walters mom
11-09-2010, 07:58 PM
Admin Note: Moved from the How To section.
Hi, my name is Leanne, Walter our 12 year old shiba inu was diagnosed with cushings about 2 months ago. It started when I noticed that his front teeth had broken off while gnawing a bone and took him in to the vet. They wanted to put him under anesthetic and the routine blood work showed abnormal levels that suggested cushings so they tested for it and it came back positive. He had been drinking alot, peeing more and panting, but his appetite was good...although he was slowing down quite a bit, I assumed it was the hot summer and that he was aging. We immediately tried to find as much info as possible while the vet put him on a loading phase of lysodren. After about 5 days, he started to fall down and vomit. The emergency vet gave him prednisone but said to NOT stop the lysodren (against my gut feeling). A day later, the original vet said he should have been taken off the lysodren. He had a follow up test and the levels were down and the cortisol levels were of course too low. I switched clinics at this point. I realize it is a hard thing to navigate, but I am acutely aware of those important little changes that we as pet owners can notice and act upon. The new vet is much more positive and we've started on a maintenance schedule of lysodren once weekly. So far, from the first couple of days of the loading phase, all of the cushings symptoms except the hair loss have gone. He has had his dental surgery and I am sure feels much better from that alone. Lately the only awkward thing is excessive licking around his bum and inner legs. And he seems itchy. I am wondering if it is his diet? He was eating orijen fish kibble and natural balance canned. But now he won't touch the kibble and is very picky about the flavours of his wet food. ( He was always food oriented and not difficult to feed). I am thinking that raw would be the best thing for him, I used to do that in the past, but he turned out to be allergic to chicken. Regardless, I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum, we are trying so hard to make sure we do the right things for Walt and keep him as comfortable and happy as possible.
Hi, my name is Leanne, Walter our 12 year old shiba inu was diagnosed with cushings about 2 months ago. It started when I noticed that his front teeth had broken off while gnawing a bone and took him in to the vet. They wanted to put him under anesthetic and the routine blood work showed abnormal levels that suggested cushings so they tested for it and it came back positive. He had been drinking alot, peeing more and panting, but his appetite was good...although he was slowing down quite a bit, I assumed it was the hot summer and that he was aging. We immediately tried to find as much info as possible while the vet put him on a loading phase of lysodren. After about 5 days, he started to fall down and vomit. The emergency vet gave him prednisone but said to NOT stop the lysodren (against my gut feeling). A day later, the original vet said he should have been taken off the lysodren. He had a follow up test and the levels were down and the cortisol levels were of course too low. I switched clinics at this point. I realize it is a hard thing to navigate, but I am acutely aware of those important little changes that we as pet owners can notice and act upon. The new vet is much more positive and we've started on a maintenance schedule of lysodren once weekly. So far, from the first couple of days of the loading phase, all of the cushings symptoms except the hair loss have gone. He has had his dental surgery and I am sure feels much better from that alone. Lately the only awkward thing is excessive licking around his bum and inner legs. And he seems itchy. I am wondering if it is his diet? He was eating orijen fish kibble and natural balance canned. But now he won't touch the kibble and is very picky about the flavours of his wet food. ( He was always food oriented and not difficult to feed). I am thinking that raw would be the best thing for him, I used to do that in the past, but he turned out to be allergic to chicken. Regardless, I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum, we are trying so hard to make sure we do the right things for Walt and keep him as comfortable and happy as possible.