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Jane2212
01-15-2017, 12:59 PM
Hi, I'm Jane, and I have 3 Cairns. My 8 year old, Jess, has had hypothyroidism for 18 months, satisfactorily controlled, but I did ask my vet for a Cushings test back in November 2015 because Jess had symptoms not usually found with Cushings. It came back negative. On Wednesday this week she was going into the vet for X Rays for a supposingly bad back but I thought it looked more like muscle weakness so I asked again for a Cushings test and it has come back positive. (there was no problem with the back).

Jess was very ill in the vets and was kept in overnight. She reacted badly to the anaesthetic. She had ataxia and was jumpy - something she has had on and off for about a year in short bursts. She is home and recovering okay, though she seems a bit down. She has played a bit with the others and I've groomed her a bit today which she liked.

We are due to start on Vetoryl tomorrow. She weighs 10 kg (22lbs) and is going to have a 20mg dose, split into two 10mg doses morning and evening with food. We are already prepared for a new routine as currently she is only fed once a day (due to her big belly !) She is on a very low dose of Thyforon for her thyroid issues.

The symptoms which had caused me to think of Cushings were :
Drinking excessively
Weeing excessively sometimes in the house
Panting (that has only just started)
Muscle weakness in the back legs (just started)
Ravenous appetite and bin diving
Aggression (usually food oriented)

She was always an athletic dog though greedy with a bit of a temper and has been at Crufts twice. It was September 2015 when the thyroid problems became noticeable. She was spayed at the age of 5 or 6.

Her coat is good, no hair loss, she sleeps fine, eats well and walks okay, still getting on the furniture but not the bed. I hope I've caught it early enough.

What does everyone think ? I am a gibbering wreck following this diagnosis and have missed two days of work !

Thank you in advance.
Jane and Jess. xxxxx

Squirt's Mom
01-15-2017, 01:41 PM
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Jane2212
01-15-2017, 01:47 PM
"because Jess had symptoms not usually found with Cushings"

apologies I meant symptoms not usually found with hypothyroidism.

I read through this twice too before posting !!

Jane

labblab
01-15-2017, 03:10 PM
Hello and welcome to you and to Jess! We are very glad you've joined our family, and it sounds as though you are off to a good start in terms of Jess' Vetoryl treatment. We surely understand, though, how nerve-wracking this whole diagnosis must feel!

The symptoms you've listed are indeed consistent with Cushing's. You are starting at a reasonable dose for her weight and I'm very glad you've been instructed to give the medication along with a meal. Has your vet already scheduled Jess' first monitoring blood test? The standard procedure is to check the cortisol level with an ACTH stimulation test after the first 10-14 days of treatment. As long as a dog is doing well, some vets wait until the 30-day mark to test. But the test really should not be delayed any longer than that.

Speaking of tests, we've been told by other U.K. members that it can be difficult to obtain actual numerical test results from their vets. But if you've not done that already, please try to get copies of Jess' labwork. Once you've done so, it'll help us a great deal if you'll post any abnormal values, along with the reference range. It is common for untreated Cushpups to exhibit elevations in liver enzymes, for instance, and so we are always interested to find out about the lab profiles for dogs who are newly diagnosed.

OK, I'll go ahead and close for now. Thank you in advance for any additional information, and once again, I'm so glad you've found us. Oh, and we all make mistakes in our typing all the time. When it happens to you again, you can revise your own reply by clicking on the "Edit" button at the bottom of the reply. That allows you to go back and make any changes to your text that you wish, at any time. ;)

Marianne

P.S. Jess looks like such a cutie! I can surely see why she was at Crufts. :)

Crazy Daisy
01-15-2017, 04:35 PM
HI Jane! I'm also new here so I don't have a lot of input, but I was curious when your pups thyroid levels were last checked?

Jane2212
01-15-2017, 04:53 PM
Hi there !

Thank you so much for getting back to me ! The avatar is of Gabriella, she is 13.5 years old, we had her as a rescue at 3 from a lady who hoarded animals for breeding purposes. She's been lovely and healthy - only had to have a caesarian and a spay in her whole life! The photo was taken at a show when she was about 11. I will post a pic of Jess in another message.

Our vet is seeing Jess after 5 days of drugs, then a blood test 10 days after starting the drugs, then at 30 days after starting them. Our tests weren't too bad price-wise, he is a farm vet, and charged us £78 including taxes, whereas in London some people have paid over £300! Likewise the price of the drugs from the vet is only about 10% dearer than from the internet pharmacies.

I shall ask for the test results on Friday when we see him, I was too upset on Thursday. I had no make-up on and puffy eyes from crying, when the vet saw me he said 'Oh golly, she's not THAT bad!'. I will post them on here.

Jess had full blood tests in early November just before a minor op, and they were all fine. She also had titration tests for her thyroid in October and they were spot on. She came out of the anaesthetic fine after the op in November and surprised the staff with how well she was! However she hadn't had a test for Cushings since Nov 2015.

I wondered if there are any foods we should avoid for Cushings. We have to avoid green veg (e.g. sprouts, cabbage) for hypothyroidism. We have found a low fat wet food which is surprisingly cheap so having 3-4 dogs it makes it easier if they all eat the same. They have gluten-free kibble (just a small amount) with their wet food.

I don't know why I've been such a wreck over this diagnosis, I've had Cairns with heart problems, epilepsy and blindness so this shouldn't throw me really, but it does.

Thank you all again, I feel much better having this forum here to refer to.

Jane & Jessica
xxxx

Jane2212
01-15-2017, 04:57 PM
I forgot to add - we are adding another Puppy Cairn to the clan in the Spring. She'll be eating puppy food for the first year but then will have to join in with the same diet as the others after that !!!

Jane
xxxxx

tank&kat
01-15-2017, 10:09 PM
Hi Jane, welcome to the group.

It sounds like you have your hands full. The vet seems to be very knowledgeable of treatment. I am curious as well to see the thyroid results at time of diagnosis. Also, a low fat diet is preferred but I don't think every dog needs this. It can be helpful for dogs that are prone to pancreatitis.

Feeling like a wreck is completely normal. You do have other dogs with issues but Cushing's is completely different. Not many people know all there is to know about it and that is where the fear most likely comes from. You're not alone. xx

~Kat

mcdavis
01-15-2017, 11:17 PM
Just dropping by to say Hello, and fingers crossed that everything goes well for Jess with the Vetoryl.

Carole Alexander
01-16-2017, 12:55 AM
Hi Jane,
Please add my welcome to this group; Skippy my 12 year old Yorkie mix was diagnosed with Cushings finally on 12/4/16. He weighs 13 kg and started on Trilostane (10 mg morning and night). Diagnosis was difficult and initially they thought he had an adrenal tumor. So far he is tolerating the medication with few side effects that I can attribute to the drug. However and so far, I haven't seen much improvement except in drinking and peeing. Skippy has all of Jess's symptoms plus hair loss, some behavioral changes, i.e., lethargy, withdrawal, depression. His 2 week ACHT test was fine (no numbers until we go back to Purdue) and he will be retested on 1/23. This forum is very helpful and supportive; feeling like a wreck is normal. Cushings is complicated, confusing and frustrating. Add other conditions and it can be maddening, especially if the vet is not knowledgeable. I hope Jess responds rapidly to the Trilostane.

By the way, Skippy's sister, Wiggins, is a Dandie Dinmont terrier who is eight. I mention this because I know Dandie's are more prevalent in UK than in the USA.
Best to you.

Jane2212
01-16-2017, 07:53 AM
Thanks Mcdavis, and for recommending me to join this forum !

Jane
xx

Jane2212
01-16-2017, 08:03 AM
Well Jess has started on Vetoryl this morning (in the UK). It's been 3 hours and she hasn't been sick or anything, she's been traipsing about the house with the other two dogs. She does have lethargy and depression but I wasn't sure if that was from Cushings or whether that's because she just feels off-colour, but I hope that will go. When she sees the postman or anyone passing by the house she gets excited so I'm hoping it's the latter.

My hands were shaking when I got the tablet out of the pack this morning !

At least from reading the forum I can see that a lot of dogs become better on medication, and if we did have to take her off it then I can see that this wouldn't necessarily mean her being PTS but we would be able to get her comfortable and see how things go. That too had been my biggest fear.

I'm going back to work tomorrow but my husband works from home and I'm drawing up a schedule for him to follow regarding her meds.

Thanks for all your good wishes ! Carole - I hope Skippy starts to respond to the treatment soon - maybe his dosage is wrong for him. Good luck at the vet on 23rd.

Jane
xxxx

labblab
01-16-2017, 08:34 AM
Hi again, Jane. Sounds like you are off to a great start, and we'll be very anxious for all your updates.

Good luck from everybody here!
Marianne

tank&kat
01-16-2017, 06:49 PM
Hi Jane. The first day was the most difficult for me also. The dosage for him is perfect and I don't think you will have any issues. If anything, you may need to eventually increase the meds. Just want to mention that if an increase is needed, it shouldn't be done for 30 days as vetoryl can continue to lower cortisol for that length of time. Your vet seems to be knowledgeable and you are very observant.

You mentioned his blood tests were was fine? Can you verify that the ALP (alkaline phosphatase) was within normal range? If you can get copies and post them here that would be even better. It is very rare to see a cushingoid dog with normal ALP. I have never seen it before which is why I am curious but I know it does happen.

My dog changed significantly after a month on the meds. He became more energetic. I remember crying when I saw him wagging his tail. It had been more than a year since I saw him do that. I just thought he was getting older. I really hope you see good changes with Jess.

~Kat

molly muffin
01-18-2017, 06:56 PM
Hi Jane, I just want to send a big welcome to you. It sounds like you have a super vet.

I think the biggest deal with cushings hitting us (and it does it for all of us believe me) is that we know so little about it normally and so it's this horrible word that pertains to our furbabies health and until we learn all we can, it's darn scary. The more you learn though the less scary it is. :)

Jane2212
01-22-2017, 06:28 AM
Well on day 5 of the Vetoryl we took Jess back for a vet check. The vet did a thorough check of her and was amazed how well she has done so far. All the vet nurses came to see her too and were complimentary, so we have a few more tablets and a blood test booked for 21 days' time.

However, night of day 6 of the Vetoryl, (last night) Jess had ataxia. She was stumbling about and leaning on walls, a bit like a drunk. It was about 10.00pm so I took her up to bed with me and made her comfy in a bed alongside me. She had heavy breathing for some of the night and tremors in a leg. Eventually she fell into a deep sleep but at 8am this morning was still wobbly. I gave her her thyroxine and the wobbliness has gone (almost), and she has played with Daisy, with a toy, been outside for wees and poos which were fine, and wants some dinner now.

I really don't know what is from the Vetoryl and what is from her thyroid problem. We have had ataxia twice in the past 18 months relating to her thyroid. I'm nervous about giving her the Vetoryl this morning now though she was doing so well on it, and isn't displaying any adverse reactions at all to it (vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy, lack of appetite) in fact quite the opposite !

She does have a lot of muscle weakness which the vet says should take 4 months or so to improve on the Vetoryl. So her back legs and one front leg are weak and lead to her lying down (gracefully) at times.

I'm stumped. And shaking. Again. I feel like it's back to Day 1 for me ! I can get to her vet tomorrow if needs be. Just not sure what to say though. She's on 10mg twice daily, she weighs 10-11kgs, pot belly has started to go, eyes sparkling, still a piggy eater but I really don't mind that !!!!!

Has anyone else experienced the ataxia on Vetoryl or should I be looking on my other forum for hypothyroidism on this occasion ?

Jane
xxxxxxxxxxxx

labblab
01-22-2017, 11:37 AM
Hello Jane and welcome back, although I'm sorry you girls have had a rough night. Bear in mind that I am not a vet, so my speculation as to what is going on is truly just that -- speculation. But my guess would be that Jane's ataxia is some sort of seizure activity, and that would more likely be related to low thyroid than to being a side effect of Vetoryl. If Jess is otherwise doing well on the Vetoryl, I personally would continue on with it unless your vet instructs that you do otherwise.

Hopefully, Jess will remain stable and happy today. But please do keep us updated, OK?

Marianne

Jane2212
01-23-2017, 05:16 PM
Spoke to the vet today (Monday). As I suspected, he feels that the 20mg dose that Jess is on is possibly slightly too high for her now it is in her system. He has reduced it to 10mg per day until her next blood test. She does seem a lot better already, eating again, playing a bit, walking about and even digging in the garden. What a roller coaster. She is staying with a friend for 3 days next week while I go for a short trip, I didn't think the petsitter would appreciate having all this to contend with. My friend has had a rescue Cushings dog which she was looking after before the dog was rehomed, so she says she is fine with it all, and can pop Jess to the vet if she needed it.

Seems like it's fairly normal to reduce doses, I'm hoping Jessie's recovery continues at this level.

Jane
xxxx

labblab
01-23-2017, 05:23 PM
I'm very glad you spoke to your vet, and certainly glad that Jess seems to be doing very well again! It will indeed be interesting to see what the next monitoring blood test shows on the reduced Vetoryl dosage. I just want to clarify that I misunderstood what you had written earlier. It initially sounded as though, aside from the time-limited episode of ataxia, Jess had rebounded and was again behaving normally in terms of appetite, activity level, and overall behavior. That is what made it seem less likely that the Vetoryl was the culprit. From what you are writing now, it sounds as though ill effects were continuing after the ataxia episode? That being the case, it does seem wise to try reducing the dose. And yes, you are correct, dosage alterations are quite common. So we will hope that the 10 mg. turns out to be the perfect dose for Jess.

I hope you have a lovely trip, and we will continue to await future updates. ;)
Marianne

Carole Alexander
01-24-2017, 01:04 AM
Hi Jane,

Thought I would shoot you a quick note regarding Skippy's response to Trilostane. Skippy is 13kg and also is on 10mg morning and evening. I too was away (for almost 3 weeks) and my friend cared for him. I was checking in daily and he didn't have an adverse response to the drug. And, after almost seven weeks of treatment, I am back and he has improved, albeit slowly. Less all symptoms, more energy and life. He is still chubby with a small pot belly and continues to have tremors in the back half of his body. He is clearly not my old Skippy but he is an improved version of my "new" pup.

Skippy had the ACTH Stim test today and they will call with the results tomorrow. I will post the results of the three tests tomorrow.

Complicating Skippy's issues is that he developed a tumor on his butt (perianal adenoma) back in December. (Skippy is nuetered and this problem is rarely seen in castrated dogs so maybe sex hormones are raging as well.) I inquired today if he could have Cushings and Atypical Cushings? The resident was uncertain but was going to speak with the endocrinology expert at Purdue. They suggested that I consider switching Skippy's meds to Mitotane. I am not prepared to entertain that idea at this point. Surgical removal is an option but the tumor may grow back. (BTW it bleeds and gets caught up with poop and he licks the mess, truly nasty.}

Bottom line for me is that this is an incredibly complicated disease with so many manifestations. Jess's thyroid problem is yet another complication that I hope you both can work your way through. You too are a terrific advocate for Jess and I wish you the best.

Carole

Carole Alexander
02-17-2017, 11:02 PM
Hi, how is Jess doing on the 10mg dose? Skippy is up to 40mg BID. Still not great control but we are hanging tight. Would love to know how Jess is progressing if you have a chance to post. Best to you.

Jane2212
02-22-2017, 03:06 PM
Jess my 8 year old Cairn has been on Vetoryl since 16th Jan, but showing no signs of improvement. She had a resting cortisol test (the vet said she was too fragile for a stim test) on 9th Feb and we were told that the results were normal ..... yet she quite clearly wasn't normal at all !!

On 13th Feb my hubby took her to the vet to discuss the Vetoryl since she was stumbling about more and still weeing/drinking/eating for England. To his surprise, the vet suggested immediate euthanasia!

My husband brought Jess home 'to say goodbye' to me and as soon as she got home she seemed to get better ..... we stopped the Vetoryl and she appears to have got better and better.

On Monday we took her to another vet for a 2nd opinion on the test results and she is of the belief that Jess has a brain tumour which is causing the Cushings as well as other slight neurological symptoms and hypothyroidism. She said not to take the Vetoryl, and halved her thyroxine as apparently the T4 test results indicated she was on far too high a dose. We also discussed holistic supplements, and she discussed what signs to look for before we take Jess back for 'proper' medication for the tumour and what may happen at the end. She says that the high cortisol level measured in the stim test (210 for the first one and 810 for the second) could have been caused by the stroke as the vet had omitted to include any notes about the x ray and the day of the tests so we do not know what order it was all done in. There was nothing in the notes about the stay Jess had to have because she had had 'an adverse reaction' as the vet put it - though we know now it was a stroke.

Yes our old vet has finally admitted that Jess has had a stroke but is still not admitting it was on the day of the x ray and blood tests. Anyway, what is done is done. It has affected her near eyesight a bit, and her front left leg was very weak although both have improved of late.

I've ordered HMR Lignans for Life and Melatonin, which has just finally arrived from the USA. Also Jess is on a less harmful anti-inflammatory for her bit of arthritis. I have had Jess on golden paste for about a month now anyway.

Jess is jumping on furniture and playing again. Weirdly the excessive weeing and drinking has started to abate, though the mad eating which she has done for all the time we've had her (5 years) is still going on. She occasionally 'fly catches' when she can smell food but not when food is not present. I'm not sure if that is something to do with her dimmed near eyesight more than the tumour. As a neglected rescue she has always been nasty around food and snappy.

What should I do ? Any suggestions for anything else I can try ? It's certainly a puzzle. She is certainly a different dog again, not quite the same as before she went into the vet for the cortisol testing and x ray, but pretty close. And for the excessive drinking and weeing to calm down a bit - well that's a bonus but I confess I have no idea why it is happening.

Could anyone shine a light on this for me please ?
Jane
xxxxx

Jane2212
02-22-2017, 03:19 PM
Hi Skippy's Mom ! Well I've posted another thread on here, as we have now taken Jess off the Vetoryl on another vet's advice. Our original vet wanted to put Jess to sleep last week, my husband went in to ask about the Vetoryl as the test results were saying bang on normal yet she was very disoriented and still weeing and drinking a lot. We were so disgusted about that as when my husband brought Jess home (alive) to say goodbye to me, she wanted to play and has gone from strength to strength since then. The new vet feels that Vetoryl just didn't suit her.

The new vet also feels that her problem is a general brain tumour which is causing Cushings and hypothyroidism rather than a benign pituitary one. Who knows. We were offered an MRI but at £1500 we just couldn't afford it, and knew it wouldn't make much difference if we did know what type of tumour it was.

Now I am looking at holistic supplements like HMR Lignans, melatonin, and I've been giving her golden paste (turmeric & Coconut oil & black pepper) to help her ...... I guess you'd call it palliative care, but I am hoping deep down that something will shrink the tumour or slow it down.

Interestingly the weeing/drinking is slowing down, her coat is fab. She's been off Vetoryl over a week. There's still some stumbling, eyesight problems due to a mild stroke, and her eating is even more fast and furious than it ever was. She is climbing on furniture again though, playing with toys, trying to play with the other dogs (they don't seem happy about it though), and rolling about. I'm just taking every day as it comes now but am very open to ideas !!

Love to you,
Jane
x

Squirt's Mom
02-22-2017, 03:56 PM
Hi,

I've merged the new thread you started into Jess's original thread. We like to keep all info about each pup in one thread. That way it is easier to look back thru the history when necessary...plus it works as a sort of journal for you as Jess progresses along her Cushing's journey making it easier for you to also look back and refresh your memory when needed. Thanks!

LaurieS
02-22-2017, 04:02 PM
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Jess. Unfortunately i dont have any advice but hopefully others on this forum will. Our Charlotte is also believed to have a tumor which is causing her cushings but unfortunately after taking her off the Vetyrol (which was causing her problems) she didnt get better. We are maintaining her on steroids to keep her comfortable. I hope Jess can continue without too many meds and have many more quality years! Charlotte is about the same age and its killing me every day to know we are going to lose her soon.

Laurie

lulusmom
02-22-2017, 07:30 PM
Hi Jane,

With respect to your question about the improvement you are seeing Jess' excessive peeing and drinking, I believe this is improving because your new vet has reduced the thryoid supplementation. Excessive drinking and peeing are a hallmark symptoms of too much thyroid supplementation so when you give too much, the dog basically goes from "hypo" thyroid to "hyper"thyroid. By the way, dogs with cushing's can have a transient decrease in T4 which corrects itself once the cushing's has been addressed with effective treatment. This is not primary hypothyroidism but rather something called sick euthyroid syndrome which is common in dogs with suspected cushing's. Experienced vets will not pursue a hypothyroidism diagnosis in these dogs until they are stabilized on cushing's treatment and the T4 can be rechecked.

Given your old vet's questionable behavior, a lot of red flags went up for me and I have a whole lot of questions about Jess' medical history, dating back to when she was diagnosed with low thyroid and put on supplementation. Did Jess have any symptoms associated with hypothyroidism, such as hair and skin issues, lethargy, weight gain or did your vet diagnose her based solely on a low T4 which is often included in a blood chemistry? Was she drinking and peeing a lot at that time? Would you happen to have a copy of the blood labs that were done at that time? If so, it would be great if you could share the high and low values, including the normal reference ranges. Marianne previously requested test results but I'm not sure you saw that. Some of our members in the UK do report difficulty in obtaining results but I'm hoping you will prevail.

You mentioned that Jess had full blood tests in early November just before a minor op, and they were all fine. Cushing's is a very graded disease, moving at a snail's pace and cushdogs usually yield one or more lab abnormalities well before symptoms develop. Was Jess symptomatic at the time these blood tests were done and if not, when did she become symptomatic? You also mentioned that she had not had a test for Cushing's since November 2015? Why was she tested for cushing's in 2015?

I apologize for asking so many questions but cushing's is one of the most difficult canine diseases to diagnose which makes it second only to hypothyroidism as the most misdiagnosed endocrine disease. The more information you can provide about Jess' history, the better able we can digest everything and provide meaningful feedback and sources that might help you understand our rationale. I will look forward to your responses.

Glynda

Carole Alexander
02-26-2017, 01:15 AM
Hi Jane,
How is Jess doing? I just reread thru your posts and then read Glynda's post. I hope you have a chance to think about and reply to her questions as something about all of this doesn't feel right to me. I am curious about your new vets diagnosis of a brain tumor? What did she base her opinion on? I am glad Jess's symptoms have abated mostly and surely all of the holistic treatments can't hurt in the short haul. Please know I am thinking of you and commend you for your efforts to keep Jess comfortable in this difficult and painful time.

Jane2212
03-01-2017, 03:45 PM
Well, in August 2015 Jess started to slow up a bit on walks, very unusual for her, and then in about September/October we noticed she was putting on weight, which again was very unusual. I took her to the vet and asked for tests, and he did Thyroid and Cushings tests and it turned out she was hypothyroid in November 2015. The excessive weeing and drinking started about 6 months later and I did mention it to the vet but it was ignored. The aggressive behaviour came slightly later. By December 2016 we had back leg weakness and so I asked for a cortisol test in January 2017, but that's when she had a stroke in the vets. She had been sedated for an x ray as the vet was convinced the leg weakness pointed to a back injury, but it wasn't. I don't know at what stage the cortisol test was done, as it wasn't documented in the medical history sent to the new vet. Convenient, that.

She's doing well on the lower Thyforon dose, and also she is a bit stronger now, the leg which was quite weak after the stroke has improved a lot, and she hasn't so many nervous tics now. She was groomed on Monday and having had a few drops of valerian compound from Dorwest Herbs, she underwent a 1 hour drive and 2 hours in the groomers quite well, and the groomer said she was brilliant on the table. The eyesight is a worry; she has good distance eyesight but close too isn't very good.

I am using turmeric golden paste in her food, valerian when required (for the odd flycatching phase), garlic & fenugreek tablets for painkilling and anti-inflammation in her legs, and she has an anti-inflammatory from the vet too which isn't a millionth as harmful as the one she was on from the last vet. We have also recently received our HMR Lignans and Melatonin from the USA and she has been on that since Friday.

She is getting on the furniture to sleep again, is eating fine, not drinking/weeing so much, has happy times where she wants to play and roll on us, but unfortunately the odd day (like today) where she wants to sleep a lot and seems fed up. In all though the good days far outnumber the bad so far !

We are back at the vet in 4 weeks' time for a check up.

Someone has suggested the use of CBD Oil to try and shrink the tumour. Does anyone have any experience of this ?

Thank you all. It's not ideal as I would have preferred Jess to get well on the Vetoryl, but it wasn't to be.

Jane
xxxxxx

molly muffin
03-05-2017, 10:39 PM
Hmm, I haven't heard of using CBD oil to shrink a tumor but that doesn't mean anything as new research is being done in all kinds of areas.

I did find this post on huffington post about research into it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/16/marijuana-tumors_n_5588639.html

Jane2212
05-02-2017, 04:22 PM
Well, you may remember me earlier this year as my 8 year old Cairn Jessie was diagnosed with Cushings following a stroke at the vets. I changed my vet to one who specialised in Cushings and amazingly it turns out that Jess hadn't got Cushings at all, bloodwork has come back perfect in every way - but she has SARDS and has gone blind. It's been a month since she went totally blind but she is finding her way around well. Having had 3 Cairns with pigmentary glaucoma I'm pretty well used to having blind dogs around and training her is easy. The symptoms of pu/pd and the appetite are the same as for Cushings. She shows slight improvements daily but it's slow, mainly due to the stroke.

Anyhow, I was about to give her Vetoryl away, and then Gaby started to drink and wee more ..... as she is nearly 14 I took her for blood tests and following an ACTH stim test and an ultrasound on her liver she was diagnosed with Cushings today.

I won't lie - it's knocked me for six, especially given the costly meds that Jess and Gaby are now on (Jess takes Vivitonin and Onsior), and going from 3 healthy dogs in December to having two pill dispenser boxes for two of the dogs, well that's odd to come to terms with. Anyway, I'm back on the forum and reading again about Cushings just when I thought I could forget all about it !!

Daisy, my 6 year old, seems to be healthy and we are having a new pup in 4 weeks time, again another Cairn.

Thanks,
Jane
xxxxxxx

Admin Note: Copied from Jane's new thread for Gaby, her other Cairn baby, who was recently diagnosed with cushing's. I am happy to hear that Jess does not have Cushing's and I wish him a speedy adjustment to his vision loss.