Marvel, english bulldog (5.5 yrs old) newly diagnozed with Cushing...

[Marvel]

After two months of what my vet and I thought it was a skin infection (3 different antibiotics), my vet finally refer me to Dr.Paradis, vet dermatologist (she is wonderful, and very knowledgeable).

Marvel didn't show any sign of cushing (no belly, no exceed water intake, no change in behavior) except for skin problem... so we did all the tests (ACTH, ultrasound, blood test). and now he is diagnosed with Cushing's disease and calcinosis in his skin...

He'll be starting on Lysodren next week.

Right now, he drinks and pees a lot (sometime inside the house). I was wondering if anyone can share their experiences on how cope with Cushing?

Thank you,

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Marvel,

So sorry for the circumstances that brought you here but glad you found us.

Was the calcinosis cutis diagnosed via a scraping or biopsy? Also could you post the results of all testing that was done on Marvel. Was an blood panel done with an urinalysis? If so, could you post all abnormalities that are listed with the reference ranges and the units of measurement...e.g. ALT 150U/L (5-100)...Thanks! Also how much does Marvel weigh and what dose of Lysodren has the vet rx'd? Is Marvel on any other herbs/medicines/supplements?

I am sorry for all the questions but the more we know about your boy the better our feedback can be, ok?

I do want you to know that Cushing's is a treatable disease. With proper medical management, close monitoring and owner observation, most Cushingoid pets can live to their full life expectancy, with complete or partial resolution of clinical signs, and good quality of life! The calcinosis cutis may take a while to control but I believe with time and patience you will see an improvement.

Here's a handy link with info about Lysodren:Lysodren loading Instructions and related tips. (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181) Please feel free to print out any information from this.

You and Marvel are not alone on this journey as we will help in any way we can.

Love and hugs,
Lori

[addy]

Hi and Welcome, from me also,

I am so glad you found your way here. W have more then a few members dealing with Calcinosis Cutis. My Zoe has a mild case of it which so far is being kept at bay because we are treating her Cushings. Calcinosis Cutis can get to be a bear and can get out of control pretty quickly. I am so glad you found a good derm vet.

As Lori already mentioned, if you can post your test results that will help.

Has your vet given you loading instructions? If not, please print out the link Lori gave you. Signs of being loaded can be very slight, just a pause in eating can be enough of a sign from a pup who normally inhales their food.

Not to fear, your pup can still lead a good quality of life with treatment. My Zoe was diagnosed almost three years ago and has been treated for almost two years now. She's still trying to beat up my other pup and cant wait for walkies.;)

[NoonelovesmelikeNorman]

Welcome to the group, wishing Marvel a fast transition on medication with relief of symptoms and quality of life for you and Marvel.
I am too new at cushings to be of much help, but this forum is very knowledgeable, supportive and will guide you through the inital questions as you and Marvel go through this journey. We'll be here for you..we have each other.
hugs, prayers and peace,

Sharon, Norman and Millie

[Sabre's Mum]

Welcome to you and Marvel,

I just wanted to welcome you to the forum .... I will pop back later when I time with some info on the calcinosis cutis. Our Hungarian Vizsla, Sabre, had calcinosis cutis and we also treated with Lysodren.

I will be back ...

Angela and Flynn

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to you and Marvel,

The others have asked for the information that we need to help you. This disease is treatable. It is much harder to get control of the calcinosis cutis, in that it requires a great deal of patience and thing sometimes seem worse before they get better. However, the good news is that it can get better. You'll be looking at bringing the cortisol Post ACTH number down to a controlled level.
Once you get through the loading phase and get into a maintenance phase, this should be much easier to deal with.
I'll let some of the others who have actually gone down this road before, for the same reasons, using the same treatment, speak to the specifics, of which they are very knowledgeable.
Hang in there.
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Sabre's Mum]

Hi

As previously said our Sabre had calcinosis cutis and we treated him with Lysodren. He passed away three years ago at the ripe old age of 11 years old.

Calcinosis cutis is one of the last symptoms that you will see rectify itself when treating cushings. Unfortunately it does get worse before it gets better and in Sabre's case it took 4-6 months before it resolved to a point that it was "just there" with hair growing. We tried a number of things and sometimes is hit and miss - medicated shampoo (only made it flare up), oatmeal shampoo (didn't make much difference), epiotic to scuff stuff off and betadine (to dry things up). The biggest thing is to stop any infection. We were quite proactive with antibiotic use but we only had to use them once after we started treatment.

The loading instructions that Lori provided the link to are fantastic and a very useful guide. We are also here to help you along the way.

Angela and Flynn

[Trish]

Hi, welcome from me to you and Marvel, what a cute name for a bulldog!

I see you already have had the team welcome, looking forward to hearing how Marvel progresses. But if I was you I would wait to start treatment until the experts here on the forum have a chance to review your lab results and advise accordingly. They seem to pick up a lot of things that some vets miss as they see so many cases on the boards here, where often some of the vets see these cases rarely.

It is nice to know you are not alone in this, we are all here to support you now!

Trish

[Marvel]

Wow~. thank you for all the replies. It has been 4 days (since last Thursday) and my vet still hasnt called me back about the lysodren. The only thing I know is that the drug is hard to come by in Canada. (will be calling them tmw!)

Marvel is such a weird dog. It seems like he knows he has cushing disease. Right after the diagnosis, he started to drink and pee excessively. Within 2 hr of water intake, he will need to pee... thats why im up at 4am, just finish taking him out.

Yes, I was told that it will take a long time before the skin will return back to normal... and treating the skin is secondary to cushing....

I was wondering if any of u have use any supplements?

Will keep you all updated on Marvel progress!,

Good night

[Sabre's Mum]

Hi

Yes we did use additional supplements (we fed Sabre a raw diet) we used flax seed oil and evening primrose oil added to his food for his skin. We also used milk thistle for his liver.

We would love to hear updates when you have more info :)

Angela and Flynn