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rmackenzie
12-23-2017, 10:12 AM
My boy is a coming 8yr old Australian Cattle dog named Ichabod. He's been having varied issues the last couple months and after some blood work they suspect Cushings. I've been researching and his symptoms seem abnormal for cushings. He is not drinking excessively and the worst, most ongoing issue is a lack of appetite. I'll list his symptoms and attach his blood results, hoping someone has had some experiences similar to mine.
Note; he's always been a farm dog, he's worked cattle in his younger days and spent most of his time free range with livestock. He's been kicked by cattle, run over by a quad and eaten more than his share of carcasses and trash. He's arthritic, has cataracts and has had minor health issues most of his life as well as becoming more neurotic as those issues have slowed him down.
A few weeks ago I noticed he seemed to be sneezing a lot, occasionally I would find blood splatters on the floor. Spoke to a vet and they didn't think it was a concern.
He then went off his kibble and would vomit bile in the morning. I tried a bland diet, boiled chicken or beef and rice. Vomiting improved but appetite decreased. Took him to the vet who thought that since the vomiting was improving it was possibly pancreatitis or he had gotten in to something he shouldn't have (unlikely as he now does not go out of the yard) said to keep up with the bland diet and keep an eye on him.
Shortly after he stopped eating his bland diet. Would pick out a few bigger chunks of meat but that's it. Acting somewhat lethargic but still showing some interest in sqeaky toys and truck rides. Tried canned food and he ate quite a bit better for a few days. Went to the vet for more blood work
During all this there were a couple strange episodes. One evening my son and I observed him crossing his front legs and looking like he was swaying side to side and seeming to stretch his neck downwards. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then he seemed fine. Last week he got up from sleeping and his eyes were rolled back in his head so he looked like he was looking straight up. Also lasted a few seconds and then he was fine.
The vet has recommended the low dose dex testing next. That alone worries me as my boy does not do well at the vets and staying there for 8 hours will completely stress him out. I have no idea how to interpret his bloodwork.

Glucose 2.3 ¤ 3.5 - 6.3 mmol/L CAL
Urea (BUN) 13.0 £ 3.2 - 11.0 mmol/L CAL
Creatinine 121 44 - 133 umol/L CAL
SDMA 11 0 - 14 ug/dL CAL
Urea (BUN)/Creatinine Ratio 27 - CAL
Phosphorus 1.9 0.8 - 2.0 mmol/L CAL
Calcium 1.92 ¤ 2.20 - 2.80 mmol/L CAL
Sodium 146 142 - 152 mmol/L CAL
Potassium 5.4 4.0 - 5.4 mmol/L CAL
Na/K Ratio 27 ¤ 28 - 37 CAL
Chloride 105 ¤ 108 - 119 mmol/L CAL
Bicarbonate 22 13 - 27 mmol/L CAL
Anion Gap 24 11 - 26 CAL
Total Protein 76 £ 55 - 75 g/L CAL
Albumin 28 27 - 39 g/L CAL
Globulin 48 £ 24 - 40 g/L CAL
A/G Ratio 0.6 ¤ 0.7 - 1.5 CAL
ALT 107 18 - 121 IU/L CAL
AST 52 16 - 55 IU/L CAL
ALP 387 £ 5 - 160 IU/L CAL
GGT 9 0 - 13 IU/L CAL
T. Bili (Total) 1.8 0 - 5.13 umol/L CAL
Cholesterol 6.3 3.4 - 8.9 mmol/L CAL
Amylase 1539 £ 337 - 1469 IU/L CAL
Lipase 312 138 - 755 IU/L CAL
CK 124 10 - 200 IU/L CAL
Calc Osmolality 297 278 - 306 mmol/kg CAL
Hemolysis ++ - CAL
Icterus Normal - CAL
Lipemia Normal - CAL

labblab
12-23-2017, 10:51 AM
Hello, and welcome to you and Ichabod — I’m so glad you’ve found us! I apologize that I have only a moment to post right now, but I wanted to at least have the chance to greet you. I will definitely return either later on today or tomorrow in order to write more. Since this is the beginning of the Christmas weekend, activity may be a bit slow here on the forum. But don’t worry — I know that you’ll be receiving some helpful responses in due time!

So once again, welcome. And I look forward to talking further with you myself.
Marianne

Squirt's Mom
12-23-2017, 11:09 AM
Hi and welcome to you and Ichabod! :)

I am no expert on Addison's but that is more what his labs say to me (after a bit of reading) than they do Cushing's. Some of the signs are more in keeping with Addison's than Cushing's as well. Addison's can be quickly fatal if not corrected while Cushing's rarely requires a rush to treatment. If I were you I would get an ACTH done ASAP....not the LDDS the ACTH. An ACTH takes about 2 hours and you can usually stay with your baby between draws. I would be looking for some place to have that done TODAY if at all possible. Look for ER vets in your area if his usual vet can't see him. If you cannot get him in today, which may be very hard due to the holidays, I would try giving him a little bit of prednisone and see if that helps him. I would use a dose based on what we call a "rescue dose" when a cush pups cortisol drops too low which is 0.25mg/kg. If you will tell me his weight I will calculate that dose for you.

BUT THE BEST THING IS TO GET HIM INTO A VET ASAP FOR AN ACTH.


Here are some links to online sites and forums for canine Addison's disease as well as a link to a Facebook group. I would be talking to them this morning as well and sharing these test results with them for their input. They know more than me by a LONG shot! ;)

http://www.addisondogs.com/support/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AddisonDogs_/info

http://canineaddisonsinfo.com/Support.html

https://www.facebook.com/addisondogs/


Please let us know how he is doing!
Hugs,
Leslie

Harley PoMMom
12-23-2017, 01:08 PM
Hi and welcome to you and Ichabod from me as well!

Sounds like Ichabod has been living quite an exciting life and with pulling through when he was kicked by cattle plus being run over by a quad, he sure is a tough ole boy!! His blood work results and symptoms aren't typical of a dog with Cushing's, so, in my opinion, I would forgo having a LDDS test performed. Since he has had vomiting episodes the elevated amylase could be from a gut issue like IBD/IBS. How is his stool, any diarrhea or odd color? One other thing that does stand out to me is the high normal potassium with a low level calcium, when compared to other blood work has this been a trend? Another question, is Ichabod taking any other herbs, supplements, or medications?

Has his appetite picked up? I know how worrisome it is when your furbaby doesn't want to eat. Some food toppers I have used are: tripe, grated parmesan cheese, yogurt, warm meat broth, baby food (make sure it doesn't contain onion or onion powder), scrambled eggs, cat food, or fish (tuna, sardines) and boiled potatoes. Sometimes just heating up the food will entice them to eat.

Regarding the sneezing with blood, even though the vet isn't concerned, I would be but I'm such a worry wart. This can be caused by an upper respiratory infection, gum/tooth problem or even high blood pressure, the vet should be able to rule out these health issues rather quickly.

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

Lori

sammisam
12-25-2017, 03:54 AM
I thought maybe I could get my mind off of Sammi and help someone else.

This site is a Godsend!

When I was looking over Ichabod's blood test I thought the same thing as what Leslie and Lori said (but they know WAY more than me) = possibly more of an Addison's result and need that ACTH test. It reminded me of Sammi's blood results when she was in more toward Addison's and in our case... it was an Addisonian crisis . Sammi's results were more indicative of Adisonian crisis because of different circumstances but I would definitely take their advice!

They saved Sammi's life by their recommendations and once Sammi got the DCOP and prednisone (mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid) she turned around like magic! That was just the treatment that was best for her in OUR case. We also learned to always keep prednisone on hand for emergency and we even went as far as to get both the pill form AND liquid form in case she couldn't eat.

You are in the right place because I can't say this with enough emphasis...

THESE WOMEN ARE BRILLIANT and are responsible for our Sammi's quality of life over the past year.

Welcome... this forum and these amazing women are the best Xmas gift one could ask for!

Tracey