Treat or Not to Treat Cushings

[LindaGraves]

My dog Skye (Cairn Terrier) is 8 years old and yesterday at the Vet was told he very likely has Cushings, based on symptoms. Yes to pot belly, overeating, drinking lots of water and obviously more urinating and occasionally panting. No blood or urine tests taken yet, wanted to learn about Cushings first. Lots of research done online but no one says what happens if it is not treated in a dog that otherwise appears healthy. Has anyone taken the alternate route of no treatment? :confused: and sad. Thank you.

[labblab]

Hello and Welcome!

I am so sorry that your post was overlooked until this morning, Linda, but we are so glad to have you and Skye with us now. I surely understand your initial worry and sadness -- you wouldn't be normal if you didn't feel this way! But now that you've found us, you will have plenty of folks to support you in whatever decisions you end up making.

Obviously, you will have to await diagnostic testing testing before proceeding with any treatment plan. But in answer to your question, in my own mind, the decision whether or not to treat depends on a number of factors: age of the dog, apparent discomfort, severity of symptoms (both external and internal), etc. Cushing's is typically a slowly developing syndrome, and the decision to actively treat may come sooner or later in the process. The primary goals of treament are to control the troublesome observable symptoms (things like excessive thirst, urination, hunger, panting, muscle wasting), and also to halt/delay silent internal damage. Untreated Cushing's can make dogs more vulnerable to things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, protein-losing kidney disease, blindness (as a result of high blood pressure), pancreatitis, ligament damage and slow healing, chronic infections and skin issues, GI disturbance, etc. Not every dog will suffer from all or even many of these issues, but the disease can make them happen.

Since the damage usually occurs over time, my own opinion is that I don't worry so much about the "silent" damage in a dog who is already elderly. My biggest concern for a senior dog is immediate quality of life. So if the overt symptoms are making the senior dog uncomfortable, I would treat. Otherwise, I might not.

However, for a younger dog, I would be equally as concerned about the silent internal damage. I would want to give my dog as many quality years of life that I could, and that would mean putting a stop to the development of the internal systemic damage as well as relieving the uncomfortable outward problems.

Skye is young enough that you may well decide you wish to treat the disease if Cushing's is what he has. Treatment is not without its pitfalls, but we have witnessed many, many successful treatment stories here :). Ironically, though, those folks don't tend to stick around because once their dogs are stabilized, they're off and running again with their normal lives!

Please do feel free to ask us any questions about any aspect of the process. You can certainly take your time to think things through and to make the decision that is best for you and Skye.

Marianne

[LindaGraves]

Marianne, Thank you for your quick response. We certainly have a lot to think about, first to try to keep Skye healthy and happy and also the consideration of the financial burden. We shall take one step at a time and have initial tests taken to more define which Cushings he may have and consult further with his Vet. Will keep you posted. Thanks again. Linda

[Dawn Anderson]

Hello,

I agree with Marianne. My girl was almost 8 when she was diag with PDH, that's the pituitary driven Cushings. Since she was still young or middle aged the Vets were confident that with treatment she could have a quality life and quantity as well. That's all I needed to hear and here were are 18 months later, she is happy, no more excessive drinking and peeing, panting, potbelly the only thing we are still working on is the CC which is a skin condition. If by chance do you have a Vet. medical teaching hospital in your area??? I understand the cost of testing and treatment can become burdensome, however if you have a teaching hospital you can take her to it can help reduce the cost ( less expensive then a Vet. office ).
Keeping our paws crossed that all works out for the best.
Dawn & Miss Buttercup

[LindaGraves]

I guess first step, first...test to determine which Cushings. Thank you for your help, we love our little guy and don't want to see him suffer silently or otherwise. We are, unfortunately, not near a teaching hospital but my vet is reasonable and we do have insurance (they do not cover nearly half the cost) but it is something anyway. My surprise in all this research is that so many middle age dogs of all different breeds have this disease and that no one can say what starts the problem i.e. diet, lack of exercise etc. Thank you from Skye and me.