Nikki - 11 yr old American Eskimo - Diagnosed Cushings

[Nikkiismyprincess]

Hey everyone, my name is Lance and I'm the proud papa of Nikki, an 11 year old American Eskimo dog who was recently diagnosed with Cushings. About two months ago I noticed she had gained a bit of weight, was panting heavily almost constantly, was drinking a lot of water and urinating much more frequently. I also noticed she wasn't able to jump up on my bed any more, or the couch later on. Her appetite was increased and I noticed some patches on her fur. And her lethargy, oh my gosh. My poor girl didn't want to get up for anything but food. So of course, I took her to the vet.

She was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism during to elevated thyroid levels. However, after a month of treatment she was just getting slightly worse instead of better, so I did some research and requested that we do an ACTH test. It came back very positive for Cushings, and so we started her on Vetoryl, 10mg twice per day.

Overnight, there was so much improvement, it was like a miracle! I started getting my baby back. Less water consumption and urination, increased hair growth, and she started getting her energy back. It's been a little over 3 weeks, and after the 2nd ACTH test which showed her levels are still not where they should be, we upped her dosage to 20mg in the morning and 10mg at night. Her symptoms started regressing, but since we upped the dose they seem to be improving again.

One thing that has been a big issue has been sleep - it's like she has a terrible case of insomnia and wakes me up at 12, 230, 430, 530 and 630. The past two nights I have given her benadryl and this has seemed to help.

Thank you to everyone who contributes here, I'm looking forward to learning more about this so I can help my pup recover. The vet says it's a good sign that she responded so positively and quickly to the Vetoryl - no noticeable side effects as of yet, so fingers crossed we've got that part of things figured out. Any suggestions you guys have on helping her regain some muscle strength and on the sleeping issue would be much appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to getting to know all of you and your pups.

[labblab]

Hello Lance, and welcome to you and Nikki! I have only a moment to post right now, but I wanted to explain that I've moved Nikki's thread to our main Questions/Discussion forum. This way, more members are likely to stop by to talk with you. ;)

One quick question for you: can you possibly give us the exact numerical results for both her diagnostic Cushing's test and also for this recent monitoring ACTH? Thanks so much, since this info will provide guideposts along Nikki's treatment journey.

Also, as far as the sleeping issue, some folks here have reported giving melatonin as a sleep aid. Hopefully, somebody with personal experience in this regard will soon be stopping by.

Sorry I have to be so brief, but once again, welcome!
Marianne

[DoxieMama]

Welcome to you, Lance, and to your Princess Nikki! I'm sorry I don't have any ideas now and like Marianne, I haven't much time to post this morning so must be even more brief. I'm sure others will be along later. :)

Shana

[judymaggie]

Hi and welcome to you and Nikki! I wanted to add my thoughts re melatonin. I have used it with both my Cush pups -- Maggie, who has passed, for generalized anxiety and Abbie for thunderstorm anxiety. Abbie weighs 23 lbs. and she gets 3 mg. She calms down within 15 minutes and usually falls asleep. I believe 3 mg. is a pretty typical dose, regardless of weight, for insomnia but you should definitely discuss this with your vet. I buy it at a "big box store" and always make certain that there are no other ingredients (some have herbs) and that it is not time released. I am aware that there is a melatonin product designed especially for dogs but I bet it is much more expensive than what I buy.

[Nikkiismyprincess]

Hi everyone, I'm Lance. I've been reading for awhile and wanted to make a quick introduction for Nikki, my 11 year old American Eskimo. I will post more details and pictures soon!

Back at the beginning of August, I noticed she was very lethargic, had an extremely overactive appetite, was gaining weight, had a potbelly appearance, and was panting heavily...she also started drinking a ton of water and having accidents in the house, which she'd never ever done ever since I got her when she was 2. I took her into the vet as soon as I could and based upon elevated TSH levels she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. She was started on medication for that, but after a month I felt like she was actually getting worse...she was having trouble jumping on my bed, and was losing some fur, so I did my research and immediately suspected Cushings...

Took her back to the vet, had the ACTH test done and sure enough, she was positive for Cushings. I will post her levels and test results in a later post. We started her on Vetoryl, 10mg twice a day. She weighs 40lbs (normally 35). She initially started getting better almost overnight! It was like I was getting my dog back. It was literally miraculous.

I had her retested after 14 days and the levels weren't optimal, but we wanted to be conservative so we kept her at that dose. After another 30 days, I felt she had started to regress slightly, although symptoms were much improved. We decided at that time to up the dose to 30mg once in the morning. We continued this for another 30 days and she still wasn't where she seemed to feel good, so we added another 10mg in the evening.

She's been on this dose since then and is doing much better! She's no longer drinking excessively, having accidents, or panting too heavily. Her fur is starting to come back in and her energy levels are much better. I try to walk her twice a day, but her appetite is still very active. I will try to post test results later this week, but I'll get some pictures up later today as well as some details on how she's been doing in the past couple of weeks in light of some recent events.

So glad to be a part of this community and very glad to meet you all!


Lance

[labblab]

Hi Lance, welcome back to you and Nikki! You'll see that I've merged your new update into your original thread about Niiki. That's great to hear she's doing well on her current dose, and we will definitely look forward to further updates. :)

We're really glad you've rejoined us once again!
Marianne

[Nikkiismyprincess]

Thank you! For some reason I thought the first one hadn't posted, thank you all for your replies! Her sleeping is actually much improved now also, she only wakes up once a night around 430am. I will try and get the specific numbers and reference ranges for her tests this week. Thanks again everyone :)

[molly muffin]

Hi Lance and welcome to you and Niki, so she is on 30/10 mg, for a total of 40mg a day and weighs 40lbs. This is actually exactly right with the manufacturer recommendations for where they like to see a dog start at. I know you have gotten there gradually, which is okay too, I did the same thing.

It's wonderful that she is doing so much better and feeling herself. Hopefully the next test shows that she is right where she needs to be level wise.

Welcome again