Hi! My little man Smokey has Cushings

[JPBMC]

I am new to the forum. Wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little about my little man. My daughter, husband and I wanted a dog and a Boston Terrier was it. We got Smokey when he was 4 weeks old - weaned and all in 2000. He was the easiest thing to potty train and a few times went more than 12 hours without having an accident. In 2007 we started noticing some changes in "Smokes". He started having some accidents in the house, excessive thirst and seemed to be unhappy. The vet could find no UTI. After about 6 months of this, the vet recommended testing him for Cushings. Mind you, this has been a long time ago and I do not remember the actual results, but it was confirmed he had Cushings. He was sent for an ultrasound or sonagram (sorry can't remember now) on his kidney's and that came back negative for tumors. He was put on Trilostane and started out at 3 mg. Over the years, I have quit calling the vet when I think he needs the dosage increased, because I can tell when the thirst and urination increase. The vet has been very happy with our care of Smokey through the years. Now, he is on 8.5 mg of Trilostane.

We have had a few hiccups, such as his ears started dieing and flaking off. We now have to put a steroid cream on them 3 X a week to keep that from happening. His nose starts cracking and breaking open if we don't keep vaseline on it.

All of his life we had fed him Hill Science Diet. In the spring of 2012, we wondered if Smokey would live to Christmas as we saw him going downhill. He could barely get up and down steps, never played anymore and rarely did he snuggle with us. Hubby and I decided to change his food because I had been reading a lot about foods on the market. Within a month of the final changeover (we did it gradually over 1 1/2 months) we could see a big difference in our little man. He can get around much better now, sometimes will play, will sometimes jump on us, getting up and down the stairs doesn't seem to be much of a problem for a little man his age. It was incredible the difference we saw. Mind you he still doesn't want to snuggle - he prefers to do what he wishes to do when he wishes to do it!

We will be taking him to the vet over the next month or so for his yearly shots. He is starting to lose muscle mass in his abdomen area. He eats very well, but it is starting to look like we starve him. I will be discussing this with the vet when we go.

I know one day we will have to say good bye to our little man and I don't know how I am going to deal with that. I will not let our little man hurt but I pray that I never have to make that decision.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

[doxiesrock912]

I know what you mean about losing the muscle mass. That is frightening to see and it's important to keep Smokes as active as possible because the heart is also a muscle and you want to be sure that his heart remains strong.

[Squirt's Mom]

We now have to put a steroid cream on them 3 X a week to keep that from happening.

Using steroid creams or any steroid will cause a form of Cushing's called Iatrogenic. The use of steroids in any form with a cush pup is not wise and should be avoided if at all possible. ;)

[JPBMC]

Using steroid creams or any steroid will cause a form of Cushing's called Iatrogenic. The use of steroids in any form with a cush pup is not wise and should be avoided if at all possible. ;)

Thanks for your input. The Vet and I decided ;) on using this cream after other efforts failed to keep the poor boy from losing his ears!

[JPBMC]

I know what you mean about losing the muscle mass. That is frightening to see and it's important to keep Smokes as active as possible because the heart is also a muscle and you want to be sure that his heart remains strong.

Yes it is very scary to look at. Since we changed his food last year, he has become more active and playful and we make sure to engage him daily with a short walk up the road and play.

[Boriss McCall]

Hi!
I am a BT lover myself. Boriss is 9 & we just started treatment last summer.
sounds like you are doing a good job. Do you still do the stim tests to check his numbers occasionally?
His poor little ear. :(

[Boriss McCall]

also if the vaseline is not healing the nose you might want to give this stuff a shot. I am on a Boston forum & they all swear by it. I have never had a problem so I haven't used anything on Boriss.

http://www.amazon.com/Snout-Soother/dp/B0035KE2FQ

[mytil]

Hi and welcome from me as well.

When was the last time your vet performed an ACTH test? Please post these results here - very important. Please take a few minutes to read this material about Trilostane and the recommended protocol for monitoring. http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185.

I am wondering if your vet discussed with you anything about food (or other) allergies your Smokey is experiencing; causing the horrible problems with his ears and nose and the need for cream.

I am very concerned about your vet allowing you to increase the dosage without a proper ACTH test to see the cortisol levels properly. Increased urination could be a sign of an infection (not that the dosage needs increasing) and increased thirst is a symptom of many other conditions (thyroid problems, diabetes).

Keep us posted
Terry

[labblab]

Hello to you and Smokey!

I join Terry in welcoming you, but I also join her as to my concern that it seems as though you are basing your dosing decisions solely on thirst and urination, and not on blood testing. As Terry says, other unrelated conditions can increase thirst/urination such that you'd be increasing a dose inappropriately. But on the other hand, many of the problems that you are describing right now with Smokey could be explained by a cortisol level that is not being controlled adequately -- loss of muscle mass, lethargy, cracking nose, ear flaking, etc. So Smokey could very possibly feel much better than he does right now if he was taking a more appropriate dose of trilostane. However, the only safe and adequate way to know for sure is to perform a monitoring ACTH test. This is very, very important before making another dosing change!

Do you need any additional info about this testing? We will be very happy to answer any and all questions that you might have. But I really do believe that Smokey can have a better quality of life if you adequately determine the safe and optimal dose for his trilostane.

Marianne

[Budsters Mom]

Hello and welcome from me too! :)

You have come to the right place! There is a huge arsenal of K9Cushing's angels standing by to help and stay with you every step of the way. They love details, test results, any information you can get your hands on. The more the better.

So again welcome to you and Smokey.
Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[JPBMC]

Hi!
I am a BT lover myself. Boriss is 9 & we just started treatment last summer.
sounds like you are doing a good job. Do you still do the stim tests to check his numbers occasionally?
His poor little ear. :(


Thanks. His ears are so pitiful when the cream is not applied. The vet tried other measures before deciding upon the cream because that was all that worked. He had no infection showing up or anything wrong in his blood work.

[JPBMC]

also if the vaseline is not healing the nose you might want to give this stuff a shot. I am on a Boston forum & they all swear by it. I have never had a problem so I haven't used anything on Boriss.

http://www.amazon.com/Snout-Soother/dp/B0035KE2FQ

The vaseline has to be applied every day, but I think I will give this stuff a try. Thanks!

[JPBMC]

Thank you all for welcoming us. To answer a few questions you have asked, I have not had Smokes tested in about 2 years now. When we go back later in the month, I know they will want to test him as they noted it on his card they sent out. I dread that for him because he gets very stressed when at the vet. The minute the car heads in the direction of the vet he will start shaking. He also requires a benadryl shot about 30 mins before he gets his yearly shots. When I get the results of his test, I will post it.

[molly muffin]

Welcome to the forum! So glad you found your way to us.

Wow, I have to say I've never even Heard of going 2 years without a check on the cortisol levels. Weren't you nervous? I'd be a wreck with the constant worry and not knowing.
What dose are you currently giving Smokey?

Again welcome to the forum.
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Simba's Mom]

Welcome to you and Smokey, we are so glad you found us, settle in and get ready for lots of info and encouragement....

[Trixie]

Welcome to this very helpful forum! You will get a lot of helpful advice here. So Smokey was diagnosed 6 years ago? My dog is very recently diagnosed and is on Trilsotane too.
Smokey sounds like a real cutie! Sorry about his ear problem. Glad he got his spunk back after the food change you made.
Isn't it awful when they get so stressed going to the vet!? I dread the days we have to go and just count the minutes-or hours- when we can get out of there!!
Hope Smokey's next vet visit goes by quickly and you get good test results.
Barbara