kat
08-16-2012, 11:41 AM
I noticed that my pug was more tired, she was resistant to go up and down the stairs. I spoke to the vet about it on our regular checkup & I was told that this was normal aging & the fact that she is overweight (the stairs). On May 28, my pug was sitting on the floor & just felt on her back-she was unable to walk, was pannicking and it seems both her rear legs were not functionnal anymore, she looked crazy & devastated. We rushed her to the vet hospital right away. The process cost a fortune-they knew she had neurological problems but could nottell if it was a stroke or a cerebral tumor-I paid for the extremly expensive IRM because I did not want her to suffer so much if it was a brain tumor-for strokes, they suggest to wait three weeks to see if the dog will improve. She had lost response of her pupil in both eyes, her back legs were non responsive, her head was tilted on the side & she was unable to drink or eat on her own-we were able to give her soft food bringing it directly to her mouth...The IRM indicated a hemmorrage in the cerrebellum, no tumor. After three weeks, she got better but she stayed hospitalized the first week because she was not urinating. They found a tumor on her adrenal gland & mentionned the possibility of cushing disease. Howerver, all the possible tests for cushing are in a grey zone-they cannot confirm the diagnosis 100% but the vet stated that given all the clinical signs (she drinks a lot, eat a lot & has a big stomach-but pugs always eat a lot & tend to be overweight), she should start treatment for cushing. She started with vetoryl, 30mg per day. She is also taking aspirin to avoid blood thikening. Ten days later, we did the test: based cortisol was 30 (N:15-120nmol/L) and the post ACTH : 273 (N:220-550nmol/L)-(I am french speaking & my vet as well, not sure if the terms are the same). She is since taking 40mg of vetoryl per day, it will be a month now that she is on this dosage & she will be going for another test next week. She will also go for an abdomen echo to see if the tumor on her adrenal gland changed size & they mentionned possible surgery. I am not sure what I will do at that point-seems that surgery will be less costly on the long run but after all she has been through, I am very reluctant to make her go through a surgery and anasthesia... She will be 10 years old in october. Now she walks, eats & drink by herself (still a lot, I do not see much change with the vetoryl honestly), her back legs will remain weak & she will never be able to go up and down stairs again, but at least, she seems OK and was able to get back a good quality of life. They say the cushing caused the stroke, I wish I knew about this disease before & we could have prevented the stroke...
Good luck to you all.
Good luck to you all.