Lacey has bumps on head and is aggressive

[cfhunter]

I can't find any resources for this but perhaps I am searching wrong. Can anyone tell me where I can find more info?
Im new here. New dx for my Lacey but dry eye has been going on for two weeks (yes Im treating her aggressively with a phenomenal vet). I just want to understand this better.

[Squirt's Mom]

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[doxiesrock912]

I have not heard of dry eye with Cushings. Hopefully this will resolve soon.
On the first page of this forum, you'll see several options below the discussion option. The help resources portion has a lot of great information.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Dry eye is not normally associated with cushings that I am aware of, however, it can signal the potential to some other problems, so i would go see a canine ophalmologist. Some of the Vet Hospitals will have one on staff, you want the eyes to be thoroughly checked out and the retinols specifically. She might need some drops, etc.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[cfhunter]

lacey is a 15 year old dachshund dx'd with marginally elevated cortisol through the ACTH test. the reason I had her tested was because she was losing her hair on her ears, she was peeing and drinking excessively with negative urine cultures and acting abnormally. She is on anipryl because I was very nervous about the other medications and my vet didn't want me to have to be too worried about addisonian issues. She now has become aggressive toward the other dogs and me but only at certain times. she is not eating like she used to although does seem to have an appetite. I don't know whats wrong with her. she has been on benadryl for the bumps and the vet is culturing her tonight. I trust my vet 100% but would like some thoughts thrown in here about what other things I could SAFELY try to get her back on track. This all started after our other dog (josie was with Lacey for 11 years) died. Three weeks after josie died we rescued a puppy in need and I am sure she stresses her out. I keep them separated and the puppy is learning boundaries and things are calming down but honestly after a bout with eye ulcers right after josie died, dry eye and cushing type symptoms I am not sure where we are going next. How can I help this otherwise healthy (running in the yard, barking, waiting for treats,) dog??? feeling very sad.:(

[goldengirl88]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry Lacey is having problems. I just wanted to say thyroid issues can make a dog aggressive. My dog started attacking my yorkie, so they are permanently separated. Has your vet checked the thyroid, and for diabetes? Was Lacey on any medications for the eye ulcers when she had her ACTH? Dry eye can be caused by Cushing's according to our eye Dr. I would keep the dogs separate from now on, as I learned you never know when your Lacey will go after the other dog, and they could both end up hurt. Blessings
Patti

[Harley PoMMom]

I agree with Patti, all those symptoms that Lacey is displaying could be from Hypothyroidism, meaning her thyroid is not performing as it should. Was a chemistry blood panel done, if so, do you see the abbreviation T4, also could you post any abnormal results?

Hugs, Lori

[cfhunter]

Her thyroid was totally normal and a complete panel was done. Everything showed normal and cortisol was marginal high (like 9 points over ). She lost some sight when she was treated for ulcers so that could be part of her irritability. I work from home and am with them all day (I have four dogs) and wAtch everything closely and know the signs and sounds of when something could go wrong. I have worked in animal welfare for 12 years and used to work in the shelter so have that covered. Just need some ideas on treatment. The anipryl fixed all urinating and drinking issues for sure. But she's still having issues. :(

[cfhunter]

Lacey is a 15 year old doxie that was dx'd with marginal cushiness by ACTH test. She is on anipryl and dec eye drops and tricolimus for her eyes (they stopped producing tears at the same time she started polyuria and polydypsia. she has lost hair on her ear tips, has some hives on her head from unknown reason and has stopped eating hard food. She has NO pot belly or voracious appetite etc. She IS starting to walk into rooms and just stand there. I snap her out of it and she's ok but this and the NOT eating are new. We get some blood work back today to see why she might not be eating but I am looking at changing her to Trilostane. There have never been UTI's and for the most part accidents have stopped but I want to figure out why she isn't eating and why she is wandering about all of a sudden.
Thoughts on switching her? Would she have to repeat the $400 ACTH test EVERY few weeks????:confused: thank you for your time. I just KNOW this is all from the stress of her bestie dying last October. Maybe the new puppy we rescued out of a parking lot isn't helping either. Let me just say my vet is absolutely the smartest and I love her…she was putting her on anipryl b/c of my own request and nerves about trilostane and the marginal numbers.

[Squirt's Mom]

MODERATOR NOTE: I have merged three threads started for Lacey into her original thread. We like to keep all info about each pup in one thread so it is easier to look back through the history if needed. You will always post here any time you want to talk about Lacey.

[Squirt's Mom]

From the little we know about Lacey, I do not see Cushing's in play. If she does have it, it may be in the very early stages because she is not displaying the typical signs we see.

I would NOT put her on Trilostane nor Lysodren without a great deal more testing. Has she had an abdominal ultrasound? If not, I would have that done asap and make sure a high resolution machine is used to do the test.

Do you have copies of tests that have been done to try to figure out what is going on with her? Lab work that shows things like ALP, BUN, CHOL, ect? An LDDS? We would like to see the results from the ACTH as well. The more info you can share with us the better we can help you. ;)

When was the last time her thyroid was checked? You say "full panel" - that should show not only the T4 but also T3, TSH, Free T4, Free T3. Do you have those results?

Too often we have found vets will tell us things are "normal" or "fine" but when we actually see the test results that isn't exactly correct. ;)

And yes, with Vetoryl (Trilostane) you usually have frequent ACTH tests because the dose often has to be changed with this drug and with each change, the ACTH testing schedule starts all over.

Much of what you are describing sounds like CCD to me - doggy Alzheimer's. Anipryl is the main drug used to treat this. My pup has CCD and is on Anipryl along with a SAMe product called Novifit that I cannot recommend highly enough. Novifit made a world of difference for my Sweet Bebe, Squirt. So I would definitely talk to the vet about this.

If you will round up tests results and post them here that will help us a great deal!
Hang in there!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[goldengirl88]

I agree with Leslie that it may be Cushing's in the early stages as some of the things you mentioned are symptoms of it. I would also wait to see what the other tests show as this is am very slow progressing disease, and there is no rush to start treatment. Are the eye drops you are using containing steroids? When you had then thyroid checked was it just T4 or was it the whole panel Leslie mentioned? That can make a difference in her diagnosis. T4 does not show everything needed to determine thyroid problems. The abdominal ultra sound as mentioned is an excellent idea to let you know what type of Cushing's your dog might have, and if other things inside are going on. Blessings
Patti

[cfhunter]

Thank you for merging these for me. Yes she had all the Frees…(I have thyroid and am a health coach for thyroid disease for people so I requested all of those two months ago). She's 12 pds and otherwise besides dementia and not eating well she's a happy little gal. her calcium came back a little high alongside a little elevation in WBC, her kidney values are up a tiny bit so vet wants to restrict her protein a tad and recheck enzymes in a month to be sure they are secondary elevations and not primary from the kidney. Her dry eye is 100% better, the ulcers are gone and she is producing tears with the aid of Tricolimus every morning and night and a tiny steroid drop each day. I accidentally left her ACTH lab copy at the vet and she's bringing them to me this weekend. They live three doors down from me. Her vulva also swells intermittently so we ran an estrogen and progesterone lab and those are with ACTH. I am going to look into that other supplement and stay on anirpyl

[cfhunter]

Also they did an abdominal ultrasound yesterday. I've been reading up on dementia some more (I read about it a few months ago and she wasn't showing the same signs she is now) and she almost surely has dementia. I have ordered the Novofit and hope the anipryl is helping some but won't start any cushings meds. She is pacing a lot today and not resting much, standing in the middle of the room just staring off. I really would love some more info about dementia that leads me into the stages if anyone has one….I have four dogs she is aggressive towards at times and I am on my toes at all times stressed that something could happen to her bc she is just confused.

[goldengirl88]

Leslie will be your best help on dementia as her dog has it and she is really up on everything involved with that. About the vulva swollen,I have heard others on here talking about similar problems such as swelling, and being itchy. Blessings
Patti