Need Help (14 y/o Jack Russell)

[mulss17]

Hello,
I have a 14 Jack Russell who was diagnosed with cushings a year ago. The vet told me it's best not to do treatment at her age and that medication would only possibly make her worse. Well it's been a year and she is driving me crazy. (still the love of my life) She is constantly pacing the house all day and night looking for any crumbs she might find. She acts like she has never ate before. She is constantly crying at me to give her another cookie. Anything I have in my hand she thinks is food and tries to reach for it.

She is also starting to have accidents in the house. She drinks lots of water and goes frequently. I am going to take her back to the vet next week and see a different doctor but am scared to put her on these meds at her age. Any advice?

[Steph n' Ella]

I think it might be best if you ask for a referral to a internal medicine specialist (IMS) vet. Before you go to your next appointment I would ask for a copy of all your test results since the time your vet suspected cushings. You can pick them up at your next appointment or have them mailed/faxed to you before.

If your little JRT wasn't displaying many symptoms over a year ago, I can see why your vet suggested that you not start medication. One side effect of reducing the level of cortisol in your pup's body might be increased pain to existing arthritis in the joints of older dogs.

I am sure others will be along with lots of questions and suggestions.

[lulusmom]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

In order to provide you with more appropriate and meaningful feedback, it would great if you could please respond to the following:

1. Obtain copies of all testing done by your vet to diagnose your dog and post the results here. For bloodwork, you need only post the highs and lows and please include the normal reference ranges and reporting units. i.e. ug/dl, nmol, etc.

2. What symptoms was your dog showing when she was diagnosed? Common symptoms are voracious appetite, excessive drinking and peeing, panting, skin and coat issues, muscle wasting, lethargy.

3. Is your dog receiving any medications presently and if so, what is the drug and what was it prescribed for.

4. Did your vet tell you whether your dog has adrenal or pituitary dependent cushing's? Often times an abdominal ultrasound needs to be done to make this determination. If your dog had an abdominal ultrasound, can you please post the findings?

The average lifespan for a JRT is 13 to 16+ years so unless your dog had no overt symptoms or had complicating factors and/or was so debilitated so as to be ruled out as a candidate for effective treatment, there is no reason why treatment shouldn't have been recommended by your vet. If none of the aforementioned were deterring factors, then your vet's statement that treatment could make your dog worse, is a big red flag that s/he has little experience with the disease or the treatment. I have one cushdog living and one recently passed and both treated over the years with Lysodren and Trilsotane, with no ill effects. My little Lulu is only 4.5 lbs and my beloved Jojo was 6.5 lbs so if anybody was going to be afraid, it was me. I was when my first one was diagnosed but not so much when the second was diagnosed. That's because the more you learn and experience, the calmer you will become.

The one thing we've learned here is that the risk for adverse reactions with both of these drugs are increased exponentially when the vet is inexperienced and the pet owner hasn't taken the time to educate themselves. I do agree with Steph that a referral to an IMS would be a good thing. It's been my experience, as well as a number of other members, that if one vet at a clinic is inexperienced with cushing's, chances are all in the practice will be inexperienced.

There's a wealth of information in our Helpful Resources section, including valuable information on Vetoryl (trilostane) and Lysodren. There are also a lot of members with experience under their belts, who will help you and your pup in any way they can. Just know that you and your girl are not alone on this journey anymore.

Looking forward to receiving more information.

Glynda

[marie adams]

Hi and welcome to you and your Jack Russell!! :):)

The experts will all be by to help your and I see Glynda has asked you already to supply more information so they can give you better answers.

Please do not be afraid of the medicines to help with the Cushing's; it isn't as bad as you think. It give a better quality of life to your furbaby.

You are in good hands here and now family!!!

[MBK]

I just wanted to welcome you, as I am also a JRT lover. I have 2. Alivia is 14 1/2 and was diagnosed with Cushing's 1 1/2 years ago; Maxwell is 12 years old and completely healthy, fortunately. There are a lot of people here that are very knowledgeable and will be happy to help in any way. As far as drinking a lot and having accidents in the house...I've found that puppy pads work really well for Alivia. She uses them when I'm at work and also if she has to go during the night. I leave one upstairs and one downstairs because she's starting to have a hard time doing the stairs to frequently. They can't really help themselves when they are drinking more and only have small bladders.

It sounds like your little one is exhibiting more symptoms and it may be time to try something. You'll get lots of support here for whatever you decide to do.