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Plutothebully
03-24-2017, 09:25 AM
Hi all, I'm new to this forum:)
I've started reading about Cushings for 2 months now.
It all started when one night our Pluto (bull terrier, 10.5yrs) refused to eat and trembled and felt like she had a temperature.
We took her to the vet that night. She was admitted to the hospital that night with high liver enzyme levels.

During her stay, they did an ultrasound and found out that she has a gallbladder mucocele and put her on meds for her gallbladder.
Since then I read a lot about her condition and began to suspect that she might have cushings but I was unable to confirm as she doesn't drink a lot of water and has no dilute urine. We asked the vet about this but based on this reason, they said the chance for her having the condition is low but not impossible. They said we could do a urine test if we really wanted to. Alternatively, we could go directly for the blood test. Hopefully I can get some clues here.

Maybe I should provide her medical history as well.

About 5 months ago she has been diagnosed with a tumor in the bottom of her brain near the brain stem as seen in MRI scan. We didn't go further to test whether the tumor is benign or cancerous as the vet said that it would be very difficult and there is no cure in where we live anyway. :( So we started giving her supplements like fucoidan and squalene for her immune system.

She has been having relapsing skin problems for about 1.5 years. She has ulcers and lesion mainly on the thighs and belly (and fewer on other parts), that form crusts and cause the fur to come off in clumps. . She doesn't seem to have thinning of fur, nor thin skin and blackhead-like spots. We consulted a vet specialized recently in dermatology and went through some treatment but somehow Pluto didn't response well. We considered doing a skin biopsy but not sure if it is worthwhile...or should we go directly to do the cushings test.

Recently, we notice that she trembles from time to time and we are not sure about whether she is feeling pain/cold or is weak.

She does seem to be hungry (but not sure whether she's just being greedy.)

Other than these she is generally strong, just sleeping more than usual.

Would anyone have any recommendations on whether we should go ahead for the tests? If so, the urine test or blood test?

Many many thanks!

P.S. I want to upload some pics of her blood test results but am not sure how to do so. Will keep trying :)

Squirt's Mom
03-24-2017, 11:15 AM
Hi and welcome to you and Pluto! :)

I have manually approved your posts so members can see it and start responding to you. Hopefully one of our admins will approve your account soon but just in case - please check your email for a message from us to which you will need to reply in order to free up your account. It may be in your spam or junk folder. ;)

I am sorry to hear your baby boy has a tumor on the brain. :( If I were in your shoes, I would not put him thru the testing for Cushing's in light of the tumor. Why? Because IF he does have Cushing's the cortisol is acting as a sort of treatment for that tumor, helping to slow the growth. The drugs used to treat Cushing's will lower the cortisol, ie stop that "natural treatment" in a sense. Studies have shown that Vetoryl, Trilostane, will cause the tumors associated with the pituitary form of Cushing's to start to grow more rapidly IF they are prone to do so. Logic says Lysodren does the same tho I don't know of any studies saying it does. Others here may, tho. Based on your description of his tumor I can't really tell if it is the type we see in Cushing's - those are located on the pituitary gland which located sort of above the roof of the mouth toward the back of the mouth. Here is an image showing that location -

http://atlasvetsinvancouver.com/medical-services/pet-endocrine-diseases/

The one thing that give me pause is the skin issue he is having. I would take him to a derm vet to see if that is a condition called Calcinosis cutis, an uncommon complication of Cushing's. It is almost always proof in itself that the dog has Cushing's but not always. There are other causes for CC. To keep him comfortable IF it is CC, I would talk to the vets about weighing the need to manage the CC and the risk of causing the tumor to grow more rapidly.

I am very glad you found us and look forward to getting to know you both a bit better over time. Know you and Pluto are now part of our little family here at K9C. You will never be alone again. We will be with you every step of the way. We may not know the answer but our shoulders are strong and our hands gentle.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

PS. You can load pics of your baby in your account. You will see a place for photo albums there.

Squirt's Mom
03-24-2017, 11:17 AM
Here is a link from our FAQ's on album usage - https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/faq.php?faq=vb3_user_profile#faq_vb3_albums

Harley PoMMom
03-24-2017, 11:38 AM
Hi and welcome to you and Pluto!

Pluto doesn't seem to have the common Cushing's symptoms, such as excessive drinking/urinating and hunger, so I wouldn't pursue with any tests for Cushing's right now. The urine test that was mentioned is probably the urine cortisol:creatinine ratio (UC:CR) and is used as a screening test only and can be elevated by other health problems so since Pluto does have some medical issues going on that UC:CR result would more than likely be elevated. Also, unfortunately, there isn't one test that is 100% accurate in identifying Cushing's and all the tests for Cushing's can be skewed from any non-adrenal illness.

So, my advice would be to have the skin biopsy performed to see exactly what is causing the ulcers and lesions, because as I said above, all the Cushing's tests can yield false positive results when any health issue is present.

Regarding her test results the easiest way is to type them in a post and please include the normal reference ranges and reporting units, as an example: ALP 250 IU/L (5-55)...thanks.

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

PS: I have manually approved your membership so now all your posts will be seen right away. Also, please just disregard the validation email that was sent to you from k9cushings. ;)

Plutothebully
03-25-2017, 05:39 AM
Dear all,

Thanks for the info and kind supports!! I am very very very thankful indeed!!
I managed to upload Pluto's previous reports:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8776

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8776

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8779

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8779

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8780

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1169&pictureid=8780

Hope these would help to reveal more of her situation!!

Wish all your furry friends healthiness and happiness.

Plutothebully
03-25-2017, 05:45 AM
Hmm seems the pics are not displaying. But I think should be able to view the album from the links, right?

Joan2517
03-25-2017, 09:44 AM
Yes, they are showing in the links...I never was good at reading them, but someone more knowledgeable that I am will get back to you.

Squirt's Mom
03-25-2017, 10:52 AM
That ALT is concerning and that is what I would be talking to the vet about asap. Also the low eosinphils and lympocytes can indicate an infection. When my little Trinket had elevated ALT her IMS put her on a couple of rounds of antibiotics even tho there was no indication of infection with her labs....the ABs took the ALT down to normal so apparently there was something brewing that wasn't yet showing up on the blood work. Her ALT level was not that high, tho. So I would talk to the vet about those values myself - the ALT, ESO, and LYM - showing on the screen shot #8779. That sheet starts with %NEU.

Hope your baby is feeling a bit better today!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Plutothebully
03-25-2017, 11:41 AM
Thanks for everything. We were so lost and confused about which direction we should go...

Best wishes to you and your babies!!

Harley PoMMom
03-25-2017, 03:37 PM
Many of those abnormal blood levels can be attributed to a liver not functioning as good as it should and/or to the gallbladder mucocele that was already diagnosed. However, ALT is an enzyme that is specific to the liver and with Pluto's excessively high level that causes me great concern. Elevations in the TBIL (total bilirubin) are concerning to me as well.

I'm at work and right now we are busy so I will try to get back later, sorry.

Hugs, Lori

OK, I'm back, hopefully work will stay stable for at least a few minutes!

Did the vet run an urinalysis, and if so, could you post those rezults? Did the vet mention about having a bile acid test performed to see how the liver is functioning? Has a follow-up ultrasound been discussed to monitor the gallbladder mucocele?

Lori