My Pembroke corgi is being tested to confirm Cushings disease.

[Jill Barker]

My corgi Maud is really struggling. She has carried a lot of weight round her tummy for a few years and I have had no success with getting her to lose weight. She has always loved her food so I assumed that was the issue plus the fact she came to me from a breeder at over 5 years old , having had three litters of pups , a Caesarian and then spayed. Now she is over 9 years old and has bad arthritis so has trouble walking. She has been put on metacam by my vet, half a paracetamol 3 times a day and last week also a human drug called amantidine. The last few weeks she has had a very stubborn urine infection so she has 3.amoxicillin a day but there is still blood and high protein in her urine. The urine culture showed that she is on the right antibiotic but so far no improvement. Yesterday my vet did an ultrasound of her bladder and kidneys which look OK. But her adrenal glands are enlarged, and myvet is convinced that she has many Cushings symptoms, including pot belly, excessive panting , lethargy, over production of saliva and when clipped for the ultrasound her skin is covered with black dry pustules. She is being tested on Thursday for Cushings but she is obviously in pain from the arthritis and is awkward taking the many tablets she needs. I am at my wits end as to how to help her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[labblab]

Hello, Jill, and welcome to you and Maud. I’m so sorry she’s having these problems, but we’re very glad you’ve found us and we’ll do our best to help. I’m afraid I’m not able to take the time to write a more thorough reply to you right now. But yes, it does sound as if Cushing’s could be a possibility and I’ll definitely return either later today or tomorrow to add more thoughts. In the meantime, please give Maud a big hug for me, and I’ll come back just as soon as I can.

And once again, welcome to you both!
Marianne

[Jill Barker]

Thanks Marianne. Because of her urinary infection she is on amoxicillin plus high doses of pain Meds. She is refusing to take her tablets and so the vet gave her injections this afternoon instead. Unfortunately she has also not eaten anything for the last two days. I am assuming the meds may be the cause? Normally she eats everything . She is having tests on Thursday to confirm Cushings .

[labblab]

Hi again, Jill, and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to get back to you, especially since Maud’s testing appointment is today. As I said earlier, it does sound as though Maud suffers from several symptoms that are consistent with Cushing’s so I understand why your vet is suspecting it may be a possibility. I do want to warn you, however, that testing for Cushing’s while she has an active infection and while she’s in noticeable pain may skew the results. Both of the diagnostic blood tests that can be used for Cushing’s (ACTH stimulation test and the LDDS test) are vulnerable to giving “false positive” results when a dog is severely stressed, in pain, or suffering from any significant illness. That’s because any of those conditions can cause a marked increase in cortisol levels, just as does Cushing’s.

So I do see a bit of a testing dilemma in Maud’s case. It seems less than ideal to be testing her right now. However, if she *does* have Cushing’s it may difficult to get her UTI to fully resolve unless she is treated (Cushpups are notoriously vulnerable to UTIs). And ending up with optimal pain management may take some time, too. Your vet may feel as though it’s important and valuable to go ahead and see what her test results turn out to be right now. But I did want to warn you why question marks may still linger.

You’ve mentioned the protein and blood in her urine. Have any other bloodwork results been abnormal? Cushpups typically exhibit elevations in liver enzymes, especially the ALP. They also often have high cholesterol and certain abnormalities in their platelets and white blood cells. Do you know whether her thyroid level (T4) has been normal? Low thyroidism and Cushing’s can share several symptoms, including lethargy and skin problems. In terms of other observable symptoms, one of the hallmarks of Cushing’s is excessive hunger, thirst and urination. It sounds as though historically she’s had a hearty appetite, and I’m guessing the antibiotic may be what’s affecting her appetite now. But how about thirst and urination — has that been a noticeable issue?

The reason why I’m mentioning these things is because the greater the number of consistent symptoms, the more confidence we can place in a “positive” diagnostic blood test result. So the more specifics we can learn about Maud, the better able we will be to judge the results of today’s test, however it turns out.

I’ll go ahead and close for now, and again, I apologize for my delay. We’ll definitely be interested to hear how the appointment goes today, so please do give us an update when you are able.

Marianne