Does this look like calcinosis cutis to y'all?

[dodgergirl84]

Hello all, this is my first post here. I have a seven year old tweener dapple dachshund male named Michi ("meechee"). I shot a quick video of my dog's paws. I suspect that this is early calcinosis cutis. The colors look washed out on my laptop screen but it is a lot more red in person. His back paws are clear. All the pictures on Google look like severe forms of it, couldn't find any pictures of early calcinosis cutis. Here's the link to the video: http://youtu.be/uWmNVm1tGIg

They were in his armpits last week, almost like pimples with whiteheads filled with a little whitish pus. They don't appear to hurt him for the time being. I was filing his nails the other night and noticed unusual redness between and around his toes :confused:

I've perused this website a bit and have read that if calcinosis cutis is present, it's pretty much guaranteed he has Cushing's.

He had bloodwork done close to two months ago, CBC, chem panel and UA, but they all came back normal as well as his blood pressure. I took him in because I thought he was becoming diabetic.

He's got the following symptoms:
- polyphagia (WAY worse than his usual dachshund "pigginess")
- slight increase in water intake
- saggy belly + weight gain
- hind leg weakness
- blindness (ophthalmologist thinks it's SARDS, still have to take him in to get electroretinography done)
- fatigue/exercise intolerance

Can't get into the vet until next Monday. He also has IVDD (intervertebral disc disease) in his cervical and lumbar spine but has never fully gone down. He has been pampered all his life, good diet, proper vet treatment if/when he gets sick. Such a loving dog, life just hasn't been fair to him health-wise :(

Any idea if that looks like calcinosis cutis to you guys? I can't wait to get some results. I'm just really worried about the side effects of the meds he might have to take and quality of life. Thank you all!

[addy]

Hi and welcome,

Calcinosis cutis usually is hard bumps or pimpes that are not filled with pus but plaque. The pup may have susequent pus filled pimples.
You can look at my album of my Zoe- she had a mild stage of it, we asperated her "pimples" no pus but filled with plaque.

Is you pup chewing at his paws? It is not unusual for Cush pups to have skin issues which can include black heads, whiteheads, etc.

I think I would want a skin scraping of his paws to see if the vet can identify any, bacteria, yeast, etc.

Did I forget to say welcome?

I am interested in the Sards diagnosis. Has that been confirmed?

If you cant see my albums, let me know so I can friend so you can view them.

[dodgergirl84]

Thanks for the reply :)

Well, it was more like what comes out of a clogged pore, kind of formed and "cheesy." I guess pus is the wrong word since that can denote possible infection. Whatever's on his paws and armpits, it doesn't look like his normal skin. He's not chewing on them yet. I'll ask the doc for a skin scraping.

I've heard the LDDS test is more reliable than the ACTH but I see ACTH come up so much more often on this forum. What are you thoughts on that? Is it just old school vs new school on vet practices?

Haven't got the ERG done yet for SARDS diagnosis.

Thank you again for the reply :)

[turtlesmom]

Hi—

My dog has calcinosis cutis confirmed by a skin biopsy and I looked at your video and I really think that it is impossible to tell. You can look at photos of my dog's skin here: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=758

What I can tell you about calcinosis cutis from my personal experience on my dog is this:

1. It did first appear first with red skin, the red skin is not uniformly red but looked more like spidery red if that makes sense, but texture and everything else remains the same

2. almost overnight after a bit of time, I actually have no idea how long because I barely noticed the red skin and thought it was just irritation from his harness, the skin hardened, i am talking seriously hard

3. Turtle has one plaque that grows, it seems not to grow every day, but a week or so ago just grew much bigger, again almost overnight, it is now much larger than one of my hands

4. A skin scrape was positive for fungus because the fungus was secondary to the calcinosis cutis, therefore washing with a anti-fungal shampoo did not make it better or worse

5. Currently I am treating it with topical DMSO and continuing daily shampoos with anti-fungal since secondary infections are probable

I've been reading a lot and remembered reading about a skin disease on the paws, it is discussed in this article along with calcinosis cutis, but upon rereading it, it doesn't look like what your doggy has, but just for your information might be helpful:

http://stage.cliniciansbrief.com/sites/cliniciansbrief.com/files/FINALBayerDerm_2010.pdf

also my dog's paws are not in the best of shape right now, i don't know if that is just a system shut down issue, I mean he is not in the best shape, his footpads are worn, etc..

[dodgergirl84]

Hi turtlesmom :) Sending positive thoughts to you and Turtle! Would you say that those lesions hurt Turtle or that they make him uncomfortable in any way? Do they every go away or just kind of wax and wane?

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, the light on my iPhone really washes the colors out. Also, thank you for that article. I really hope he doesn't have that particular one, he didn't have an liver function panel drawn so I'm not sure about liver damage and there is no redness on his actual footpads, just the interdigital spaces.

Hmmm... the articles says the "material cannot be expressed" and I was able to "pop" the whitehead, again, with a formed, cheesy material coming out in the shape of a pore.

That's definitely giving me hope but his other symptoms make me think otherwise! I just want don't want him to suffer and it totally kills me inside thinking that he has to be put on this harsh medication for the rest of his life. When my fiancee and I are both at work, he is by himself for upwards of 8 hours, it isn't that often but what if he goes into an Addisonian crisis and I'm not there... Ugh... this just sucks... I just want my old dog back!:(

[dodgergirl84]

I forgot to ask, because there are so many threads on this forum, these are the things I'm going to ask my vet for:

- either low dose dexamethasone test or ACTH test
- abdominal ultrasound
- skin biopsy
- liver function labwork

If he is positive for Cushing's, then trilostane is the drug of choice to treat nowawadays?

I'm just hoping so badly that he does not have Cushing's!

[dodgergirl84]

haha Apologies for posting so much...

I follow this FB page called Cushing's Disease Awareness For Dog Parents and I reached out for help there and got this response:

SARDS will often present just like Cushing's yet isn't and after a few months the signs typically go away. Most cush savvy vets will not test for Cushing's nor start treatment if SARDS is suspected. Once the pup has had time to adjust to the blindness and the condition has settled, IF cush signs are still present, then the testing is started. Did your baby's blindness come on suddenly? That is one of the hallmarks of SARDS. I have two that are blind but not from SARDS and one that is blind in one eye. I have a bubble wrapped house! LOL

I googled around a bit and found this website regarding SARDS/IMR, http://www.sardsawareness.org/?page_id=2. I guess SARDS can "mimic" Cushings from what I gather.

There are three main symptoms that Michi has that don't match up with Cushing's and those are eye tearing, hypersalivation and vaccine allergies (he had a horrible angioedema reaction to rabies vax).

I am going to schedule the ERG (electroretinogram) right away. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope that he could have IMR (immune-mediated retinitis) and with some doxycycline and prednisone, could salvage some of his eyesight.

I will let you all know the results! I know I can't be the only one freaking out in this situation (SARDS vs Cushings)!

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and good to see you here on the forum! I'm Leslie Hays Richards, the one who posted about SARDS and her bubble wrapped house on FB. ;) You will find some info in the Helpful Resource section on SARDS, too. I'll post the link for you.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213

I'm glad some of our CC parents have talked with you; I know they can help you decide if what you are seeing is CC or not and a derm vet can make sure for you. ;)

I'm really glad you and Michi have joined our family here and know you will find much good info and unbeatable support. You'll be able to keep all of Michi's info here in his thread so it is all in one spot. His test results, things that happen, anything important you can write up here and this will serve not only as the place we can talk but also as sort of a journal of Michi's journey.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[turtlesmom]

Hey—

They definitely hurt him. I can tell he is in a lot of pain. He has been really good about not itching them so far.

They have not at all waxed and waned. They have only gotten worse. They tend to speed up and slow down the speed at which they get worse but they do not get better at all.

Hope that helps.

[molly muffin]

Hi to you and Michi, glad to see you on the forum. :)

I think that the skin scrapping will be able to tell you a lot, especially if you can visit a derm vet for it.

Whether it is SARDS or Cusghings or something else, the best thing is to do the test to figure out what you are dealing with so you can get Michi on some meds to get back to his old self. Even if it is cushings, cushings is treatable. Yes, they are usually on medication the rest of their lives, but then so are diabetics, etc, so it's definitely doable. :)

hang in there!
Sharlene and Molly Muffin