My dog is still in testing stage for Cushing's with no firm results or diagnosis

[Jaye]

Hi, everybody....My name is Jaye. The past 2 1/2 years in the lives of my female mini schnauzer, affectionately known as Puppy Girl, and me have been fraught with her illnesses and my anxiety. This saga began when she awoke one morning in August, 2012 with "gunk" in her eyes. I thought she had conjunctivitis and took her to the vet's.

Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with KCS, or extreme dry eye due to her lacrimal glands not producing tears. She was treated with two different meds that will boost tear production if the cause is not immune mediated. She didn't respond to the meds because her immune system was compromised by a severe reaction to vaccinations when she was a young adult.

I've been administering a thick lubricant eye ointment to both her eyes every couple of hours, day and night since her diagnosis. Chronic KCS also causes the eyes to frequently fill with "gunk" (mucus and debris) since there are no tears to keep her eyes washed clean as is normal. This means I have to carefully clean her eyes every time they become "gunky." She is so patient with both procedures--the cleaning and ointment--which makes the tasks easier for me. My girl is very sweet and brave (and, though I didn't realize it back then, would be called on for more courage).

However, chronic KCS (even when treated continuously) often leads to blindness, and I realized my girl was blind in June, 2013. The period since then has been one of adjustment for her and for me. Older dogs that suddenly go blind take about six months or longer to "map" their environment so they stop bumping into everything in the house, and it's critical not to rearrange furniture. My girl also became fearful of the outdoors. She only goes out on leash, and I have to say, "step down" or (on the way back in) "step up" for each of the steps into the yard/house. She's a smart girl, so she quickly learned how to traverse the steps.

Because the sudden blindness caused some major changes in her behavior--occasional "potty" accidents when she couldn't find me or the back door, lying around and sleeping more than usual, acting depressed, lack of interest in her toys, and a growing tendency to "mumble" or bark at me in a bossy way to let me know she needs to go out or wants her breakfast NOW, I wasn't on the lookout for any other illness symptoms. (Oh, I should mention here that right after she went blind, she suffered a mysterious attack of HGE (bloody colitis), cause unknown, that landed her in the hospital. HGE can kill dogs quickly, so I felt as if she dodged a bullet there.) She also seemed suddenly much older, which is unusual for even aging mini schnauzers, and she became needy--she didn't want me to be in another room away from her when she was awake. Amazingly, for the first time since she was a puppy, she decided she wanted to be a lapdog. I must admit, I enjoy holding her, all twenty pounds! She's not a toy dog, but rather long and tall for her breed, not obese, so she can't spread out across my lap. She SITS in my lap, puts her front paws and head on my shoulders. Isn't that sweet? Her favorite time to do this is when I sit at my computer for longer than she prefers...natch. (The sound you don't hear is my chuckle.)

Even though my treatment of her eyes prevented any excruciatingly painful and dangerous corneal ulcers, she still developed scar tissue on her eyes over time. The vet told me when her blindness was confirmed that, as soon as she was completely and irreversibly blind, her eyes should be removed (enucleation) so she wouldn't be subject to the dryness, mucus and need for continual treatment. I've also been afraid to leave her alone for any longer than two hours for fear of her eyes drying out to the painful stage. I've worried about who would take care of her the way I do if I became ill. There are lots of worries about her care at my age (70) and with mobility issues caused by arthritis, not to mention limited resources of a retiree.

Fast forward to late February, 2014 when she was scheduled for enucleation surgery in mid-March. I took her in to see the surgical vet for a pre-op exam, panel of blood tests and urinalysis. When the vet called me with results, she said all the blood tests were fine (nothing out of the normal range for kidneys, liver, alcoline phosphotase, etc.), but my dog's urine was dilute. This made the vet consider the possibility of Cushing's Disease, so she wanted to perform a diagnostic test.

Last week my dog was given the ACTH simulation test. Within the range of numbers from negative to positive, Puppy Girl's result was within ONE-TENTH of a point of the Positive number. (My research of this test indicates it isn't very reliable, so that bothered me.) The vet believes she Puppy Girl has Cushing's, even though she doesn't have the readily recognizable symptoms I've read about. I do admit I can now see some subtle possibilities.

Now she is scheduled to have follow-up tests on March 27 (the LDDS, I think, since it will be an all-day event with hormone checks every four hours).

I've immersed myself in information about diagnosis, causes/types and treatment of Cushing's in dogs, and it seems such a complex disorder--difficult to diagnose and pinpoint the cause/type, and somewhat dangerous to treat. I thoroughly research any illness of mine, or of a family member or friend, as well as my dog, because I want to know as much as possible about the conditions and prognoses. Since I've discovered conflicting information and opinions about canine Cushing's diagnosis and treatment in my search, the glut of info is overwhelming and worrisome. I've read so much about the high percentages of false positives that I'm afraid this may happen to my dog if none of the tests show a without-a-doubt result of Positive. If she doesn't actually have it, but is treated for it, she might be damaged by the medication. Scary!

Another problem is the limitation of my financial resources. These tests are expensive, treatment if she is diagnosed with Cushing's will be more so (the vet prefers to use tristolane) and the necessary regular testing will put an immense strain on my already-strained budget. I'm not sure if there's anything else I can give up in order to care for her, and not everyone in my family and group of friends remains supportive of my spending more than I can afford to care for my dog. If anyone else says to me, "She's just a dog and they don't live forever," I may scream! (I must emphasize that as long as I can scrape together the money to do whatever is needed for her, I will do so. I love her dearly. She's slept beside me with her head on the next pillow for eight of her nine years, and she wakes me every morning with a sound that's starts off low ("M-m-m-m-mgh, m-m-m-m-mgh") and grows in volume until I wake and get out of bed, taking her with me. She no longer tries to jump on or off the bed, so I lift her up at night and down in the morning. I'm sure each person on this forum can relate to how I feel about her.)

I came to terms with my girl's chronic KCS, her blindness and even the necessity for enucleation (which was canceled due to this new situation), though agreeing to the surgery was a heart-rending decision. Now the possibility of Cushing's has just about wiped me out. I've been depressed since the vet's initial call and hide in my bedroom with the door closed whenever I feel tears coming on so I won't upset Puppy Girl. Dogs are so in tune to their humans' emotions, aren't they?

I will appreciate comments from any member of the forum whose dog's initial tests were similar to those of my girl and not definitive even after more than one test. After she has the next round of tests (March 27) and I learn the results, I'll post those. I've asked the vet clinic to send me a copy of all lab results from the previous two sets of tests, which I wasn't automatically given. I'm starting a file to keep abreast of everything that goes on relative to a Cushing's diagnosis.

I'm glad to have found this website and forum, though some of the postings I've already read are discouraging, but I need the support of others who have been there (or still are) and need to know what to expect.

I write online as "JayeWisdom" on HubPages.com (http://jayewisdom.hubpages.com/)
if anyone is interested in reading my articles and essays about life with Puppy Girl, as well as seeing photos of her from a puppy throughout her life. I haven't yet written anything about Cushing's to publish on HP, but will do so in the future, regardless of my dog's ultimate diagnosis.

If you've read this far, thanks for your patience in plowing through a lot of words and for allowing me here among others whose beloved pets have Cushing's Disease.

Regards,
Jaye

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Jaye,

Welcome to you and Puppy Girl! Gosh I am sorry that your dear girl is going through so much, and we will do what ever we can to help. I am glad that Puppy Girl has such a wonderful and loving pet parent taking care of her.

You have been doing a lot of research about Cushing's, kudos to you for educating yourself about this dratted disease, you're being a great advocate for your girl!

Now, regarding the tests for Cushing's, you are correct that false positive results can be created if a dog is overly stressed and/or has a non-adrenal illness. Since Puppy Girl is recently blind, which could be stressful, if this were me, I would hold off on having any Cushing's tests performed right now. From your post it seems that Puppy Girl is not exhibiting any clinical symptoms of Cushing's and that is another reason for delaying testing for Cushing's, because strong symptoms do play a huge part in diagnosing Cushing's.

Dog's with Cushing's will usually have a ravenous appetite, drink buckets of water and pee rivers. Does Puppy Girl drink a lot of water and does she seem to be needing to urinate more often?

With Cushing's the initial expense is during the diagnostic phase. Once the dog is stabilized on treatment the cost does go down considerably. Getting the Cushing's medication compounded through a reputable pharmacy is another cost-savings. But lets not get a head of ourselves here, Cushing's is a slow progressing disease which gives one time to get a confirmed diagnosis for their furbaby.

If you could get your hands on copies of all tests that were done on Puppy Girl and post those results here that would be great.

Please remember we are here for you and Puppy Girl, and do not hesitate to ask all the questions you want. ;)

Hugs, Lori

[goldengirl88]

Hi Jaye:
Welcome to the forum. You are not alone with this anymore. We will help and support you thru this journey. Sorry your Puppy Girl is having problems. Please get the copies of the testing and post the abnormal numbers, and the scale given by the lab for normal readings a small labs are different. Once we get those numbers we can better tell what is going on. Have you had her tested for thyroid or diabetes? How old is she and how much does she weigh? Were there any other illnesses going on when she was tested for Cushing's? If so what? If your dog does have Cushing's, just know it is a manageable disease when the owner carefully monitors the dog. Blessings
Patti

[molly muffin]

Hello Jaye and welcome to you and puppy girl.

I agree with Lori, you have all blood test within normal range and the only thing off was dilute urine correct? And an ACTH that was like 1/2 a percentage point out of normal range. That is actually pretty good and just based on that I wouldn't pursue a cushings treatment if none of the other normal signs like hunger, drinking buckets and peeing tons are also missing from the equation. I'd want to find out why the urine was dilute, but I know that the pee that is tested should be the very first one of the morning and if possible I'd have a couple different urine tests to confirm the dilution. My molly's pee is always concentrated but she had one that wasn't. The next was fine and it was determined that to be a one off.

So, if all blood test is normal, glucose, thyroid, all liver enzymes normal, then I wouldn't be stressing the cushings as much, as you do need to have some clinical symptoms to help determine this is what you are dealing with.

So glad you found us and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I think it is adorable how she sits on your lap with her head and paws on your shoulder and how she sleeps with her head on your pillow. That is just so sweet. Puppy girl is one special little girl.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[Jaye]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I've received the lab tests results of February 17 (full blood panel and urinalysis preparatory to the surgery that she now won't have) from the veterinary clinic. I will type them in a Word document from which I can copy and paste to this forum, but not tonight. It will take me a while to type and check it for accuracy, so maybe I can post it on here tomorrow night. I'll try to answer other questions, though, and her March 6 ACTH Simulation results were:

Baseline cortisol - 3.5 pg/dl (actually, that "pg" looks like a "u" with a line down on the left side of the letter--some type of medical symbol?)

Cortisol one hour later - 21.9 pg/dl (with 22 being Positive).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Puppy Girl turned nine on January 3, 2014. She is not overweight, and the shape of her tummy is in not in the slightest potbellied. Her weight has remained consistent since I stopped feeding her commercial dry food (even the expensive type labled "organic" product) because I no longer trusted dog food sold for profit. (She lost a couple of pounds when I switched to the homemade food and maintained at that weight.)

I prepare her food in my kitchen with organic ingredients and add a powdered probiotic and enzyme blend for dogs. She gets several Cruncherz small organic biscuits made with buckwheat (not a true wheat) daily as well as a half organic apple, peeled, cored, cut into bite-size pieces and hand-fed. I get the other half of the apple! (Two biscuits and the apple are her breakfast, which she "demands" right after she goes outdoors in the a.m.) She has a history of two pancreatitis attacks when she was younger, so she's been on a low-fat diet since then to control lipids, and I'm fanatical about what she eats.

I've read the symptoms of Cushing's repeatedly while researching this disease, and she has none of those to a marked degree. However, there are some slight differences which could be defined as "subtle" symptoms.

(1) She's never drank much water, and you can't force her to drink when she doesn't want it. She just closes her mouth and turns her head away. I used to pester her vet all the time because I worried that she only drank two or three swallows of water within a 24-hour period, but the vet said she gets additional fluid from "wet" food. She still doesn't drink much now, but sometimes drinks two or three swallows after each meal, so that's twice the previous amount, even though it's only a couple of ounces in 24 hours. It's certainly not copious water-drinking.

(2) There is only a slight increase in urination, and by that I mean she "goes" from three to four times daily, between 7:00-7:30 a.m., again around noon after she eats her first regular meal, again at 6:00 p.m. after her second smaller regular meal and just before bed, usually between 11:30-midnight (even though she naps on the den sofa in the evening while I read). She doesn't usually ask to go out more than two or three times, but I add that extra one to prevent accidents. She had some during the early stages of her blindness when she couldn't find me and needed to go.

Until the past year, I could take her out repeatedly in the morning, and she sometimes wouldn't pee until after lunch for the first time of the day. There would only be once more--late in the afternoon or early evening, very infrequently three times. No large amounts, and just from looking the amounts seem to be a little bit more than before, but not a lot. She never wakes me during the night to go out, and she doesn't wet the bed. (Fingers crossed here!) I've simply put these two things--slight difference in water intake and urine output--down to aging...until the possibility of Cushing's Disease reared its ugly head.

(3) When I read about the "ravenous appetite" that's a symptom of Cushing's, I smiled because mini schnauzers are BORN with a ravenous appetite. She's always wolfed her food down and begged for more...always. When I still fed her kibble, she would practically inhale it and never chewed at all. Sometimes she'd vomit it about five minutes later, and it always came back whole. In an effort to train her not to do that, I slowly handfed her a bit of it, poured a few pieces in her bowl at a time and, generally, took a LONG time to feed her a meal. After I stopped doing that, she reverted to her usual method of eating--scarfing up her food like a vacuum cleaner

But she still didn't really chew anything except her biscuits (slightly) and her chewable vitamin and mineral supplement, which is VERY chewy. Since she's been eating homemade "wet" food, it doesn't really matter whether or not she chews it, but I do make her sit and wait while I spoon half into her bowl. She gobbles it in a half minute and voluntarily moves back to her rug where she sits waiting while I spoon in the second half and stays until I tell her "okay", then she gobbles the last part. At least she gets a brief break between the two "courses."

See why I couldn't tell if her appetite's increased? One thing, though, is that every morning she "fusses" at me until she gets her two little biscuits and half apple. She's very insistent, beginning right after I bring her in from potty time. If I grab a cup of coffee and go to check my email before feeding her these special treats, she lets me know about it!

Then, for her regular two meals, she's like an alarm clock. At the exact time I normally feed her she's standing beside me "fussing" (not really a bark, more of a grouchy mumble) until she hears the sound of the frig opening and her bowl being set on the countertop. So she's insistent about food being on time. But other than that, not a lot of difference. She's always eaten too fast as though she was starving!

(4) A number of times over the past year to 1 1/2 years, she's awakened from sleep panting for no discernible reason (the room was not too warm). I mentioned that to her primary care vet a couple of times also, afraid it might signal something wrong with her heart, but the vet didn't seem concerned. It doesn't happen frequently, not even as often as monthly.

(5) Before I realized she was blind, she tried to jump up on the bed, missed and fell, hurting her leg. She didn't break it, but sometimes walks as though she might be getting arthritis--especially when she gets up from a nap--slowly and with deliberation. I've also noticed that sometimes when she's standing one or more leg will tremble very slightly. I started giving her a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.

Since she's gone through so much with the chronic KCS, going blind and having to adjust to that, plus having a serious debilitating "bug" hit her very soon after her loss of sight, I can't blame her for acting depressed and not acting interested in much anymore. She does get very excited and animated when anyone comes over to visit. (She loves company, especially her "favorite" people. She doesn't like other animals--just humans--and I really tried to socialize her with other dogs, but she wasn't having it. Don't even mention cats!)

She does push her Babble ball around with her nose to make it "talk" to her for a few minutes, but I leave it in the corner of the den sofa so she always knows where to find it. She never goes to her toy basket looking for something else. Only a year ago, she would pull it over and pull all her toys out on the floor, but not after she lost her sight.

Overall, she seems to have aged a lot in the past two years, especially since last summer when she lost her vision, so "lethargy" wouldn't immediately come to my mind. Lethargy, disinterest and depression seem interchangeable terms for the way she's acted during this very stressful period. And, to tell the truth, I don't have a heck of a lot of energy myself! Stress seems to steal energy, doesn't it?

Thanks for your kindness, and I'll have those initial blood tests on here by tomorrow evening.

Jaye

[Jaye]

I did forget to mention that, as a result of the severe reaction to vaccine when she was a young adult, she had what the vet called a "pseudo" type of hypothyroidism. She had to be on synthroid for about 18 months. Then the condition resolved and she stopped taking the thyroid med. Her thyroid function has been tested annually, and it's never shown abnormal again. I feel as though all the health issues she's had can be traced to that vaccine reaction, which created an autoimmune disorder. I am so against routine vaccinations after the initial ones. Titers may cost more, but they are so much safer, and dogs are like people in that they remain immune from those first vaccinations. This is a very controversial topic, but the veterinary clinic where I take my dog for the past few years doesn't hassle me about vaccines. They routinely run the titers, and her immunity remains the same.
Jaye

[flynnandian]

i do the same with my dogs. i titer too and i never had to vaccinate them again. in the netherlands they use vaccicheck. more and more people are doing this overhere. i never used commercial food on my dogs. they eat barf. i send stool samples tot the vet university [a free students project] and they never had worms since grown up. so no deworm in their bodies. no spaying/neutering. my current dogs [13]
never needed anaestetics. so i try them to live as natural as possible.
it is my way of life.
all those sick and old dogs having unnecessary vaccinations is just frightening. just like people they don't need it anymore after being vaccinated as a child.
but vaccinations, spay/neuter , deworm, etc is the biggest source of income for a vet.......

[molly muffin]

Hi Jaye, I just wanted to tell you don't have to type out every test, only the ones that are high or low, for instance like this:

02/07/2014
ALKP 579ug (range 50 - 225ug)
ALT 119ug (range 25 - 115ug)

and yes, that is a ug that you saw. In Canada, Europe, etc, they will often be in nmol, but in the states, most are in ug.

Love the picture. She looks to be a sweetheart. There is often an adjustment when they lost their sight and they become more withdrawn. What is good though is that she is very safe and secure within her environment and with you, she trusts you to take care of things, to for her it has probably been better than some that never adjust very well and don't want to move out of their beds very far. You should be very proud of yourselves for making that adjustment. It isn't easy by any means.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

[Jaye]

Thanks for your replies, and I'm sorry it took me so long to answer. Busy week.

The only aspects of my dog's blood tests (of the original lab panel that caused her vet to consider Cushing's) not in the normal range were her dilute urine and Basophils (a specific type of white blood cell that may indicate heartworms or other parasites). The vet only mentioned the dilute urine to me because Puppy Girl's heartworm test (also done the day she had the first Cushing's test) was negative. I've sent the vet an email asking what the high BASO (0.16 with the top of the normal range 0.10) might mean. If she doesn't reply, I'll ask her when we go for the all-day tests on March 27. Her RBC and WBC are normal, and her Lymphocytes are normal, but just barely (on the lower side). I know that high white cells can mean cancer, but with those counts okay (except for the BASO), I'm trying not to worry unduly. Just waiting for the vet to answer my question.

I've been watching Puppy Girl's water intake and urine output. She's still not drinking a lot, but a bit more than usual. By a "bit", I mean maybe an additional ounce or two in a 24-hour period, and she never drinks at night. She may have a drink from her water bowl twice during the day instead of once, but there's always at least half of the water left over that I pour out before I wash her bowl at night. (I put a cup of fresh water in her bowl every morning, but she doesn't drink until after she eats her mid-day meal.)

I took her to the groomer yesterday and had her hair cut evenly short all over. She looks more like a terrier than a schnauzer now, but I have to keep her face shaved because of all the ointment that's put in her eyes to prevent ulcers. It gets in the facial hair and mats it, especially when she sleeps at night...also gets in the way when I'm trying to clean mucus from her eyes and medicate them. A shaved face (not quite shaved to the skin, but very close--the second size shaver blade) looks strange unless her body hair matches, so now that the weather's warming up here, I had her entire coat cut short. On cool mornings, she wears her soft lightweight wraps (flannel or light plush) that fasten at neck and tummy with Velcro. Since she went blind, she will not let me put a sweater over her head. She looks so streamlined! Definitely no potbelly on my girl!

However,I noticed more urine output. She had to urinate when she first woke up (7:10 a.m.), then again at 11:00 a.m., and I took her out to tinkle again before we went to the groomer's at 12:30. That's three times. I took a diaper along and put it on her in the car for the drive home from the groomer's. When we got home and I took her out of the car (about ten minutes later), that diaper was soaked. She KNOWS it's okay for her to use the diaper if she needs to "go!" My girl is smart. Okay--that's four times that she urinated, and that last one was a good bit since the diaper felt heavy when I removed it. She had to go again mid-afternoon, after I fed her at 6pm and just before bedtime. I can't remember her ever urinating SEVEN times in one day before except when she was a puppy! Certainly not since she was housetrained. But don't ask me where it came from, since she's not drinking a lot more and her food is still the same as it's been for years.

At this point, I'm just keeping an eye on her and taking care of her as usual. She doesn't act as though she feels bad. As I mentioned, the vet has her scheduled for LDDS (I think that's the correct acronym) on March 27, so I'm trying not to worry too much in the interim.

Again, thanks for your responses. If anyone has an idea what the high BASO reading means, please let me know. I haven't seen any mention of it in the Cushing's material from my research.

Jaye

[molly muffin]

Hi, oh poor dear, that's alot of going to the bathroom breaks she is having lately. With no increase of water intake, make sure she is staying hydrated enough.

Baso is part of the WBC and normally very low, they can be attributed to things like allergies, etc, but also other problems, including liver and yes the dreaded cancer word, but I don't think you want to go down that road yet. What does your vet say about it? Did she call you back?
They are keeping an eye on her kidneys too right, with the increased urine output, to make sure everything is good with them?

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

[Jaye]

I got a once-sentence email response from the vet telling me she's on vacation all this week and will reply to my (long) email and questions Monday. So I'm trying to be patient and wait. Although my dog isn't scheduled for her next set of tests (for Cushing's) until March 27, if she needs to see the vet sooner, we'll go back to the clinic.

I'm trying not to worry.

Jaye

[molly muffin]

We're going to just hope there is no need for a trip to the clinic prior to the vet returning and emailing you back. I know it is nerve wrecking, it always is when something happens to our "fur kidlets".

You have us right here too if you need a questions answered or need a chat. :)

hugs,
hang in there, deep breaths
Sharlene and molly muffin

[Trixie]

Hi Jaye,
Awwww...Puppy Girl sounds like the sweetest schnauzer! I'm so sorry for what she has gone through with her eyes and now maybe Cushings...(but I hope not!).
My schnauzer was diagnosed almost a year ago. We have also had gastro issues along the way and most recently a pancreatic attack that landed her in the hospital.
I love hearing how Puppy Girl sits with her paws on your shoulders, how nice she wants to be a lap dog now. I hope she's feeling okay and that you will soon have your questions answered by the vet. I would not listen to anyone who says the line "it's only a dog". Clearly they don't understand!

Barbara

[goldengirl88]

Jaye:
Hoping everything turns out to be good news for puppy girl. She sounds so cute.Please try not to worry, and hopefully everything will be ok. Blessings
Patti

[Jaye]

Thanks, Sharlene, Barbara and Tipper's Mom, for your advice and emotional support.

Barbara - There are so many hereditary diseases to which schnauzers are prone, even when they don't have an autoimmune disorder. Puppy Girl's also had pancreatitis and a severe (colitis-type) gastro illness known as HGE. The story about the latter experience is at this link.

http://jayewisdom.hubpages.com/hub/HGE-The-Mystery-Illness-That-Can-Quickly-Kill-a-Dog-if-Untreated

I think I'm emotionally drained from all the health issues she's suffered, so this potential Cushing's diagnosis has me on edge. But at least she doesn't appear to be suffering in any way, and I've read enough about the disease now not to worry that she's going to suddenly die from it. I will be glad, however, when the vet can make a diagnosis.

Also, she was supposed to have a small melanoyctoma excised from her left shoulder at the same time that she had the enucleation surgery (now cancelled). Even though these tumors are usually benign, after two biopsies I was told that it may be precancerous so that's another worry on my mind. I've got that on my list of questions for the vet. What will we do about the tumor now? It doesn't appear to have grown any--that's somewhat reassuring.

Again, thanks all for being here.

Jaye

[molly muffin]

You can still have it removed, it is just if she does have cushings, it could take longer to heal. If it isn't cushings, then that isn't a worry.
You just want to have a good anesthesiologist to monitor during any surgery. So that is something to discuss with the vet, any concerns and taking care of that tumor.

Hang in there!
Sharlene and molly muffin

[molly muffin]

So I am guessing that there was no need for a trip to the vet ER over the weekend while your vet was away? Did she answer you this week?

How is puppy girl doing?
Hope you are doing okay too.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

Jaye:
I just wanted to stop in and check on puppy girl. Hope you are both doing well. I will say a prayer for you both. Blessings
Patti

[Jaye]

We didn't have to make a trip to the veterinary ER, and Puppy Girl is doing pretty well. I noticed when I took her out this morning that she peed a lot more than usual. Still not drinking a lot, but her food is "wet" and contains a lot of water. She is getting "bossier" by the day, demanding (by barking non-stop and jumping up on me) that I feed her exactly when her internal clock says it's time for her meal. She's doing that now, so this will be brief! Got to go feed the girl....

Haven't heard from the vet, but I think she probably had a busy day on Monday after returning from vacation, she performs surgery on Tuesdays, then she's off on Wednesday. If no word from her tomorrow, I'll send another email and/or phone.

Thanks for your good wishes....Jaye and Puppy Girl

[Trixie]

Jaye, My schnauzer does the same thing as Puppygirl...that internal body clock knows when it's feeding time, Trixie even knows that 3pm is snack time. She can be sound asleep but she knows to wake up at 10pm because that's when she has her 2nd dose of Cushings meds which I give with some food...I never have to worry about forgetting to give the dose because she always reminds me when it's time as the pill comes with a little late night snack.
I know about HGE and we've had a few instances of going to the ER in the wee hours of the morning because of bloody diarrhea. She was never diagnosed with it but if I see blood we get to the vet.
I too am super careful about Trixie's diet. Strictly low fat, including treats. After this last bout of borderline pancreatitis I am even more obsessed about what she's eating. Schnauzers do have a list of possible predisposed maladies.
Love seeing Puppygirl's photos on the blog...she's so sweet! I hope she's feeling okay and that the vet gets back to you tomorrow.

Barbara

[Jaye]

Patti - Thanks for your prayers, on behalf of Puppy Girl and myself. I'm grateful for them.

Barbara - Aren't schnauzers wonderful?! Even though Puppy Girl's energy seems to have disappeared and the light has gone out of her eyes (which makes me sad), she still manages to amaze me frequently--especially with her intelligence.

Since your furbaby has experienced some of the same health issues, you can really understand why I do everything possible to prevent her from getting pancreatitis again. She's on a very lowfat diet, and I monitor every bite of food that she eats.

Thanks for reading my stories about Puppy Girl on my HubPages site. I'll bet you laughed when you realized that I never had a pet in my life until I was 61 years old! She's been such a joy to me that I only wish I'd known earlier how much love dogs give to people and, in return, soak up the love you give back to them. I also wish I'd done more research about keeping her healthy before she came to share my life...but what's done is done. We just go forward, Puppy Girl and I, growing older together. If she's diagnosed with Cushing's, it will be just one more challenge that we acknowledge and overcome.

Thanks, Patti and Barbara, for your support and friendship to Puppy Girl and her human "mom"....Jaye

[Jaye]

Hello, all....After three sets of lab tests, I'm nearly $600 poorer and stressed beyond belief. After the final blood test last Thursday on a day of repeated tests, the vet told me that she felt sure Puppy Girl had Cushing's. I went home depressed and crying that night and the next day, worrying about her future of medication and regular re-testing (not to mention the expense).

Then on Friday afternoon the vet called and told me she was wrong. Puppy Girl tested absolutely negative for Cushing's. I was relieved, of course, but also worried about the possibility of a false negative result.

Then the vet told me I needed to schedule another appointment next week for a non-fasting blood test because her blood was very thick by the final test on March 27. She's afraid my dog may have lipidemia again (she's a schnauzer), even though she stays on a very low fat diet.

After the result of that test is known, and her overall health assessed, the vet may talk with me about rescheduling her enucleation surgery. This means having to psych myself up for that all over again. Is it any wonder I feel about as low as a pebble on the ground?

I'm monitoring every bite Puppy Girl takes and giving her Omega-3 supplements again (which I've done in the past to lower her tryglicerides). Since she's had pancreatitis twice when she was younger (and older schnauzers seem to be more at risk for it), I'm terrified of her getting it again.

I'll post again after I learn the result of her lipids test on April 10 and talk to the vet.

I hope all of you and your sweet doggies are doing okay.

Jaye

[molly muffin]

Oh my gosh. What a roller coaster you are on!

Did the vet give you a copy of the test results? You can post anything high/low here (anything abnormal) and the results of the cushings test. That would give us a better idea of where puppy girl is at.

It is so hard with schnauzers to keep them just in the right zone with their lipds, cholesterol, etc that it can be nerve wrecking with nothing else going on.

Big hugs!
Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

Gheez I feel really bad for you. This vet really needs to get things in order before alarming you about something, then saying it was wrong. Talk about making you a nervous wreck!!! I pray for you and your girls sake you can figure out what is going on here. I know all about the money woes. Practically everyone on here has gone into debt for their babies. Blessings
Patti

[Iraklis]

Have you done an ultrasound or a liver puncture (testing for high amounts of cortisol)?