New to group Harley and Amy

[AmyA]

First I have to agree with everybody.. this forum has the best information!!
My Harley is a doxie/beagle mix, as far as I can figure out. LOL He is 8 yrs old and a search dog.
In Dec. he swallowed a piece of chewy toy and it caused a blockage in his intestines. While under the knife they found a tumor on his spleen.. so that came out too. They also noticed that he had thin skin and his liver was enlarged. Due to his bred they suspected cushing's and checked his adrenal glands, which looked fine.
Other than being hungry all the time, which is not new, Harley doesn't have any of the outward signs.
We let him heal and I had his blood work checked, which showed his liver at 589. We did the LDDST .. which came out negative.
But my vet is pretty sure that he does have PDH cushing's, but we have caught it so early that the tests are not registering.
I do use a holistic vet and he said at this point to feed a low protein diet. I feed Taste of the Wild-seafood, other dog has IBS, which he said is fine. To keep his stress level low, but it's ok for him to do searches since it's a different type of stress and he enjoys it. We will retest him in 6 months. I want to be proactive on this and wondering what advise the group can give me.
Amy

[mytil]

Welcome to our site.

When you get the chance post the results of the LDDS test. I am wondering what other symptoms/test results has given your vet the impression your dog has Cushing's - as your vet mentioned he/she is pretty sure your Harley has pit. dependent Cushing's. That will give us all more of and idea of the cortisol levels. Cushing's is a slow progressing condition and it is a good idea to watch for progressing symptoms and testing results before administering any medicine.

I would like to point out that the LDDS does give false negatives should another condition be present. With this in mind there is another test, ACTH that is performed in addition to the LDDS. But I could be getting ahead of myself if there are no outward symptoms.

Take a look at these links - very informative on Cushing's and testing - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180.

Please keep us posted
Terry

[AmyA]

this is what i have.. i missed one count

0 hour = 9
4 hour = normal (missed what he said)
8 hour = .3

Liver
12/9/2010 = 480
12/12/2010 = 559
2/3/2011 = 589

Shoot.. I just looked through my paperwork from his emergency surgery and the liver byopsy (sp) is missing. I switched vets during this time, another long story.
The vet believes it's cushings since everything but his liver is normal and he would see other signs if he had some type of liver cancer or failure.

[mytil]

Hi again Amy,

Thanks for posting the additional information.

Take a look at this chart - http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/snap/cortisol/cortisol-low-dose-dexamethasone-protocol.pdf.

When you are able to get the 4 hour result go ahead and post it here.

Has your vet check for thyroid problems?

Terry

[clydetheboosmom]

Hi -

I'm not one to add much to the information you are receiving, but I wanted to say hello and welcome and I hope all is going as well as can be right now :)

Keep us updated!

Lynne, Bailey & Angel Clyde

[lulusmom]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If Harley has cushing's, and that's a great big if at the moment, unless your vet has diagnosed him as having primary liver disease, he should not be on a low protein diet. Dogs with cushing's should be on a higher good quality, low fat diet. Unless a dog has lost 70% liver function, he actually needs protein to help heal liver cells. Can you tell us why your holistic vet recommended low protein? Is Harley on liver support, i.e. SamE, milk thistle, Adenosyl? If not, you may want to discuss this with your vet.

I am assuming that since your vet suspected cushing the liver values you posted are for Alkp (Alkaline Phosphatase)??? Are any of the other liver enzymes (ALT, GGT) elevated and are there any other blood abnormalities such as cholesterol, triglycerides? Was a urinalysis done? If so, can you please post the results?

You mention that the adrenals were normal and with no real symptoms, only one of the classic blood abnormalities and a negative LDDS result, like Terry, I am curious as to why your vet suspects cushing's. Since 85% of dogs with cushing's have pdh, I understand why your vet would guess this is what Harley has; however, based on the information you have provided thus far, I'm not seeing cushing's in my crystal ball. :D


It could be that it is early in the disease or it could be that Harley may just have unexplained elevated liver enzymes that will never be problematic. Cushing's is really a slow progressing disease so if Harley is in the early stages, you could be waiting a very long time before you see any symptoms. If I were in your position, unless Harley started to show overt symptoms associated with cushing's, I'd not worry about testing for cushing's but I would consider liver supplements and check liver values in 3 to 4 months.

Glynda

[frijole]

Hi from me! You've gotten some great advice. I have to say I agree with what Glynda said 100%. I don't see cushing's in my crytal ball either. :p I used milk thistle and it did bring my dog's alk phos levls down. Hang in there. Kim