Introducing Eden Mason

[nbsdpm20]

Hi everyone. I just took my 9 year old Springer Spaniel, Eden Mason, to the vet for an ear infection.Because of his frequent infections and appearance, the vet suggested doing some blood work. After several blood test, the doc suspects that he has Cushings. I don't have his blood work to give exact levels, but his liver enzymes were extremely high and he has high cholesterol. He also has an under active thyroid. His symptoms are swayed back, pot belly, excessive panting, broken hair, and obsession for food (not his own, people food). Over the past year and 1/2 he has become really lazy and does not jump on the bed or couch anymore. The vet put him on thyroid medicine. We return in a month for more blood work and to discuss more testing. Everything I have read leads me to believe that he has cushings. He is healthy in all other aspects. I have read pros and cons on medicine and treatment. I need direction on what I should do next.

Thanks,
Nicki

[Squirt's Mom]

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[labblab]

Welcome, and I just want to tell you that I have gone ahead and finalized your registration approval. So you can disregard any email "prompts" that you may receive re: activation.

Wow, I have to say that your boy does sound like a poster child for Cushing's, given the fact that he exhibits so many of the classic symptoms. But the good news is that at age 9, he should still have many good years ahead of him even if the diagnosis comes back as "positive." There are two different medications that effectively treat the symptoms of Cushing's: Vetoryl (chemical name: trilostane) and Lysodren (chemical name: mitotane). Different vets have different preferences between the two, but we have many success stories with either drug. From your reading thus far, you may already know that a surgical cure is also possible for one form of Cushing's: a tumor on one of the adrenal glands itself. However, by far the more common form of Cushing's arises from a small tumor on the pituitary gland, and is treated solely with one of the medications above.

Since apparently your boy does not have other health issues of which you are aware, then the LDDS (low dose dexamethasone) test may be the diagnostic blood test of choice in his case. Compared to the other diagnostic blood test, the ACTH stimulation test, the LDDS is less likely to miss diagnosing Cushing's in a dog who really has the disease. Plus, depending upon how the results turn out, the LDDS can sometimes help confirm whether the Cushing's is pituitary based. Another really useful test can be an abdominal ultrasound, because not only does it provide useful information about the adrenal glands, it can also provide helpful imaging of the other internal organs as well. In that way, you can help rule out any other issues that might be affecting the Cushing's testing or your dog's health. But if it were me, I'd probably want to first start out with the LDDS.

But for right now, please feel free to read the articles on our Resources forum and also browse through other threads here on our main Questions forum. As specific questions come to mind, please feel free to ask -- both about the testing process and also the drugs themselves. We are really glad you found us and we will walk alongside you throughout the whole process.

Marianne

[addy]

Hi and Welcome from me as well,

Sometimes their thyroid is low but corrects itself once treatment is started for Cushings. If you vet put Eden Mason on thyroid medication I will assume he did a full panel, checking T3 and T4. Sometimes they only check the free T4.

I hope Eden Mason is soon feeling better with the thyroid medication.

Marianne has already filled you on some of the tests to diagnose Cushings. Feel free to ask questions and take a look at our Resource Section. We have quite a bit of good information to read. The more you know, the better advocate you can be for your pup.

I am so glad you found us:)

[nbsdpm20]

Thanks for the encouragement. It was a hard blow when the vet gave me the results. I look forward to reading the information on the site to learn more about Eden's condition.

[frijole]

I just want to reinforce something Lori mentioned - the thyroid. Sometimes hypothyroidism can mimic cushings so make sure you have that checked out fully as she mentioned - some vets don't do all the tests. It is very easy and inexpensive to treat.

Lastly - cushing's is not a death sentence so just know that with proper treatment your dog can lead a normal life. Kim

[Trish]

HI there, welcome from me as well, yes I agree it is not a death sentence even though it seems overwhelming at the beginning. But with the help of the experts on this forum you will be able to make sense of it while you get a plan together for the management of Eden Mason! Good luck for the journey, but you have all of us cheering you both on now and ready to offer advice.
Trish

[molly muffin]

Hi Nicki and Eden Mason and welcome to the forum. It's always hard to here the initial diagnosis however, first you have to make sure that this is cushings and is the cushings affecting the thyroid or is the thyroid contributing the cushings symptoms. So, alot of stuff to go through and tests to be done and verified. Then based on those results, lets see where we are and what kind of treatment might be best.
The most valuable thing that you'll have going forward and what I hope that we can help you with is the all critical knowledge. The more you know, the better an advocate for Eden Mason you will be. It is also helpful for going over options with the vets and knowing what those options might be going in.

Welcome to our family, where we all support each other, on the journey ahead. At 9 years, you have a lot of years to look forward to still. :)

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[nbsdpm20]

Eden returned to the vet today for blood work on his thyroid. After a month on meds, his thyroid is back in normal levels. We still have decisions to make on Cushings. I am concerned that my vet is not educated in Cushings. The last dog they treated for Cushings was over 2 years ago and the vet that Eden is seeing is new. I am also concerned about the cost of meds. How do I find a specialist for Cushings in my area? What would I search for?

[lulusmom]

You can search for a specialist at www.acvim.org but not every specialist is a member of that organization so Googling "veterinary internal medicine specialist in so and so city and state" may turn up more for you. You can also let us know what city you are near and there may be members who can give you a name.

Glynda

[Simba's Mom]

Welcome to you and Eden, this forum is great and offers so much information and encouragement. We are all here for you and Eden.

[goldengirl88]

Nicki:
Just wanted to welcome you and say I am sorry your baby is experiencing problems. Everyone on here will help and guide you along the way. They have given me so much help, and I am so grateful to be able to communicate with others having similar problems. Good luck and God Bless you and Eden.
Patti