Harley 9yr - Possible Cushings - UltraSound tomorrow

[padillaman]

I have a 9 yr old Beagle - Harley that is having an ultrasound tomorrow as a part of diagnosing his problem. We found a sac of fluid about the size of a quarter in his groin protruding from his belly and it looks to be a blood filled sac. We took him in for this and one of the possible diagnosis is Cushings Disease. I have no idea what this is or if he has it since the vet has said that the protrusion would not be a result of cushings however some of the other signs he his showing is classic cushings. So we have no idea what we are facing at this time. The ultrasound is to look at his liver since his one of his liver values that should be around 100 is well over 3000. The cost with the ultrasound tomorrow will put us at $600+ and depending on the ultrasound results they have said they will need to do a cushings disease test? and it is an additional $235... is this necessary if we do the ultrasound?

Thank you for any advise!
Tammy

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[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Tammy,

Welcome to you and Harley! :)

Your vet is correct that the groin protrusion is not normally seen with Cushing's. Please let us know what you learn about it, tho. You and Harley are family now and we want to know as much as you. The ultrasound is a wonderful test all around in my opinion as it will tell you so much about many organs all at one time and it is a non-invasive test. It will help in diagnosing Cushing's if they can see both adrenal glands. Sometimes the machine isn't strong enough or the glands are hidden behind other organs but they can usually see at least one of them and that will help.

Cushing's is caused by an excess of cortisol in the body. The cortisol causes several changes that can be seen in their behavior and physical appearance. However, cortisol is a natural hormone in the body and it will be naturally elevated if there is a non-adrenal illness present like liver or kidney disease, tumors in other organs, or any other external or internal stresses. This is where the ultrasound is another great tool - it can see if something is present that could be causing the signs and positive tests results other than actual Cushing's.

Cushing's is one of, if not THE, most difficult canine condition to diagnose because so many other things present like it and can cause false-positives on the blood work. So it is always best to do as thorough a job testing as possible before starting any treatment. With this growth already present on Harley, I wouldn't worry overly much about the possibility of Cushing's just now. Find out what this is and how to deal with it first, then look at Cushing's if it is still needed. The ultrasound should tell you a great deal.

I'm not clear if your vet explained what the signs of Cushing's are so here is a good list of the most common signs from Kate Connick -


The most common symptoms include:
• increased/excessive water consumption (polydipsia)
• increased/excessive urination (polyuria)
• urinary accidents in previously housetrained dogs
• increased/excessive appetite (polyphagia)
• appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, trash dumping, etc.
• sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance
• weight gain or its appearance, due to fat redistribution
• loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss
• bony, skull-like appearance of head
• exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness
• new reluctance to jump on furniture or people
• excess panting, seeking cool surfaces to rest on
• symmetrically thinning hair or baldness (alopecia) on torso
• other coat changes like dullness, dryness
• slow regrowth of hair after clipping
• thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin
• easily damaged/bruised skin that heals slowly
• hard, calcified lumps in the skin (calcinosis cutis)
• susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
• diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures

http://www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html

This is just FYI for now....let's get this ultrasound behind us then we can start thinking about Cushing's, ok? For today, just love that boy, enjoy his company, and make a new memory with him just for fun.

I'm glad you found us and look forward to hearing more from you soon.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[padillaman]

Leslie.... thank you so much for the information and advice. I agree at this time our major concern is the protrusion, so the ultrasound should help to know more of what this is about, the vet mentioned tumor however I was not sure really what that meant because of the way this looked. It simply looks like a bloody fluid filled sac he does not seem to be in any pain he is eating and drinking so I am not sure what this means or what to expect. We will be dropping him off tomorrow morning about 9am and they expect the technition to arrive between noon and 2pm. so we will know more tomorrow afternoon.... I will post once I have more information..

Thank you again for the warm welcome and the information I look forward to any help!!

Tammy

[padillaman]

So... Ultrasound is done and the results are an enlarged liver, found he is missing one of his kidney's, he has gall stones and his adrenal glands are enlarged... .but there does not seem to be any other mass's on any of his organs. The vet did do the ACTH Stim test and we should have the results tomorrow... not sure what to expect but one day at a time now

[Squirt's Mom]

Mornin' Tammy,

Well, sounds like you had a few surprises, huh? Missing a kidney! Amazing how strong our babies are. Great news that no masses or other problems were seen! :)

It sounds like you are off to a good start. Enlarged adrenals are indicative of excess activity and could indicate pituitary based Cushing's, PDH, the most common form. 85% of cush pups have PDH. ;)

What did they say about the sac?

When you get the ACTH results from your vet, ask him to give you the result numbers, there will be two - a pre and a post number - as well as the normal ranges the lab used (they differ from lab to lab). Post those numbers here when you get them and that will help us help you. ;)

You are doing a great job, Mom! Keep your chin up...things are looking pretty good so far!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[padillaman]

We talked with our vet this afternoon and Harley has cushings and the acth stim test was :


Pre – (Normal) 1-5 his results 12.3
After (Normal) 8-17 his results 39.7

We will be picking his medicine up this afternoon and begin treatment tomorrow morning...

[Bo's Mom]

Welcome to you and Harley. I just want to tell you that you have found the most fantastic and very knowledgeable group of people who have dealt with anything having to do with owning and loving a cushings pup.
What medicine are you picking up tomorrow?

[molly muffin]

Cushings seems to be a journey that you go on. This will be a great place to get answers and to just touch base with others going on the same journey.

So, Welcome to you and Harley. :)

Sharlene

[padillaman]

Thank you all for the warm welcome... I look forward to learning a great deal in this journey from other members struggling through this process.

We start Vetoryl tomorrow morning and retest in 2 weeks to verify levels