New here, newly diganosed chi-weenie Gibson

[momzworkin]

Hi Everyone,

Gibby is a 9 year old chi-weenie (tho he is all dachshund in his heart!) who I took in to the vet recently for some growths on his paw and shoulder. While he was there the vet noticed a tricuspid heart murmur. He took some blood and sent it to K-State (Kansas) for testing, then called and asked that we drop off Gibby for the day so he could run a certain test we knew (at the time) nothing about. He explained the dexamethasone suppression test, and we took Gibson the next morning. Two days later the Vet called and said it was definitely Cushing's Disease. This really took us by surprise because Gibby has none of the typical symptoms.
Gibson's blood work came back as:
sample 1: 12.0
sample 2: 1.6
sample 3: 11.5

Do these look right? We still need to get the growths biopsied, he needs his teeth cleaned and toenails cut, which we were going to do all at the same time, since he would be under anesthesia.

His appetite, water intake, urine output and fur/skin all seem normal. He and his crate brother of 7 years were getting into snit fights, so we temporarily moved Gib to another crate. We have had some severe weather, which scare the bejeebies out of him, and we get him out of the crate and he crawls under our covers for the night. I mention this stuff because it has increased his stress, so could have increased his cortisol reaction, right?

The vet wants to wait till we do the growth/teeth thing before starting him on mitotane. He said recent studies have shown in mitotane vs. trilostane that both are about equal in standard of care, but that trilostane, being newer, is more expensive.

I do medical research for a living, so I spent all of yesterday reading articles and opinions, talked to a few friends who are big in the "dog world" where I live, and to a few friends with dogs who have Cushing's. It has all left me very confused!! If he was showing symptoms, fine- i would treat it, but he isn't! Maybe we accidentally caught it early because of the growths on his paw? The vet is hoping those are benign, but we won't know that for a few weeks.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Momz:confused:

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and Gibby! :)

One of my fosters is a Chiweenie and he is soooo sweet! Hikes all over the place :rolleyes: but sweet as candy! :D

I am with you in thinking wait a see how Gibby is after the growth path report is in and the dental, etc. is behind him. The thinking until recently was to wait until the dog was showing signs, and fairly strong signs at that, before starting treatment. However over the last couple of years, that thinking has been changing and some of the leading endocrinologist are recommending treatment begin sooner. As of now, if there has been a consensus I am not aware of it. BUT I speak from my own experiences.

My cush baby was diagnosed with PDH based 5 different tests. However the ultrasounds showed a tumor on her spleen and once it was removed, her cortisol returned to normal and remained that way for several years. So I am always more hesitant about starting treatment in pups that already have something else going on. ;)

The LDDS does fit with a cush pup but I will let others who are the gurus here discuss that with you. Were any other tests done like a health screen that shows things like BUN, ALP, CHOL, etc? Or a CBC? If you could post the abnormal results of those tests along with the little letters after each one and the normal range for each one, that would be great!

We were a Lysodren house and should I ever have another cush baby Lyso will be my first choice. Less testing is usually involved with Lyso, too, which helps keep the cost down. The individual pills are sometimes more expensive but once on maintenance, the pup doesn't get a pill daily in most cases. There is a good link in our Helpful Resource section on Lysodren tips and tricks. Check it out!

Cortisol can cause a change in behavior, including more anxiety. But in your shoes, I would get these other things addressed then do some more testing if I continued to see these signs in Gibby. Cushing's is rarely an emergency situation that requires immediate attention but neither is it something to let slide. You are observant and know when something is different with Gibby - trust that gut. ;)

I'm glad you found us and look forward to learning more!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[momzworkin]

Leslie (and her gang)

Thank you for your quick response. I am sticking with my gut right now.
And you are right about chi-weenies and hiking! OMG. He can be a nightmare sometimes, but then that sweet as candy personality and those BIG BROWN EYES get me every time. He is the sweetest dog I have ever known and gets away with murder (along with my heart)

:)

[labblab]

In the total absence of overt symptoms, I am puzzled as to what even prompted the Cushing's testing in the first place. I am assuming it must be because there were some abnormalities on the original blood panel? If so, the worry is that something other than Cushing's is causing both the general lab abnormalities as well as the elevated reading on the LDDS (that test is vulnerable to returning "false positives" in the face of other, nonadrenal illness).

Like Leslie, I absolutely would wait until the other medical issues are addressed before beginning Cushing's treatment. It will help us a lot if you can get the actual numbers for the original testing that led your vet to consider Cushing's.

Marianne