Quote:
Originally Posted by Flakes  I have a little 5 lb 9 year old girl that the vet is 99% sure she has cushings disease. She goes in tomorrow for the Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test (LDDS). Does anyone currently have a dog on medication for Cushings disease? If so how has the dog faired? I've read that life span is only 24 to 36 months following diagnosis, is there any truth to that? My dog's symptoms are so bad that she has to pee every ten minutes, drinks a minimum of ten cups of water a day and has developed a skin infection. All of this has developed over a period of about six weeks. |
Yes, my Wylie has Atypical Cushings. He was 4 when diagnosed and is now 9, so don't worry too much about that life expectancy thing
!!! He is super healthy, fit, strong, crazy energy...you'd never know he had anything wrong with him at all.
With the peeing thing, hang in there...it will get better once her Cushing meds are titrated properly and her cortisol is managed. Lots of her symptoms will vastly improve once she is on the right med. And yes, the meds aren't great non-toxic meds, but that is something we have to accept in order to treat this disease. Wylie hasn't had a single side effect with his meds, ever, so don't let fear get you too down.
As for the skin, YUP, I hear you. Wylie had terrible skin/ear infections prior to diagnosis and this is very normal for undiagnosed dogs. That too will get better once the cortisol is managed. Wylie still gets skin infections, but it's more from allergies than anything else, I believe, and we deal with it.
Btw, you may also want to request she get tested for both diabetes and hypothyroid. Many Cushings dogs also are hypothyroid, so you definitely would want to know this either way.
Cushings diagnose and proper treatment can take a LONG time, so hang in there in the meantime. Medication titration, unless you happen to get it right the first time, can also take months and months...so know that ahead of time.
I'm linking you to another post I did where I linked to a bunch of Cushings sites that will be helpful for you:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/3542738-post16.html