just got back from derm and asked her about pseudo cushings and she said that is alopecia X

Alopecia X

she said no way that is what dd has going on as it is very distinctive hair loss and does not run in yorkie breed as it is mostly runs in pomeranians. She thinks dd thyroid is low and meds need to be upped so we are making appt for thyroid and blood panel. She said if it is not thyroid related which she feels strongly it is due to the way it is thin all over which indicates hormonal imbalance then it is from steroid use as steroids can cause hair loss. She said if it was due to staph infection then it would be more of a blotchy hair loss not a thinning all over in her opinion.

she recommended again the hyposensitization shots :( with varl lab doing the testing and it is 12 things that go into the vile and she gives me the results i investigate what is most in my area then she makes it up in viles 1 and 2 and if i want she will dilute it further to be 0,1,2 so thinking i may have to give it a shot :( only thing i have not tried and safest long term and works 70% of the time. She said if it makes her worse we stop as that is my biggest fear:( She said if it is not hair loss from thyroid and due to steroids then i really need to consider it as dd is only 6 and has a good 10 years of possible life span - i am going to think further about it but it has weighed on me for 3 years - Anne was suppose to go first though lollllll

Hope this helps as i think you said yours had a bacteria infection and hair is growing back and his looked more blotchy than dd i think from that first pic you showed and you said thyroid panel was fine so not thyroid related.

The bummer is 3 weeks on antibiotic and staph is still not gone so we have to continue for 2 more weeks :(

Thanks Again linda for recommending the pills for clinda as those are a God send for me and she is not itching on them like she was on the liquid so something in the liquid they use made her more itchy and someone on my allerdog group said they use corn starch in it which would not surprise me as that stuff is really sticky and it would get in her hair as she spits it out :( so thanks again

ok just read back - so biopsy showed this so maybe it is true she just said she does not see it in yorkies - how long ago was the thyroid panel done was it recently? DD has not had hers in a year so we are due - I will let you know once that comes back :( dd is on soloxine 1/3 of .1 mg - what doseage is yours taking?

also sadly she said that with staph infections it causes the hair to fall out and sometimes it does not grow back :(

i just read this in that alopecia x link

The bald skin pigments is not itchy, and usually does not get infected

so the fact that he got a skin infection in that area may rule this out just a thought

did the greasy mess clear up once on thyroid medication?

Just wanted to update this thread so that anyone who has a pup with hair loss might be encouraged by Sunny D's improvement! He has been on Melatonin since April and his hair is coming in...still thin, but definitely looking better! :)


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Awwwwwwwwwwww! Linda, this is amazing! Ya know what's weird...I was *just* thinking of him yesterday! Not kidding. He looks just incredible.

What's also so great is that Melatonin is so $-friendly, easy to find, and often has no side effects. Wylie takes it too (BID) and has never had a single effect from it.

Yay Sunny D :D!

Yep it really is so cheap....and he has had no side effects at all with it. He is a sweetie!

Does Melatonin work for hair loss in cushings as well?

I did not notice...he looks sort of sad in his pics...but he is a super happy boy! He is hard to get pics of though....so I suppose that is why he looks kind of sad.

Sunny D has a personality just like his name! :)

Sunny D looks wonderful! :) He's such a handsome boy. I went back and looked at the pics again because I didn't notice he seemed sad. Especially in that second pic - he looks ready to play!! :D

Actually, he was ready to EAT. He is hard to get to pose for pics, so I was baiting him with treats. Sunny is a voracious eater!! You do not leave food in your hand anywhere near him if you want to keep the food AND your fingers. :D That and the hair loss and comedones are the only things about him that are cushionoid.

And yeppers -- if there is hairloss that accompanies any Cushings dog (whether Typical, Atypical, or Pseudo) -- Melatonin can help with hair growth :).

This is what Melatonin actually does (lol, ready?):

"Melatonin has anti-gonadotropic activity (effective for ferret adrenal disease), and it inhibits aromatase enzyme in tissues (decreases androstenedione and testosterone conversion into estradiol) and 21-hydroxylase enzyme (effectively lowers cortisol level). Allow at least 4 months for treatment effects to be effective." from Dr. Jack Oliver/U of Tenn

Uh, could you repeat that please, slowly? :lol tears

EXACTLY :D! I rest my case.

I did find it interesting that they said it takes four months. I had read two and was getting discouraged and almost stopped giving it. Just recently I started mixing him up with Rookie, another of my fosters, and it hit me how much better he is looking!

I don't know why, exactly, it can take soooo long...? Maybe bc of the differing growth cycles for hair? But it took Wylie a long time to fill-in as well.

But on Sunny D, it's just remarkable! Melatonin doesn't work for all kiddos, but gosh it did wonders for Sunny D.

Oh, his skin condition is so much better, too; but that was not from the Melatonin. He took antibiotics for what seemed forever...couple with medicated baths. He had horrible bumps all over him. I really never figured he would look this good...and really doubted the Melatonin. Given that it was harmless I figured it was worth a try. It really is something how it has helped. His hair is still very thin, but I am thinking when it grows a bit more he will look even better! It's pretty exciting! :)