desperate for help

[pebbles03]

Hi my dogs name is pebbles and she was diagnosed with cushings disease 4 months ago. she also went blind at the same time and it is not clear if cushings had anything to do with it. it is suspected she suffers from high blood pressure and that caused it but not sure. my vet informed us that treating cushings is very expensive due to all the testing and medicines which requires a lot more test to be done and we cannot afford to do all this. I am getting very frustrated because she has excessive thirst which causes her to urinate constantly I cannot keep enough puddle pads on hand and she wants to eat constantly. she is constantly whining and I cannot take much more please isn't there something that we can buy at a pet store to help treat these symptoms. If I was a stay at home mom it would be better but I am not and I am at my wits end please advise

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby :),

To answer your question, no there is nothing you can buy at a pet store, a "natural" supplement store, no food, nothing that will help Cushing's other than Lysodren or Vetoryl. Some pups have responded to herbal approaches but holistic vets are no less expensive and herbal meds are often more expensive than traditional pharmaceutical meds.

Cushing's is a disease caused by a tumor, either on the pituitary gland in the skull or on one or both of the adrenal glands in the abdomen.

The sudden blindness - did your baby see a specialist for this diagnosis? If so, they might have shared this info with you to explain SARDS, Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome, if not, they should have ;) - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213

Your baby is not peeing so much because she drinks so much - it is just the opposite. Cushing's makes the kidneys work overtime, very hard. So a cush pup is GOING to pee no matter how much water they get. They drink so much simply to keep hydrated because they are peeing so very much. Lowering the cortisol will help the kidneys start working better.

NEVER, EVER withhold or restrict water from your baby, never. She will quickly become dehydrated, which can be life threatening.

The testing phase is expensive, but if you already know your baby has Cushing's that is behind you. Vetoryl is often more expensive to use because the dose has to be tweaked so often and with every tweak the testing schedule for monitoring starts all over. So pups on Vetoryl usually have more ACTH monitoring tests thatn pups on Lysodren. Vetoryl is given 1-2 times daily for life, Lysodren is given twice daily for a short while then 2-4 times a week for life.

Do you mind posting the test results from the tests done to diagnose your baby? The test that shows things like ALP, BUN, CHOL as well as any LDDS or ACTH and an abdominal ultrasound if done. We need to see the little letters and the normal ranges for each value posted but you only need to list those that are abnormal - too high or too low. It will look something like -
ALP 350 100-215 ug/dl (EXAMPLE)

And the more you can tell us about your baby the better - her health issues and any other meds she is on especially. We LOVE details so don't worry about a long post. ;)

There are funds available to pet owners. Here is another link from our Helpful Resource section - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212 The link for The Pet Fund has a great list of ideas to help owners raise money, too.

I'm glad you found us and hope to learn more as time passes.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[molly muffin]

Welcome. As you already know Cushing's is the root problem then you could start with a low dose of trilostane. No more than one 1 mg/1lb Trilostane is the compounded medication while vetroyl is the brand name. You can order this with a vet prescription online and it is cheaper than brand name through the vets. This is what I use.

Yes hgh blood pressure can cause blindness in Cushing's dogs. The high bp causes retinal blends that once they scare over leave that area blind of the eye. My dog also has this.

SARDS as Leslie mentioned is also a possibility.

[mimir]

Hi..

I suspect SARDS. SARDS presents like Cushings. Basically the same symptoms, IMO.
I lost my 14 year old Dachshund to SARDS. Vets know very little about it and I found mine to be unwilling to learn.
Since she had the Cushings symptoms, he tested her through the lab at the Univ. of Tenn. Her numbers were crazy and she was tested twice fearing the lab had made a mistake. Finally diagnosed her with atypical Cushings and recommended melatonin and flax hull lignans.
She steadily went down hill...lost muscle mass while eating a ton. She finally stopped eating and I lost her three days later.
Please make sure of your dog's diagnosis. The sudden blindness and other symptoms sound like SARDS.
Good luck and hugs to your doggie..

Mimi