to treat or not to treat?

[Pebblesmom]

My dog is a 13 1/2 year old dalmation mix. She has been dealing with excessive thirst and urination for about three months, or more. We started the testing about a month ago. She goes in tomorrow for the ACTH testing. I'm not as much worried about the cost of treating her as I am the necessity. I'm not sure this is going to do her any good besides hopefully getting rid of the 'dying of thirst', and constant urinating on her bed, herself, our home, etc. I just don't know what to do. So many people tell me to have our family say our goodbyes and have the vet put her down. Help!!!

[Harley PoMMom]

MODERATOR NOTE: Your post has been manually approved so that members can start responding to you. Please check your email for a message from k9cushings. You will need to reply to that email so that your post go directly to the board and are not delayed waiting for approval. If you have already received and responded to the confirmatory email, please be patient. Your registration will be finalized shortly. Thanks and welcome!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl,

So sorry for the reasons that brought you to us but so glad you found your way here.

Cushing's is NOT a death sentence for a dog. Cushing's is a treatable disease and with keen owner observation and a knowledgeable vet with experience at treating Cushing's dogs can live their normal life span usually with resolution of all symptoms!

If you could get copies of all tests that were done on your girl and post any abnormalities that are listed, that would help us a lot to provide you with more meaningful feedback. Also, how much does your girl weigh and is she taking any other herbs/supplements/medicines?

Please know we will help in any way we can so do not hesitate to ask any and all questions.

Love and hugs,
Lori

[Pebblesmom]

Thanks Lori,
Pebbles used to be 60 lbs, and in the last few years has lost weight, and is now 50 lbs. She was treated last year for Lymes disease, but has otherwise been relatively healthy. She underwent the 8hr long test and the vet said she is not suppressing at all. So, we are going for the ACTH test tomorrow. She said this needed to be done before she would start Lysodryn.
My main objective is to stop my dog from dying of thirst.

[Squirt's Mom]

With the weight loss, be sure the vet rules out diabetes. Weight loss is common in diabetes but not common in Cushing's or hypothyroidism.

[kskblake]

Hello. I have to say I was one of those people who said I'd never treat my dogs for anything if they were old and just go ahead and put them down. Well, that changed once my nine-year-old doxie became blind with SARDS and got diagnosed with Cushings at the same time. I can't tell you how much I've spent on him with the vet visits, the grain-free dog food, and the medicine, but I will tell you one thing. When they can be viable and still live a good life with medicine, I would do it all over again. We had two things working against us at once, and we did think for a very quick minute about putting him down, but he still wags his tail, he still loves me up when I come home from work, and he still likes going for his walks because he trusts we will lead him in the right direction. Until he is truly suffering, I will do what I have to to keep him alive. He will let us know when he is done fighting.

Don't listen to what other people say, do what you feel is right for you.

I just joined this group yesterday, but I already feel so welcomed. I wish you luck on your testing.

Kris

[Pebblesmom]

Thanks Kris,
That's how I feel. The only discomfort Pebbles has is the extreme thirst, and of course, peeing on her bed or through the house. She is a healthy dog otherwise. We had an old dog once who suffered such horrible arthritis she could not even move without crying in pain. We had to put her down because there was no more meds we could put her on to ease the pain. I just wondered if I was off base with trying to treat her at this age. She has been ruled out for diabetes, that was my first thought with the extreme thirst. I just want her last year or so to be reasonably painless. I can't express the pain I have when she pants and is willing to eat the snow, or drink from a tiny melted puddle just to have more water. We make sure that she has enough water to stay healthy with hydration. But if we left the big jug out, she'd drink it all in one sitting.

[molly muffin]

They say with cushings dogs, that you don't want to limit their water. They drink because of the high cortisol levels, then they pee and the cortisol makes them drink more and on and on. The hardest part is getting the dosage right. Once you do that then things should settle down and one of the first things you'll probably notice as the cortisol drops is that they drink less.

One thing to remember. You know your dog better than anyone else. You'll know how she is doing and if she is happy and having a good quality life or not.

Lori has already mentioned the test results, those would be very helpful to see and ruling out diabetes and thyroid and UTI's are important too before treatment begins.

Welcome to the forum!

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[gabelle1995]

One thing to remember. You know your dog better than anyone else. You'll know how she is doing and if she is happy and having a good quality life or not.



I agree 100% with Molly Muffin's sentence here. If you think your dog still has a generally good quality of life, then you should look into treatment. It is expensive but Cushing's isn't a death sentence. My dog Dudley is almost 14 and he was diagnosed with Cushing's almost a year and a half ago. He was doing laps around the dining room table yesterday. So don't get discouraged. :) You have to do what is best for you and for your dog.

[Pebblesmom]

Wow! Thanks for all the advise and encouragement. Pebbles is going to be picked up in an hour from her ACTH test. I won't know the results until either tomorrow or the next day. I sure hope she can start the meds soon to make her more comfortable and to let her get back to her regular life! : ) Thanks everyone

[Bo's Mom]

Good luck to Pebbles as she goes in for testing. Welcome to the group and I just wanted to say you will always thank your lucky stars that you found such a wonderful group of people who will be here for you as you journey this path from diagnosis and beyond. You will undoubtedly have questions and there are so many people here to answer those and give you advice as to what has worked for them and their fur babies. Let us know how things turn out.

[Trilln451]

So many people tell me to have our family say our goodbyes and have the vet put her down. Help!!!

Wow, nice sensitive people you've been hearing from. Hope they're not in your immediate family.

The way I see it, no, my dog is not the same as a person, but still a living, sentient creature that I volunteered to care for all his life, in return for which he barks at everything that moves outside the house, nags me for walks, observes everything I do in the kitchen with great intensity (& is quicker to bark at smoke than my actual smoke detector), follows me around the house to make sure I don't suddenly disappear, curls up next to me in bed (& complains when I move & disturb him), & generally is the adorable highlight of my day.

Oh, & he does tricks too.

Anyone who thinks pets are meant to be disposed of when they get inconvenient probably are better off not having them. I understand that for some people money is a big issue, so that's a threshold everyone has to figure out for themselves. The way I see it, I got lucky in that my boy has a disease that is well-documented & very treatable. Not disabled-level treatable, but more or less back to his old self treatable. DEFINITELY worth it. I'm at the initial diagnosis phase, & the estimates are daunting, but luckily my husband & I make enough money that we don't have to worry about going into debt over this.

[molly muffin]

Hello Trilln451 and welcome to the forum. I see that you have just joined us too. Perhaps you would like to start a new thread and tell us about your cushings journey.

Everyone who joins the forum is here because they care about their beloved companion and want to help them. We come together in support of all members. We do not know anything about the personal circumstances of any given member and do not differentiate. Peoples decisions are their own based upon circumstances only they know and no matter what happens, the journey is not an easy one.

It is not all that rare for someone who has a pup that is not doing well to have those around them not understand what they are going through. It happens quite often. That is one reason that here they are safe. Here we can share our fears, our love, our joy in a place of safety and we ask that all who come honor that safe haven.

Please do start a thread and tell us about your pup and how you came to be on this journey with the rest of us.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[milosmom]

hey there i too would like to welcome you to join us with all your questions,worries and concerns.you have come to the right place for support,love and a place to gain knowledge...will be keeping our eyes on you !!! patty(milo)meka xoxox

[molly muffin]

How did Pebbles testing go today? Hope all is well. Now when do we get those results again? hahaha I know, anxious aren't we and right there with you the entire way. :)

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[molly muffin]

Hi, just checking in to see how things are going. Did the test results come back yet? How is Pebbles doing?
How are you doing? This disease can take a toll on owner and pup both, so remember to take care of yourself too.
Are you going to start the lysodren? We've had several members here who have treated successfully with lysodren. The loading phase is usually biggest thing to get through as every pup is different as to how long it takes to load but once you get to the maintenance phase, it usually gets much easier.

Hope to hear from you soon.


Sharlene and Molly Muffin