Dog emergency vetted, most likely cushings disease

[Xena]

My dog has been emergency vetted on Thursday as of Sunday October 2nd she is still in the vet care. Someone on another social media site mentioned joining here. I'm asking for help learning more about the disease, I'll know for sure on Monday. I'm also asking for financial assistance. I'm already estimated over $1000 on my vet bill as she was severely sick and we had to rule out cancer.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl!

I am sorry that your sweet girl is not feeling well and is in the emergency hospital, have they told you what caused this? Is your girl on any medications? Has she been diagnosed with Cushing's, and if so, could you post those results? If tests for Cushing's were done, were these tests performed before she fell ill? What symptoms does she display that led you or the vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? Also, could you post all her test results? 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.

We have a wealth of information regarding Cushing's; the medications used, and treatment protocols, which can be found in our Helpful 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 Helpful Resource thread: Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10)

We certainly understand the hardship in paying for those vet bills. In this economy it is a day to day struggle just to keep a roof over our heads so finding extra funds to pay for ridiculously expensive testing and treatment is daunting. One of the ways that helped me with the expense was applying for Care Credit. If you are not familiar with this, it's like a credit card and depending on how much the bill is, you can get interest free terms anywhere from 90 days to a year. This information and other financial resources can be found here: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

Two of our members, Patti and Leslie, in honor of the memory of their pups have started The Tipper and Squirt Care for Cushing's Fund, Inc. Their post:
It is with great pride, and not a few tears, that Patti and I announce the Tipper and Squirt Care for Cushing’s Fund, Inc. Even though we have had a semi-public presence since Nov. ’14, we wanted our first official announcement to be to you, our family at K9Cushing’s. Since late Oct. 2014, Patti and I have been watering the seed of a dream – a dream to aid families struggling to meet their cush baby’s needs. We both know first-hand how desperate that struggle can be at times, what it means to choose between eating meat this month or paying for our baby’s meds, between our own medications or an ACTH. And we wanted to help where and when we could.

To this end, we have established the Tipper and Squirt Care for Cushing’s Fund, Inc. We were incorporated in the state of Ohio, USA in Dec., 2014 and received notification of our 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the IRS March 6, 2015, with the effective date of Jan. 1, 2015.

Another cush mom, Vicki (beaglemom3), is using her incredible talents on our behalf and has developed our beautiful website which is nearing completion. When it is launched we will be ready to start taking applications – and again you will be the first to know and the first to see our dream in full bloom.

If you are on Facebook, come “like” our page and learn more!
https://www.facebook.com/tipperandsquirtcare

And a link to it on the forum: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7036&page=3

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

Hugs, Lori

[Xena]

I won't know more until Monday, I honestly am not sure how much the vet she's at knows about cushings. She had fluid on her stomach that was brown in color and had high amounts of hormones. They had to drain her stomach to do an ultrasound which will be done on Monday I'm at a loss at what to do financially and what's best for her!

[molly muffin]

The issue with testing for cushings when a dog is ill as yours is, is that the test can be false positive due to the illness.
I don't know of cushings causing brown fluid buildup in the stomach. I've never heard that. Kidneys that are not working can cause a fluid build up.
Have they discussed what they found on the ultrasound and what caused the fluid leakage?
Cushings isn't something that can really be looked into until the reason for these other issues are determined and treated. You can't use cushings drugs on a sick dog.
Cushings is a results of excess cortisol, caused usually by a tumor on either the adrenal glands or pituitary glands and is a slow progression disease.
What was the symptoms prior to this illness? Was she excessively hungry, excessively thirsty, urinating more, thin or loss of hair?

We need a lot of information to give you some good feedback so anything you can tell us about your furbaby is a help.

[Xena]

She's been very hungry, very thirsty, she's been having severe hair loss and skin conditions. Stomach filled with fluid so that is what their confused about. She had been peeing a lot but not pooping much at all. Her lymph nodes swelled up. And she was having breathing issues.

[DoxieMama]

Welcome to you and Xena, though I'm so sorry to hear how ill she is feeling. I hope you can get some answers today. Do let us know what you find out; we will help as we can.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby!

I would not let them do any testing for Cushing's right now. Her cortisol is going to be higher than normal right now anyway simply due to the stress of being sick and in the hospital. Cortisol will rise as a natural response to any stressor. ;) So get her over this problem and back on her feet then test if needed.

Like others have said, the fluid in the stomach is not something I have ever heard of with Cushing's. I am so sorry she is going thru this and hope they find the answer along with a solution very soon. Please let us know what they say. You will want to get copies of all the testing they did - the results, not the invoice. ;) That info will help you learn all you can to help your baby.

Anxiously awaiting word from the hospital!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[molly muffin]

Did you find out anything more of what is going on?

[judymaggie]

Hi -- please do let us know how Xena is doing. We tend to be worry-warts if we don't hear!