My dog is being treated for cushing's but her hair is not growing

[Kimisha]

Hello all,
My 11 year old dog, nikki, who is a rat terrier mix has been diagnosed with cushing's disease as of November 2013(so it's around 5 months) . She takes trilostane and it seems to be working wonders except for her hair growth. She still has bald patches and her hair that does grow is extremely thin. She recently had her bloods done and the vet said her cortisol levels couldn't be better so he doesn't understand why her hair isn't growing. Another issue i have is that she makes a wheezing/snorting sound, is this related to her condition. Any advice would be sooo helpful

[goldengirl88]

Hi welcome to you an Nikki. Would you be able to get copies of the diagnostic tests done and post the abnormal numbers, and the normal scale given by the lab as all are different. We want to see her numbers to better advise you of what may be going on. Have you had her tested for thyroid disease? Cushing's and thyroid disease can both cause hair issues. Please tell us a little about your dog and her history.Has she had any other illnesses? How much does she weigh? What is her trilostane dosage? What were her symptoms that caused her to be tested for Cushing's? Is you vet experienced with treating Cushing's? Have her symptoms started to subside? Were you given prednisone in the event her cortisol goes low? Were you told what to watch for if her cortisol would go low?Any diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, cant get up or stand, stop dosing and go to the vet. You would want her electrolytes checked, and cortisol level. This can be a serious situation just so you are aware, not intended to scare you. We are here to here to help and support you and your baby on this journey. Hope all continues to go well.Blessings
Patti

[addy]

Hi and welcome,

I only have a quick moment so I will let others ask our ten questions:) but I did want to point out that Cush pups with hair loss often have secondary skin issues that sometimes are beneath the skin and sometimes superfical on top of the skin. Should you notice greasier hair than your pup normally had, dandruff, white pimple looking spots, blackheads, brown specks on the skin, any of these things could mean you need to treat the skin with a medicated shampoo to start. I would ask your vet to do a skin scraping to check for bacteria and or yeast.

Keep in mind the hair has a cycle to go through, shedding out the old dead hair and if there is no new hair yet, it may be slow to fill in while it has to cycle ( can be 3 months for that cycle).

Hope that helps.

[molly muffin]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Do you have the results of the ACTH that your vet said was "couldn't be better".

Also, what Addy said could be important. I'd ask for a skin scrapping.

So that along with what Patti asked is a good place for us to start. :)

Welcome again
Sharlene and molly muffin

[Kimisha]

hello everyone
thank you so much for the overwhelming support because prior to nikki's diagnosis, my family and i had no idea that cushing's existed so we all went into this ordeal very terrified.
here are some answers to some of your questions:
I dont have her test results,the doctor keeps her for 90 minutes ans we take her home and he tells us the results telephonically. She has her last test about week ago and this is when he said her cortisol levels are fine and we should keep giving her the same dosage which is 0.4ml of Trilostane(50mg). its sort of a gel. We took her to the vet because she seemed so lethargic and overweight and the first vet told us she had abdominal cancer and we must put her down, we refused because she is our life so we went for a second opinion and this vet started asking about her food and water intake,the condition of her fur etc and after running a series of blood tests and scans , he diagnosed her with hyperadrenalcortism so im not sure whether she got tested for a thyroid problem. she was 9kgs when she was first diagnosed but now is 7kgs. she does seem back to her old self apart from the hair growth. we did have a skin scrape done but the vet said it was fine and perhaps her hair will grow in a couple months. we were not given prednisone. he just told us how important is it to give accurate medication to prevent a major drop in cortisol levels. we have never gone back to the first vet who told us she had cancer

[Kimisha]

she has been a pretty healthy dog but unfortunately had tickbite fever in may of 2012 .that is the only health issue and now the cushings

[goldengirl88]

Is it possible for you to phone the vets office and have them get you copies of the test results. The reason why we are asking to see these is because some vets are not familiar with the scale given by the lab, and can interpret them wrong. We don't want your dog to be having high cortisol, when in fact the vet says the numbers are good. Not trying to bash your vet here, but very few have treated, or even know how to treat Cushing's. We are in the dark as far as knowing how to advise you without the test numbers. We also want to make sure all the testing to confirm the diagnosis was done, even though your dog does show some Cushing's symptoms, other diseases have similar symptoms. Blessings
Patti