dtor
06-15-2015, 10:19 PM
He was less than 2 pounds when I picked him up at the airport. He had been hand carried to me with my intention to show him. He is the first born son of “Phantom of the Opera” a show champion, and my hope was he would follow in the paw-steps of his father. Seven months into his life he was neutered, because only one testicle
descended and we had waited this long hoping the other would. As a result of this he was disqualified from being a show dog. Nevertheless, he would be a champion in my heart and from that day on he was spoiled rotten and is still to this date. Prior to his first rabies shot, he appeared to have difficulty even with his first immunizations. He would be lethargic and sickly for several days, after his first distemper, etc. When it was time to give him is first rabies shot, I had no sooner walked out the door of my Vet’s office, when I turned right back around and went inside, because his little face was swelling faster then I could get him inside. The allergic reaction he had that day kept him overnight and on IV fluids. A year later, we tried it again, same results. My Vet made the decison that he could not tolerate a rabies shot, and hasn’t had one since. It wasn’t until he was 4 years old that we started noticing difficulty breathing through his nose. The first event - his snout swelled and I rushed him to the Vet, which they attributed it to spring time allergies and put him on Steroid and Claritin. He had about 2 weeks of Prednisone, which didn’t really stop the stuffiness in his nose, but the Claritin seemed to help. He came off Prednisone, but has been on Claritin for 3 years. The Claritin has maintained to some degree, until I started noticing his tongue turning blue and excessive breathing out of his mouth. During the past 3 years my focus has been more on his breathing difficulty. During this time, I basically ignored the fact he had become more lethargic, gained excessive weight, potbelly appearance, weakness in all legs, especially hind legs and excessive thirst. I attributed it all to the Claritin making him dehydrated, wanting to eat all the time, and he went from 3 1/2 pounds to 9 pounds because he wouldn’t go for walks because he couldn’t breath. Four different Vet’s kept telling me it was allergies. I finally found a vet that ran blood work and first told me he suspected Addison’s Disease. After years of my own researching on the internet, based on his appearance I suspected Cushing’s Disease. I have another Chihuahua, who is female and very active and they both get the same amount of food everyday, yet I could not understand why my male was constantly hungry, always begging for more. After the initial blood testing, this Vet ran a ACTH Stimulation Test confirming Cushing’s Disease. The odd thing the Vet said was that “Gunner’s” resting cortisol was 1.2. The initial blood work prior to his ACTH is:
AST 13 (Normal range 16 - 55)
Albumin 4.0 (Normal range 2.7 - 3.9)
Chloride 104 (Normal range 108-119)
Potassium 5.7 (Normal range 4.0 - 5.4)
NA/K Ratio 26 (Normal range 28 - 37)
ANION GAP 27 (Normal range 11 - 26)
Auto Platelet 651 (Normal range 143 - 448)
TSH
T3 & T4 - Normal
I have elected not to treat “Gunner” with the available drugs on the market to-date due to their toxicity that I have read about. I instead have started him on a “raw diet”, Melatonin, and Flaxseed Hull. I have seen improvement regarding his stamina since starting the raw diet. This past week there has been sudden leg problems, as well as a weird leaning of his head as if he is going to fall over. He is also having difficulty standing and walking when he wakes up. He neurologically seems wrong. Other then this, he continues to eat, drink water, not excessively and will walk outside to urinate. He has no skin sores, or massive loss of hair. He has a full coat, but does shed. My best guess is that he has had Cushing’s for 2 years, maybe 3. I have a picture of him taken 2 years ago and he had the potbelly in that picture. Neurologically, something is wrong. He “zone’s out” is the best way to describe it. Stares and stares and stares. When I get close to him he licks my face and gives me kisses. I feel he is losing his vision. Every so often he gets a burst of energy and will attempt to play with his sister, but quickly becomes unstable starts coughing and stops playing. His tongue turns blue off and on throughout every day, although his breathing is not labored. He loves to sleep and he’s only 7 years old. I pray he is not in pain. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed. Thank you!
descended and we had waited this long hoping the other would. As a result of this he was disqualified from being a show dog. Nevertheless, he would be a champion in my heart and from that day on he was spoiled rotten and is still to this date. Prior to his first rabies shot, he appeared to have difficulty even with his first immunizations. He would be lethargic and sickly for several days, after his first distemper, etc. When it was time to give him is first rabies shot, I had no sooner walked out the door of my Vet’s office, when I turned right back around and went inside, because his little face was swelling faster then I could get him inside. The allergic reaction he had that day kept him overnight and on IV fluids. A year later, we tried it again, same results. My Vet made the decison that he could not tolerate a rabies shot, and hasn’t had one since. It wasn’t until he was 4 years old that we started noticing difficulty breathing through his nose. The first event - his snout swelled and I rushed him to the Vet, which they attributed it to spring time allergies and put him on Steroid and Claritin. He had about 2 weeks of Prednisone, which didn’t really stop the stuffiness in his nose, but the Claritin seemed to help. He came off Prednisone, but has been on Claritin for 3 years. The Claritin has maintained to some degree, until I started noticing his tongue turning blue and excessive breathing out of his mouth. During the past 3 years my focus has been more on his breathing difficulty. During this time, I basically ignored the fact he had become more lethargic, gained excessive weight, potbelly appearance, weakness in all legs, especially hind legs and excessive thirst. I attributed it all to the Claritin making him dehydrated, wanting to eat all the time, and he went from 3 1/2 pounds to 9 pounds because he wouldn’t go for walks because he couldn’t breath. Four different Vet’s kept telling me it was allergies. I finally found a vet that ran blood work and first told me he suspected Addison’s Disease. After years of my own researching on the internet, based on his appearance I suspected Cushing’s Disease. I have another Chihuahua, who is female and very active and they both get the same amount of food everyday, yet I could not understand why my male was constantly hungry, always begging for more. After the initial blood testing, this Vet ran a ACTH Stimulation Test confirming Cushing’s Disease. The odd thing the Vet said was that “Gunner’s” resting cortisol was 1.2. The initial blood work prior to his ACTH is:
AST 13 (Normal range 16 - 55)
Albumin 4.0 (Normal range 2.7 - 3.9)
Chloride 104 (Normal range 108-119)
Potassium 5.7 (Normal range 4.0 - 5.4)
NA/K Ratio 26 (Normal range 28 - 37)
ANION GAP 27 (Normal range 11 - 26)
Auto Platelet 651 (Normal range 143 - 448)
TSH
T3 & T4 - Normal
I have elected not to treat “Gunner” with the available drugs on the market to-date due to their toxicity that I have read about. I instead have started him on a “raw diet”, Melatonin, and Flaxseed Hull. I have seen improvement regarding his stamina since starting the raw diet. This past week there has been sudden leg problems, as well as a weird leaning of his head as if he is going to fall over. He is also having difficulty standing and walking when he wakes up. He neurologically seems wrong. Other then this, he continues to eat, drink water, not excessively and will walk outside to urinate. He has no skin sores, or massive loss of hair. He has a full coat, but does shed. My best guess is that he has had Cushing’s for 2 years, maybe 3. I have a picture of him taken 2 years ago and he had the potbelly in that picture. Neurologically, something is wrong. He “zone’s out” is the best way to describe it. Stares and stares and stares. When I get close to him he licks my face and gives me kisses. I feel he is losing his vision. Every so often he gets a burst of energy and will attempt to play with his sister, but quickly becomes unstable starts coughing and stops playing. His tongue turns blue off and on throughout every day, although his breathing is not labored. He loves to sleep and he’s only 7 years old. I pray he is not in pain. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed. Thank you!