Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768260)

So about 4 months ago I had a normal I thought healthy lazy Yorkie...
since then we have had..
DKA and diagnosed with diabetes almost a week in the hospital..
Unable to get blood sugar under control..
Pacreatitis along with DKA and gastritis so another 6 days in the hospital and has gone blind.

Now today we get our test results and he has Cushings.. explains a lot BUT now I have sooo many questions and fear :(

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768263)

Granted it was odd timing since I am being tested for it too lol

Originally Posted by Marhcarter (Post 4768275)

They say dogs and owners start to resemble each other...
Prayers for Guinness!

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768320)

They started him on Vetoryl 10mg once a day BUUUUUT after reading all the support groups and being advised there should be a morning and night dose (which would make sense to me lol) ugh I just don’t know....
I already kicked his other vet to the curb when she told me I didn’t need to test his blood sugar daily that I could watch him and he would tell me his levels and then when I asked for a Cushings test because he also has these odd sores on the edges of his ears that like crust up get hard and the fur come out she told me I didn’t need the test he didn’t look like a Cushings dog... umm lady thats fine BUT I asked for the test and I am willing to pay.... which good thing I ignored her.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768323)

My other issue right now... just coming off pancreatitis so he is eating chicken rice and green beans... rice isn’t that great for a diabetic dog BUT tummy is still not 100% and I am tossing in a new medicine....

I have no clue if I am doing what’s best and at this point unless a vet had a Yorkie with the same medical issues on the same meds I am not sure I trust them lol

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768320)

They started him on Vetoryl 10mg once a day BUUUUUT after reading all the support groups and being advised there should be a morning and night dose (which would make sense to me lol) ugh I just don’t know....
I already kicked his other vet to the curb when she told me I didn’t need to test his blood sugar daily that I could watch him and he would tell me his levels and then when I asked for a Cushings test because he also has these odd sores on the edges of his ears that like crust up get hard and the fur come out she told me I didn’t need the test he didn’t look like a Cushings dog... umm lady thats fine BUT I asked for the test and I am willing to pay.... which good thing I ignored her.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768323)

My other issue right now... just coming off pancreatitis so he is eating chicken rice and green beans... rice isn’t that great for a diabetic dog BUT tummy is still not 100% and I am tossing in a new medicine....

I have no clue if I am doing what’s best and at this point unless a vet had a Yorkie with the same medical issues on the same meds I am not sure I trust them lol

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4768364)

I've said it here countless times -- but generalist vets will misdiagnose signs of Cushings 80%+ of the time bc they are so diffuse and the Vet will most likely not correlate symptoms - it makes me crazy!! My Wylie was initially misdiagnosed for 1.5yrs! So, *good* for you for being such an amazing advocate for your baby - and listening to your gut, which knew something was wrong.

On the Vetoryl - is the vet doing a 'ramping up' dose perhaps..? More importantly, do you think this vet has a lot of experience w/ Cushingoid dogs? If not, ugh, you may want to look elsewhere. I stuck w/ my Internist until Wylie's meds were titrated correctly, and then went about finding a new generalist vet and had him maintained from there.


If I were you, I would be viewing a pancreatitis relapse as the greatest and gravest risk right now - if his tummy is still not 100%. Rice may not be ideal...but I'd wait to adjust food until tummy is more stable. And then control his glucose/diabetes in the meantime. You could also switch to a low fat / easy digestion prescription food if that would make his tummy easier.

I'd highly recommend a Vet Internist - their office call would be more expensive since they're a specialist. But had I done that immediately, rather than mucking around with generalists who didn't know what they were doing -- I seriously would've saved myself hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Keep us posted - keep breathing and just know you'll get your baby to a better place :)!

Originally Posted by aweitzm1 (Post 4768464)

My dog has Cushing's and is also on Veyterol 10 mg once a day. His levels are stable and we are retesting in 3 months. My vet said he wanted to start him on a low dosage and only increase if necessary. I have spoken to a few people in the industry and 10 mg once a day is not an uncommon dosage.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4768475)

Confused :confused:. The last time you posted in your thread about Thumper where we were trying to tell you (those of us w/ experience in Cushings) that it was likely Thumper had Cushings -- you stated your vet said there was no Cushings. What changed?

Originally Posted by aweitzm1 (Post 4768476)

Originally we did the LDSS test which was normal. About a month later with no change in symptoms we did the ACTH test which came back positive for Cushings Disease. He has been on Veteroyl for about two months now and it seems to be helping. Last test showed his numbers were high normal compared to high the first time.

He still pees and drinks a lot but not as much.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4768364)

Keep us posted - keep breathing and just know you'll get your baby to a better place :)!

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768931)

Question... almost a year ago we noticed the tips of Guinness’s ears were hard so we took him to the vet and was gave EnteDerm and told it was just skin issue. And they cleared up for the most part after the crust fell off BUT now they still flake and the edges are turning dark but the fur did start to come back in those areas. BUT after the diabetes and all his ears where one of the main reasons I pushed for the Cushings test because odd sores and diabetic screamed Cushings.

So my question is did you have to deal with this issue with Wylie? I don’t know if his ear tips are really dying or if it is a fungus I need to keep treating... I don’t know... I know they do not seem to bother him but they are not pretty to look at haha

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4768939)

Totally hear you on this. One of the main reasons I kept insisting something was wrong with my Wylie was bc of chronic/recurrent ear and skin infections (in addition to drinking and peeing, and hair loss). So you may fight the ear issues for a while yet.

Was the infection diagnosed as 'pyoderma', and was the bug staph intermdedius...do you know? If so, that's bacterial and most Vets would use Simplicef x 30 days to treat it. If it's fungal and recurrent or not really going away - then you'd probably want it cultured for sure (10-14 days) and then perhaps to a 6wk regimen of Diflucan or similar to really knock out that fungus. To me, it does rather look more fungal.

If you think this could be 'leather ear' - I'd get control of it fast bc this can move down his face and further with time.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768931)

Question... almost a year ago we noticed the tips of Guinness’s ears were hard so we took him to the vet and was gave EnteDerm and told it was just skin issue. And they cleared up for the most part after the crust fell off BUT now they still flake and the edges are turning dark but the fur did start to come back in those areas. BUT after the diabetes and all his ears where one of the main reasons I pushed for the Cushings test because odd sores and diabetic screamed Cushings.

So my question is did you have to deal with this issue with Wylie? I don’t know if his ear tips are really dying or if it is a fungus I need to keep treating... I don’t know... I know they do not seem to bother him but they are not pretty to look at haha

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4768996)

No it wasn’t that they called it and it was never sent off to test... BUT I was putting jock itch stuff on it when it appeared to clear up some and then stopped.

The leather one scares me BUT I just don’t know if that is what it is... ugh.... and I feel like I’m the vet trying to figure all this crap out on my own because clearly all the real vets in my area SUCK!!

Somebody let Guinness have scrabbled eggs this morning so I just came to liquid poo... I need a couple bottles of wine and a vacation at this point.

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 4769005)

This looks like cutaneous vasculitis to me. I have seen it affect the whole body where they have open sores....and then just the ear tips...black on edges and pieces of the ear actually coming off. Ask your vet about it...I think it can be diagnosed with a skin scraping. Some vets don't know a lot about it apparently because it happened to my DIL's dog years ago and the vet kept insisting the dog had been burned. She took her to another vet who diagnosed it.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4769029)

Good call, Linda!! It does really look like that!

Alisha - see this article about it - and be sure to see 'Differential Diagnosis' section for sure.

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 4769005)

This looks like cutaneous vasculitis to me. I have seen it affect the whole body where they have open sores....and then just the ear tips...black on edges and pieces of the ear actually coming off. Ask your vet about it...I think it can be diagnosed with a skin scraping. Some vets don't know a lot about it apparently because it happened to my DIL's dog years ago and the vet kept insisting the dog had been burned. She took her to another vet who diagnosed it.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4769091)

That is what the vet said it was... I could not think of the name.
All he told me to do was put the medicine he gave me on it and watch it... of course now he is retired so don’t know what I am “watching for” lol

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 4769107)

What was the name of the med? I don't know of any topical treatment that will work for it. They use prednisone but that would probably be contraindicated here (there are other meds as well).....if you can find a specialist I think you will be much happier.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout (Post 4769187)

EnteDerm is the name.

It looks like I have to take him back in tomorrow anyway... poor guy started with yellow liquid butt mud again. I need my own waiting room at his vet’s office at this point.