May have Cushings

[oscarmom]

I'm a new member. My miniature poodle is 11 and the vet thinks he may have cushings. Any advice? I am dealing with a torn acl in his knee right now and it has been a costly last couple of months. Vet wants to start treatment soon. I really don't know what to expect. He spoke to me in detail but I had so much information was thrown at me at once!
thanks...

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your sweet boy,

I am sorry for the reasons that brought you here but happy you found us.

If you could round up copies of all tests that were done on your boy and post any abnormalities that are listed, here. What symptoms does your boy display? How much does he weigh? Is he taking any other herbs/supplements/medicines?

I apologize for all the questions but the more we know about your sweet boy the better our feedback will be, ok?

Please know we will help in any way we can so do not hesitate to ask any and all questions.

Love and hugs,
Lori

[jmac]

Hello, and welcome from me as well!

I am so glad you found us and we are here to help you as much as we can. As Lori mentioned, before we can really start we need as much information as you can give us about your dog. Cushing's is a tricky disease and other things can mimic it, so we want to be sure your dog has been tested and does indeed have Cushing's. You have found a really wonderful place, with caring, knowledgeable, dedicated people.

We look forward to hearing more from you!

Julie & Hannah

[oscarmom]

Thanks so much for the kind words. I took Oscar to a vet who did a test (cost about $300) and she said the results were inconclusive. She wanted to re-do the same test and I said no. I took him to another vet who I used to use in the past and I trust. He said that there are many different tests that he could do, but explained some options to me. He did say that it's a very difficult disease to pin point. He said there were 5 different tests that he could do but he also explained that he would like to attack it another way first. What we decided on first was to do a series of extensive and costly blood tests to rule out everything under the sun. The results were that Oscar is in great shape! Good news there. So because of his symptoms he and I agree that it must be Cushings, as we ruled out everything else. I could do more tests but I am confident that's what Oscar has. We will not start any type of treatment until Oscar has healed up from his torn ACL, and also after more discussions. Dr. is pretty confident, as am I, that he does indeed have Cushings. His symptoms are, he has very little appetite, drinks water like crazy, guards his food, pants at times very heavily especially when he sleeps, and is totally round like he is swollen. He is obese. He has gained so much weight! He doesn't eat people food, only his dog food and that is not much, not much at all. It's not enough to justify the weight gain. He won't eat every day and all he wants is water. Ocsar just isn't himself anymore. He lays around and does nothing. It is like the life is being sucked out of him. He is 11 years old but it's different from just old age, you know what I mean? I am glad that I found this forum. I, like most people, do not make a lot of money and I've spent $1200 on him in the last few months and people think I'm crazy. I think they are crazy for thinking that I would NOT! I love him so much. I want to do what's best for him and make sure that he is not in any pain. I just want to breathe life back into my boy and you can't put a price on that. Thanks for talking to me.

[oscarmom]

Oh, he is a miniature poodle and weighs 28 pounds. He is not on any meds.

[frijole]

Glad you found us and we can certainly relate to the expenses... :D

I just wanted to mention that when a dog is injured (example torn acl) their body reacts to help it heal and included in this process could be a rise in cortisol to help fight the pain. Also could you tell us what drugs your dog is on for the acl? It could be that your dog has a form of cushings that is caused by these drugs (forms of steroids) and once off the drugs the symptoms will go away.

So I'm glad you are focusing on what is most important - the leg. Please do know that if it is in fact cushings your dog can live a very normal and happy life with treatment. There is no rush to treat it as it is not a disease that is life threatening early on and in fact... most of us had dogs that had cushings for many years before it was actually diagnosed.

Hang in there and please let us know about the drugs your dog is on. Take care, Kim

[kimlouise]

Hello oscars mum. I am very sorry to hear about your beloved pet. My sheltie Charlotte has had the same thing happen in the last month. She has both hind legs ruptured bilateral cruciate ruptures and possible cushings they cannot test until another 10 days until the steroids are out of her body.
I have been treating her with animal homeopathy and getting a good response, The paineze is helping a lot. She had the left back leg operated on two days ago (13 March), it is a struggle. The vet did a cruciate ligament de angelis procedure (double) as she is a small dog, cost was around $2000.00 (australian) plus ultrasounds, bloods etc., we have great hope that she will have a positive outcome. If she gets through this surgery ok, it is about 6 weeks healing and complete rest, he will do the same procedure on the right leg. Then a stem cell transplant. It is reasonably new technology and results have been fantastic. Google:- ADIPOSE STEM CELL THERAPY in animals. There is hope, just search on the internet as much as you can, I recently found a good article on www.petemergency.com.au called "Cruciate Disease in Dogs", I hope that this helps. We are sending you loving hugs, it will be ok, Kim and Charlotte.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi,

I understand all too well the strain the expense of diagnosing Cushing's can place on us...but I want to make sure you understand the danger of starting treatment with drugs as powerful as the ones used to treat Cushing's without a confirmed diagnosis - this can be fatal.

Your vet is right on the nose about how difficult this condition can be to diagnose - that is because it mimics so, so many other conditions - many much, much worse. Simple blood tests can rule out some of the things that mimic like hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus. However, there are two forms of diabetes and the other, diabetes insipidus, cannot be checked via blood. Tumors on internal organs, diseases of internal organs, and a host of other things can cause the signs you are seeing. So the fact that your vet has the knowledge of how many things can mimic this disease and yet offer to treat without knowing he is treating Cushing's is highly risky in my book.

One thing that catches my eye is the loss of appetite - cush pups typically have a voracious appetite and will eat anything that doesn't eat them first! :D This is NOT a typical cush sign.

If you simply cannot afford any other testing, I strongly recommend an abdominal ultrasound before you subject your baby to these very powerful drugs. My Squirt tested positive on all five of those tests your vet mentioned but it turned out she had a tumor on her spleen causing her cortisol to be elevated. Once it was out, she returned to normal and has remained within range since. The abdominal ultrasound is one of those five tests. ;)

Could you please tell us what meds, supplements or herbs Oscar is on, if any? If you could get copies of any blood work that has been done lately and post the results here, that would help us, too. We want to do all we can to make sure your baby is getting what he needs and has the best possible life with you for a long, long time to come.

As others have said, the ACL will interfere with any cushing's test right now anyway because he will have excess cortisol as a result of this stress, and if he is on any steroids to help with inflammation, these cause a form of Cushing's called Iatrogenic, which is cured by weaning off the steroids.

We will do all we can to help Oscar and you no matter what you decide to do but I want to make sure you go into this without blinders, knowing the risks beforehand.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Financial resources
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

[Leena]

I am glad you found this site...the people here are wonderful! Cush pups do eat a lot! ...usually not a loss in appetite! My Precia probably would have eaten the couch if it had gravy on it! I hope you find the answers you are looking for with what is going on with your sweet dog!