maybe Cushings diagnosis & pain relief

[Gracie]

My 14.5 year old female Schnauzer mix diagnosed about 6 months ago with Cushings (best guess by vet). Due to her age no thorough testing done. Symptoms leading to this diagnoses are...blood work showed her ALKP as high (1534 U/L) and in last 8 months I have noticed increased water intake. I have her on Royal Canin gastrointestinal low fat diet (she isn't overweight, holding steady at 40lbs). Due to normal ageing (& maybe Cushings) I have noticed her hind legs are starting to weaken..no longer jumps up, little slow getting up but once up she does run around yard ok. I do add Platinum Performance CJ to her food. I can't tell if she is in pain (doesn't seem to be) and I know Cushings (if she has it) helps with the inflammation. So question is at her age should I assume she has some pain and maybe be giving her something like meloxicam? Would hate to not give her something that might help her.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

14.5 isn't too old to check for cushings. You could do either the LDDS or the ACTH test or both.

Also you can first rule out some easier things like diabetes (was her glucose within normal range on her last blood test), thyroid (was her thyroid, T3, T4 within normal range), UTI is her urine dilute, if so a culture might be needed to rule out a infection.

As for pain medication, you don't want to give medicam (meloxicam) if she has high cortisol. It isn't a good combination. The pain medication that some give with cushings is tramadol as it is easier on the liver, which she already has high ALKP values. (also normal with high cortisol/cushings). You do have to find a good dosage of tramadol as too much can make them lethargic in that they just want to lay around and sleep.

You are correct in that higher cortisol does help with arthritis. So as our dogs get older, it can be a real balancing act to find their comfort vs their health over all.

I would add in a liver support like milk thistle or sam-e.
The Platinum Performance CJ should be good for her joints that you are already giving her.

Again, welcome to the forum

[Gracie]

Gracie's blood test was done 8/2015 for a teeth cleaning (Catalyst DX)...her GLU result was 102mg/dl (which I believe rules out diabetes)..don't see a thyroid test...her BUN result was 6mg/dl (was told not worrisome)...I neglected to mention in that along with elevated ALKP result and increased water intake...I have noticed panting when seems not normal...not very often though...Also she did have in 8/2015 a urinary tract infection (Cystocentesis/Catheterization) and was given Tribrissen/SMZ 480mg...no indication of return of infection. Because of her age I will not do another teeth cleaning or do any surgery on her...does that seem reasonable? I will look into a liver support...So with above added information provided would you still recommend LDDS and/or ACTH and/or thyroid test?
Thank you Sharlene and Molly for your valued input

[molly muffin]

I would do the testing personally, just so I know what I'm dealing with unless I have ruled out treatment, in which case I'm not sure if I would proceed with testing or not. If the cortisol is high though, then that might be causing the leg weakness.

My dog too is not recommended for surgery or even anethesia for teeth cleaning. Depending on what is going on with any given dog, anethesia might not be a good idea. On the flip side, I've know dogs that are 16 having teeth cleaned. So it all depends and I'd let my vet guide me on what is safe or not safe based on their evaluation and health.

At 14.5 half I think you always have to look at quality of life and what is best for your furbaby in the long run to keep her happy and mobile and engaged. It's always a balancing act it seems.

Schnauzer can be very tricky health wise. So the low fat food is good, as they are prone to bad reactions to higher fats.