Re: 7 y/o Old English Bulldog - diagnosed w/ Calcinosis Cutis & Cushings

[michellenaumovski]

Hi my name is Michelle and I have a 7 yr old Old English Bulldog just diagnosed with Calcinosis Cutis along with Cushing Disease. We're trying to treat one before we treat the other. We thought for sure it was the end of the road for him until we learned their is a cure. Thanks for allowing me to join the forum.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby!

CC, calcinosis cutis, is almost always due to Cushing's tho are are rarely other causes. When Cushing's caused, the ONLY way to get it under control is to gain optimal control of the cortisol via treatment with either Lysodren (Mitotane) or Vetoryl (Trilostane). One of our members has walked this often painful journey successfully with her baby, Tobey. You can read her story here - https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5908

Now, what can you tell us about your baby? How did the Cushing's diagnosis come about? What tests were done (ACTH, LDDS, abdominal ultrasound)? What were the actual results of those tests, including the one that shows things like BUN, CHOL, T4, ect? We only need to see the abnormal results from the health screen. ;)

You say you are treating...are you treating the CC or the Cushing's? With what drug are you treating?

How much does your baby weigh?

Are you tired of questions yet? :D We aren't really nosy (til we get to know you better anyway!) but the more you can tell us the better and those test result are really important. ;)

I'm glad you found us and am sure others will be along soon to chat with you too.

[molly muffin]

I just want to say hello and welcome you to the forum. Leslie has gotten you off to a good start with her questions.

We have found that optimally you need the post ACTH result on medication to be under 5.0ug to get optimal control of cc. Unfortunately it does end up looking worse before it gets better, but that is because all the current calcium deposits have to push up and through the skin. The goal is not to have any new deposits form so eventually it clears up. This can take a long time but it's worth it to get that control.

[michellenaumovski]

Hi and thank you. Sorry for the delay in responding. Tyson is about 65lbs and was diagnosed after having punch tests done of his skin. The vet didn't know what was going on after a hot spot went haywire. Full blown 4 weeks its all over his back, both sides of neck, under his chin and backs of his legs and fronts of his front legs. He's on antiobiotic, tramadol, weaned off of prednisone, she put him back on Apoquel I took him off as I don't want him on all these immune suppressing meds. Working on treating homepathically. He hasn't been tested for cushings yet as she wanted him off of pred for at least 4 weeks, its only been 11 days. They think its the introgenic cushing (excuse my spelling, all this is new to me) I've been using DMSO and Charcoal poulitices. Any recommendations?

[Carole Alexander]

Hi and welcome,
Please read the threads above in response to your first post. If Tyson has Cushing's, you must get it under control before you can control the CC. After he is tested for Cushing's, can you please post the results of that, those tests. Best to you.

[DoxieMama]

Hi Michelle,

How long was Tyson taking prednisone (and what for)? That could be the cause of his symptoms, including the CC, I believe. Your vet is doing the right thing by waiting for that to be out of his system before testing.

Shana

[molly muffin]

It does sound like itrogenic cushings, caused by the prednisone, so a slow wean off of the pred is usually best, and then staying off will bring the cortisol down.

So, now we know that the cc is there, which are calcium deposits and even being off the pred, be aware that this gets worse before it gets better, as all those calcium deposits need to push up and out of the skin. The goal is to have no new deposits be created, so once these Are cleared up, the issue will be resolved. So don't get discouraged!

[TysonsHuman]

Hi and welcome to the site. Oddly enough my dog who was affected with Cushings, which eventually led me to this site, was named Tyson as well. Sadly after battling the illness passed away just this Saturday after dealing with it for 3 years. But within this last year developed calcinosis as well and a severe case and it became uncontrolled due to the fact we had to discontinue his Cushings meds to heal a very serious IBD condition he developed which created an eating & digestive problem. But what I did want to caution you on was how calcinosis may effect the eyes. If your boy has developed the problem make sure your vet checks his eyes to determine whether he is developing any calcium buildup as this can lead to serious degeneration of the corneas or the skin covering the corneas, which then can lead to infections. This happened with my Tyson and because the damage was not caught in time he required eye graft surgeries in both eyes to repair the damage. This can also happen if the dog doesn't produce enough tears to wash away any buildup as well. Now this may not be a problem at all, but it is something you should be aware of, so don't panic by any means. And BTW once we got him back on his meds, the condition cleared up fairly rapidly, so do not get discouraged.

[Squirt's Mom]

Yes, I think you are wise to give the pred time to get out of his system before testing for Cushing's. You are spot on - Iatrogenic Cushing's is caused by outside forces, like medications or even in dogs who come in frequent contact with steroid creams humans use.

I also wanted to mention a new allergy drug that has been a WONDER for my little Chihuahua, Fox. She has had 2 shots about 5 weeks apart and she does.not.scratch.at.all.ever. Nothing else helped her at all. She had scratched her little belly raw, chewed her feet and legs raw, and had started yanking the hair out of her legs she was so miserable! These injections have given her back her life. I would bring it up to his vet. Our vet said it was developed when it was noticed that dogs are allergic to 85% of the same things. In the past samples had to be sent off to determine the best approach based on the allergen(s) found in the sample. With Cytopoint that 85% of allergens is already covered so no testing, no waiting, and it works for most dogs I have heard of using it so far. It has NO side effects other than possible lethargy after the shot, something we have not seen. It is NOT a steroid so there is no fear of Iatrogenic Cushing's or other conditions steroids can cause. Here is a link about it you can share with your vet:

https://www.zoetisus.com/products/dogs/cytopoint/index.aspx