Canine Cushings or Addisons Disease?

[puffkin]

My 7 year old beagle is going in for testing for these diseases on Monday. He has the classic symptoms of Cushings- increased thirst, urination, tons of shedding (especially around his abdomen), increased appetite, pot belly etc. However when his bloodwork came back his potassium was high which is more symptomatic of Addisons. They are pretty confident his kidneys are ok (which was their original thought). Luckily they can use the same test to diagnose both diseases.

Does anyone have any experience with this? We are very thankful that his kidneys are ok. We are concerned about the long term costs of all this because my husband just lost his job on Friday and I have been working a temp job so we won't have benefits except for COBRA (pricey). With all our savings being eaten up when I lost my job last spring we are just scratching by so of course this is a huge budget buster. Of course we will do everything we can because it appears that these diseases are treatable but not curable but he should still have a relatively good quality of life for years. Just wondering if anyone else has been through this with their pet?

 

[thumpersfriend]

Our German Shorthair, Molly had Addisons disease. We kept her alive for about 5 more years (she almost died before it was found). She had to have a shot, can't remember the name, once a month and it was about $50. She passed away about 2 years ago but it is manageable and she still hunted in the fall but we were very careful about being attentive to how she was feeling and then she sometimes had to have pills in between if she exercised too much. Good luck.

 

[puffkin]

Our German Shorthair, Molly had Addisons disease. We kept her alive for about 5 more years (she almost died before it was found). She had to have a shot, can't remember the name, once a month and it was about $50. She passed away about 2 years ago but it is manageable and she still hunted in the fall but we were very careful about being attentive to how she was feeling and then she sometimes had to have pills in between if she exercised too much. Good luck.

Thanks! It is comforting to know the Molly lived a good life well after her diagnosis. That is what I needed to hear...I know these initial tests will be expensive, but if it gives him a good quality of life for a long time, it is worth it!

 

[SoCal Belle]

As you said yourself, both are treatable. The signs your dog is having do not seem to go with Addison's very well. Have you gotten the results yet? Addison's pets need to get monthly DOCP intramuscular injections. You also need to monitor them closely, especially if there is anything stressful going on like moving or new people, they may need extra cortisol (stress steroid). With Cushing's you need to find out if it is the pituitary or the adrenal glands (or iatrogenic). Then, you get to work with your vet to find the right dosage of mitotane (or another drug) to keep your dog healthier/happier by decreasing the steroids produced.

I wish you all the best. Your vet should be able to tell you more about your pet's personal condition.

 

[puffkin]

As you said yourself, both are treatable. The signs your dog is having do not seem to go with Addison's very well. Have you gotten the results yet? Addison's pets need to get monthly DOCP intramuscular injections. You also need to monitor them closely, especially if there is anything stressful going on like moving or new people, they may need extra cortisol (stress steroid). With Cushing's you need to find out if it is the pituitary or the adrenal glands (or iatrogenic). Then, you get to work with your vet to find the right dosage of mitotane (or another drug) to keep your dog healthier/happier by decreasing the steroids produced.

I wish you all the best. Your vet should be able to tell you more about your pet's personal condition.

He went in for the tests today. However, the vet failed to mention during the phone call to set it up that it needed to be a fasting blood draw. I had asked if it was ok to continue his thyroid medicine (which needs to be taken with food) and the vet said yes so I never thought to ask if he needed to fast for it. The test is now rescheduled for Thursday. We are just hoping for some kind of diagnosis so we can move onto treatment and not do a lot of diagnostics.

 

[npmommie]

my beagle Petey was dx'd with Cushings disease, it is treatable, I honestly don't recall how much I spent on his monthly medications.......he ended up with a type of cancer which ultimately took him from us, he was 14 yo