Daisy's in the hospital!!! I'm Heartbroken

[spiritwings1202]

Just got off the phone with the vet.
no cushings disease bc the adrenal glands look good.
the kidneys looked fine no evident tumors in the liver

Bad part........her liver looked small and they think that she could have Cirrhosis of the liver.

The specialist said that she has seen more frequent cases where doxycycline has cause issues with dogs and allergic reactions.

Daisy is going home tonight with medication, they are taking her off the anti nausea medicine and they wanted her on the hills dog food but Daisy could never handle that as a puppy when she got sick

So the vet is researching a low fat low protein dog food food
now in 14 days they are going to do her lvls again if they have gone down then we know it was the doxycycline that caused it.
if they go up or remain the same then I have to have a biopsy done.

I am just so drained and looking forward to taking her home.

If Daisy can't keep food down after coming off the anti nausea meds than I have to bring her back in and we will go from there.

so........Everyone please pray for a miracle for Daisy bc she really needs one.

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by dwerten

here is info on cushings

Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's Syndrome) in Dogs

usually you see hairloss though with these dogs - have you seen that?

Also they have pot bellies due to cortisol production and have no allergy issues as their bodies are producing more cortisol. They have increased water consumption.

Many of the symptoms are what you have to watch out for when you have a dog on steroids as they have similar side effects from steroids as they do with a cushings dog.

Also they have brown spots called cumidomes on the skin

when dd was on prednisone she had all of the above and why we had to put her on prednisolone as she had too many side effects like a cushings dog and she does not have the same on prednisolone.

Ann knows alot about cushings so pm her and she can help more with this and if ALP was an issue with her dog that has cushings.

She has age spots on her belly, but they said her adrenals looked good. hmm

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by dwerten

here is info on cushings

Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's Syndrome) in Dogs

usually you see hairloss though with these dogs - have you seen that?

Also they have pot bellies due to cortisol production and have no allergy issues as their bodies are producing more cortisol. They have increased water consumption.

Many of the symptoms are what you have to watch out for when you have a dog on steroids as they have similar side effects from steroids as they do with a cushings dog.

Also they have brown spots called cumidomes on the skin

when dd was on prednisone she had all of the above and why we had to put her on prednisolone as she had too many side effects like a cushings dog and she does not have the same on prednisolone.

Ann knows alot about cushings so pm her and she can help more with this and if ALP was an issue with her dog that has cushings.

Daisy has brown spots on her belly. when I get her home I am taking a picture of her belly and posting it.

[ladyjane]

I don't know if you saw my earlier post about Mirtazapine, but ask your vet about it. That medicine is amazing. Might be an issue with her liver ... but worth asking as it really is a miracle drug. They immediately have an appetite and no more vomiting!

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by spiritwings1202

Just got off the phone with the vet.
no cushings disease bc the adrenal glands look good.
the kidneys looked fine no evident tumors in the liver

Bad part........her liver looked small and they think that she could have Cirrhosis of the liver.

The specialist said that she has seen more frequent cases where doxycycline has cause issues with dogs and allergic reactions.

Daisy is going home tonight with medication, they are taking her off the anti nausea medicine and they wanted her on the hills dog food but Daisy could never handle that as a puppy when she got sick

So the vet is researching a low fat low protein dog food food
now in 14 days they are going to do her lvls again if they have gone down then we know it was the doxycycline that caused it.
if they go up or remain the same then I have to have a biopsy done.

I am just so drained and looking forward to taking her home.

If Daisy can't keep food down after coming off the anti nausea meds than I have to bring her back in and we will go from there.

so........Everyone please pray for a miracle for Daisy bc she really needs one.

Can you home cook?

If so I recommend Dr Dodds liver cleansing diet that the mvd/liver shunt dogs are on

purina ha is a low fat, low protein diet but some dogs will not eat it. It is 8% fat and 18% protein.

I would have her on milk thistle and ask about sam-e as both support the liver

I would be juicing zucchini and celery daily to cleanse her liver

I would recommend pm MYFAIRLACY as she was in vet school and her dog had a liver disease that was not mvd or liver shunt so she learned alot about liver disease and had a biopsy done on her dog to determine what was going on

I will get you and email of someone that has done a ton of research on liver disease as well but I think the above will be your best bet.

here is some more info on liver

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/structu...ogs/page1.aspx

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by spiritwings1202

Daisy has brown spots on her belly. when I get her home I am taking a picture of her belly and posting it.

ok so I can compare to what dee dee had on her belly from prednisone.

You may want to have that urine test ann talked about and talk with ann as I think cushings can be tricky to diagnose and she went through all the testing - just to be sure - but my gut was it was not cushings

So are they saying this medication caused her to have this liver issue or was it there prior to medication?

[Patti]

I am glad she is coming home. My pom had Cushing's diagnosed with ACTH stim tests. Ultrasound looked normal. She had excessive thirst, excessive hunger, black waxy spots all over her body that when peeled off was raw underneath. She lost weigh in spite of her eating a lot, lost a ton of hair on her sides and tail and and had a pot belly. The medicine they put her on for the Cushing's didn't help and put her in to liver disease, diagnosed by a liver biopsy. The specialist stopped the Cushing's treatment and started he on Liver medicine and her liver went back to normal within 6 months. When she was in liver failure, she was so sick but quickly got better. I am praying Daisy will get better soon.

[107barney]

My dog Daisy who is liver compromised and is almost 10 has done exceptionally well on a home cooked diet that is vegetarian and formulated at 15% protein, 6% fat, 6% fiber. I just PM'd you about it because it is easy and maybe you could follow up with your vets to see if it would work for your Daisy.

I'm sad to learn this news.

[ladyjane]

There are two types of cushings....pituitary and adrenal.

[dwerten]

ok here is the diet she sent me -- I prefer the fish over chicken and some dogs cannot eat white potato like mine

Liver Cleansing Diet
• White potato + sweet potato (50/50) cooked
• White Fish lightly cooked e.g.: cod, halibut, mackerel, smelt, snapper etc
Ratio is 2/3 of potato mix with 1/3 of fish. Season with mixed Italian Herbs or fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Later chopped carrots and green beans (both cooked) can be added, as can scrambled eggs. Yellow squash can also be added. Give a liquid child’s multivitamin or a supplement such as Missing Link (source of calcium)

Note from Dr Dodds: - I have some patients that have been on the diet for 7 years now-- that were near death before-- and are thriving ! Testimonials are numerous, without one negative comment other than some won't eat fish and so we give chicken to them.

ok here is another one from ladymom that was derived from the original above
DR. DODD’S HOMEMADE DIET


This diet is an updated homemade diet that has been submitted by a nutritionist from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The nutritionist spoke with Dr. Dodd about the changes recommended to make the diet more balanced and complete. Dr. Dodd has given permission to post this modified diet to the liver shunt lists:

LIVER FRIENDLY DIET (canine)

1 pound cod filets
1/2 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 pound white potatoes
1/2 pound green beans
1/2 pound carrots
1 Tablespoon canola oil
3 tablets (750 mg) Calcium carbonate
1 Capsule Vitamin E (100 IU)
1000 mg Omega 3 fatty acids
1/2 Vitamin B complex human vitamin tablet

Mix all ingredients together until it is well blended. This will give you approximately 8 cups of food. Depending on the size of your dog, you can double or triple the recipe.
With liver disease try and feed in 3 or 4 small meals, the last one being at bedtime. This puts less stress on the liver. Put one-meal portions in baggies and freeze what you won't use in 3 days. You should be able to cook once a week and freeze what you don't use. This recipe will stay fresh for 3 days in the fridge.

Cod fillets or white low-fat fish has a specific amino acid that actually helps heal the liver. Soy and fat-free cottage cheese also have this specific amino acid, but should not be used in a diet until the pre- and post-meal bile acid test comes back in a normal range.


Calcium carbonate is 40% elemental calcium. If another calcium compound is selected, the percentages vary and the dose should be recalculated for accuracy. Please use canola oil as other oils do not contain similar amounts of linoleic acid. Please note that this is still a low fat diet. The vitamin E, fish oils, B complex vitamins, and L-carnitine are suggestions that we make for patients with liver disease, as these animals have altered absorption of these nutrients. This recipe can be used for long term feeding without reservation. The recipe makes about 1400 grams of food containing 1150 kcalories.[/B]

[dwerten]

here is what a cushings dog looks like- see how the hair is all gone on the back and sides

[Rhetts_mama]

I'm glad she's coming home.

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by dwerten

ok so I can compare to what dee dee had on her belly from prednisone.

You may want to have that urine test ann talked about and talk with ann as I think cushings can be tricky to diagnose and she went through all the testing - just to be sure - but my gut was it was not cushings

So are they saying this medication caused her to have this liver issue or was it there prior to medication?

they don't know Deb,
They did say that in 14 days if her lvls go down than it was the doxycycline and if it doesn't then they need to see if it is cirhosis of the liver. I am going to check into those things and I would home cook for Daisy as I did it for her first 2 yrs.

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by dwerten

here is what a cushings dog looks like- see how the hair is all gone on the back and sides

Daisy is not missing any hair at all except I did notice a patch on her elbow that I never saw bf, and I showed it to the vet and she said that it was probably a callous. I noticed it in one day, so I am confused.

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by Patti

I am glad she is coming home. My pom had Cushing's diagnosed with ACTH stim tests. Ultrasound looked normal. She had excessive thirst, excessive hunger, black waxy spots all over her body that when peeled off was raw underneath. She lost weigh in spite of her eating a lot, lost a ton of hair on her sides and tail and and had a pot belly. The medicine they put her on for the Cushing's didn't help and put her in to liver disease, diagnosed by a liver biopsy. The specialist stopped the Cushing's treatment and started he on Liver medicine and her liver went back to normal within 6 months. When she was in liver failure, she was so sick but quickly got better. I am praying Daisy will get better soon.

I really don't think it is cushing the more I read up on it. but I could be wrong do you know what the name of the liver medicine was?