Cushings Disease...

[_PL_]

Awwwww Isn't she cute with her scarf and square patch shaved off her belly! So glad her ultrasound was clear. :D Things will move forward faster now and it won't be long till all this uncertainty is a memory.

[Kelly_Louise]

Thanks guys! She is a dear isn't she - she wasn't really happy in the pics but she wasn't having a well day that day. Well we have her test results back and it is positive she has Cushings :D . Not the best news, but it is what I was fully expecting (although hoping for some sort of miracle). We go in to see the specialist tomorrow to discuss her medication and the next few steps.

Powerlegs I can't wait until this uncertainty is a memory... I can't wait for her to be more comfortable and not so upset. I guess I'm worried about the symptoms abating though and her arthritis shining through in all its glory. She takes Previcox, but at the moment that's only for bad days which are very few and far between - oh and Cartrophen as well when needed. I guess the Cushings has lulled us into the falseness that her legs were going so very well. I'm hoping that's still the case, and praying they won't give her too much trouble...

It's all so very bitter sweet... her body is naturally masking what really might be hiding waiting to come out, and if we stop the symptoms it makes her more comfy but she will have to contend with any discomfort her legs give her... What a bizzare disease...

One step at a time I guess...

[Loraine]

Thanks guys! She is a dear isn't she - she wasn't really happy in the pics but she wasn't having a well day that day. Well we have her test results back and it is positive she has Cushings :D . Not the best news, but it is what I was fully expecting (although hoping for some sort of miracle). We go in to see the specialist tomorrow to discuss her medication and the next few steps.

Powerlegs I can't wait until this uncertainty is a memory... I can't wait for her to be more comfortable and not so upset. I guess I'm worried about the symptoms abating though and her arthritis shining through in all its glory. She takes Previcox, but at the moment that's only for bad days which are very few and far between - oh and Cartrophen as well when needed. I guess the Cushings has lulled us into the falseness that her legs were going so very well. I'm hoping that's still the case, and praying they won't give her too much trouble...

It's all so very bitter sweet... her body is naturally masking what really might be hiding waiting to come out, and if we stop the symptoms it makes her more comfy but she will have to contend with any discomfort her legs give her... What a bizzare disease...

One step at a time I guess...

Well at least you know what you are dealing with. Remember to tell the specialist about her arthritis and the drugs she has been on. They can advise and help with future meds for that problem. I am thinking you will probably be going to go with Trilostane (the newer drug). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any help (or just an old shoulder to lean on)

ETA my correct email addy - [email protected]

Edited March 31, 2008 by Loraine

[Loraine]

Any news yet

[Kelly_Louise]

Hi! Thanks for checking back Loraine!

Well Chloe started her Trilostane on Tuesday night, and has been going really well. Not sure if it's working correctly yet, but she has had no adverse affects and seems to be a bit brighter. I think her appetite and water drinking etc has decreased but only very slightly. But she's doing well so far and seems to be a bit happier as well. So far so good.

She went back today for her first test to see if the dosage is correct and if it's having the desired affect yet. We will probably get results early next week, fingers crossed that she can continue on with the same dosage.

She is hating all the trips back to that dreaded place that "broke" her legs and rodded them back together, stick needles in her every which way, but I have to tell you... she is such a brave little thing. She is petrified as soon as she gets in those doors (pure terror and confusion in her eyes) but she is such a good girl and does everything she is told with no fuss at all. And that's a miracle for a head strong cattle dog. God love her, but she is a little cutie. I'm surprised she even gets in the car anymore, but she does everything asked and does her best to be brave. Everyone there adores her, which makes me happy!

I spoke to the specialist about her arthritis and he said she is fine to stay on her current meds and they will not conflict. He said that although she will feel it a bit more, that the cortisol is not really overly effective in blocking arthritis pain so it won't be as bad as what we imagine (I'm not sure if thats true but I hope it is!). Her levels at the moment are 5 times what he wants them to be at, and I figure that a whole lotta pain blocker to take away!!

Anyway, thanks for caring about my little girl. I will certainly give another update when we get results, but so far things are going really, really well.

Edited April 4, 2008 by Kelly_Louise

[Kelly_Louise]

Just a bit more to add... just picked her up from her test. The specialist said he is very pleased with how she is going so far, no results of course, but just her general appearance and initial reaction to her medication.

She has endeared herself there and has won a few hearts apparently... Yep, best thing I did was take her there!

[Loraine]

That is good news Kelly. I used to measure my boy's water as I put it into the bowl, then pour out what was left back into the just and see how much he was drinking I am so glad that you have found a vet who is going to work with you and knows the right things to do. A big for Chloe being such a brave girl.

[_PL_]

All good news. How cool that she's charmed all the vet staff already! I bet she's such a sweetie. Hugs to you all Kelly_Louise.

[Kelly_Louise]

Aww thanks Powerlegs, and Loraine for being so sweet! My girl and I are very lucky to have made so many nice friends on our visits here.

We got the test results back on Friday night and the specialist said he was genuinely very pleased with how she was doing on treatment and her responses. He said she is still producing marginally more than he would like, but nothing too bad and he is leaving her on the same dosage for another month, then have her retested. I'm hoping they will drop the dosage some time soon.... just bought another 100 tablets for $240 (50 days worth)... ouch!

I have to say, she really does seem to be going well. Fingers crossed it's a good sign for the future. I have noticed she is fractionally more limpy sometimes, but nothing too dramatic. Hopefully it will help when we can get some weight off her (which hasn't happened yet) .

So now we continue on until next month and then do it all over again. Luckily the tests aren't too traumatic for Chloe and she is handling it as best she can... although she will always be a bullet out the door of the vets!!

Thanks for your support guys, means alot!

Attached is a pic of me and my little sweetheart, feeling a bit better with her big smile.

Edited April 7, 2008 by Kelly_Louise

[_PL_]

That's the most beautiful pic. :p What a big smile she has when her mum is giving her a hug.

Glad she's doing so well! You don't sound so worries either which is good. Light at the end of the tunnel I think.

Oh yeah, Button had her final tests today and is off the supplement prednisolone and completely 'normal'. A bit itchy as her hair comes back but that's passing. She does have a small tumor that needs removing and vet is keen to see her lymph nodes also but we'll be ok. At almost 14, every day is a gift so we just soldier on.

[Kelly_Louise]

That's the most beautiful pic. :D What a big smile she has when her mum is giving her a hug.

Glad she's doing so well! You don't sound so worries either which is good. Light at the end of the tunnel I think.

Oh yeah, Button had her final tests today and is off the supplement prednisolone and completely 'normal'. A bit itchy as her hair comes back but that's passing. She does have a small tumor that needs removing and vet is keen to see her lymph nodes also but we'll be ok. At almost 14, every day is a gift so we just soldier on. :D

Powerlegs, that's great news for Button! Chloe's also itchy at the moment with all the bits and pieces of hair that's gone missing. Funnily she had no coat changes, it's just lots of shaved parts from all the variety of tests she's had done!! Button sounds like a very blessed little girl and hears hoping all the news from here on in is all good or hopeful. Yes to get her to the ripe old age of 14 and for her to still to be marching on with the health problems she has had is one of lifes little miracles.

I think the reason I don't sound as worried anymore is due to the fact that she is just doing so well. I really couldn't be more pleased. I was expecting the worst (just in case), but she gets better and better everyday (although seeing that it was caught fairly early I guess we never saw the disease at it's worst and never hope to). But she is just so damn happy, she is RUSHING for her walks and is walking more than ever (which is just double fantastic with her leg problems as well). It's such a relief to not have to see her suffer and go through the REALLY tough times that I know other dogs have. Of course it's only early days, but it's just gone so well so far and I hope for my girls sake it will continue.

Go Button! Go Chloe!

[Loraine]

Two beautiful girls in that pic - proud Mum and glorious girl :D It may take up to three months for the weight to drop off Chloe. Weight gain is an unfortunate side effect of too much cortisol zooming around the system. Same goes for the itchyness etc. Takes time for the cortisol side effects to completely disappear. You are doing a great job, so keep up the good work and keep us informed of her progress

[Kelly_Louise]

Wow that's so lovely to say Loraine, you guys have been so supportive. You have no idea how much easier it has made things for me. Yes you are right, the specialist did advise that her skin discolouration and weight issues could take quite a bit of time to mend. So we will work on it and see how we go. She does appear to look a bit slimmer, but weight wise in numbers it's not quite showing yet. I think back to all the fuss we went through over many years trying to find a diet food that would work, and always being constantly confused about her not being able to lose weight and keep it off, and having normal vets be very frustrated with us... and here was this evil Cushings undermining our work the whole time!!

But oh if you guys could see her. She's happy, and I mean happy like a puppy again. She bounces. She is doing so well and I couldn't be prouder of her. Even my mum, who has been frantic with worry about her, has finally calmed down and is really happy that Chloe is appearing so well... and if you knew my mum that's no small feat!!

Will certainly keep you updated, and hopefully this little adventure of ours will be able to help someone else along the way... We will have a good story to tell!!

[Loraine]

Kelly it is so great to see our pooches return to normality once the cortisol starts to reduce. One tip for you, please as your specialist/vet for copies of the blood test results and keep a separate file for Chloe's Cushing's. It really does help down the track. I used an excel spreadsheet to keep a note of my boy's numbers so that I could constantly see any quirks and changes and then discuss them with the vet. The optimal range of cortisol (usualy done during an ACTH test) is 86nmol to 106 nmol. Those are the numbers you are looking to get to with Chloe, and then you try to keep her in that range. If you vet does ug/dl I have a conversion I can let you have. Don't forget you can contact me any time you feel a need for a non vet shoulder. Go Chloe and Go Kelly :rolleyes:

[Kelly_Louise]

Hi all,

Just a quick question for those that have been through the experience of Cushings... did it or any of the medications cause any of your puppies to lose their winter coats? Chloe has been on Trilostane for a couple of months now, results all seem to be perfect, however she has been losing a bit of hair and it's making her itchy. So we gave her a bath, and nearly ALL of her winter coat has come out. Because there was so much fine soft hair coming out at once, it actually matted her fur (which has NEVER happened before in all her 10 years) and it was so bad we had to cut the matted fur and she is nearly bald around her neck.

Poor thing will be so cold in winter with no winter coat, a shaved belly which hasn't grown back yet, and now hardly any fur around her neck... I feel so terrible for her. I am waiting for the specialist to call me back, however just wanting to know if anyone has had a similar experience, or what I can do to help save Chloe's coat?

Just when we thought the worst was over... :rolleyes:

Thank you!

[schnauzer]

Hi Kelly Louise,

Buy her a DoggieJama and that will keep her belly and all over warm as toast. They are polarfleece and fantastic.

My old boy has an adrenal tumour so I know what you are going through. Dogs with Cushings do tend to get a thinner coat.

Best wishes for Chloe.

[Kelly_Louise]

Thank you very much schnauzer. Chloe doesn't seem to be too worried about her hair loss, I bought her lots of new blankets (even though she has enough to start a shop), but will definitely look into DoggieJama!! Thanks for the thought.

I have never actually seen Chloe with so little hair, usually she has so much it's ridiculous and I wonder where on earth it all comes from. She looks very skinny and spindly now (which has also never happened!!). The specialist called back and told us that if she has any problems growing her hair back that she might need to be checked for other issues (eg thyroid). So I'm hoping that this episode was just alot of the dead hair coming out and it will start to regrow again...

I think it's more the LOOK of her that's shocking (especially the part we had to cut), but she seems fine otherwise. Luckily we love her no matter how bizarre she looks (and boy hasn't she gone through some of those phases lately )

Thanks again schnauzer, appreciate your thoughts.

[k9kutz]

My old girl had cushings. She had the hair loss on her tail and back end, big pot belly, extreme hunger and thirst, really bad skin and excessive urination. She had a really difficult time and we only lasted 8 months before having to let her go. ;)

Minnie was an extremely rare case. She had both forms of cushings a tumor on her puturity gland and adrenal cushings. Not only adrenal cushings but a tumor on both her adrenal glands. This is almost un heard of. Only 10% of cushings dogs suffer the adrenal form, but to have tumors on both adrenal glands and on the puturity gland is very very rare (and unlucky ). Specialist from all over Australia were very keen to examine her and study her. Diagnosis of Minnie took about 6 months because she was such a tricky case. I ended up opting not to have surgery which is the normal procedure for adrenal cushings because her specialist said there was 50% chance of her dying on the table and then if she did survive surgery the a 60% of major complications. For me the risk was not worth it and we made her comfortable on a drug called Trilostaine, which is a new development in cushings treatment. It was difficult getting the dose right and she ended up being on a dose 5 times what is normally recommended just because her disease was so savage . She was also one of the small % of dogs who had reactions to the trilostaine ;) . She also had arthritis which i think cushings treatment did aggravate, she had metacam daily and cartrophen monthly which did help, i also started her on Sasha's blend. Sadly her adrenal tumors turned out to be very aggressive cancers which quickly spread through out her body and a large tumor from her adrenal had wrapped itself around her spinal cord. In the end she suffered sever dementia due to her puturity tumor pushing on her brain and causing pressure and neurological symptoms. Needless to say i had to let Minnie go at the begining of the year.

I know this is not a very encouraging cushings story :D . Keep in mind my Minnie was a very rare and extreme case. I know many dogs (especially with futurity cushings) that live for years and do quite well. Trust your vet, hopefully you have a good vet who you are happy with. I was lucky to have a brilliant vet who gave me 8 extra months with my girl. One other thing you have probably already realised, its a very expensive disease. I spent more than $20,000 on Minnie's cushing treatment alone, much of this just went on the diagnosis (many scans at over $1000 each, also the trilostane was about $350 a fortnight) plus thousands of dollars all her other medical conditions. I hate to think of the total cost .

Good luck i wish you all the best.

[Kelly_Louise]

Wow K9, what a terribly sad story. Your ordeal sounds horrific and I can't imagine the pain you went through watching Minnie and trying to get her better. We have been very lucky that Chloe has not been through even a quarter of what Minnie seems to have gone through. When I read your story, I feel glad that the worst I have to worry about is hair loss. Puts it greatly into perspective.

Chloe is also on Trilostane and is managing quite well. But I do agree, it is a very expensive process. Luckily Chloe's Trilostane prescription is $250 for 50 days supply... so nowhere near the costs you were outlaying. I'm hoping in the future that she will drop down to 1 tablet a day, but at the moment she is doing very well on 2 per day. Chloe is also on Cartophen (however usually only 2 courses a year) and Sasha's Blend, and she has Previcox for really bad days that thankfully aren't all that common. She is lucky to have one a week. Her arthritis has played up a bit more recently, but nothing too dramatic.

We were also warned about the possibility of the pituitary tumour growing and affecting Chloe neurologically, but we are hoping that we will be lucky and she will be one of those that never seem to be affected due to slow growth and will pass of old age many, many years from now.

Thanks for your story k9. Although very scary it also shows me that we have been very lucky in some ways... even with this terrible disease.

[k9kutz]

Thanks Kelly, i was nice to share my story with others who understand cushings. Im glad you did not take my story the wrong way i was not rying to scare you. Chloe will do great, she is lucky to have a mum who loves her and will take care of her.