New and broken hearted . This is lengthy but I need advice.

[Magsmom]

My 9 year old Cairn Terrier Nick has some Cushings symptoms. He is pot bellied ( his entire abdominal area is always rock hard unless he is lying down ) , lethargic and has some increased drinking and is always lying on a cold tiled floor. His has an elevated liver enzyme and Vet did a sonogram yesterday that showed mild liver enlargement, no adrenal gland abnormalities.. She said we could do a liver biopsy but that is very expensive and may not show anything. I would need to see another practice to do much further testing. I have a practice that I used to use and loved but they are very expensive but excellent . They took care of my last dog which I mention later in a few sentences. Her opinion is that testing is inconclusive and the treatment is tricky and can cause more harm than good. I know that diagnosis and treatment are expensive. I am holding on to the hope that he is just overweight and the followup liver test will be normal. I spent over $ 4000.00 3 years ago to try to save another ill dog and it didn't save her. My husband will not go this route again and financially it is no very feasible for us. I would spend thousands to help him but it isn't going to happen. I feel like I am are terrible owner. I don't know how to help him. I read everyones posts and they are doing everything they can for their dog. I have always done anything at any expense for my dogs and the guilt now is killing me. I would gladly give him up if someone could care for him better, I love him that much. The Vet has put him on an Antioxidant to help his Liver in case it is in trouble. Please give me any advice you can for things that I can do myself to help him. Any dog food that is better for Cushings ? I feed him quality food and price is not an issue on this. Please don't judge me, trust me I feel as terrible as I can about this. My Vet says he can possibly live for years with this but everything I read says 2 years at best.

[Squirt's Mom]

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[labblab]

Welcome to you and Nick, although I am so sorry for his problems that have brought you to us. Your membership approval has now been finalized, so you should have no more problems with your posts being publicly visible.

I have only a moment right now, but please know that you will not be judged harshly by our family here. It is abundantly clear how much you love Nick, and we all realize that there are limitations within which we all try to do the very best we can.

I am sure you will soon be receiving other welcoming posts with thoughts and suggestions as to ways in which you can best support Nick right now.

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and Nick! :)

I know so well how you are feeling. I will never forget when I first heard my Squirt had Cushing's. It felt like my world was ending and there was nothing I could do to stop that from happening. I cried for months, read everything I could find and just got more confused, frightened and angry....and consumed with guilt. I joined several groups but they only made me feel worse. Then I found our family here and they saved me and my baby. So you just take a deep breath because you have found the very best place to be. The collective knowledge and first-hand experience here is astounding, the support is unbeatable!

Deep breath in....slowly let it out....

The first thing I want you to understand deep down in your Soul is this - Cushing's is NOT a death sentence. It can be managed and the pup live out their normal life span... and beyond. Just throw that "2-year" nonsense out the window! ;) That is a myth in part perpetrated by vets like yours who think there is no real reason to treat because a cush pup is a lost cause - this is simply not true and we prove that daily here. Your vets comments tell me she is not well versed in the disease nor it's treatments...and probably has not had success in treating it. ;)

Deep breath in....slowly let it out...

The expensive part is the testing. Once a diagnosis has been confirmed as best as it can be and treatment starts, the cost drops quite a bit. But before we get to that part, we need to know more about your sweet Nick. So we will ask you lots of questions for a bit but that is so we get the bigger picture and can offer more meaningful feedback. So here we go!

Deep breath in....slowly let it out....

Has your baby had any lab work done lately that shows things like ALP, ALT, BUN, CHOL, ect? If so, would you mind getting a copy of the actual test results and posting the abnormal values only here?

Has he had any cush testing - UC:CR, LDDS, HDDS, or ACTH? If so, would also post those results here? We would like to see all of these numbers and any comments from the vet(s).

Would you mind posting all the comments from the sonogram? In Cushing's, we typically see changes in the adrenal glands so the report that they are normal doesn't fit the Cushing's profile.

Is he neutered?

Did you get him from a breeder? If so, have you contacted them to see if any of his siblings, or the parents, are having similar issues - or have any known issues?

Is he on any meds, supplements, herbs, etc? If so, what, how much, and what for?

Has he ever had any health issues? If so, what and when?

Deep breath in....slowly let it out....

Now, listen to me, honey...you are NOT a terrible parent. A terrible parent wouldn't take the time nor put forth the effort to seek help for their baby. Terrible parents aren't willing to shatter their own hearts to place a baby they love dearly with someone else for fear they can't meet their needs. Terrible parents put everything and anything else above their pets. I KNOW terrible parents - and you ain't one or you wouldn't be here pouring your heart out to strangers. So you throw this myth in the trash along with the 2-year one. ;)

The most important thing I have to tell you today is this - you and Nick are no longer alone on this journey. You both now have a new family and it is one heck of a family, let me tell you! We will walk every step of the way right by your side, all you ever need to do is reach out and you will find our hands reaching back. All you need to do is ask, and we will do our best to help. You are never alone - 24/7 someone is here for you.

I am so glad you found us and look forward to learning more about both of you as time passes.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

PS. Some links on Cushing's for you...can't have you getting bored or anything, ya know! :p

K9C Resource section:
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
(A section here on K9C that is full of helpful info!)

Kate Connick*
http://www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html

Long Beach Animal Hospital*
http://www.lbah.com/canine/cushings.htm

Newman Veterinary*
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/CushingDiag.html

Cushing’s signs and pics*
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/CushSignFrame.html

Mar Vista Animal Medical Center*
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/cushing_s_disease.html

[spdd]

Welcome Mags Mom to the best forum I have ever encountered. I am fairly new here and going through some rough times with my dog, but the people here are (and I can't emphasize enough) absolute angels that honestly, really do care.

Note to Squirts Mom---- love your response.

My dog also is showing a couple of cushings signs, and I have been guided step by step from the people here.

They are knowledgeable, can read all the vet reports and know what they are talking about.

I understand and so does everyone else the love we feel for our babies, and I know what you mean when the expense can be overwhelming. You obviously love Nick tremendously to think about giving him to someone else who could possibly further his medical care.
I'll guarantee you that when you get the test results and post them, you'll have all kinds of input from the experienced people here to guide you through this ordeal.
Keep your chin up.. come on here as often as you need to. We all know I have.

Judi & Keesh

[jmac]

Hello, and welcome to you and Nick.

I'm so glad you've found this site because there are wonderful people with a wealth of knowledge to share. You are not alone in this!

You've already been asked important questions that will help us help you. Also, you are not a bad pet parent. You are doing exactly what you should do-trying to find out if something is wrong with your dog. If he even has Cushing's, it's typically a slowly progressing disease, and many people don't treat unless the symptoms are bothersome. You have time to figure things out, so don't worry!

I did want to mention that there is an excellent daily liver supplement, Denamarin, that can really help support a dog's liver. I order it online because I wanted chewable tablets, rather than pills, and it is a little cheaper than what my vet charges. I just have to have my vet okay it with the company. There are other supplements as well. That is the first thing I started with, before we even pursued further Cushing's tests.

Again, there are so many knowledgeable, helpful, caring people here to support you and Nick. We look forward to hearing more from you.

Julie & Hannah

[Trixie]

Everyone here understands exactly what you're going through and how you feel! Sad, helpless and worried about your dog, the expenses...everything! I think we all felt/feel this way...you're not alone!
I still feel like I'm new here but it's been since March now that I started with this, the same exact way as you have. Liver numbers high and symptoms like lying on the floor and drinking a lot etc... However these symptoms can be caused by other things too so if you can get your most recent test results posted here there are experts on board who will advise you on what might be going on and give you suggestions on how to move foward.

My dog is on Denamarin for the liver and it's helpful. My dog has very high liver numbers numbers, but she's doing okay. You can get Denamrin online for way less than at the vet. Google it and look for the low price on a reputable site. I just used vetinternetco.com and got a good price with free shipping..and it came in about 2 days! We also started on this supplement before doing any testing and my dogs remains on it..one tab per day.

There are people on this board who know a lot and will give you great advice. Don't feel like a bad parent because you're definitely not!!

Barbara

[Roxee's Dad]

Hi and Welcome to you and Nick :)

Please trust me, no one will judge you, we can see how very much you love Nick. I see Leslie has bombarded you with questions :D LOL but they are necessary to get a good understanding of what is going on with Nick. The more the members know, the more we may be able to help.

The 2 year thing is old and outdated. Back in the day, cushings was not well known or recognized and more times than not, the symptoms were attributed to aging. Therefore the pup was left to age without any real treatment.

Welcome to our cush family.

[molly muffin]

Hi and welcome from me too :)

No worries here. We all just do what we can for our furbabies. A person who doesn't care, doesn't end up on a forum. :) We know that.

Now, do you have any and all test results available to you? If not, get a copy from your vet. Once you have them, post anything that is abnormal, high or low, what it is and what the range is. If you have any questions, one of us will help you.
Then we'll see about figuring out what is going on from there. No despair now. :) We're all going to help as much as we can to get this figured out and then to get a plan of action.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin