Cushings? Kidney failure? need advice!
 

I am the keeper of my mother's 13yr old pom/Taffy. My mother is in an alzeheimers facility. Taffy has suddenly come up with demodex and had a couple of potty accidents on the floor that look more like a 30lb dog left it,instead of 6lb.
Today we go to the vet,yes it is demodex,did scraping. Did a fasting blood panel and urine sample. It turns out that she has all of the symptoms of cushings,is anemic because she has a substantial amount of blood in her urine but not enough to see when I clean her small lakes up. She has to stay in the pen to control where she puts the pee,because you never know when it is going to happen. Her liver enzymes were high as well.
The vet is consulting with an oncologist,there will be more blood testing to make sure that she is diagnosed properly.
What do others feed their dogs that have been diagnosed with cushings. Please share your knowledge.

I am very sorry Taffy is ill. Here is one thread that might offer you a little insight: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...-cushings.html

Blood tests will determine if Taffy is in kidney failure.

Praying for Taffy.

I don't know about any of those conditions but I can pray for Taffy and your mom and for you. Having a parent with Alzheimer's has got to be heartbreaking. Thank you so much for helping her dog. You are special and Taffy blessed to have you. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds right now.

Sorry to hear about Taffy. I had a Pom with cushings and did not have to feed her a special diet ,although she was always hungry from the disease. If she has kidney failure they will most likely put her on a special diet. I hope you can find out for sure what is going on.

I am sorry to hear about Taffy. I do not know anything about Cushings, but I am sure your vet will recommend a special diet for her. Let us know what your vet says.

Sending prayers for Taffy and you... My Peek A Boo is on Hill's Prescription Diet K/D since he was diagnosed with early stage kidney failure. I'd wait to change her diet until all the results are in. For dogs with multiple problems going on, your vet would be the best to recommend any specific food, as one might be right for one medical problem, but bad for another. You may want to contact a canine nutritionist, who can make up a special diet just for her, taking into account all her medical issues.

PetDiets - VNC putting pets' health first! is run by Dr R Remillard, a board certified veterinary nutritionist. This may be your best option for Taffy if you are able to home cook for her, as she does indeed have a number of medical issues going on.

We did round one of blood tests today. I made sure that it was a fasting test and she waited to go potty at the vet for a sample. We also discussed the KD food but that will wait until I can sloooowly get her off of temeral-P and get the steroids out of her system so we can do round two blood test. Partially to compare the numbers.
I am not looking forward to telling my mother,she asks about Taffy every week when I visit. I havent taken Taffy for a visit lately because I was hoping that she would be in better shape at some point. After her skin clears I am hoping she will get to visit.

Hopefully it is steroid induced Cushings, which will resolve once the steroids are stopped. May help the Demodex too. any idea what she's allergic to?

I'm very familiar with Cushings, bc Wylie has Atypical Cushings. As you're probably learning, it's a very complex and confusing disease. It sounds she is having the excessive peeing...is that right? So is she also drinking excessively? Those are both cardinal signs of Cushings -- as is excessive hunger, pot belly, muscle wasting, hind leg weakness, HAIR LOSS (big one!), ongoing skin and ear issues...and the list goes on and on.

Cushings is prominent in Poms, btw. It's smart to get her off of all steroid like meds bc you can't get a true diagnosis of Cushings w/ steroids in her system. If she has steroid-mediated Cushingoid symptoms -- then all that will go away when the steroids clear her system and things balance out.

There is no special diet for Cushingoid dogs - just feed normally. If she has the pot belly and/or has gained weight, don't restrict her food - the hunger is so bad with Cushings that I'd just wait until you get a diagnosis. At that point, that's when you address her weight...if it's even an issue. The proper treatment will in turn treat any weight / hunger symptoms.

This is a great overview for Cushings: Cushings (Hyperadrenocorticism)

Wow, excellent information here. You are well spoken on this topic Ann, I'm impressed! I actually printed this, hope I never need it, but thanks for your insight.

i have no experience with this but wanted to say ill be keeping taffy in my thoughts and prayers.

I am so sorry Taffy is ill. I don't have any advice but praying that you get the help and support you need to take care of this poor girl.

Ann, Asside from the weight gain issue,she has actually lost a pound in the last year and is weighing what she should, you have described Taffy to a T. The dose of Temeral -P that she takes is actually very low but we are slowly taking her off of it anyway and hoping that her cough does not return. She has a cough syrup now and I will start using that if she begins coughing much. I knew something was wrong with her when demodex suddenly showed up,she hasnt ever had it before. The other symptoms have come on pretty quick as well. She has been taking Tramadol and Temeral P for a couple of years now. Her knees are very bad,weak,arthritic.
So for the next two weeks its about getting her off of the temeral P,watching for coughing,keeping her diet like it has been.
Thank you all for the information. I have a bit of homework now.

Ya know...there may be a bright side here...you said the 'symptoms have come on quick', and that's rather unusual for true Cushings. My hope is that this is just steroid-mediated Cushings, which would actually be wonderful bc it would all go away with time, after the excess steroids get out of her system. I know TemP is low dose, but ya just never know how sensitive her system might be.

What is that cough about anyway? Does she have allergies?

The cough: Im pretty sure that it is allergies. She will cough 3 or 4 times a day when the weather is wet cold/hot,kinda like asthma. Her heart is still very strong. What brought the cough on was KC. About 2 yrs ago,she was one week away from needing her KC shot,she came down with a resperatory infection with all of the symptoms of KC,however she doesnt go ANYWHERE except my backyard and the vet. There were 5 other dogs in the house at the time,including an elderly dog. I kept her on a seperate floor of the house for 3 weeks in a pen. We did 3 round of antibiotics before the coughing slowed down to just 4 or 5 spells a day. She just never got over it. No pneumonia,lungs stayed clear,noone else got it. She has only had one or two spells a day sense I cut the TP dose in half. The spells are coughing 5 or 6 times,gagging and then acting like she is going to throw up. Then it just stops. We have already ruled out CT. Kinda weird.....

The past few days have been really bad days for Taffy. She has been completely off of the Tem-P for a week. During this week she has had several days of not being able to walk at all. We are carrying her outside and holding her up for potty. Her fur is falling out by the handfulls,she has a very large bare spot under her chin and her front feet are beginning to be bare. This evening I came home from an evening out. My DH had taken her out about 45 min before I got home and when she was picked up to go out,she was laying in a puddle of pee. So she had a quick bath,brushed her out very carefully for fear of tearing her skin and was then taken out where she peed again. She is refusing to eat unless it is chicken and rice,this is my mixture and is mostly rice. She drinks only if we take her to the bowl or bring the bowl to her. If there is not a drastic change I dont hold alot of hope for this little girl. Vet apt is Tuesday for testing.

Don't know if this will help but when my lillymae was still with us & had cushings, my vet gave me Cyproheptadine to stimulate her appetite & it worked well. Also lillymae took Anapryl for her cushings as the other cush meds did not work well for her. I hope this helps.

Thank you. Taffy has spent today at the vet for testing. Make sure what is going on really is cushings and try a medication. I pick her up at 3:30. She just seems so miserable. Her hair is about half gone on her front feet,she has a huge bare spot on her chest,her back legs dont work most of the time,going potty is not easy for her.

What about using baby diapers for her? God bless that sweet little baby, and the Mommy that loves and cares for her special needs.

Taffy update: All of Taffy's blood work came back showing NO cushings,kinda wish it was. She is in serious kidney and liver failure. She will not eat,drink or take her meds. Her pee looks like water with no color. Tests still show blood in her urine but not as much because she is on an antibiotic for the demodex,,that is not clearing up. Her bowels are not working properly because she can not walk. I am not looking forward to the decision that I have had to come to. She is a sweet girl and I will not allow her to go through her end of days in so much obvious pain.
I had to try to explain it to my mother today ,she lives in a alzheimers unit.
Prayers please that I will have the strength to go through with this.

I'm so sorry you are going through this with little Taffy.
Prayers being sent for Taffy, your mother and you! So very sorry, I know how hard it is when these babies are so ill...they so grab hold of our hearts....poor baby.

Thank you, we have lost a furbaby a year for several years. Although that sounds terrible,they have all lived a long life and just happened to all be almost the same age. I knew that it was a possiblility when I realized that all of them were close in age. 13 is a good long life, I just dont want to watch her suffer.

My heart goes out to you.

I'm so very sorry...I'm just heartbroken for you :(. Please know I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Thank you all. Taffy had a pretty good day yesterday until evening,you could tell that she hurt. I have taken the rug up so she can be in the den with us. We are down to her last days and I can tell that she wants to feel good but just cannt. She will pat the floor with her front feet to play and perk her ears up,then just lay her chin on the floor. She even barked when my DH came home from work,but didnt even try to get up. Friday is going to be a tuff day.

I agree with your decision and know how gut-wrenching it is. No one can stand to see a dog suffer and live a less than good dog's life. I know how hard Friday is going to be for you but you know your mom and all true doglovers would agree you are doing the what is best for her and will get her out of her miserable condition. Please know I'll have you and Taffy in my prayers Friday.

I took in a 14 year old, overweight 13 pound Maltese mix who could barely walk, had massive hair loss & was near death due to Cushing's disease. Her elderly owner died and his son wanted her to be put down, but his sister put an ad in the paper about her fate, so I took her in order to see if I could help her in some way live out her life with some happiness. First thing I did was go on line looking for a book on this disease. I found Caring for an Older Dog: The Survival Guide and 101 Healthy Recipes to Fight Cushing's Disease. Both books written by Michael Dole. I bought the on line type so I could make as many copies as I want in order to give anyone that needed them.

Bell did an amazing turn around, lost down to 9 pounds, her hair all came back in and she would have such happy days that she would actually try to skip and trot. She lived over a year then her little body gave up and we had to have her put to sleep. I'll never forget that precious little angel that blessed our lives. We loved her so very, very much and her passing was a deep and painful loss.

If you want to try and give her more time, I can mail you copies of these. Just pm me your name and address.

Thank you "yorkiedaze". Although this thread is titled "Cushings" it was found through testing that she infact did not have cushings,wish she had,atleast then I would of had something to work with. In fact she was in kidney and liver failure. Nothing we gave her seemed to help with her pain or physical state. She would not eat,drink or take her meds. In the last two weeks she seemed to go down hill even more quickly. I was cooking chicken and rice for her,offering even cheese. The only food that she would eat that she liked was raw broccoli. She didnt poop anymore,her urine was completely clear. I was mixing her meds in baby meats and she still would not take them.

So it is with a heavy heart that I have to say that I helped this little princess over the rainbow bridge this morning about 10:45. My other 4 furbabys are all sitting on me,because they know.

Now I have to go explain it to my mother.