Orahurd - oh gosh
- so sorry you're going through this - Cushing's and Atypical Cushing's are extremely complicated...and I want to caution you that many vets don't deal w/ this often, and don't understand it completely - so *sometimes* you really do need to either see an Internist to get a handle on things (get direction) and...this truly is one disease (in my opinion) where the owner has to take a *lot* of ownership in the pet's health care.
So, I'm not going to bombard you w/ a ton of info right off the bat -- but here's a start:
1) Was this "borderline" diagnosed thru a cortisol-creatinine ratio urine test?
2) If yes, if that indeed produced the borderline diagnosis, then the next step would be an ACTH stim test....and then usually you also get an ultrasound of the adrenal glands (but if you want, you can wait until after results from the stim) (if ACTH ends up also being inconclusive, then blood has to be sent to U of Tenn., where they test for Atypical Cushings, by Dr. Jack Oliver's team)
3) Was your kiddo's thyroid tested, and also was he tested for diabetes...both of these would be important...
4) How bad is the frequent urination (which, btw, also would mean, by default, that he is drinking more - these are called polyuria/polysdipsia or PU/PD)? Other symptoms? (see the Cushing's page below I'm linking you to...)
From there...there are a whoooole bunch of steps...but all of that depends on whether the diagnosis is Cushing's or Atypical Cushing's (result of ACTH Stim is first step). Even more confusing (bear with me!) is that...Cushing's can be
caused by either a tumor in the adrenal glands OR by a tumor in the pituitary gland OR it can be due to previous use of steroids (was your baby on steroids?).
OR, if it is Atypical Cushing's (like my Wylie), then it is caused by abnormal intermediate "sex" hormone regulation (in Wylie's case, progesterone - but several other hormones can cause
AT Cushings).
So, see what I mean? OY! And that's just the beginning of it...but don't freak bc I'm here for you and I've been there and am still there (Wy was only diagnosed May 09)!
Here is my favorite
Cushing's overview.
And the
yahoo Cushing's group that's already been mentioned contains the best info/archives on the web about this disease, imo. Also, Dr. Jack Oliver (of U of Tenn.) responds to this yahoo group
. (btw, also on this Yahoo Group - people list Vet Internists by State who they've personally used, and who have experience with Cushing's diagnosing)
As far as
treatment, depends on so many things (symptoms, age, results of testing, current state of health...etc...ect) - so I won't bombard you with that now....okay?