Cbc normal but all cushings symptoms

[Mararroyo]

Good morning... Looking for some advice for my 6 yr old cocker spaniel Bailey . Lifelong allergies but no prednisone usage. Diagnosed hypothyroid two years ago and takes Levothyroxine twice a day.

After a week of frequent urination, excessive thirst,hunger and restlessness vet did a urinalysis and cbc and prescribed antibiotic hoping for the simple answer of uti

Urine was dilute with high ph (8.5) normal 5.5-7.0 And low spec gravity (1.009) normal 1.015-1.050

Blood test all normal including alkp (94 in/ L. ) normal 5-131 and alt (52iu/l) normal 12-118. The only high number was psl lipa (251 u/l)
Normal 24-140 which vet said in absence of pancreatitis symptoms not an issue..
Antibiotics helped slightly after 10 days but still major symptoms. Took her off thyroid med hoping she was over medicated but no improvement. Vet hesitant to pursue because of normal blood tests.
Need help with what my next step should be..
Thank you
[/LIST]

[judymaggie]

Hi & welcome to you and Bailey! I am assuming that you came to us as you are thinking that Bailey's symptoms may be indicative of Cushing's. It may well be that Bailey is starting down that road but it would be necessary to rule out other things first and I don't believe your vet has done that.

One suggestion would be to have Bailey's thyroid levels checked by Dr. Dodds who is one of the top experts in thyroid problems in pets. Here is a link to her website:

http://www.hemopet.org/veterinary-di...aboratory.htm

Also, you mention that a urinalysis was done but there is no mention of a culture. With Bailey's urine being dilute, a culture would be necessary to accurately identify any infection and would also provide information to which medications any infection would respond. There are some infections that are very difficult to treat and may require repeat rounds of antibiotics to resolve them. If the culture does show an infection, a second culture should be done a few days before the end of the first round of antibiotics to ensure that there has been improvement.

Others will be along who are more familiar with pancreatitis than I don't believe that the symptoms you have described are typical of a dog with pancreatitis.

I am curious about your vet's "hesitancy to pursue". Has she given up trying to find the reason for symptoms and how to resolve them?

[Mararroyo]

Thanks for your response..have had baileys thyroid initially check with Michigan State univ and have had her monitored every 6 months on meds..always tested high end of normal 6.5.. Will pursue the urine culture as a next step..thought the urinalysis told all..we are done with 10 days of antibiotic and going to new vet..Will also have t4 checked since off thyroid meds now for almost 2 weeks

[molly muffin]

It's possible that the. Bcc would be on normal side if cUght early but I think I'd be looking at alternative reasons and the thyroid is a good place to start since it's already a factor.

Is the bun and creAtinine okay? What about checking for protein in urine. UPC to check that.

[Mararroyo]

Thanks for responding.. Consulting a new vet tomorrow.. Bun,creatinine normal as well as negative for protein..asking new vet to check thyroid after stopping Levothyroxine for 2 weeks and also culture for uti..The excessive hunger doesn't seem to fit with uti from what I have read so hoping new vet is helpful

[judymaggie]

Hi--do make sure that both t3 and t4 are checked. The excessive hunger could be related to hypothyroidism and I have read that cocker spaniels are one of the breeds more predisposed to hypothyroidism. Do let us know how it goes with the new vet.

[molly muffin]

what did the new vet have to say? Any thoughts on what is going on? How as the thyroid test results?