Jennifer
01-28-2013, 12:36 PM
Hi All :)
I'm so very happy i stumbled upon this site! I have lots of questions and other than my vet, i honestly didn't know where else to turn :(
I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this!
Here's a little history on my dog
I have two dogs- My first is Max, a 10 year old black lab mix. He was my mother's dog for the first 3 years of his life-taking care of her during her last years-never leaving her side once when she battled cancer. i treasure him for this!
My second dog is Niko- a 4 year old Beagle. He's crazy and rambunctious- but loves his brother Max so very much :)
Max was diagnosed with Atypical cushings about 4 years ago. The vet at the time noticed his pancreatic levels were slightly elevated- but couldnt figure out why. After many tests, atypical cushings was his diagnosis. They told me to give my dog Flax seed and Melatonin every day- and he's been on this since.
His coat is beautiful- everyone always compliments me on it. So shiny and soft. He doesn't drink a lot- but he will eat whatever i put in front of him (but lets be honest, what dog wouldn't?) :) So he truly never been a typical cushings dog. He does, however, have that pot belly.
My dogs are on a homemade diet (boiled chicken, rice and vegetables- vitamins and salmon oil mixed in).
I have him in therapy every week for his arthitis. He gets laser treatment and walks in an underwater treadmil. He loves it and it keeps him pretty agile. (he tore his acl over a year ago, so we've just kept up with the therapy bc it helped him so much).
Here's where things took an unexpected turn.
Last Tuesday after we woke up i noticed his eyes were doing something strange. Sorta rolling behind his head? He couldnt look up at me- light bothered him. It scared the heck out of me. He didn't seem phased at all though. Brought me his ball to play, his bowl to eat- his tail was wagging and he was happy. Other than his eyes, he was "normal". But his eyes really freaked me out, so i got him the very first appt at his vet. On the car ride over his eyes were getting worse- droopy, heavy, very very red.
They admitted him right away and said they would run tests because they didn't know what was wrong. The Dr said he felt a mass in his stomach so they were going to run an u/s as well to check that out.
I went to visit him that night and was told his blood pressure was as high as 210 when they checked it. That they now have him on BP medicine to get it lowered. I asked if that was what caused his eyes to do what they were doing- and was told, "i just dont know". When i went to visit him he was his happy self, tail wagging- happy to see me. His eyes were looking better... still red- but not droopy/heavy. BUT within 5 minutes of being there, they started again. I put two and two together and realized i was getting him excited and probably elevating his BP- which was causing his eyes to act up again. So i left.
The Dr didn't see the connection still.. saying, "we just don't know". He went on to tell me that my dog indeed did have a mass on his right adrenal that was invading is Vena Cava. He recommended that i go to the University of Pennyselvania Vet to speak with a soft tissue oncologist and discuss our next move.
I was taken back... Was THAT what was causing my dogs blood pressure? Or was it something else?
I found an old post on here dating back top 2009- where someone recommended to test for his Aldosterone via a Tenneessee Adrenal Panal. That if his Aldosterone is high, a simple medicine could fix it and prevent his hypertension. I mentioned this to the vet- i specifically said i rather find the problem of the BP and fix that instead of just treating the symptom.
He told me he would run an ACTH test and it would give the SAME results as the Adrenal panel. Well, that came back with these results:
His baseline cortisol was 4 which i was told was normal. the second test came back as 24- which should be 20. So his cortisol is elevated.
I asked about the aldosterone, and he had no answer.
So i really dont know how the ACTH test is the same as the Tennessee adrenal panel if it didnt give the same results?
They released him the following day with blood pressure medicine and told me to make the appointment with the oncologist for further testing and to see if surgery was even an option.
This brings me to today. We're having pretty bad weather here- snow/ice mix so the roads are unsafe. My appointment was at 11am, but i've canceled it. It's an hour and half from my house, and i just wasnt comfortable taking the chance with my dog and newborn daughter in the car.
It's been 5 days since Max has been home, and he's doing great. He's back to his normal happy self. he's on blood pressure medicine, and though i don't know what that actual pressure is- I'm basing it off of his eyes-i'd say he's doing fine. I see them occasionally get red- especially after he gets excited for something, but other than that, they're normal.
So here are my questions:
What should I do from here?
I don't think i would opt for the surgery even if the surgeon tells me he can operate. From what i read about the tumor invading the vena cava it's a very risky surgery and i'm not willing to chance that. Especially since he's fine otherwise. Happy, eating, drinking, peeing- all normal.
his blood pressure scares me- and i don't know what's causing it. I don't know if it is his aldosterone or not since they didnt run the test i requested. Is there another test, maybe, that could tell? Or should i find another vet to get the adrenal panel done? is that test even worth it?
Anyone elses dog have high BP and do their eyes get red/heavy/droopy with it?
What specifically does the ACTH results tell me? Base line of 4 and post test of 24? Is this good? Borderline? Need for worry/immediate action?
The hospital in Philadelphia, though reputable, is just too far from home for me at this point. I understand that they're "the best", but i'm not sure i'm comfortable taking my dog there- 3 hours in the car, then the endless hours of testing and prodding.... for what? I'm trying to keep his BP in check, and i just feel like that wont help the cause.
I think i'm going to find another vet in my area for a second opinion on everything first before i head all the way there to speak to a surgeon. Do you think i'm wrong in doing this? I feel sooo guilty, like i'm doing the wrong thing here- so i just want some honest opinions on what you would do if you were in my shoes?
When i get the second opinion- what should i be asking? What test should i have them run if any?
If Max were your dog, what would you do?
I truly hope i'm making sense with all this jibberish. Thank you for reading this if you got this far :) I look forward to hearing your opinions!!
-Jennifer
(hoping this doesn't post twice- i timed out with the previous one)
I'm so very happy i stumbled upon this site! I have lots of questions and other than my vet, i honestly didn't know where else to turn :(
I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this!
Here's a little history on my dog
I have two dogs- My first is Max, a 10 year old black lab mix. He was my mother's dog for the first 3 years of his life-taking care of her during her last years-never leaving her side once when she battled cancer. i treasure him for this!
My second dog is Niko- a 4 year old Beagle. He's crazy and rambunctious- but loves his brother Max so very much :)
Max was diagnosed with Atypical cushings about 4 years ago. The vet at the time noticed his pancreatic levels were slightly elevated- but couldnt figure out why. After many tests, atypical cushings was his diagnosis. They told me to give my dog Flax seed and Melatonin every day- and he's been on this since.
His coat is beautiful- everyone always compliments me on it. So shiny and soft. He doesn't drink a lot- but he will eat whatever i put in front of him (but lets be honest, what dog wouldn't?) :) So he truly never been a typical cushings dog. He does, however, have that pot belly.
My dogs are on a homemade diet (boiled chicken, rice and vegetables- vitamins and salmon oil mixed in).
I have him in therapy every week for his arthitis. He gets laser treatment and walks in an underwater treadmil. He loves it and it keeps him pretty agile. (he tore his acl over a year ago, so we've just kept up with the therapy bc it helped him so much).
Here's where things took an unexpected turn.
Last Tuesday after we woke up i noticed his eyes were doing something strange. Sorta rolling behind his head? He couldnt look up at me- light bothered him. It scared the heck out of me. He didn't seem phased at all though. Brought me his ball to play, his bowl to eat- his tail was wagging and he was happy. Other than his eyes, he was "normal". But his eyes really freaked me out, so i got him the very first appt at his vet. On the car ride over his eyes were getting worse- droopy, heavy, very very red.
They admitted him right away and said they would run tests because they didn't know what was wrong. The Dr said he felt a mass in his stomach so they were going to run an u/s as well to check that out.
I went to visit him that night and was told his blood pressure was as high as 210 when they checked it. That they now have him on BP medicine to get it lowered. I asked if that was what caused his eyes to do what they were doing- and was told, "i just dont know". When i went to visit him he was his happy self, tail wagging- happy to see me. His eyes were looking better... still red- but not droopy/heavy. BUT within 5 minutes of being there, they started again. I put two and two together and realized i was getting him excited and probably elevating his BP- which was causing his eyes to act up again. So i left.
The Dr didn't see the connection still.. saying, "we just don't know". He went on to tell me that my dog indeed did have a mass on his right adrenal that was invading is Vena Cava. He recommended that i go to the University of Pennyselvania Vet to speak with a soft tissue oncologist and discuss our next move.
I was taken back... Was THAT what was causing my dogs blood pressure? Or was it something else?
I found an old post on here dating back top 2009- where someone recommended to test for his Aldosterone via a Tenneessee Adrenal Panal. That if his Aldosterone is high, a simple medicine could fix it and prevent his hypertension. I mentioned this to the vet- i specifically said i rather find the problem of the BP and fix that instead of just treating the symptom.
He told me he would run an ACTH test and it would give the SAME results as the Adrenal panel. Well, that came back with these results:
His baseline cortisol was 4 which i was told was normal. the second test came back as 24- which should be 20. So his cortisol is elevated.
I asked about the aldosterone, and he had no answer.
So i really dont know how the ACTH test is the same as the Tennessee adrenal panel if it didnt give the same results?
They released him the following day with blood pressure medicine and told me to make the appointment with the oncologist for further testing and to see if surgery was even an option.
This brings me to today. We're having pretty bad weather here- snow/ice mix so the roads are unsafe. My appointment was at 11am, but i've canceled it. It's an hour and half from my house, and i just wasnt comfortable taking the chance with my dog and newborn daughter in the car.
It's been 5 days since Max has been home, and he's doing great. He's back to his normal happy self. he's on blood pressure medicine, and though i don't know what that actual pressure is- I'm basing it off of his eyes-i'd say he's doing fine. I see them occasionally get red- especially after he gets excited for something, but other than that, they're normal.
So here are my questions:
What should I do from here?
I don't think i would opt for the surgery even if the surgeon tells me he can operate. From what i read about the tumor invading the vena cava it's a very risky surgery and i'm not willing to chance that. Especially since he's fine otherwise. Happy, eating, drinking, peeing- all normal.
his blood pressure scares me- and i don't know what's causing it. I don't know if it is his aldosterone or not since they didnt run the test i requested. Is there another test, maybe, that could tell? Or should i find another vet to get the adrenal panel done? is that test even worth it?
Anyone elses dog have high BP and do their eyes get red/heavy/droopy with it?
What specifically does the ACTH results tell me? Base line of 4 and post test of 24? Is this good? Borderline? Need for worry/immediate action?
The hospital in Philadelphia, though reputable, is just too far from home for me at this point. I understand that they're "the best", but i'm not sure i'm comfortable taking my dog there- 3 hours in the car, then the endless hours of testing and prodding.... for what? I'm trying to keep his BP in check, and i just feel like that wont help the cause.
I think i'm going to find another vet in my area for a second opinion on everything first before i head all the way there to speak to a surgeon. Do you think i'm wrong in doing this? I feel sooo guilty, like i'm doing the wrong thing here- so i just want some honest opinions on what you would do if you were in my shoes?
When i get the second opinion- what should i be asking? What test should i have them run if any?
If Max were your dog, what would you do?
I truly hope i'm making sense with all this jibberish. Thank you for reading this if you got this far :) I look forward to hearing your opinions!!
-Jennifer
(hoping this doesn't post twice- i timed out with the previous one)