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Originally Posted by ladyjane  Yes, the cushings pups do have skin issues. I have a foster with pseudo cushings (also known as alopecia x) and he came to me with horrible skin infections and was missing tons of hair. His skin finally cleared up. He is on Melatonin ... it actually helped with hair regrowth. Was pretty amazing.
Just curious...what is the melatonin implant and what was it done for?
Will definitely keep your Zowi in my thoughts and prayers. Does sound like she has a wonderful mom and a good vet, too!  |
yes, melatonin is known to dramatically improve hair loss in cushing's dogs. zowi has not had any hair loss up untill now. her cushing's symptoms included an enlarged abdomin, excessive urination and increase in water consumption, and a bladder / kidney infection. her regular bloodwork at dr's office was all completely normal, but ultrasound showed her liver to be enlarged. urinalysis had hemoglobin and protein present. the melatonin implant is pretty much the same as giving a pill, but instead it is injected under the skin (much like microchipping, same needle according to my vet) and slowly releases over the course of 3 to 4 months. zowi had an acth test (with synthetic hormones) done back in june that was sent to university of tennessee for analysis. it revealed her estradiol levels were high but not the cortisol levels which gave us an atypical cushing's diagnosis and that is why zowi received the implant. (to control her estradiol levels) it is used in combination with hmr lignans daily. (photonutrients) next step is to determine if it is pituitary or adrenal by doing an endogenous (real hormones) acth test scheduled for sept 29th. going to u of tenn. and will monitor any improvements from her implant. here's a link to u of tenn endocrinology dept. there's more info on melatonin implants there.
Treatment Considerations
here's a link to treatment option considerations for cushing's from u of tenn
http://www.vet.utk.edu/diagnostic/en...ings201107.pdf
thank you for the thoughts and prayers! i hope this helps. i am so thankful to have our wonderful vet, she is amazing and has been my dogtor of choice for about 11 years now! and your babies and fosters are very lucky to have you - a great mommy looking after them too! will keep you and the furbabies in my thoughts and prayers also! thank you for giving them the care they need!