Cushing's K9 Help Needed!

[VeggieDelite404]

My 9 year old Maltese was diagnosed with Cushing's over the summer. He has been on Vetoryl since August. Last Saturday, he suddenly could not move. I took him to his vet where he got full body x-rays. The vet was worried it was his hips & gave me Metacam. He started to walk with the Metacam for 4-5 days.

Wednesday night he suddenly could not walk again. I took him to ER, where he stayed over night. They did an ultrasound of the liver (we had one done in Aug, but we retested & biopsied the liver - no cancer); they took full body rads. The internal medicine doctor who was caring for my dog told me had a lot of dried book in him and pee (which was odd because he peed & pooped regularly). He also said he had a torn ACL in his right rear leg and had an orthopedic surgeon look at the rads. They gave him an enema & he pooped.

He has since been home and has not pooped since Thursday night. He is alert and orientated and has a very big appetite, as always. I have tried to get him to walk and have used a sling, but he won't do it. He takes a step or two and then his right rear leg completely twists and he just sits.

His regular vet has not yet seen the records from ER but still thinks this is due to his Cushings and hips and doesn't think he will get better.

(1) What do you think - is this something that can be fixed? (2) Any ideas on how to get him to poo? He has had pumpkin with food and Lactulose but he won't go. His belly is more distended than normal and I think it's cause he's got a lot of poo in him.

PLEASE HELP - any help would be much appreciated!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your boy!

I am so sorry your boy is having such a tough time right now. :( When a dog is having poop problems, diarrhea/constipation, plain canned pumpkin is always first on my list to recommend, so since you have already tried this, maybe Milk of Magnesia would help, I would talk to your vet though before giving it. Another thing, make sure he is staying hydrated.

What symptoms did your boy display that led the vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? How much does he weigh and what dose of Vetoryl is he on? Has an ACTH stimulation test been performed recently and if so could you post those results for us?

I'm sorry this post is so short, I'm at work right now. I will try to get back later with some more thoughts.

Hugs, Lori

[VeggieDelite404]

Thank you so much Lori.

His liver values on annual blood work have always been high. We treated with Denamarrin and Urosidal for a little while because the vet wanted to see if he would improve. He didn't, so we did an ACTH Test that confirmed the Cushinngs. from there, we went to an amazing internal specialist who has been hailed "The Cushings Doctor" in So Cal. There my guy got an ultrasound that revealed no tumors - just enlarged adrenal glands. The doctor placed my 8 pound Maltese on Vetoryl (sorry I do not have the mg strength but I think it was the lowest dose - one pill in the morning after breakfast). We started rechecking ACTH and it was improving. We started super high out of the range, but we were finally within range in September (the vet is closed otherwise I would attach records).

Thought everything was good and in the clear until last Sat when he just stopped walking. His vet, like I mentioned, examined him and said it was his hips. Metacam worked and he was walking and back to normal. All of a sudden, Wed night same thing happened.

At the ER they were very concerned about his huge liver size and the doctor said if the Vetoryl was truly working, his liver should have shrank. They ran bw and his liver values were high, as they always have been. From there, they did an ultrasound and no tumors. The aspirate revealed no cancer cells. They gave an enema and said its a torn ACL in his right rear leg and gave me a brace to support him when he walks. My dog is not liking the brace and will not walk with it. He wants to walk, he stands and tries to take a step but his back rear leg gives out and he ends up sitting.

So far, lots of canned pumpkin which has made him gassy and two mls of lactulose. Hesitant to take him back to ER For another enema because I want him to do this on his own.

But completely lost. Thanks for the help.

[VeggieDelite404]

Also, I should add that I have been giving him regular dry food with the canned pumpkin. The ER dr told me to add it to his food - not sure if I should just give him plain canned pumpkin?

[molly muffin]

I would give him the plain canned pumpkin by itself since it doesn't appear to be working with the food mixed in.

Also what did the vet day about the ACL tear? Surgery? That is probably one reason he does t want to walk. It is very painful. Pain can also affect the bowels. He might end up needing another enema if he won't go. Sling definitely will be need and very limited walking can be expected with the ACL tear. So if not surgery then he will need full care and limited movement for a long time to see if it will improve on its own. There are doggie playpens good for this once he starts moving on his own again.

And constant contact with your vet about the bowels and the tear.

[VeggieDelite404]

Thank you. The ER doctor said he does not need surgery-he said it can heal on his own. His vet told me that if it is a an ACL tear, that because he is a Cushing's dog, he is not a surgical candidate; not many surgeons will want to take it on as recovery is extra slow & almost impossible for Cushing's dogs.

Can I buy some sort of plastic brace thing to put under his foot and wrap it with some sort of medical tape? So that there's some support for his foot and he will walk? Any ideas about that?

His vet is sticking to the fact that it's his hips, not ACL. The ER doctor told me to use the sling and wouldn't give me a brace for his foot. But, my dog is in pain & also probably scared so he doesn't respond to the sling well.

Thanks

[molly muffin]

I don't know about the brace, as most use the sling or just carry them out to potty and then back in and put into safe secure area for them. The brace I would think could be cumbersome and cause more pain as I'm not sure dogs would do as well and people do with them.

Was there an xray done that showed problems with the hips? What sort of problem was he thinking it was with the hips?

Glucosomine with chronditon, hip and joint supplements are a good thing to add in if you aren't doing that already.

Did you try the plain pumpkin? Would he eat it? Any poops yet?

[VeggieDelite404]

He happily ate the pumpkin & GREAT news - he pooped many times today! It's still hard, but very good news. I walked him in the morning and just bent down and lifted his hind legs while he used his front legs & that did the trick. He also pooped again at 11am and then again at 3pm. At 3pm, he just got up, pooped in his bed (that's covered with pee pads) and then sat at the other end of it. So I'm really happy.

X-rays were done at the vet when problems began. The vet showed me the x-rays and said that his right hip is not normal. A normal hip looks like a ball in a socket and his is not properly placed in there. But, I also don't know how long it's been like that?

We haven't done supplements yet - I think that is a good idea though.

[molly muffin]

Checking in to see how your furbaby is doing now. Still pooping okay?

My dog has a hip with the ridge not fully formed so it doesn't move in the grove as it should since the grove isn't deep enough. It has been there since birth. It can give them pain.

I fully am in favor of the hip and join supplements.