13 y/o female siberian husky clinical signs, no cushings diagnosis

[Iano]

Been struggling for months with my 13 y/o female siberian husky. She has the typical signs of cushings. Pacing, panting, excessive water, excessive urination, leaking, puddles left of the floor after standing up, and on occasion when walking she'll empty her bladder and not even realize that it's happening.

Overall health is good for her age, good appetite, good energy levels, etc. She does have a recently discovered mast cell tumor on her chest and currently we have no indicators that cancer has spread to other areas of the body, but we can't rule it out at the moment either. We need to take care of this most pressing quality of life issue before getting it removed.

She's gone through multiple urine tests, blood tests, ultrasound, acth stim test, and low-dose dex test. None of the tests confirm cushings. The only thing we know is that she exhibits the clinical signs and that the urine specific gravity is low. The problems seem to be getting worse over time, the last 2 months have gotten to the point where we have to completely clean the downstairs laminate and tile every morning due to the smell.

The vet currently has her on an antibiotic to rule out a bacterial kidney infection. It's also possible that she is atypical and the tests won't confirm cushings. I'm running out of options, so I'm posting here to get some feedback if anyone else experienced a similar issue and if you found a resolution. Thanks!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl!

If her urine is diluted a regular urinalysis may not be able to pick up bacteria that is in the urine so I do recommend having an urine culture and sensitivity test done once she is off of any antibiotics.

If you could get copies of all the tests that were performed on your girl and post those values that are abnormal with the references ranges and reporting units that will help us to provide you with more meaningful feedback...thanks! Also, we are especially interested in those results of the ACTH stimulation and low-dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test. What were the findings of the ultrasound, and were her adrenal glands visualized?

I am so sorry your girl is having these issues and hopefully once we all put our heads together we can figure out what is going on with her.

Looking forward in hearing more about your sweet girl.

Hugs, Lori

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your sweet girl!

My first thought when reading your post was early onset dementia. My old gal acted much the same way and I put those signs off to anything and everything but dementia. Once we started treatment for cognitive disorders, she improved and was able to once again enjoy life more. I would talk to the vet about this possibility if I were you. They can be helped very often.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Iano]

What were the findings of the ultrasound, and were her adrenal glands visualized?


Thanks for the replies. The adrenal glands looked normal, there wasn't a difference in size that indicated an issue. The vet did however notice some irregularities in 2 other organs during the ultrasound (I believe it was the liver and spleen). She indicated it could be from age, or it could be related to cancer if its already spread, we don't know at this point.

I'll try and get the results of the tests and post them here. Thanks all!

[molly muffin]

I just want to welcome you to the forum.

We'll look forward to seeing the test results when you get them.

If it is dementia problem, you can get Novofit over the counter (order from amazon or another online pharmacy) and it sometimes helps dogs with dementia. Not all of them but some, and is worth a try while trying to figure out what is going on.