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Chloe's mommy
12-12-2015, 12:03 PM
Hi everyone,
My baby girls name is Chloe she is an 8 year old boxer and has been living with Cushings disease for a little over 3 years now. I'm pretty well educated on the disease, but I'm so afraid Chloe is taking a turn for the worst. She has been on vetoryl from the beggining and was on a very high dose (180 mg) per day 90 in morning and 90 and night. She was 85 pounds when starting and now she is about 39 which is way to small for a boxer. She will barly eat or drink, and her poor little spine and hip bones are starting to show. Her (ticks) she has in her head and leg are getting so much worse, and her arthritis has worsened as well. All she does is sleep and has no energy what so ever. We have did her cortisol level check about a month ago ( she is now on (30mg twice a day) and everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. I have noticed a change in her behavior the past few week, she looks like she is in pain all the time and is constantly paseing back and forth for ever until she lays back down to sleep. Anys ways I finally took her back to the vet a couple days ago we did blood work and everything came back normal. My vet has referred me to va tech veterinary medicine, which is one of the best vets in va. My biggest concern is her alertness and demeanor. Sometimes she will be so out of it she can barley hold her eyes open looking as though she is very drugged up. The vet described her as just going threw the motions of walking and listening when told to do something but not fully being aware or alert as to what she is doing. She also favors her left legs (the one she has her twitchy ticks in) all the time she short of cups her paw when riding in the car or anytime she is sitting. It breaks my heart to see my baby going down hill because she holds the key to my heart I look at her as my child and I just want her to be ok. The vet says she thinks it may be the veteroyl giving her these symptoms, her heart, or some thing neurological. Have any of you encountered any of these symptoms with any of your babies? Sorry to make this so long but I'm trying to get as much info as I can in this post. She also has collapsing episodes if she runs around hard or try's to play, she looses all bodily functions and literally can not move, her tongue even comes all the way out of her mouth. This has only happened about 3 times bc I no longer allow her to get rowed up, and they only last about 2-3 minutes and then she gets up like nothing happened. Please give advise!! I'm so worried about her

My sweet Ginger
12-12-2015, 12:27 PM
Hi, welcome to the forum.

Would you do us a favor and post her latest ACTH stim test (the one that was done a month ago) in exact numbers? Have your vet's office email them to you if you don't have them on hand. Others will come by for sure but we will need those pre and post numbers to be able to give you more meaningful feedback.
Wow! From 85 lbs all the way down to 39 lbs? That is a staggering weight loss. Even at 60mg total in a day (30 and 30) it could be too much for her weight now but those numbers will be really helpful.
Thank you in advance. Song

lulusmom
12-12-2015, 01:08 PM
Hi and welcome to you and Chloe.

I'm glad that Song has asked for the results of Chloe's last acth stimulation test and I do agree with her that Chloe has lost a stunning amount of weight. Whenever I hear from a member who has a precious boxer or other short snouted baby has been well controlled for awhile but is now showing neurological signs, I do fear that an enlarging pituitary macroadenoma is probably the reason. Unfortunately, the only way to determine this by by CT or MRI, which is quite expensive. Radiation is an option if the dog is a good candidate and we've had members who have had great success with radiation but it is very expensive.

If Chloe does have a tumor that continues to grow and is now compressed so much that it is causing neurological problems, her symptoms will continue to get worse. There is more than a few studies which have concluded that treatment with either Vetoryl or Lysodren can facilitate growth of an existing macroadenoma. Because cortisol is the body's natural anti-inflammatory, withholding treatment and allowing Chloe's cortisol to rise may actually help her but this something you need to discuss with your vet(s). All of the symptoms you've mentioned, including the weight loss, are commonly associated with a pituitary macroadenomas. I have provided a link below to information located in our Helpful Resources which can help you understand more about this complication of cushing's.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229

I am so sorry for the circumstances that brought you here but I'm glad that you found us. I am also glad that your vet has referred you to a specialist. I'm sure they can help you figure out what is causing Chloe's problems. I will be looking forward to your update on that visit. In the meantime, just know that we're all here to help you and Chloe in any way we can.

Hugs,
Glynda

Chloe's mommy
12-15-2015, 12:01 PM
Thank you all so so much for your reply, will post latest cortisol results as soon as I receive them.. We are now at va tech and waiting for some answers. Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Will post Discovery soon as I can. Also thought I would throw in that I bought a canned food healthy of course and have been mixing it in with her dry food since Saturday and she has been eating every bit of it. Hoping that is a good sign.

molly muffin
12-20-2015, 01:26 AM
Welcome to the forum. Yes it is a good sign that she is eating.

What did the va tech say?