Hello from Arizona! (Ginger, 13yo Rat Terrier, diabetes and Cushing's)

[cactusdr]

New member here just wanting to say hello.

What a wonderful site! It is especially nice to see that it is grounded in literature and current information.

Briefly, I have a 13yo Rat Terrier who was first diagnosed with diabetes and Cushing's about one (1) year ago. In retrospect, the diabetes is probably secondary to Cushing's, and its onset very rapid.

I feel very fortunate in two regards:
1. Ginger has a vet that is VERY knowledgeable about canine Cushing's and canine diabetes and he spends whatever time it takes to thoroughly explain the diseases and treatment modalities and,
2. Ginger is well regulated with regard to ACTH and blood sugar levels.

Ginger started with 10mg caps Trilostane X 2 daily and is currently at 11mg b.i.d. In combination with Humilin-N insulin X 2 daily she is now more active than I can remember. I sometimes think I've got a gray-faced puppy on my hands.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and wish good luck to all of you. And to the site administrator, thanks for providing a great forum for all to learn.

-Mark

[Franklin'sMum]

Hi Mark, and welcome to you and Ginger :)

I am so glad that your vet is doing a wonderful job with Ginger's care :D and takes the time to explain everything you may need to ask. That seems to be 3/4 of the battle.
Continuing good luck to you and yours,
Jane, Franklin and Bailey xxx

[Marlene]

Mark,
Welcome to our forums. I am fairly new here. I have a 14 1/2-year-old toy poodle (Lacey) who has just been officially diagnosed today by the vet hospital at Colorado State University. This site is a great place for information on Cushing's and the treatments. The members are very knowledgeable about all aspects of the disease. Also, everyone here is SO supportive and willing to answer questions, allay fears and help in any way they can.
It is good to hear that you have a great vet and Ginger is doing so well!
Marlene and Lacey

[Roxee's Dad]

Hi Mark,
Just want to welcome you and Ginger to K9cushings, I'm glad you found us. :)

Really great that you have a good vet and Ginger is well controlled and happy. :D


We would really love to hear more about Ginger and how the diagnosis came about.

[apollo6]

Hi Mark
From San Diego, Ca.
Welcome, glad to hear your little one is doing well. My Apollo just started on Trilostane June 23rd. Trying to come to terms with all of this.

[littleone1]

Hi Mark,

Corky and I also want to welcome you and Ginger. I know it's great to have a good vet and IMS that are very knowledgeable in treating these diseases and are more than willing to listen and explain things.

I'm glad that Ginger is doing so well.

Terri

[acushdogsmom]

New member here just wanting to say hello. What a wonderful site! It is especially nice to see that it is grounded in literature and current information.
Hi Mark and Ginger! Welcome. :) We're so glad that you found us and that you like what you've seen here so far. :D


Briefly, I have a 13yo Rat Terrier who was first diagnosed with diabetes and Cushing's about one (1) year ago. In retrospect, the diabetes is probably secondary to Cushing's, and its onset very rapid.

I feel very fortunate in two regards:
1. Ginger has a vet that is VERY knowledgeable about canine Cushing's and canine diabetes and he spends whatever time it takes to thoroughly explain the diseases and treatment modalities and,
2. Ginger is well regulated with regard to ACTH and blood sugar levels.

Ginger started with 10mg caps Trilostane X 2 daily and is currently at 11mg b.i.d. In combination with Humilin-N insulin X 2 daily she is now more active than I can remember. I sometimes think I've got a gray-faced puppy on my hands.
It's great to hear that your Ginger (what a cute face, btw!) is doing well now that she's being treated for both conditions.


Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and wish good luck to all of you. And to the site administrator, thanks for providing a great forum for all to learn. -MarkWe are actually a team of administrators who set this place up and along with our Moderator team we do our best to keep our community running smoothly. :)

We also have a "sister site" that was created by one of our admins - you might want to check it out, too:

k9diabetes.com, for dogs living with diabetes:
http://www.k9diabetes.com

And the associated message board:
http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum

[cactusdr]

Hi Mark,
Just want to welcome you and Ginger to K9cushings, I'm glad you found us. :)

Really great that you have a good vet and Ginger is well controlled and happy. :D


We would really love to hear more about Ginger and how the diagnosis came about.
The onset of the symptoms were very rapid. My wife and I commented to each other on the same day how Ginger looked so thin in her face and her stomach distended. Because of her age we were not panicked, we 'assumed' her dietary needs had changed, so we changed her food to a senior diet and increased her feedings to 3X/day with smaller quantities per meal. Within one week she was drinking a bowl of water per day and began urinating inside the home. I knew she was diabetic at that point. So she goes to the vet and he confirms the diabetes diagnosis. As a bonus, the complete blood workup revealed aberrant ACTH levels.
I took Ginger back to the vet the next morning for a low-dose dexamethasone stress test and it confirmed that she indeed had canine Cushing's. Even with my background I was surprised at this diagnosis and even more surprised at its prevalence. So she's started on Vetsilin and Trilostane and the rest is history. I only wish she'd begun to exhibit some symptom that would have led us to the Cushing's diagnosis much earlier. There is a very good chance that the Cushing's was a precursor to the diabetes and had the ACTH been controlled, who knows!

Mark