new here with Boston Terrier probable Cushings

[kknola]

Hi everyone,

I have spent the last week pouring over the pile of articles, websites, I have posted on Facebook, my Boston Terrier forum, the rescue email list and I have tried to read everything I can get my hands on about Cushings symptoms, lab work, treatments, medications......

My 12 1/2 year old Boston Terrier, Turbeaux, probably has Cushings.

He has had a lot of the classic signs

polydipsia, polyuria, constant hunger, muscle weakness in his hindquarters, potbelly appearance, fatigue, sleeps all the time, will no longer attempt to jump into the car, lays down on walks, both fecal and urinary incontinence in the house(although I know that the fecal accidents are probably more r/t his hindquarter weakness than Cushing specific)

His Alkaline phosphatase was 200 in December, it is now 2000, and his urine is dilute, although I dont remember exact result for specific gravity. When he pees a lake on the kitchen floor it is hard to see until one of us hears him going, or steps in it. He seems quite upset if it happens on the carpet. He has been potty trained since 4 months and he hangs his head and gives me those eyes. It is breaking my heart.

Here is Turbeaux:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kknolaone/6617404191/

I expected to see an image here, but I guess it just posts a link. Will have to look up posting photos I guess, later.

Anyway, he is my first Boston, my heart dog. I have had him since he was way too young, 7 weeks, and I love him to bits. I will do whatever I need to do in order for him to be happy and comfortable.

I have had two Bostons who are running at the Rainbow Bridge- Mackie Malone, lost to an intestinal tumor approx 5 years old 11/11, and Frannie Rose approx 7-8, passed away tragically. I miss them :(

currently my fur kid family consists of Libby, age 5 3/4 Boston queen B,
Zoe Claire, age 5-7?? Boston butterball snuggle expert, we celebrate her gotcha day on July 8th,the BT/Shitzhu mix puppy, Josie, age 7 months, the wild fuzzbutt, personality and confidence plus and my Turbeaux, who was twelve this past December...my baby boy with Cushings. I am Grammie to my Dobie love, Pippin, who is around 2-3 yrs old?? a Dobie teenager.

When I get this photo posting thing figured out, I will post some photos of the other guys, and you are welcome to look on my flickr photostream for some of all of them but Josie. It's been a while since I did any shooting and consequently posting to my flickr account.

[Budsters Mom]

Hello and Welcome:)
I am sorry for the reason that brought you here, but so glad you found us.You have come to the right place! There are many 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. We will do all we can to help. Others will be popping in to welcome you also. So again welcome to you, Turbeaux and all your fur babies.

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy

[kknola]

Thank you for the welcome. I am glad that I have found an active forum here. I am sure that I will have my list of questions as we move forward with this. Turbeaux is going to spend the day with his buddy, Dr. Beth and the sweet vet techs on Tuesday for the 8 hour lab, I am not certain of the details of the test, but I assume steroids are given and the cortisol levels check at timed intervals.

Meanwhile I am on the hunt for a comfortable belly band for him. He wiggles out of the one that I have for him. I bought it at petco and even after laundering and fabric softener, it is still somewhat stiff. he will not walk with it on.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the K9cushings forum.
Oh my, you do have a full house of furbabies! How wonderful! :) Turbeaux is adorable. We have several bostons on the forum and I am sure that more will be by to say hello. We all sort of come in and out as time allows and we have members from all over the world, so you never know when someone will be online.

Can you post the abnormal results from the latest blood work with ranges and any other tests that have been done recently? If you don't have copies, then you should definitely get copies of all test results from your vet and start your own file. It comes in handy way more than one would ever expect.

Oh the poor little guy, he must be so embarrassed when he can't hold it and has an accident. It just is so mortifying to them.

We're very active and will do all we can to help and support you on this journey. A cushings baby can live out a normal lifespan so don't worry about that. It's getting the diagnosis right and then if it is cushings, getting the medication dosage correct that is the most exhausting.

Do you remember if glucose is normal and thyroid? Those are two things that can mimic cushings symptoms and need to be ruled out.

Again, welcome. Love your flicker photos. If you have any problems posting pictures to your album on the fourm, let us know and we'll help you.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Turbeaux,

So glad you found your way here and we will help in any way we can.

If you could get your hands on copies of all the tests that were done on Turbeaux and post any abnormalities that are listed that would be great. Also, it sounds like Turbeaux will be having the low-dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test performed to see if the adrenal glands suppress during the 8 hours, if you would post those results when you get them that would help us too.

Have other non-adrenal illnesses, such as diabetes or any thyroid issue, been ruled out? Does Turbeaux take any herbs/supplements/medicines? How much does he weigh?

Kudos to you for educating yourself about Cushing's, it can be a very frustrating and confusing thing to get one's head around so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them, ok? Here is a link to our Resource Thread where there is a wealth of info regarding Cushing's disease: Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10)

It sounds like you have a wonderful fur family and bless you for giving them all a loving forever home.

Love and hugs, Lori

PS. I see that Sharlene and I were posting at the same time so forgive my duplicate questions. ;):eek:

[kknola]

Thanks Lori and Sharlene,

In December, he was drinking a lot and urinating a large amount, but the other signs were not there. His glucose was WNL both in December and now, and no ketones or protein in his urine, so diabetes has been ruled out. I don't recall her doing a thyroid panel but will ask about it. He does not seem to show any signs if canines are similar to humans. His coat is not necessarily thin but more a change in color on his sides and hindquarters.

I will ask for copies of the test results and post them.

Turbeaux has a grade 3 LP which after careful consideration and lots of discussions with my vet and the ortho surgeon, has been left as is. We all fetl that at his age and infrequent flareups, it would be sensible to opt for conservative treatment for pain and arthritic stiffness as they presented themselves. So he has taken Cosequin DS every evening 1/2 tablet. I have rimadyl and deramaxx to use if his knee bothers him, and he is better after 3-4 days. That is before all this got worse.

I have tried to keep his weight stable, the last weight last week was 26.7, although I really want to check it again as his legs were trembling and it kept changing. Ill recheck in the morning.

[Trixie]

Welcome to the board. Turbeaux is so cute! Love those Boston eyes. Sounds like you have a happy houseful of pups!
I'm still a bit of a newbie here but there are many helpful participants who give great advice.
We started with all the same types of symptoms a few months ago and now working to get an effective dosing. This board has been a lifesaver and a huge help on those long nights that are full of worry! Awww..I hate to think of Turbeaux feeling so badly about the accident he had...poor boy! They sure know don't they...these dogs are so smart!
Hope all goes well at the vet on Tuesday. :)
Barbara

[lisamak]

Hi to you and Turbeaux! I'm pretty new to the Cushing's scene myself (my pug was just dx'd about 2 months ago)...but there's lots of info here and having a great vet partner will be key.

I can help on the belly band front though (I think you were in the US, can't see that part of your post now so apologies if your non-US)! I'm in pug rescue so have bought them a lot for my foster homes over the years...there's a great woman I know from pug boards (she actually has a boston) that makes them custom. They're less expensive than the ones in stores and much higher quality (she's also really fast at turnaround and you can pick form a gazillion different fabrics LOL). Here's a link to her Facebook page, she's got contact info there:

DogWear by DeeAnn (https://www.facebook.com/DogWearByDeeAnn?fref=ts)

Good luck with the tests tomorrow :)

~~Lisa and Vince

[goldengirl88]

Hello:
Welcome to the group. Just wanted to tell you that you will get a lot of help and support on here from people that really know this disease. It is wonderful to be able to get ideas etc. from the others. I have used the belly bands in the past on a Yorkie to house train him and they are a God send. I know there are a lot of terriers coming down with this disease, my Jack Russell Tipper also has it. Good luck to you and your baby. Blessings
Patti

[kknola]

My vet called me yesterday as Turbeaux had the 8 hour testing done on Tuesday.

She said his test is "almost abnormal" as in .1 or .3 this side of the abnormal result. She suggested either doing a urine cortisol test ($100) or repeating the 8 hour test ($300+) in three months, or an ACTH stim test ($200)

Not certain that I understood her correctly: if the urine cortisol was negative it would rule out cushings but a positive does not necessarily indicate cushings??? Is that correct?

Whenever she presents a number of different possibilities, I always seem to ask- if this was your baby what would you do next?

That was when she said either the repeat test in three months or the urine cortisol just to rule it out. The ting is, I am looking at the clinical presentation and he presents as a classic cushings dog if I read the articles correctly.

Anyway, I am leaning toward buddy belts and a refilling water bowl until the three months is up.

I have had some other things going on (daughter in hospital) and that is part of my decision, too. The urine cortisol would entail me catching the first morning urine(in what, I don't know?) and then driving an hour each way to deliver it to my vet's office, and really not know enough for her to start treatment safely.

The ACTH stim test: I really don't know much about, and if she told me the pros and cons, I don't remember them, except the cost, another $200 and change.

Repeating the 8 hour test in another three months will just mean that we continue as we are now. I just need to find some comfy soft belly bands for him and keep the water bowl filled. It will be another $300+ and another two days of driving back and forth unless I can manage to make the hour long trip in morning traffic(just New Orleans) to the vet early enough to be able to drop him off and pick him up during their business hours.

Any thoughts?

[Squirt's Mom]

I think in your shoes, I would opt to wait the 3 months, too.

There is another thought that just crossed my mind - there is a rare form of diabetes called Diabetes Insipidus (DI). It's primary signs are excess peeing and drinking - it is often confused with Cushing's and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) - the common form of diabetes. DM involves blood sugar levels while DI involves the way in which the body processes water and has nothing to do with sugars nor is it tested for via blood work.

The test for DI is rather risky - it is called the Water Deprivation Test and is exactly what it sounds like - you deprive them of water for quite some time. The simplest and least risky test is to simply start treating it. If the treatment works, the the diagnosis of DI is made. If it doesn't work, you keep looking for the cause and rule out DI. The treatment is an eye-drop - no shots, no special diets. So you might talk to her vet about DI - even tho it is rare, we have seen several cases on the forum.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[kknola]

thanks, Leslie. I will look more into this as a possibility.

I just have a strong feeling that it is Cushings as his appearance, coat changes, hunger, and increased lethargy seem to add up. I will keep this in mind though, should the other tests be inconclusive.