Cushings or thyroid - YorkieTalk.com Forums

tuffy1 · 01-14-2008, 07:33 PM

Hello. I am new to this forum. I have a 7 year old yorkie that has over the last year begun to loose his hair, and the hair he does have left has turned solid gray.(he used to be tan). He also has a tight distended abdomen almost all the time. I have taken him to four vets in the area, all of which say it is nomal aging. I have looked into cushings disease and thyroid problems and have tried to have him tested for those. The problem is that when they do labs(CBC, Chem panel, u/a, cortisol, t4) they all come back normal. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with their babies..

Patti · 01-15-2008, 05:26 AM

My pom who is almost 11 had similar symptoms, major hair loss especially on the back end, skin turning black in spots, distended stomach, skin sores, thirsty and hungry all the time. At first they diagnosed her with hypothyroidism but after 6 months on thyroid meds no change, so I asked for a referral to a specialist who then diagnosed her with Cushing's Disease. We started her on the meds and after 6 months she was losing weight, but still eating a lot, she lost 3 lbs in 4 months, and was throwing up and diahrrea so I changed specialists and the meds had damaged her liver. So now the vets said we cannot treat the Cushings as her liver disease is more life threatening. SHe is on the meds for her liver and doing ok. Definately find a good specialist. I hope you get answers.

domesticated08 · 01-15-2008, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffy1

Hello. I am new to this forum. I have a 7 year old yorkie that has over the last year begun to loose his hair, and the hair he does have left has turned solid gray.(he used to be tan). He also has a tight distended abdomen almost all the time. I have taken him to four vets in the area, all of which say it is nomal aging. I have looked into cushings disease and thyroid problems and have tried to have him tested for those. The problem is that when they do labs(CBC, Chem panel, u/a, cortisol, t4) they all come back normal. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with their babies..

Boy, that is tough...I hope you get the answers you need to help your baby soon!!!

jeanietoo · 01-15-2008, 11:26 AM

I had a yorkie with cushing's. Does she have any symptoms of excessive drinking and urinating??? My Ashlee lived with cushing's for many years. We did not treat her as she also had a severly degenerated spine and several other painful conditions and the cortisol kept her almost painfree. She died a little over a year ago at age 16

Ladymom · 01-15-2008, 11:51 AM

Lady was recently diagnosed with Cushings. Her's is from taking steroids for a few years for arthritis and is hopefully reversible.

Did your vet do an ACTH stimulation test or a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test? Cushings can be hard to diagnose and those are the two most reliable tests.

Here is some information about those tests:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/conf...cushing_s.html

01-14-2008, 07:33 PM	#1
tuffy1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Il Posts: 21	Cushings or thyroid Hello. I am new to this forum. I have a 7 year old yorkie that has over the last year begun to loose his hair, and the hair he does have left has turned solid gray.(he used to be tan). He also has a tight distended abdomen almost all the time. I have taken him to four vets in the area, all of which say it is nomal aging. I have looked into cushings disease and thyroid problems and have tried to have him tested for those. The problem is that when they do labs(CBC, Chem panel, u/a, cortisol, t4) they all come back normal. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with their babies..

01-15-2008, 05:26 AM	#2
Patti Donating YT 10000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 17,948	My pom who is almost 11 had similar symptoms, major hair loss especially on the back end, skin turning black in spots, distended stomach, skin sores, thirsty and hungry all the time. At first they diagnosed her with hypothyroidism but after 6 months on thyroid meds no change, so I asked for a referral to a specialist who then diagnosed her with Cushing's Disease. We started her on the meds and after 6 months she was losing weight, but still eating a lot, she lost 3 lbs in 4 months, and was throwing up and diahrrea so I changed specialists and the meds had damaged her liver. So now the vets said we cannot treat the Cushings as her liver disease is more life threatening. SHe is on the meds for her liver and doing ok. Definately find a good specialist. I hope you get answers. __________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : Maya's Mom RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html

01-15-2008, 11:26 AM	#4
jeanietoo YT Addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: pennsylvania Posts: 390	cushing's I had a yorkie with cushing's. Does she have any symptoms of excessive drinking and urinating??? My Ashlee lived with cushing's for many years. We did not treat her as she also had a severly degenerated spine and several other painful conditions and the cortisol kept her almost painfree. She died a little over a year ago at age 16

01-15-2008, 11:51 AM	#5
Ladymom Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 2,412	Lady was recently diagnosed with Cushings. Her's is from taking steroids for a few years for arthritis and is hopefully reversible. Did your vet do an ACTH stimulation test or a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test? Cushings can be hard to diagnose and those are the two most reliable tests. Here is some information about those tests: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/conf...cushing_s.html __________________ http://www.myladysdogbows.com/ High Quality Handmade Bows for the Pampered Pooch