Patience, 15 (?) y/o beagle mix, macroadenoma (Patience has passed)

[06beagles]

Hi everyone,

Wow there is a lot of info in these forums, I feel like I could keep reading all night long! I am facing a scary situation with my little beagle/jack russell mix Patience. Pey (as we call her), was diagnosed with Cushings back in I believe June of 2006. She has been maintained on Lysodren with stims done religiously every 6 months, results always OK. She has a complex medical history including previous surgery and radiation for a mast cell tumor, she had her back left leg amputated before I rescued her due to severe atrophy from being shot with bb pellets, some of which are lodged in her pelvis :( , ACL sx 2 years ago on her remaining back leg and chronic bronchitis...I think that's it!

She has had 3 episodes since July of 2009 of dizziness/circling and very brief nystagmus (lasting less than a minute). The first episode lasted maybe 4-5 days with the dizziness and circling getting a little better as the days went on. During this time she also was picky about eating and would prefer to be hand fed. Had her checked out, did some bloods and the vet and I figured it was old dog vestibular syndrome. Certainly seemed to fit. She had another brief episode in October, just lasted a night or two, she seemed to be dizzy when getting up to go out at night, especially after having been laying down on her side for a few hours. It almost seemed like a positional vertigo. We put her on Benadryl as we were also questioning if she could possibly have allergies as she was scratching at her ears and face a lot and did have a yeast based ear infection.

I kept her on Benadryl and then in late December, actually on Christmas Eve just a week after one of our other dogs Diesel passed away after battling prostate cancer for 10 months Patience became very ill. She had explosive diarrhea, was unwilling to eat and had blood in her urine. Back to the vet, she was a little dehydrated, potassium level was slightly elevated, she had a UTI, and her BUN was slightly high although creat was fine. Started abx and gave sub Q fluids at home for a week. Vet was concerned she may be becoming Addisonian. Fluids seemed to help perk her up. We stoppped all other meds (Theophylline, Benadryl, Lysodren), but continued with her Flovent inhaler and abx. After several days off of Benadryl she had another episode of nystagmus and circling, again only lasted a little while one night when we went out before bed, she could walk fine the next morning. We repeated the stim, pre-sample was fine (sorry don't remember the #), post was a little high I think he said 11. Just had an abdominal ultrasound last week, no significant finding really, maybe some slight intestinal thickening (IBD?). She was put on Flagyl and Cipro and I was told do not give Lysodren while she is still not eating well.

For the past 4-5 weeks she doesn't want to eat. She will have something once or twice and then wants nothing to do with it again. We have tried every food you can imagine and have even started to syringe feed her zd and ad. She has gone from about 15.6 to 13.7 lbs. Other than no appetite, she is just really lethargic and mopey. She was never the most active dog, but she has really gone downhill the past month. In reading about macroadenomas it sounds a lot like her. She has been "off" since June/July but nothing really blatantly obvious, my gut just told me something was going on. The problem is all of the neuro symptoms she was/is having are so sporadic, it's hard to figure things out. She was exhibiting a lot of restlessness in early December where she would run around the kitchen relentlessly and nothing I tried to do for her would appease her (take her out, fill the water bowls up more for her, offer her food). She also sometimes rubs her head on the bed or pillow when she is laying down and sometimes just looks lost. We are going to a neurologist on Saturday morning, I am sure he will want to do an MRI. Money is a huge concern unfortunately, especially given that we just spent tons on our Diesel battling cancer over the last year and our beagle basset x Ebby had disc surgery in September too...not a good year financially:( I will do whatever my baby girl needs though (my credit cards love me)

Sorry I went on and on....just trying to get feelers to see if anyone has experience with macroadenomas to see what you think of Pey's symptoms. I thank you kindly in advance for any input.

[AlisonandMia]

Hi and welcome.

Haven't got a lot of time to post at the moment - I'll post in more detail later. However I just wanted to say that you may want to see about getting a CT scan done instead of an MRI. CT's are usually around $600.00 whereas MRI's can be up over $2000.00 (very much ball-park figures.) MRI's are generally regarded as being superior and better up picking up subtle things but a CT scan will definitely show something as obvious and as easy to find (because they know just where to find it) as a pituitary macroadenoma. My dog had a CT and her macroademona showed up loud and clear (strangely enough it didn't happen to be causing her any problems - but that is another story.)

Some docs will want to opt for the MRI because they have an MRI machine - but a CT can almost certainly do the job for less money. It is also safer for the dog because with an MRI they have to be anesthetized (as for a CT) but the nature of an MRI makes monitoring difficult/impossible - I also think MRI's may take longer, but I'm not sure. A CT looking specifically for a macro would be very quick - only a couple of "slices" through the right part of the head - don't know whether that would be the case with an MRI too or not.

Alison

[maggiebeagle]

Welcome. I can't offer any advice about macroadenomas but I did want to say hello. Having been a parent to a hungry little beagle, I know when a beagle or beagle mix doesn't want to eat it is worrisome. I'm sure more people who have had experience with macroadenomas will be by soon.

[Casey's Mom]

Welcome to you and Patience, what is your name by the way? I don't have any advice for you but other people on this site will be by shortly.

I just wanted to say welcome and that we are all here for you and Patience,

Hugs,

[06beagles]

Thank you all for the kind welcome. My name is Theresa by the way, sorry I forgot that in the original post, my head was spinning trying to be sure I included everything that has been going on.

Alison, thank you for bringing up the CT scan. Obviously I would prefer the least invasive, safest workup possible. I have dealt with this neurosurgeon before when my Ebby had her disc surgery in September. From past experience I suspect they may push for an MRI, I may push back for the CT if it can give us the info they will need. My only concern is if she does have a tumor and they need to radiation, is a CT a good enough scan to base the radiation treatment on? I guess I can ask him that tomorrow. I am just really nervous about the whole thing. I feel like I have been on a non-stop rollercoaster with all the dogs and their medical issues the past year, it has really been non-stop :(

Hopefully we can start getting some answers soon. Thank you all again for your kind words, this seems like a very nice place.

[labblab]

My only concern is if she does have a tumor and they need to radiation, is a CT a good enough scan to base the radiation treatment on? I guess I can ask him that tomorrow.
That is definitely an important question to ask. At the time that I was considering imaging for my Cushpup with a suspected macroadenoma, the impression I received was that an MRI would be required in advance of radiation treatment. But that recommendation may vary by clinic and medical team.

If that does turn out to be the case -- that an MRI would be required prior to treatment -- then you may want to first sort through a decision regarding radiation therapy prior to committing to the type of imaging. I know that seems like putting the cart ahead of the horse, but it might be important to think it through in advance.

Marianne

[littleone1]

Hi Theresa,

Corky and I would also like to say hi and welcome you and Patience.

I don't have any advice to give you, but you have found a very wonderful group of caring, supportive, and knowledgeable people.

Terri

[06beagles]

Hi all, I thought I would give you an update. Patience had an MRI today and unfortunately she has a meningioma :( I have to say I am not surprised but at least we now know what we are dealing with. The neurologist we saw today was extremely nice (and gave me a deal on the MRI which was a nice surprise and SO appreciated. It made it a much easier decision to go ahead with it today). Apparently meningiomas are often called the silent tumors because they don't often show many symptoms, usually just a sudden onset of seizure followed by the animal returning almost to normal for a while until they have another seizure. Fortunately, she hasn't had any seizures yet. For now we have started prednisone to control some of the swelling in her brain and tramadol for the pain. The neuro said she probably has a headache :( My poor baby girl, I have had a migraine on and off myself for the last 4 days, so I can empathize with her.

We are going to go to the oncologist and see about starting hydroxyurea (chemo agent) and see if she is a candidate for full or partial radiation. We are a little concerned about radiation because of the anesthesia. Apparently today her BP kept dropping when they had her under for the MRI so we are going to have to be careful about anesthetizing her. I was hoping to not go to the oncologist for a while, given that I went there at least monthly from February until November of last year while Diesel was being treated. Oh well, back we go to take care of the baby Pey. That's it for now, the poor girl is cranky and exhausted from her workup today. She is fighting off falling alseep next to me right now, every time she almost lets go and lets her head fall down she pops right back up, hopefully she'll settle soon. Again, thank you all for listening.

Theresa and Patience

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Theresa and welcome to you and Patience! :)

What a tough little girl Patience is! What a diligent mom you are and she is very lucky you rescued her!

I wish the MRI had been more positive....but it is best to know what you are dealing with.

Please keep in touch and let us know how she is doing. If we can help you in any way, research, whatever, we will be glad to do so. Also, know we are here any time you need to talk. We have some very broad shoulders and gentle arms among our little family.

Hugs,
Leslie and the girls - always

[SavingSimon]

Hi all, I thought I would give you an update. Patience had an MRI today and unfortunately she has a meningioma :( I have to say I am not surprised but at least we now know what we are dealing with. The neurologist we saw today was extremely nice (and gave me a deal on the MRI which was a nice surprise and SO appreciated. It made it a much easier decision to go ahead with it today). Apparently meningiomas are often called the silent tumors because they don't often show many symptoms, usually just a sudden onset of seizure followed by the animal returning almost to normal for a while until they have another seizure. Fortunately, she hasn't had any seizures yet. For now we have started prednisone to control some of the swelling in her brain and tramadol for the pain. The neuro said she probably has a headache :( My poor baby girl, I have had a migraine on and off myself for the last 4 days, so I can empathize with her.

We are going to go to the oncologist and see about starting hydroxyurea (chemo agent) and see if she is a candidate for full or partial radiation. We are a little concerned about radiation because of the anesthesia. Apparently today her BP kept dropping when they had her under for the MRI so we are going to have to be careful about anesthetizing her. I was hoping to not go to the oncologist for a while, given that I went there at least monthly from February until November of last year while Diesel was being treated. Oh well, back we go to take care of the baby Pey. That's it for now, the poor girl is cranky and exhausted from her workup today. She is fighting off falling alseep next to me right now, every time she almost lets go and lets her head fall down she pops right back up, hopefully she'll settle soon. Again, thank you all for listening.

Theresa and Patience

Hi Theresa,
I noticed there haven't been any updates for a while. I hope and pray everything is going okay. I hate this rollercoaster rider our little friends and those that love them have to go on! I know you have to be incredibly busy. Did you decide to go ahead with radiation? If you have time, I would be very interested to hear how things are going. Most of us probably have dogs with some kind of brain tumor, and any information is always very helpful. I sincerely hope everything is going okay for youo and your poor baby.
Love,
T.S.D. and Simon

[06beagles]

T.S.D and Simon,

Obviously this response is very late, Patience passed away back in August. I am sorry I never got the chance to get back on here and post an update. We did go ahead with radiation and chemo. They ended up giving her a full course of radiation they just did it a bit different, 3 times a week rather than daily but she tolerated it very well. We were hoping to get a better result than the 6 months we did get, but I am thankful for any extra time we had with her. She was such a special girl and is terribly missed :( I am thankful we had here in our life though, she brought such happiness to everyone who met her. She was known for her non-stop tail wagging, always hitting the vets in the face with her tail anytime we brought her in for an exam :)

I am back on the board because we are now unfortunately facing a new situation with our other dog Max. We brought him in for an ultrasound for some intermittent vomiting over the last month or so. He has a history of colitis so I was hoping this was also some type of gastritis/IBD issue. Fortunately they believe it is but while doing the ultrasound they made an incidental finding of an adrenal tumor. I have spent the day reading up as much as I could and will go ahead and post a new thread about Max. I wish we could catch a break, we have lost 3 dogs to various cancers over the last 2 years, it's a lot to take :(

Thanks for listening,
Theresa

[Squirt's Mom]

Dear Teresa,

I am so sorry to hear about Patience. You did all you could to help her and I am glad you got a little bit longer with your precious girl because of the treatments but it is never easy to lose them. And to have lost so many in such a short time has got to be very difficult. :(

We would be honored to get to know your sweet girl by sharing in stories of your lives together. If you wish, you are more than welcome to post a memorial and share your memories in our In Loving Memory section -

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Her name has been added to those who have passed in 2010 so we can always remember and honor her here.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1588

We also have a candle site for our family here where you can light candles in memory of Patience at -

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=K9C

Our condolences to you and your family,
Leslie, Squirt, Trinket and our Angels, Ruby and Crystal

[k9diabetes]

Hi Theresa,

I'm very sorry to learn of Patience's passing. It is terrible to have your heart torn apart with three sweet dogs so close together... Patience was a senior senior citizen so I know that she got the best of everything from her beloved family.

Natalie

[06beagles]

Natalie and Leslie,

Thank you both for your kind responses, this is such a nice board :) It has been a rough couple of years losing 3 sweet babies so close together and now facing a new problem with Max having an adrenal tumor :( Patience was definitely one of a kind, she had been through so much in her life (she was shot with bb's and had her leg amputated before we got her, she had mast cell cancer when she was 5, had surgery on her remaining back leg a few years ago, got diagnosed with Cushings and then the brain tumor) but was always so, so happy. I cherish the time we had with her but I miss her everyday. Thank you again for your kind words.

Theresa

[labblab]

Dear Theresa,

I am so sorry for your losses, and also for the challenges you are now facing with Max. It seems so unfair that you should have so much to shoulder. But for your furbabies -- what a blessing for them that they have been loved and cared for by you!!! It brings tears to my eyes to read about all of Patience's struggles. What a brave, sweet girl. I am so very glad that we will always be able to honor and remember her here alongside you.

With many hugs to you, always in loving memory of your dear girl ~
Marianne

[Franklin'sMum]

Theresa,

I am so sorry for the loss of Patience, but very glad you had an extra 6 months with her. I hope Max's tumor is on the easier side to operate on, if that is an option for him.

Love and hugs,
Jane, Franklin and Angel Bailey xxx

[jrepac]

very sorry to hear of the passing of your Patience..:(

Jeff & Angel Mandy

[Marlene]

It is SO much to take, Theresa. I am sorry you lost Patience. It sounds like she was a very sweet baby. I just lost my baby, Lacey, and I just can't imagine how difficult it would be to be dealing with another stress as you are with Max. My thoughts are with you and my hope that you will soon find the answer that will make Max healthy again. Hugs.

Marlene

[06beagles]

Thank you all again for your kindness. I have been reading a lot on this board over the last few days, it's nice to see that there are other people as crazy about their babies as my husband and I are. I have read a lot of the memorials and find myself laughing and crying over all the memories everyone shares. I would love to write a memorial for Patience one day, just don't think I can do it yet. I don't think I could find words to do her justice, she had such a rough start but you never would have known it by how loving and sweet she was. I am bawling just writing this :( Anyway, thank you again for your kind words, it is much appreciated.

Theresa

[Casey's Mom]

So sorry to hear about Patience. May your love for her give you strength.

Love and many hugs,