Pup may be losing the use of his back legs.

[hopomo]

My 11 year old lab mix has cushings, and I'm worried he's losing the use of his back legs. He has a lot of muscle deterioration in that area, and occasionally won't get up when I come home (something he has always done before). He also walks with his legs lowered, and very often rolls around on his back like he's itchy or in pain, however currently he does have a skin infection at the top of his tail.
Does anyone else have experience with this, or am I just being paranoid?

[judymaggie]

Hi and welcome to you and your pup! There could be several reasons why your dog is having back leg issues and loss of muscle mass due to Cushing's is one of them.

It would help us a great deal if you could share more information about your dog so that we can provide you with our best possible feedback and we get this information through a ton of questions. Could you get copies of all tests that were recently done and post those values that are abnormal. With respect to the blood chemistry and complete blood count (CBC), you need only post the highs and lows and please include the normal reference ranges.

What symptoms led you and/or your vet to think Cushing's was an issue? Please also provide us with the test results (LDDS, ACTH, ultrasound) that were done that led to a diagnosis of Cushing's. Does your dog have any underlying illness that he is taking medication for? If so, what is it and what is the medication? Is he taking any supplements or herbs? Was he diagnosed with pituitary or adrenal Cushing's? How much does he weigh?

We have a wealth of information regarding Cushing's -- the medications used and treatment protocols, which can be found in our Resource thread and it also includes articles written by some of the most renown veterinarians that specialize in endocrinology such as David Bruyette, Mark Peterson, and Edward Feldman. So please utilize it to educate yourself and, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them. We all eventually figured out that safe and effective treatment is much easier facilitated if the vet is experienced and the pet owner is educated. Here's a link to our Resource thread:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10

I am sorry for the reasons that brought you here but so glad you found us and we will help in any way we can.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome. Sometimes when you lower the cortisol that causes the cushings, it unmasks other issues such as arthritis.

What are the current cortisol levels and when where levels last checked? It might be that letting the cortisol rise just a tad might help. We always end up having to evaluate quality of life when a dog gets older or other issues are unmasked.

Another thing that could help is injections for arthristis, or a pain med like tramadol for instance.

Some small exercises like walk to me, sit, give a treat and repeat also could help with the back left muscles. Think of it like people squats. They walk, they sit, they walk, they sit. Don't over time them just get them exercises that muscle in a way that might help.

Some of the others might have some thoughts too

[hopomo]

Unfortunately I don't have many tests, I'm a college student/waitress and it's pretty much all I can do to afford his medicine. He did have the acth test done to confirm cushings a little over a year ago, but no blood tests since. My vet started him out on 120 mgs of vetroyl, but I asked that it be lowered after about six months because he stopped eating. He now takes 60 mgs, and he's started eating more and seems to have more energy. His last vet visit was about two weeks ago, the first time he didn't stand when I came home, but it was for the infection. I mentioned the standing to my vet, and he said it was most likely the position of the infection. Since then he's completed a round of antibiotics (a now almost bimonthly thing), but he's still having trouble standing and moving. Max is still perky, and he still gets plenty of exercise, but he definitely doesn't have the endurance he once did.
I rescued Max about nine years ago, and he was severely malnourished, and he had basically been chained to a tree for his entire life. He also had heart worms, so he spent the next fiveish months recovering, and then going through treatment, which is pretty harmful on it's own. After that, Max was relatively healthy until he starting showing chushing's symptoms.
I understand Max is sick, and quite old for a dog who has already experienced heart worm treatment, which is why I want to know the most possible going into this. I don't want to prolong any suffering he may be feeling, or worsen anything by making the wrong decisions about medicine or conditions. I also don't want to make him overexert himself, but he loves hiking and trails runs.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby boy,

Unfortunately without testing you nor we can have any idea of what is going on. We could all, including the vet, guess at this or that based on signs but we could all be waaaay off base. Hind leg weakness is seen when the cortisol is too high and it can be seen when the cortisol is too low - but without the ACTH we don't know which for sure. :(

These drugs are very powerful and it worries me he is on them but not being monitored at all. I think in your shoes, if the was no way I could earn the money for the test, nothing I could sell, nothing I could sacrifice in my own life to get the money for the ACTH, I would stop treatment altogether. Others may well disagree with me but that is probably what I would do. ;)

Do you see any signs such as nausea/vomiting, loose stools/diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy?

I am going to share a link with you from our Helpful Resource section that lists some foundations and groups that may be able to help you get the funds to do the ACTH. There are also some crowdfunding sites that you can use to raise $$ online, like GoFundMe, YouCaring, etc. I would definitely get to work on one of those today and get some help for your baby boy.

The link for financial aid sources - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

One of many links for crowdfunding sites (google is your friend :p ) - http://www.crowdfunding.com/

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[DoxieMama]

Hi and welcome to you and Max! I had a longer post but lost it when I hit the wrong key. Oops!

I am curious if you've considered using Trilostane rather than the brand-name Vetoryl. It is often less expensive and then you might be able to afford the testing, too. :)

Shana