advice - (7 y/o poodle)

[mthiagarajan]

Hello.. I have a 7 yr old poodle... and the vet is suspecting that she has cushings disease.. she has calcified areas on one patch of hair, but on initial examination her organs seem to be fine according to the vet, increased urination and increased drinking... I am taking her for the 8 hr test.. to confirm the diagnosis.. I see alot of posts on the forum saying that certain pets have passed.. does this mean they died?? I am really not sure wwhat to expect with treatment... ?? Is this a disease where it can go away if I treat her or is it similar to cancer??

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Did you get copies of all her blood tests? If you could post any that are high or low and their ranges, that could be helpful, or is the vet saying that all tests have been normal for her?

They can also try taking just a skin scraping from the calcified area to see exactly what it is. Are they thinking calcinosis cutis?

If this is cushings, at 7 years old, once you start treatment and if that is all that is going on, then I would expect a long normal lifespan. It takes a knowledgable vet and owner working together as a team, and then things usually go much smoother with lesser bumps in the road.

Yes, passing means they have passed away. Some of our members have been here for a long time, years, others came in at end stages and sometimes the dogs passed due to other issues, heart failure, etc.

Any questions you have we would be happy to try and answer for you, just be aware that having all the pertinent laboratory results is important to help us give you better feedback.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[mthiagarajan]

I will get her results hopefully by tomorrow and then I can post some numbers....

[StarDeb55]

Welcome to you & your little one! Even with treatment Cushing's will not go away. It can be controlled, but not cured which is similar to diabetes. Diabetes is controlled but not cured. The purpose of treatment is to control the symptoms which have become problematic for the owner, and are making the pup's quality of life poor. With a knowledgable vet & owner, our babies can live out their lifespans with a good quality of life. I have been the mom to 2 cushpups. My first boy was diagnosed at about 7 years old, & survived 8 years with a great quality of life. He passed from causes unrelated to his Cushing's. My second boy was 13 at diagnosis, so he was a little senior gentleman to begin with. He had been treated for 2 1/2 years & was doing well. He unexpectedly passed from causes unrelated to his Cushings. The problem with untreated Cushing's is that the high levels of cortisol over the long haul will case damage to the pup's internal organs. Our babies are also more susceptible to infections which can be difficult to heal because Cushing's suppresses the immune system.

You mention a calcified patch on her skin. Has your vet mentioned that this may be a skin condition called calcinosis cutis? If it is CC, it would be pretty much diagnostic for Cushing's. CC can only be diagnosed by a biopsy of the skin in that area.

As Sharlene has already mentioned, it would help us tremendously if you could gather up copies of all testing that has been done already. Please post only the abnormals, along with reporting units & normal ranges

Again, welcome to both of you. We are here to help in any way we can. There are many success stories in our group of dogs having lived a number of years with this dratted disease, so please don't pay any attention to anything you find on the internet or anywhere else that says Cushpups average survival is about 2 years. It's HOGWASH!!

Debbie