Not yet sure if I need to be here but...

[ownedbymission]

I am owned by an 11 yo female pit bull mix called Mission.

3 weeks ago she suddenly started urinating in the house (never done this before) and drinking large quantities of water. So off to the vet we go: diagnosis, bladder infection. Antibiotics prescribed and taken. But she doesn't seem to be improving in the urinating/water intake areas. The blood work taken at the time of the infection show normal glucose levels (I was thinking diabetes) so last week she had a LDDS done. Baseline 2.6, 4 hour <1.0 8 hour 1.4. So just normal as I understand it.

I'm not really sure what I should be asking (either here or of the vet). I'm seeing him on Monday to discuss possible options but would like to get a better handle on what might be going on.

I understand that in a small percentage of dogs this test may not be accurate, but haven't really got a handle on why that might be the case. And if that's so, what would be an appropriate test?

Sorry - I suspect that this is confusing, but my head's all over the place with this.

TIA

[Barb]

Hi. I'd get your vet to do a swab of her lady parts and see if they
find anything. I don't have a cush pup now so I just check in here once in a while. I see you tried antibiotics but did they rule out UTI? Can your vet do an ultrasound of her bladder area? Not wanting to scare you but I've been through this with my female doxie only to find out it was bladder cancer.
I'd push the vet for answers now and if you are not satisfied look for a specialist.
Sorry you and your girl are having problems.

[ownedbymission]

She's had xrays (basically to check for crystals and stones) but not ultrasound: the only thing that turned up there were hip and knee issues we already knew about.

I think a bladder infection and UTI are two names for the same thing, no? Anyway we are having a recheck on Monday to make sure the infection has gone. The lab tests on the urine show that the bacteria that they found should be killed by the specific antibiotic but you never know.

Bladder cancer: would not blood be in the urine in that situation?

[Barb]

They are sometimes because of what is involved in urinary tract and kidneys. The vet needs to know what bacteria they are treating so they can give correct antibiotic. Did they mention struvite stones? That's why I think it would be a good idea to get an ultra sound.
I have been round and round with this for almost 2 years.
The symptoms sounds like my girl in the beginning. She was also passing what looked like clear strands of mucus but no blood.She was treated for UTI and I took her back a week later for more tests and then was referred to an oncologist. She was drinking more water than normal but I encouraged it.
I hope you can get some answers.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Mission!

Sorry, I have only a moment to post, it sounds like Mission had a urine culture and sensitivity test done, right? This kind of test will tell exactly what the bacteria is so that the appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed, sometimes even then those darn UTI's are so stubborn and either the length of time on the antibiotic may be needed or another antibiotic can be prescribed.

Generally the common clinical symptoms seen in cushdogs are: excessive drinking and peeing, I mean peeing rivers and drinking buckets upon buckets of water; voracious appetite, they are like little hoover vacuum cleaners looking for any crumb they can find; panting; loss or thinning of coat; skin issues; muscle wasting; muscle weakness, especially in the hind quarters; exercise intolerant; difficulty or unable to go up steps or jump on furniture, does Mission have any of those symptoms? The drugs used for Cushing's do not cure the disease. The goal of therapy is to remedy problematic symptoms of Cushing's, so that is why strong symptoms do play a huge role in the diagnosis for Cushing's.

Sorry this is so short, please know we will help in any way we can, and do not hesitate to ask all the questions you want.

Hugs, Lori

[ownedbymission]

Excessive peeing and drinking, absolutely. Ravenously hungry? Well I'm sort of used to that - we've managed to get her weight down from a high of 85lbs to 65lbs but that does mean she would eat anything that might be vaguely edible (and few things that aren't). I don't think it's worse though. Muscle weakness/muscle wasting/exercise intolerance: it's difficult to tell because she's due to undergo another TTA (she's already had one) and so she's not been very active for a while now because of the knee damage. Thinning coat: this is a dog that has very little hair anyway (well it's short) and in many places she has never had hair. I have noticed an increase in what almost looks like patches of superficially dark skin, but I've had a look at images of cushing dogs and it doesn't look like any I have seen.

I spoke to my vet earlier. I'm taking her back in on Monday for a urine retest. While the antibiotic was specific to the type of bacteria, (the urine was sent away for culture) speaking as a human, I have had UTIs which took more than one course of antibiotics to clear. If the urine test isn't clear: well that's the first thing to deal with. If it is, it's been suggested that we wait a couple of weeks so that she can basically get over the whole episode and then try the LDDS again.

It's odd though: I would expect her to be at least a bit "off" if she was dealing with this, but she seems fine except for the massive amount of water she is drinking (around a gallon a day). Now it's hot here but she's in the a/c house 98% of the time.

Thank you all for your input.

[Squirt's Mom]

I would talk to the vet about DI - Diabetes Insipidus. It is a rare form of diabetes that has nothing to do with blood sugars but rather with how the body processes water.

[molly muffin]

There are bacteria that come back when you think it has been cleared. Ecoli for,one is very hard to,get rid of in dogs.

[ownedbymission]

So another urine sample is going off to the lab for testing. However, my vet says that since she has the clinical signs of Cushings even if the test results were just normal, the next step is the ultrasound. So that's what I am going to arrange.

Urrgh - this is proving expensive.

[Harley PoMMom]

An ultrasound can be a very useful diagnostic tool, as other abnormalities may be found on the internal organs, such as gallbladder mucocele, kidney issues, pancreatitis...etc. Also, if the adrenal glands are visualized an ultrasound may be able to differentiate between the adrenal or the pituitary type of Cushing's. Our motto here is you get a lot of bang for your buck with an ultrasound.

However not all ultrasounds are created equal. And yes, they can be quite costly and having them done correctly is important. A good quality ultrasound/interpretation depends on a few things; the tool used, the technician performing it, and the physician interpreting it. Usually a Board Certified Veterinary Specialist is the best choice to perform an ultrasound.

Hugs, Lori

[ownedbymission]

We've been referred to PVSEC (we're in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh). I did a quick search and saw them mentioned a few times so hopefully they are good.

I'm now just waiting to see if they accept the referral.

[molly muffin]

I'm sure they will accept the referral. So hoping they will be able to help.

[bmarra]

Hi, sorry to hear about your pup's issue. Just wanted to inform you that I've been back & forth between this forum and it's sister forum, K-9 Diabetes. Back in March my dog started drinking and urinating heavily and having accidents in the house. Vet treated for a UTI which helped some but still not back to normal. Her bloodwork showed normal glucose levels so no diabetes. Tested for Cushings which showed positive but we are still questioning that diagnosis as she had other things going on when she had the test and then an ultrasound. Long story short - only 3 weeks later she was diagnosed with Diabetes as there was sugar in her urine and then her gluose level was in the 300's. Once she was given insulin the symptoms stopped. Maybe you can check into Diabetes again? Hope this helps.
Brenda

[Greybeard]

Just wondering how you and your pup are doing? Your first post sounds exactly like my situation back in May. I thought for sure she must have diabetes but blood work said no and they diagnosed UTI. After antibiotics, she was also no better. Drinking and peeing excessively. And now we have a whole slew of other stuff going on too. Not knowing what it is or how to help them is hard. Sorry you're both going through this.

[molly muffin]

I'm sorry to hear you have a bunch of other things going on now too and that the antibiotics didn't clear up the problem. Is the UTI gone now?

Can you tell us what the abnormal test results have been? Are they still thinking cushings?

[ownedbymission]

Sorry not to have been back. Well after ultrasounds, Xrays, assorted blood work and urine tests the answer is: we don't know. No evidence on the ultrasound of anything abnormal, the UTI has definitely cleared up, Xrays show nothing odd. The only abnormal result was a high cholesterol level (850). So we are having a full thyroid panel done but that will take a week at least to come back. So it doesn't sound like cushings but possibly a thyroid problem or diabetes insipidus or some kind of early kidney disease.

She seems fine except for the copious drinking and piddling.

[molly muffin]

Thyroid can cause the drinking and peeing, so good to rule that out.
Does she have protein in her urine or is the BUN/Creat elevated? Those are indicators for kidney disease.

If diabtes insipidus you just give the medicine and see if it works or not. No harm if it doesn't and if it does you know.

[ownedbymission]

Thyroid test normal, sigh.

I took her in to get another blood test that is supposed to diagnose kidney disease earlier (SDMA). If that's clear we're going to try treatment for diabetes insipidus. My vet doesn't want to treat the DI unless she's reasonably certain there is no kidney disease (the treatment for DI can put more strain on the kidneys).

That you everyone for your help, even if it wasn't cushings. You have been immensely helpful. :)

P.S. And just to confuse the issue, while her drinking and peeing is still abnormal it's definitely less than it was. We've gone from about 1 1/2 gallons a day to less than 1 gallon. Has anyone heard of some kind of infection (virus or whatever) that could cause this?

[molly muffin]

Hoping she continues to improve.
Maybe that will just take awhile now that the other things have cleared up. Definitely make sure the kidneys are okay before starting any kind of treatments.

Keep us updated. Even though not cushings, you are family here. :)