Cushing's Disease

[Tae1107]

Thank you...I have to say I was up all night with him last night and am more than tired today...he was panting alot and his breathing sounded labored...but he was ready to go for his walk this am at the park..and he enjoyed every minute of it...he now loves to stop and "smell the flowers"..those are the moments that I cherish..

I rescued Peppy when he was 7 and he is now 12..... and I feel blessed that I was the lucky one who was able to adopt Peppy....

I will be saying prayers for Krissy too..

Peppy has never fainted..I am sure that was very scary for you...I know I would be a wreck too...

[Patti]

Are they doing the ACTH stimulation test? Maya had sveral of those and the ultrasound. I so feel your pain with the no sleeping. It has seriously been over a year and a hale since I have gotten 3 hours of sleep at a time. Fortunatley I don't work now so I can sleep later. I have gotten use to getting up with her and then going right back to sleep. It was kind of funny but the other day I took my 89 year old Dad out for lunch and he was sitting across from me and says Your eyes are sunken in like mine. Nice!
I was on the Cushing's forum and they were very helpful but very pro treatment and it didn't work for Maya, but so many people on their were able to treat their dogs. I think you will know if the treatment is worth it or not for you. Good luck.

[YorkieChick1]

Originally Posted by Patti

Maya is actually better with no treatment but still pants all the time, and starving. Does anyone know besides feeding her all the time if there is anything to do to supress her apetite? She wakes me all night to eat.

I used to add a rice cake to her food so that she would feel full and not get many more calories!! I would just break it into pieces and mix it in with her food! My Molly also was deaf, blind and got dementia! So I would feed her and take her out to go potty and she would come back inside and go to the kitchen and cry to be fed!! She would forget that she had eaten! She would cry from 1pm to 6pm, then I would feed her, and then she would cry from 6 pm to 10 pm when I would put her to bed. It would drive my husband crazy and you couldn't tell her to be quiet because she couldn't hear you yelling or her own self crying!! It was very frustrating! Mindy, so far, isn't acting as bad as her Mom did, knock on wood, she won't!!

[Jeri Cunningham]

Wow Yorkiechick1 your a saint too, I just can't imagine taking care of a dog that was deaf, blind and got dementia. That takes a very sprecial person.

I'm going to buy rice cakes today, that is a excellent idea THANK YOU!

Patti,

They will be doing the ACTH test on Sunday along with a few other tests. Krissy had the ultra sound and it didn't show anything. I'll look for the Cushing's forum.

[Patti]

Maya's ultrasound didn't show anything either. I will keep Kissy in my prayers.

[leipshen]

Hi

I just wanted to tell you about my little Schnauzer Leipshen. She was just diagnosed with Cushings disease a couple of weeks ago. she has had all of the symptoms for quite some time now, however, the first vet I took her to in Ca. took her blood and didn't say a word about the disease. He only said she was too heavy and put her on the prescription diet. He took x-rays of her heart and liver and said NOTHING about a problem.He did say that her liver enzymes were a bit elevated. he said she was old and that was to be expected. Two weeks after seeing that vet she "suddenly went blind". I mean suddenly, one night she went to bed and the next morning she couldn't see. My vet out here diagnosed her with Cushing's disease. He said that sudden blindness is a symptom.

Leipshen is 12 yrs old. She has a big tummy, although I watch her diet closely. She drinks loads of water, pees rivers, has always loved to eat, her hearing is now going, her coat is dull, I keep her bathed and attended constantly because everyone comments that she smells bad. I don't really care what they say, she is very clean.

I chose not to put Leipshen on the medication because the vet told me that it is similiar to Chemo. He said it would make her feel miserable. Leipshen is still a happy dog. She is loving and has adjusted well to being blind. She still plays if you bring her a toy and I simply would rather let her be happy for the rest of her days. If she becomes really sick I will probably then make the difficult decision to allow her to go to heaven, where my husband will surely be waiting for her at the gait.

It is so sad when our beloved furbabies become ill. My heart is with you and everyone here who is dealing with this disease. I thank God that we have each other!

Patti

[Jeri Cunningham]

Originally Posted by leipshen

Hi

I just wanted to tell you about my little Schnauzer Leipshen. She was just diagnosed with Cushings disease a couple of weeks ago. she has had all of the symptoms for quite some time now, however, the first vet I took her to in Ca. took her blood and didn't say a word about the disease. He only said she was too heavy and put her on the prescription diet. He took x-rays of her heart and liver and said NOTHING about a problem.He did say that her liver enzymes were a bit elevated. he said she was old and that was to be expected. Two weeks after seeing that vet she "suddenly went blind". I mean suddenly, one night she went to bed and the next morning she couldn't see. My vet out here diagnosed her with Cushing's disease. He said that sudden blindness is a symptom.

Leipshen is 12 yrs old. She has a big tummy, although I watch her diet closely. She drinks loads of water, pees rivers, has always loved to eat, her hearing is now going, her coat is dull, I keep her bathed and attended constantly because everyone comments that she smells bad. I don't really care what they say, she is very clean.

I chose not to put Leipshen on the medication because the vet told me that it is similiar to Chemo. He said it would make her feel miserable. Leipshen is still a happy dog. She is loving and has adjusted well to being blind. She still plays if you bring her a toy and I simply would rather let her be happy for the rest of her days. If she becomes really sick I will probably then make the difficult decision to allow her to go to heaven, where my husband will surely be waiting for her at the gait.

It is so sad when our beloved furbabies become ill. My heart is with you and everyone here who is dealing with this disease. I thank God that we have each other!

Patti

Thank you for sharing the story of little Leipshen, I know I feel very much like you do but my hubby want to do whatever it tskes to make her better. I am just not sure of the medication as it is really toxic. I hope we can give her many good years somehow as she is only three.

My prayers go out to your little Schnauzer Leipshen.

Jeri

[PANAMA69]

Oh my you all are wonderful people for caring so much for the fur-babies

[Wylie's Mom]

Just read this whole thread . My heart really goes out to everyone who has babies with Cushings - what a struggle. I know Topamax has some merit suppressing appetite in humans, but is expensive and don't know if they're using it at all with dogs. It seems like there aren't very many great options to choose from for these babies.

[IlovePepper]

My Pepper was diagnosed with Cushings when she was only 5, and all you read about is how it happens to older dogs. Her symptons where a ravenous appetite and the pot belly. She did urinate a little more the usual initially. We treated her with Anipryl which really did not have any side effects and it did surpress her appetite. She did very well on the meds for two years. Never had hair loss or the more challenging symptoms of Cushings. She had her ACTH Stimulation Test run every 6 months to re-evaluate her situation.

Sadly, my little girl developed Chronic Renal Failure, first diagnosed on 3/17/08and she passed away 6/1/08. We did everything we could for her, seeing an internist who specialized in kidney failure, 4 stays in the hospital and giving her Sub-Q fluids at home.

The two diseases were NOT related!

[Patti]

Originally Posted by IlovePepper

My Pepper was diagnosed with Cushings when she was only 5, and all you read about is how it happens to older dogs. Her symptons where a ravenous appetite and the pot belly. She did urinate a little more the usual initially. We treated her with Anipryl which really did not have any side effects and it did surpress her appetite. She did very well on the meds for two years. Never had hair loss or the more challenging symptoms of Cushings. She had her ACTH Stimulation Test run every 6 months to re-evaluate her situation.

Sadly, my little girl developed Chronic Renal Failure, first diagnosed on 3/17/08and she passed away 6/1/08. We did everything we could for her, seeing an internist who specialized in kidney failure, 4 stays in the hospital and giving her Sub-Q fluids at home.

The two diseases were NOT related!

I am sorry about Pepper. I talked to Maya's vet Monday about Maya's appetite and she is becoming increasingly aggressive with my yorkies and me. Tonight she was just sitting on the bed next to me and growling at nothing, the others weren't even in the room, she has never done that before. The vet said I could try some homeopathic meds but they could work in reverse and take away her inhibitions and make her more aggressive or we could try the Anipryl every day, She is already on Heart meds and has liver disease, I just don't know if I want to put her thru more medicine side effects, but maybe I should try it if there are no bad side effects.

[Jeri Cunningham]

The final test on Krissy came out negative for Cushings so it is back to the drawing board. Our vet is posting everything about Krissy on a World wide vet forum to see if anyone has any ideas.

Krissy is improving slowly so we will see......


The did the ACTH test and Low-dose Dexamthasone test and both showed negative for Cushings.

Our next thing is a MRI of she doesn't get better...

[Yorkiedaze]

Oh Jeri, I'm glad she doesn't have cushing disease, but what the heck could this be leading to? She such a precious little girl. I sure hope something is found out soon. Glad she is some better too. Warm hugs.

[Jeri Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Yorkiedaze

Oh Jeri, I'm glad she doesn't have cushing disease, but what the heck could this be leading to? She such a precious little girl. I sure hope something is found out soon. Glad she is some better too. Warm hugs.

I sure just wish we could put a name to the problem. If she gets completely better I'm be happy with that!
Thanks for the hugs Donna.

Jeri

[YorkieChick1]

Wow, Jeri, I am glad that she doesn't have Cushings' but I hope they can figure out what is causing all your symptoms! Take care of yourself and Krissy!