zowi possibly has cushing's disease / enlarged liver US results :'( please help
 

here is the link to my original thread on zowi:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...ein-urine.html

just got home with zowi from having her ultrasound done. her liver is enlarged and much lower than it should be. she has many other signs that indicate cushing's disease and will have the ACTH test done tomorrow or saturday. she ate this morning and had her clavamox (for possible uti) so the test couldn't be done today. the test involves taking her blood, then injecting a synthetic hormone, wait 2 hours between and then take her blood again to compare before and after.

zowi is a 10 year old spayed female weighing 10.8 lbs as of today. this all started with her having potty accidents. she would run up to me to get my attention and then pee right in front of me in the middle of the kitchen floor. she has been gaining weight over the past few months and does have the potbelly appearance. she also has increased water consumption, increased appetite, calcified bumps on her skin, is panting a lot, wants to take shorter walks than usual, has a possible uti, urinalysis showed protein and blood in urine, and diluted urine. her bloodwork back in february (was done before her dental) did have a high level (223) of cortisol but i was never told about that until today.

after the ACTH test is run, it will be sent out to the university of tennessee and will take 7 to 10 days to get the results. the lab regularly used by our vet's office would have quicker results, but it is not as thourough as their test. the dr and i decided that it will be worth the wait and extra $$$ to have it sent out to the university. it will determine if it is cushing's or not and if so, what type. dr said that test will show everything.

i am worried sick about my zowi baby! i know she isn't herself. i will do anything i can for her!!! if anyone has had any experience with cushing's and/or has any advice to offer me i would greatly appreciate hearing from you! or is there anything else that all these symptoms could be? is there anything else i should be looking for? i am so extremely thankful i have you guys here on this site to turn to! thank you so much for always being here for me and my furbabies! please keep my zowi in your prayers and send positive thoughts! hugs to you all! ~ carrie

I'm sorry to hear that Zowi and you are facing this. One of Ann's babies has Cushing's and he is a happy, healthy boy, so I know she will respond.

Keeping Zowi in my thoughts and prayers.

thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers, it means a lot! and i will be grateful to hear her input!

Hi Carrie :),

Kristin is correct - I have a VERY happy, wild, joyous little guy who has Atypical Cushings. He was diagnosed only a couple years ago when he was about 4.5 yrs old (very unusual). He also has hypothyroid, and this is common for Cushings dogs.

Right off, I just want to say how smart it is of you and your vet to send the bloods to Dr. Jack Oliver at U of Tenn - Dr. Oliver is the preeminent canine Cushings vet; also, his lab is the only one that can test for Atypicals, so it's great that you'll be getting all of the results back from his lab. We also sent Wylie's blood to U of Tenn.

Dr. Jack Oliver

These are treatment options for Atypical Cushings.

Here is a link to UofTenn's endocrinology.

This is my fave Cushings overiew.

This is a yahoo group for Cushings; I don't post there, but I def recommend joining bc the archives are AMAZING, especially for Atypicals. There is a ton of info there, so try not to get too overwhelmed. I had a long learning curve in really understanding Cushings, and this is typical of other pet owners who are dealing w/ Cushings. It's a very complex disease (both diagnostically and in treatment), so it takes a while for things to move forward.

Once you get a diagnosis, it can take a good year (or even 2) to get the meds titrated correctly. This is bc the vet starts w/ a certain dose, pup is on it for about 6wks, then you do ACTH Stim to test efficacy. Often times, you'll go through 2-3 more adjustments and tests before finding out which dose brings the cortisol into line. So, just keep that in mind as it can feel a little frustrating.

There are a handful of different meds to treat Cushings, so it really depends on the specific diagnosis - and which hormone is causing the elevated cortisol. Wylie is on Lysodren MonWedFri - this is a chemo drug, but he has no side effects from it. He does just wonderfully! The only thing we have an ongoing prob with is skin issues...Cushings dogs have thinner, more papery skin, and are prone to skin infections even when cortisol is controlled. So, we do have to deal with that time to time. He is as energetic and crazy as ever. Even though Cushings is a very complicated and scary diagnosis, so many dogs do terrifically with this disease.

I will be keeping an eye on your thread. Know I'm thinking about you and Zowi and that I'm here for you! You will get her through all of this. :)

hi anne! thank you for responding so quickly and thoroughly! i cannot tell you how much it means to me! thank you so much for being there! i am truly happy that your little guy wylie is doing so well dealing with cushings and thyroid problem. i hope he continues to be a happy healthy boy for many many years! sounds like you have done an incredible job taking care of him! he is very lucky to have such a great mommy!
i started reading through all of the links that you sent me, and even though it does seem a bit overwhelming as you said, i will read each one completely and i am pending membership to the yahoo group. i greatly appreciate the time and effort you took to send these links to me and help me and my baby girl zowi! the only treatment option that we haved discussed as of yet is the melatonin implant or supplement but nothing is sure until we get those u of t results. sharing your experience and giving me advice has helped greatly. looks like i have a lot of learning to do now too. it does sound like this could get frustrating, but i am ready to do whatever it takes to help my baby girl live a happy healthy long life as you have done for your wylie. i truly hope zowi is one of those dogs who will do terrific despite this disease. thanks for keeping an eye on this and for your positive thoughts! i am so grateful you are here and responded with this info!!!!!

I will keep Zowi in my prayers. My pom had Cushing's diagnosed with it at 9 years of age. It is a tricky disease but if you have a vet/specialist who is very familiar with the disease it makes a big difference.

i'm so sorry you and your pom had to go through that. i definitely want to go over everything with our own vet when she is back in the office. i do like this other dr we saw today, (she has been on zowi's case since our dr has been out) it was her that first suggested cushing's.
thanks for your prayers for zowi. your pixie is in ours too!

Connie, I have no Cushing experiece but you are doing all the right things and have the right people involved. I wish there was something I could do to help, so if you need anything, please let me know. Marge and I are hoping for the best. We met your little girl, and she reminds us of Maxine.....you are doing all you can, so make sure you take care of yourself and your other loved ones.

thanks so much! you and marge are truly wonderful people! we are also hoping for the best possible outcome. i have faith that she's going to be okay and we will be able to manage this. i will continue to do everything i can for her. waiting 2 weeks for test results is not going to be fun though. i will keep the updates coming as i know them.

aawww i remember us saying how zowi and maxine both have those big beautiful brown eyes! they were the senior crew at the meetup lol.
wishing you & marge & the furkids all the best! thanks so much for checking in on zowi and thinking of us!

Keeping sweet Zowi in my prayers. Sending good thoughts and hugs to you both.

Oh Carrie, I'm so sorry to hear this. We were concerned that Kiwi had Cushings at one point, but her test results came back okay. I read a little about it and discussed it with my vet at one point, but I'm not sure of many specifics. One thing I'm sure of is you. I know how much you love your babies and how you will go to the ends of the earth to help them. My prayers, thoughts, and my heart are with you as you find the answers to help Zowi. I hope her little girl, your angel Nika. helps to bless both you and Zowi.

I just want to let you all know that Dr. Oliver passed away the other day:(. He will be missed by so many. To the OP, I pray they find answers for your baby & get her on the rite treatment.

Noooooo! Oh my gosh :(:(:(. He was so very amazing and committed to the Canine Cushings field; his knowledge and papers are the main reason this field has helped so many dogs worldwide. Vets from all over have benefited from his dedication.

RIP wonderful Dr. Oliver. Blessings to your friends, family, and colleagues. You will be missed in so many ways. Thank you for helping my Wylie.

{Thank you for letting us know of his passing}

thank you so much and hugs to you and sammy!

i too am hoping that our angel nika is closely watching out for her and i am sure that she is. thanks for being there and thanks for your continued support and prayers for me and my baby girl!

thanks for your prayers. i'm sorry that you and molly had to go through that. she is very lucky she had you to take such great care of her!

i am very sorry to hear this. :( thank you for informing us. thanks for your prayers and well wishes!

zowi is doing very well today and enjoying the beautiful weather we are having this afternoon. justin will be taking her to the dr first thing in the morning for the ACTH test. results coming back from u of tenn will take up to 2 weeks.... please continue positive thoughts and prayers for her, i am sure they help more than we will ever know! i will continue to update as i know more. thank you! ~hugs~

also i was wondering if there is any special diet or kind of food that zowi should be eating? the dr did not mention this, so justin will be asking tomorrow.

I am keeping Zowi in my prayers. Did the vet mention anything about a special food? I know with liver issues they usually recommend a lower protein food.

It could take up to two wks but most likely around a week to get results. My Lilly was just diagnosed 2 wks ago with cushings & she was put on Melatonin & Flaxseed Hulls (Lignins) & we are still in the trial period + waiting for the Thyroid panel results as she has atypical but not showing the typical signs but has deff Thyroid symptoms. Her water consumption has deff decreased along with her ravaging appetite. High proteins are ok but low fat & low fiber & low purine content.
IF they put your baby on the Melatonin & Flax be sure to get what the Dr tells you to as you do not want the Flax oil & the melatonin comes in regular, time released & fast absorbing so it is very important to get the rite ones.

Just wanted to offer my prayers and support for you and zowi. I do hope that the test results come back sooner rather than later.

no she didn't mention anything initially about a special diet. so justin asked her today and she just recommended giving her a vitamin once daily, at least until the panel comes back from tennessee. thank you for your prayers and we are saying them from your little pixie too!

thank you so much! it means a lot! we hope so too!

thank you so much for sharing your input. i greatly appreciate the advice and will keep that in mind to make sure that i do get the right ones. i am doing my best to read up on everything. i'm truly sorry to hear that you and lilly are dealing with this. i am hoping that with zowi and lilly they are able to find the best way to manage this and as soon as possible and hopefully they will be able to do as well as ann's boy wylie because he has responded very well. how old is your lilly? thanks again and wishing you & lilly all the best!

sweet zowi had the acth test today. we will have results in 7 to 10 days and are hoping for results sooner than later of course. i can tell it has been a long day for her because she is pretty tired out. so we are spending the afternoon cuddling and resting with her.
our doctor didn't recommend any special kind of diet when we asked her, but she did prescribe her denamarin, a vitamin for her liver once a day at least until we get her test results. they also performed an in house exam of her blood and dr said that her liver is showing up normal according to the blood results there.
thanks you to everyone for your support and prayers! it means a lot! :aimeeyork:aimeeyork

Keeping Zowi in my prayers.

Just wanted to check in with you and Zowi. Sounds like you have such a great vet, and that's half the battle w/ getting a handle on Cushings - as many vets have a tougher time w/ Cushings unless it's one of their specialties. Keep us posted on the U of Tenn results :).

thank you patti and hoping your little pixie is back to normal!!!

ann, thank you for checking in on me and zowi. our regular dr is absolutely wonderful and i am so grateful that we found her. she really is the best, has been seeing zowi since she was a pup. while she was out of the office sick we had another great dr (which i usually don't feel that way about other drs) who seems very knowledgeable about cushings. she spent a good half hour explaining it to me and talking about possible treatments after zowi's ultrasound. so i am happy to say she has both of these great drs working hard to help her. i will update results as soon as i have them. waiting is so hard i wish i could do more for her now. if necessary in the future i would take her to a specialist... i am about 40 miles south of chicago where i am sure i could find a great one if needed.
zowi has been in good spirits. our walks have gotten a little shorter lately though because of her panting.
does your baby boy wylie eat a special diet for cushings? i am so glad that you have been able to do so well for him, i say prayers that he continues to be a happy healthy crazy boy for many many years to come!!! all the links you sent have helped me understand everything so much i cannot tell you how grateful i am. thank you! hugs to you and your furfamily!!!