Info Needed

[stellina]

I have two min pins, a male who is 6 and a female who is 41/2..the male is fixed the female is not, two months ago i noticed the male had lost a lot of weight and his normal appetite had diminished and he was sleeping way more than usual, he was drinking alot of water and peeing alot and the pee was clear...i took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes, he is now on insulin and doing much better..since the male got sick, i noticed the female looked like she was gaining alot of weight, so i cut back on her food quite abit and its been two months and she now looks to me like a pot bellied pig...belly is distended..her appetite is ferocious but i only feed her twice a day and small amounts, she may get a baby carrot later in the evening as a snack...at times she drinks more water than usual but not always....im at a loss as to what could be causing her to swell?..could she be diabetic or could it be cushings?... how would i know? the only other thing i notice on her is she has what looks like two cysts, one around her neck area and one on her back near her backside

[molly muffin]

Hello, I have manually approved your membership, so members can begin to respond to your post.

If you suspect cushings, then the two test to check for cushings would be an LDDS or an ACTH.

Have you had a complete blood panel done on your little girl dog too? If so where there any abnormalities? high/low

These are the most common symptoms of cushings. Often, but not always you will also see elevated ALKP and perhaps ALT liver enzymes.




Increased thirst and urination (polydipsia and polyuria, respectively)
Increased hunger
Increased panting
Pot-bellied abdomen
Obesity
Fat pads on the neck and shoulders
Loss of hair
Lack of energy
Inability to sleep (insomnia)
Muscle weakness
Lack of heat cycle in female dogs (anestrus)
Shrinking of testicles
Darkening of the skin
Appearance of blackheads on the skin
Thin skin (from weight gain)
Bruising (from thin, weakened skin)
Hard white scaly patches on the skin, elbows, etc. (associated with the disease calcinosis cutis)


You mentioned cysts. There is something called lipomas which are basically fatty cysts. A vet can do a needle aspiration to confirm if the two areas you mention are lipomas. They are fairly common in dogs as they get older.

For your little boy with diabetes, we also have a sister site, www.k9diabetes.com/forum if you have any questions about diabetes.