Wylie has Hypothyroid, Pyoderma, and maybe Cushing's Disease

[LuvMySissy]

Ann - definitely keep your positive outlook and know that you caught it very early and Wylie will have a long life with you. We are fortunate to have caught Sissy's Protein Losing Enteropathy at the very beginnings and now her bloodwork is almost normal. You would also not know she had anything wrong.

I believe in my heart she will be cured - the reason they say no cure is most animals are not properly diagnosed until the very end stage. It seems that this may also be the same with Cushings - so I'm going to believe that Wylie can also be cured!!! Hugs to you both!!!

[cobird2]

I'm sorry to hear the diagnosis and happy to hear you've got a plan for treatment. I hope it goes better than expected.
With so many knowledgeable members on this site, it's so helpful to learn from others about illnesses.
Thank you for sharing the information and wishing Wylie and all of his family many, many healthy days ahead.

[bchgirl]

Big heavy sigh....cause this is NOT what I wanted to hear, but I'm delighted with the treatment and hope it works wonderfully for him.

I agree don't think life span because my friend's dog had cushings....the typical kind...for YEARS and died from OLD age not the disease.

Big hugs to you and the Wylie man. Give him a ...squeeze from me.

[kalina82]

oh Ann.... this sucks. but i'm glad you finally got a diagnosis for Wylie. Now hopefully with the flax seed stuff his hormone level will go back to normal. I think Wylie has many many many more years to live. I don't buy the lifespan prognosis at all. He's a tough, healthy boy.

[Patti]

I am sorry to hear about the Cushings diagnosis but the treatment sounds much better than the other approach. I now Maya had Cushing's at least a 1 1/2 before final diagnosis and then lived several years longer and she was much older at onset so I am confident Wylie can live a full life.

[Wylie's Mom]

Thanks so much everyone. I agree with you all...I'm just not going to buy the usual prognosis whatsoever. I might feel differently if he was lethargic, sickly, and "sad" - but he's really the opposite of that....in fact, we always ask him if he's been drinking our espresso. I think a doggy such as that has a lot of life left in him. We're gonna kick Cushing's butt, man!

[crystalsmom]

Keep your positive attitude Ann and the two of you will be quite a team.....impossible to beat Hugs

[TammyJM]

I am sorry for the diagnosis, but if sounds like you caught it early on and like you said, Wylie is in great health! He is tough and so is his momma....he will be around "drinking your espresso" for many many more years.

Tam

[TLC]

Yeah ~ Kick Butt

Ann,
You are one of the BEST Momma's I know ~ So I have no doubt that Wylie is gonna do great

...I am sorry that you got both bad and good news, but I am very hopfully about it all

[Izzy Princess]

Oh Anne I am just now catching up with this thread. So, so sorry to hear about Wylie's diagnosis of Cushings. Wow I believe that with the early detection and the great doctors that you have that Wylie will live a long and happy life with you. I'm going through the same thing with Izzy these past two weeks with her pancreatitis but could also be IBD, etc, etc. we just brought her home from the hospital again yesterday after being there two days again. Yikes..I know what you are going through.

Positive thinking girl....and with the help and support of YT we'll get through this.

Hugs,

[alaskayorkie]

Ann, I'm so sorry to hear the news, but if I were going to search for the perfect owner for Wylie right now, or any of our dogs facing the same challenges, I'd choose you. He's in the best hands possible.

I know you're going to do what's best for him and cherish every second you have with him. He's one lucky dog.

[ebbedeb]

I inherited my mom's overweight blonde yorkie, Lady, back in February when my mom passed. When my vet saw her for the first time and discussed her habits (eating, drinking, sleeping), she said she has the early stages of Cushing's. Her thyroid showed low/normal but with the second test, it was fine. I too have Hashimoto's disease where your immune system attacks the thyroid. Lady had the 8 hr blood test and her results were 6.1 at the beginning, .3 at the 4 hr mark and 6.8 at the 8 hr mark when it should have been below 1.5. She has been on medication and is responding beautifully. I had a horse that had Cushing's for many years and was on medication until she passed at 29 (I had her 20 years). better. Cushing's is treatable and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to make my dogs' (i have 2 yorkies) life.

[shannonroselive]

I agree with not taking the prognosis of 2 yrs. 1st, doc's don't know everything and most times the stats are incorrect or biased. PLUS, I was diagnosed with cancer in my liver which was inoperable and terminal. I had only 3 months to live...that was 8 YEARS ago and there is no sign of cancer now. Alternative medicine rocks!!! So does flax and I use it regularly lol!
Anyway, I'm not a little yorkie but I do know that NO ONE can tell anyone else how long they have to live. It's not up to us. I love that your lil guy is still active and happy. That's what counts the most!!!

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Update

Well there is bad news...and kind of good news too, in a way. Wylie does have Atypical Cushing's Disease (atypical is caused by a sex hormone). The hormone causing his Cushings is progesterone. I'm a little overwhelmed, so I don't think I asked enough questions...so I'm kind of confused right now. But, I believe what is happening is that there is "marginal increased adrenal activity" and this is caused by his inappropriate progesterone levels. I didn't ask about prognosis, bc I just didn't want to - and besides, I believe the prognosis numbers for Cushings are so skewed anyway since most dogs are diagnosed much later in life (Wylie is 4.5yrs) - resulting in a prognosis of an average of only 2 years after diagnosis. Wylie has TONS of energy, a perfect little athletic body (not the "Cushing's Body"), and is happy as can be (you would not know he had issues) --- SO, I just don't believe he will have that "average" life span of 2 more years after diagnosis, ya know? Not buyin' it for this fella.

Now, the kinda good news is that we will start to treat with, get this, Flax Seed Lignans . I know! How great is that? I will give him a 1/2 tsp. of flax hulls (from a vendor recommended by U of Tenn and the internist). I guess how it works (hope I have this right) is that since the Lignans are estrogenic, they will compete w/ his progesterone and cause that to "drop", as well as his cortisol to drop -- which will decrease the symptoms/effects of the Cushing's. HERE is a link for more info. Anyone else's baby have this type of Cushing's?

I will treat him this way for 30d, then back to the internist to assess and probably repeat the test to see where his progesterone level is. I guess the lignans work very well in most of these cases - so I really hope they will for Wylie, bc the other drugs are more potent.

So, that's the news. I'm upset, but trying to be positive bc he does appear to be in such excellent health...and I just have to believe that if we can manage the disease properly, he will be able to lead a long and full life.

[TLC]

Just checking in....

I know you are taking excellent care of Wylie ~ Give him a kiss from all of us here in NY

-Nicole

[LunasMomma]

I'm positive that Wylie and you are going to prove the vets wrong! He's got the bestest Mommy in the world, and that's pretty powerful Vets and doctors usually give the "worst case scenario" That way, when the patient outlives the prognosis time, they can take credit for it You caught this right away, so it's not like he suffered with it for a while, with no treatment. I think that seriously gives him the best chance at a long, happy life

Hugs to you, Wylie, and that little cutie dude Marcel