Sweet Tawni Girl (11 y/o lab) (Lysodren maint, soloxine, adensolyn) Tawni has passed

[deena]

My 11 year old yellow lab has been diagnosed with crushings disease three years ago after a long struggle with a local vet....persistence is a must when it comes to getting a proper diagnostic results. We have gone through all the necessary steps to come to the realization this is serious stuff. I have her on 1000 mgs of Lysodrin every three days now which started out at 500 mgs....we are on soloxine, (thyroid meds)and adensolyn (liver meds)......just this past June she developed diabetes of which requires two shots per day...along with that I am feeding her four times a day. I have given up on dog food all together and cook her meals. The day starts with oatmeal and three meals of Brown rice, carrots, green beans and turkey,chicken, venison, or elk.
My most recent dilemma is that her skin develops infections that i cannot seem to get cleared up....any ideas?

[labblab]

Hi Deena and welcome!

Just wanted to tell you that I've moved your thread about Tawni to our main "Questions and Discussion" forum where I think you'll have higher visibility and receive more feedback to your question.

I'm so glad you've joined us,
Marianne

[marie adams]

Hi Deena,

Welcome! I wanted to let you know I took Maddie off of all grains and beef because I read on a site for Cushings that grains and beef were not good for them. I have her on a raw chicken diet from Northwest Naturals--it comes in various forms of--all frozen. I found a dry food that has no grains also. One of the people at the pet supply I go to said in the wild a dog would not eat grains and that when they make a kill the diet of the small animal would have chewed up their food so mixed in with the chicken are vegetables and fruit.

Maddie has done very well on this diet so far--started early this year. I also give her flax seed oil, fish oil, I even give her yogurt because a neighbor said her vet said to give it to her dog with skin hot spots because those spots were yeast infections. I also read on a site about yeast infections being in the ears--I noticed a thick sticky stuff in Maddie's ears that was never there before so I tried the yogurt and no more brown stuff in the ears.

Maddie had lost a lot and I mean a lot of her fur because of Cushings--it is now back thick as can be but changed in coloring--I think the yogurt and flax seed helped it be softer and her skin wasn't as dried out and flaky.

Well I hope this helps!!!:) Take care!!

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby! :)

First, congratulations on treating your baby for three years successfully! This is a testament to your loving care and dedication...and further proof that the "2-year survival" hooey vets tell parents is just that - hooey! ;)

Has your vet given you any diagnosis for the skin issue? That and fish oil would be my first step. The Omegas (3&6) are good for the skin and coat but check with your vet before starting them, of course. Do you add any supplements to the diet?

I'm glad you found us and look forward to learning more of yours and your baby's journey over these last 3 years. From this point forward, you don't have to walk alone, tho. We will be here to help in any way we can.

Hugs,
Leslie and the girls :D - always

[deena]

Thank-you for your posts....i thought you might want to read about a day in the life with tawni...we start at a wake up call of 5 a.m. that's when i give her the liver med and a dose of soloxine (thyroid med) have myself a cup of coffee while her oatmeal cooks then it's off to the shower. breakfast is at 6 a.m. along with her vitamins c,d,a,e,b12,omega3 and a calcium tab. At 7 a.m. it's time for her insulin....I feed her 4 times a day hoping that it will help with the diabetes.
At dinner time she gets another soloxine tab and like last nite it was 1000 mgs of lysodrin (every three days). I usually feed brown rice with every meal except for breakfast....sometimes on the weekends and other days off I will cook three eggs for her lunch.
I have tried yogurt but so far she hasn't acquired the taste for it but I will try again as I will go the extra distance for her.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Deena,

Thanks for sharing you day with us. Sounds like you have your hands full 24/7! I cook for both my babies so 3 days a week are devoted to this activity and, man, you oughta see this camper when I'm done! whoa...what a mess! LOL But they are worth every second!

One of Trinket's recipes uses quinoa and we were worried she wouldn't eat it (lots of dogs find the taste or texture unpalatable). She LOVED it! Which is great as that means that recipe requires fewer supplements. She has an egg and salmon recipe she likes, too!

Sat. I got in another order of supplements that I use and my sister-in-law brought it over for me. She wanted to know what I was taking all this stuff for and did she need to start taking some of it. As we talked, I was putting up the new supplies and she saw how many different things I have on hand. Nearly all of it is for the dogs, either added to the feed or given as needed. I got the distinct impression she left more convinced than ever that her husband's sister is a nut case! :p

Thanks for the update and keep in touch!

Hugs,
Leslie and the girls :D - always

[deena]

my 12 year old yellow lab has been on insulin now almost a complete year.. lately I can not get her numbers down, no change in intake as far as food or water goes....no change in activity....tried several bottles of insulin...increases her dosage to 40 from 38...still no change...any ideas???

[addy]

Hi Deena,

I think our moderator's will merge this post with your original thread. It is easier for us to keep track of what is happening with each member that way.

I am sorry to hear you are having problems. Have you been to our sister site the K9 Diabetes.com forum? I apologize I did not have time yet to go back over your original postings.

Hang in there, the others will be along soon.

Hugs,
Addy

[littleone1]

Hi,

I don't have any advice for you, as I've never had to use insulin. As Addy mentioned, our sister site might have some input for you.

Terri

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Deena,

If you are not a member at our sister site, k9diabetes.com, please go over there and sign up asap. You will find great support and a wealth of knowledge from folks who live with canine diabetes on a daily basis. Several of our members here are experienced as well, but we like to make sure you know about k9diabetes as they are the experts in this area. ;) The link is:

http://k9diabetes.com/forum

I'm sure folks will be along to give their thoughts soon.

Hang in there!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

PS. I merged your post with your original thread. This way, all of your info is in one place which makes it easier to keep up with the whole journey.

[lulusmom]

Have you ruled out high cortisol as a cause? When did you have the last acth stimulation test done and what were the results? Is Tawni on the same maintenance dose?

I would highly recommend that if you have not joined our sister site k9diabetes.com already, you do so now. There is a wealth of information there and like members here, they will help in any way they can. The site owner of k9diabetes is also an administrator here so I will try to make sure she is aware of what is going on with Tawni.

Glynda

[Harley PoMMom]

Insulin resistance can be attributed to hypothyroidism among other things, according to this article: Insulin Resistance - Proceedings of the NAVC 2005 ~ http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2005/SAE/127.pdf?LA=1

Lori

[k9diabetes]

Hi Deena,

Welcome to you here and at K9diabetes! I am the administrator of the K9diabetes forum.

Any infection or inflammation tends to raise blood sugar levels so the skin infections could be a big part of the loss of regulation you are dealing with.

And with skin problems being associated with hypothyroidism and with Cushing's disease, I would be interested to know if those levels have been monitored recently.

Active infections can send the blood sugar through the roof. If you look at the K9diabetes forum, Harry's mom has been having problems with something similar. Every time he gets a newly inflamed spot or infection, his blood sugar rises quickly.

This is Harry's full thread. It's extensive so you might want to start at the end and work your way backward:

http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2334

I also have seen certain diabetic dogs who suffer recurring skin lesions that may be an auto-immune attack on the skin. These lesions tend to go in cycles of three or four weeks duration and just about the time you think they are going to clear up, they start up anew.

Like any inflamed skin, the lesions get infected but the infection is secondary and not the cause.

How are Tawni's skin infections currently being treated?

Was her regulation good?

It sounds like her meals may not be very consistent in terms of content, which can make things challenging. And some dogs really don't need four meals a day; two matches the action of their insulin better. But all dogs are different and it may be absolutely perfect for Tawni. So I'd be interested to learn more about Tawni's curves prior to this problem too if you'd like to share all of that at the K9diabetes forum.

I think a thorough workup is the first step with sorting out this problem if it hasn't already been done. You've covered the basics of a new bottle of insulin, etc. So the skin infections are likely a big part of the problem and then the thyroid and Cushing's control would be another factor if not already checked.

The skin problems can be very very trying to manage, unfortunately. Our dog finally did well with Tacrolimus, an immune system suppressant, applied topically on the lesions he had around his eyes. And of course allergies are another possibility...

So I have a LOT of questions! :)

Natalie


My 11 year old yellow lab has been diagnosed with crushings disease three years ago after a long struggle with a local vet....persistence is a must when it comes to getting a proper diagnostic results. We have gone through all the necessary steps to come to the realization this is serious stuff. I have her on 1000 mgs of Lysodrin every three days now which started out at 500 mgs....we are on soloxine, (thyroid meds)and adensolyn (liver meds)......

just this past June she developed diabetes of which requires two shots per day...along with that I am feeding her four times a day. I have given up on dog food all together and cook her meals. The day starts with oatmeal and three meals of Brown rice, carrots, green beans and turkey,chicken, venison, or elk.

My most recent dilemma is that her skin develops infections that i cannot seem to get cleared up....any ideas?

Lately I can not get her numbers down, no change in intake as far as food or water goes....no change in activity....tried several bottles of insulin...increases her dosage to 40 from 38...still no change...any ideas???

[deena]

Thank-you all for your words of wisdom......it has been tough trying to keep tawni in check. I have just had her acth test done last week and the vet says shes doing fine... I do not have the numbers with me to share.
I have recently changed vets and she has me treating tawni's skin infections with a weekly bath of topical shampoo...I will get more info posted at another time as I do not have internet at home and am doing this during my breaks.
As far as the curve goes I have been having luck with keeping her numbers down around 179 until here recently...I am kinda expecting the vet to instruct me on feeding twice a day as opposed to 4 times daily. I submitted new numbers today and am awaiting her call.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Deena,

Let us know what the vet had to say when you can!

Did you check out k9diabetes?

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[jani]

Hi Deena,

My Maisie just in the last 3 weeks or so of her life developed a skin rash. I am pretty sure it was Calcinosis Cutis. It looked just like what she had. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcinosis_cutis

You can google image it as well. It is another symptom of canine Cushing's.

When my Maisie got it, she and I, had much bigger things to worry about unfortunately. But look into it. Perhaps the vet has something to take it away.

I wish all the best for you and your Tawni.

jani

[deena]

thank you for your posts and information you have provided... I did have another vet visit and checked our meters to make sure that they were reading correctly...which they are. We have started feeding twice a day as opposed to 4 times and she looks pretty good... which is nice as today is her 12th birthday... I will be doing another curve tomorrow to see how things are going. Her skin condition seems to be holding its own but after a few more baths I imagine things will improve.:) I will post her numbers probably on monday...

[Squirt's Mom]

Happy 12th Birthday, Tawni!

Hope you get lots of neat goodies and extra lovin's today!

Hugs and belly rubs!
Leslie and the gang

[Harley PoMMom]

Happy 12th Birthday, Tawni!


Sending lots of hugs and kisses! Lori

[deena]

Thank you for the birthday wishes for tawni....its great to have the support from you.... Just thought I would up date Tawni's progress... i increased her insulin to 50 units twice a day and she seems to be doing quite well... i will have to watch for too much of a good thing but the numbers have been within the realm of her progress =)

[deena]

too painful to give anymore than tawni crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday morning....she was a real trooper as to have survived all the treatments since she was diagnosed in 2007.....

[lulusmom]

Deena, I am so very sorry for your loss. Yes, Tawni was a trooper and an inspiration to others. Words are so empty at times like this but please know that my thoughts are with you and your family.

Godspeed sweet Tawni Girl.

Glynda

[Squirt's Mom]

Dear Deena,

I am so sorry to hear about Tawni. She was a trooper and your love gave her that ability to fight. Today, that love still resides in her heart along with gratitude for all you did for her. Tawni will watch over you with the same love and devotion you gave to her until that day when you are reunited forever and ever.

Our deepest sympathies,
Leslie, Squirt, Trinket, Brick and our Angels, Ruby and Crystal

[addy]

Dear Deena,

Please know we are with you now and whenever you should need us.
I am so very sorry to hear this news.

Love,
Addy

[Cyn719]

Deena - So sorry to hear about Tawni - you loved her very much and gave her a wonderful life and she knew that -- thoughts and prayers are with you

[k9diabetes]

I am so very sorry to learn of Tawny's passing... no dog had a more dedicated caretaker than you and I know her life was full and wonderful as a result.

Natalie

[Jenny & Judi in MN]

my heart goes out to you. It sounds like Tawni lived a much loved life. I'm just really sorry because I know how much it hurts.

Judi

[jrepac]

Very sorry to hear of Tawni's passing.
Rest easy girl.

Jeff

[mytil]

((((hugs)))) Deena
Terry

[bgdavis]

Deena,

I'm so sorry that Tawni has crossed the Bridge. She was such a trooper and like my Criss Ann, was plagued by so many different illnesses.

She spent a good deal of time with you and you will always have those years of memories.

Rest in peace, Tawni.

Bonnie and Angel Criss Ann

[deena]

Thank-you all for your kind words....as we all know words seem to escape us and even though many of us and those before have tried there are no real words to help relieve the pain........Even as I sat there holding my sweet angel as her suffering was eased, felt the relief and knew it was the right thing to do I could not nor still can not use words to describe it.... I feel fortunate that i was able to keep her with me through 4 years of heavy treatment....even learned to check her sugar levels through her upper lip, To all those going through this I must tell you to stay vigilant, keep your head up and know you are not alone...my thoughts go out to you all......

[Spiceysmum]

Deena,

So sorry to hear about Tawni. My thoughts are with you.

Linda

[Casey's Mom]

So sorry to hear about Tawni - you were an inspiration to all of us as a exceptional care giver to your pup. RIP sweet Tawni girl.

Love and many hugs,