at my clinic we use both Antech and Idexx (used to only use Idexx but Antech now offers us an A.M. pick up with afternoon results). There are SO many different physical laboratories... for instance our A.M. Antech pick up actually goes to a different state than our P.M. pick up. Over the years (not just for progesterone) I have had an occasional lost sample, etc... but haven't specifically had a problem with either lab.

FOR progesterone testing- important that sample is handled correctly from the initial draw/tube selection/centrifugation, etc. Also the different labs use different technical protocols so I try to always use the same lab throughout a bitches cycle (and don't even switch between the two Antech labs we use).

I have seen bitches stay level and also decline before they hit their initial rise.

forgive me for not being more specific.

I meant that the bloodwork (all 3 samples)was tested at Antech not that they did the study voluntarily.