Got my dogs results back...he has Cushings.

[lisaross]

well he went for the 8-hour test on Tuesday and he is at the beginning stages of it. they r ordering medicine and i have to go in on Mon. or Tues to pick it up. Kind of glad they figured out whats going on because i was thinking i was crazy and maybe i'm just reading too into him. Now i hope the meds help him and they r not too expensive.

Thanks to all who responded to my dog posts, and if u have any experiences you would like to share please do!

My dogs name is Ernie, he is a 13 year old miniature poodle...

 

[staceyhzoo]

I've had 2 dogs with Cushings, a Yorkie and a Lab. With the smaller breeds I know it's very important to watch their water/food consumption. Our yorkie was diagnosed with diabetes within a 1 yr of Cushings. The medication was not too expensive for the yorkie, but was costly with the lab (he was actually a foster dog we had for a few months)
Best of Luck!

 

[dvcgirl]

I own a pet-sitting/dog walking business and have cared for many dogs who have cushings. Most of them do just fine on meds only as 80% of cushings in dogs is caused by overproduction of ACTH by the pituitary gland...which in turn causes the adrenal gland to overproduce corticosteroids. All of this basically mimics the symptoms of diabetes (frequent urination/increase in thirst/appetite). I was a registered nurse way back when too, so I know the pathology.

I see it a lot in little older dogs like yours and once they get on oral meds, they do just fine. Initially, you'll likely need to have frequent lab work to monitor his levels and make sure that the drug isn't doing any harm to him.

Overall though, take heart, little Ernie will do just fine .

 

[lisaross]

Thanks so much...

I own a pet-sitting/dog walking business and have cared for many dogs who have cushings. Most of them do just fine on meds only as 80% of cushings in dogs is caused by overproduction of ACTH by the pituitary gland...which in turn causes the adrenal gland to overproduce corticosteroids. All of this basically mimics the symptoms of diabetes (frequent urination/increase in thirst/appetite). I was a registered nurse way back when too, so I know the pathology.

I see it a lot in little older dogs like yours and once they get on oral meds, they do just fine. Initially, you'll likely need to have frequent lab work to monitor his levels and make sure that the drug isn't doing any harm to him.

Overall though, take heart, little Ernie will do just fine .

 

[mousecraszy]

I'm an RN as well and had a patient yesterday who has a dog with Cushings. She talked about how managable the disease is with medication and that you and Ernie will see this as a tiny bump in the road. As a side note, she did have to replace her carpet

Hang in there and you're doing a great service for little Ernie.

 

[lisaross]

Lol

i'm an rn as well and had a patient yesterday who has a dog with cushings. She talked about how managable the disease is with medication and that you and ernie will see this as a tiny bump in the road. As a side note, she did have to replace her carpet

Hang in there and you're doing a great service for little ernie.

 

[disneygirl1971]

My first basset hound was diagnosed with cushings at age 6 in 1999. We treated her with lysodren for 4 years and she did very well. Back then little was known about canine cushings and lysodren was really the only option. I think now there's another med that's been approved for the US to treat canine cushings. Although she only weighed 65lbs. she required large amounts of the medicine to keep her controlled which in turn got very costly along with all the routine testing. But it was so worth it. It is very much a balancing act but once you get the hang of it you and Ernie will do just fine. I belonged to, and actually still do, an internet support group for dogs with cushings. It was a wealth of information and support. Good luck to you both!

 

[TiggerificTigger]

I also have a 12-year old lab mix who is being treated with Lysodren for Cushings. The medication is rather expensive IMO. I have been purchasing it at Wal-Mart which is a lot cheaper than the vet. It still cost me about $65 a month (3 pills/week) to treat her. She also has to have the lab test done every year. Of course, it is worth every dime! The vet believes it was caught early, therefore, I didn't have to buy new carpet. She seems to be doing great for her age and her size. She is a tad stubborn, but I don't think that has to do with the medication. I hope Ernie does great!!

 

[doggydoc]

Trilostane is the alternative medication to Lysodren. It has been used in Europe and imported here for years, but was only recently granted FDA approval. It is now available in commercial form and typically has far fewer side effects than Lysodren but is more expensive.

Cushing's is usually quite manageable. I would only caution to pay careful attention to the instructions given about the initial induction period. Your pet must be closely watched so the dosage can be properly managed. This is particularly true for Lysodren.

 

[janloz]

I also have a 12-year old lab mix who is being treated with Lysodren for Cushings. The medication is rather expensive IMO. I have been purchasing it at Wal-Mart which is a lot cheaper than the vet. It still cost me about $65 a month (3 pills/week) to treat her. She also has to have the lab test done every year. Of course, it is worth every dime! The vet believes it was caught early, therefore, I didn't have to buy new carpet. She seems to be doing great for her age and her size. She is a tad stubborn, but I don't think that has to do with the medication. I hope Ernie does great!!

Thanks for the heads up on Walmart. My vet stopped carrying it and I have been getting it mail order which is quite expensive plus shipping. I will call the local Walmart tomorrow. Our 15year old black lab/boxer has been diagnosed with cushings for 2 years, 20 pills which last 6.5 weeks (3pills/wk) is $120-135 mail order. It has been very managable and worth every penny but if I can save a few all the better.

 

[lisaross]

Glad to hear everyone's dog is doing well. I am going in on Monday to get the Meds and speak w/the dr. - i think i'm getting that new drug that was mentioned that just got FDA approved recnetly..i'll post wehn i know more.

Funny, never heard of Cushings, but seems many dogs have it..

 

[meriface11]

i am glad for you that they figured it out. our shepherd had the test on monday and it was negative. last night we did a 12 hour water deprivation test for insipidus diabetes, and it was inconclusive. now one vet is telling us she needs an 18 hour test and it still could be cushings, and another is telling us its definitely not cushings and we should just start treating her for insipidus diabetes. we don't want to put her through the stress of an 18 hour test, and we just wish they could figure out what is wrong with her. they also want to do an ultrasound because the $300 xrays just aren't good enough. i think we have spent about $1500 in the last 3 weeks and they haven't even figured out what is at the heart of the problem yet.

 

[lisaross]

Did u do the 8 hour suspension tes]t for your shepherd? the urine test we did for Ernie came out neg. but he went ahead and did the 8 hours just to totally rule it out..

also, check out k9cushings.com - these people know there stuff. Good luck to U!

I know what u mean about the money..we were lucky and probably only spend about 500.00 in the pastweek, but now we have to start w/the meds for life which will be about 100 a month plus ll the extra blood work...Keep us posted!

i am glad for you that they figured it out. our shepherd had the test on monday and it was negative. last night we did a 12 hour water deprivation test for insipidus diabetes, and it was inconclusive. now one vet is telling us she needs an 18 hour test and it still could be cushings, and another is telling us its definitely not cushings and we should just start treating her for insipidus diabetes. we don't want to put her through the stress of an 18 hour test, and we just wish they could figure out what is wrong with her. they also want to do an ultrasound because the $300 xrays just aren't good enough. i think we have spent about $1500 in the last 3 weeks and they haven't even figured out what is at the heart of the problem yet.

 

[LuLuO]

Just wanted to throw in to check out walgreens for you meds. Not sure how much wal-mart is. I got a perscription card for Bella's Lysodren and it saves me about a dollar a pill.

 

[doggydoc]

i am glad for you that they figured it out. our shepherd had the test on monday and it was negative. last night we did a 12 hour water deprivation test for insipidus diabetes, and it was inconclusive. now one vet is telling us she needs an 18 hour test and it still could be cushings, and another is telling us its definitely not cushings and we should just start treating her for insipidus diabetes. we don't want to put her through the stress of an 18 hour test, and we just wish they could figure out what is wrong with her. they also want to do an ultrasound because the $300 xrays just aren't good enough. i think we have spent about $1500 in the last 3 weeks and they haven't even figured out what is at the heart of the problem yet.

Not sure what is going on with your pet, I'm sorry your having difficulties with a diagnosis. Cushing's, and particularly Diabetes Insipidus, are often difficult to diagnose. I know the constant recommendations for further testing can be frustrating but you have to remember the constraints that your Veterinarian is working under. A majority of human medicine is based on taking an accurate and complete history of the patient's symptoms. Tests are often done to confirm the doctor's suspicions derived from this history. At the very least the history gives them a direction for investigation.
Veterinarians can not communicate directly with their patients and so must rely heavily on diagnostics with very little idea of which direction to take. A general serum chemistry and radiographs (x-rays) are usually the minimum database needed to begin searching for a diagnosis.
The primary owner recognizable symptom of Cushing's and DI is polyuria/polydipsia (which means drinking and peeing A LOT.) In the Canine Associate Disease Database (just what it sounds like, a database of recognized canine diseases) there are over 100 diseases listed which exhibit PU/PD 100% of the time. Then consider how many diseases may only exhibit these symptoms 90 or even 80% of the time. All must be placed on a "Rule Out List" and removed or confirmed through testing or history. It is often a lengthy and frustrating (for the Veterinarian as well as the owner) process.

Now, as I step down from my soap box, some advice I may offer is to inquire as to the method of testing for the Cushing's disease. Was it a "Low Dose Dexamethasone Supression Test" or an "ACTH Stimulation Test?" Low Dose Dex Sup test tends to have higher false positives but considered more diagnostic. Ask for an explanation of the test done, the results and why they felt they were negative. Was the testing lab staff Veterinarian consulted? If ACTH Stim testing was done, was compounded synthetic ACTH used? Cortrosyn is a commercially available synthetic ACTH that is preferred for accurate testing, however compounded ACTH is less expensive and more readily available. Unfortunately variations in the quality of compounding can lead to inaccurate test results. Finally, is there a referral clinic or Veterinary institution nearby you can seek a second opinion from? The Veterinarians at these types of hospitals deal with rare and complicated diseases on a dialy basis and may have more insight.

 

[meriface11]

Not sure what is going on with your pet, I'm sorry your having difficulties with a diagnosis. Cushing's, and particularly Diabetes Insipidus, are often difficult to diagnose. I know the constant recommendations for further testing can be frustrating but you have to remember the constraints that your Veterinarian is working under. A majority of human medicine is based on taking an accurate and complete history of the patient's symptoms. Tests are often done to confirm the doctor's suspicions derived from this history. At the very least the history gives them a direction for investigation.
Veterinarians can not communicate directly with their patients and so must rely heavily on diagnostics with very little idea of which direction to take. A general serum chemistry and radiographs (x-rays) are usually the minimum database needed to begin searching for a diagnosis.
The primary owner recognizable symptom of Cushing's and DI is polyuria/polydipsia (which means drinking and peeing A LOT.) In the Canine Associate Disease Database (just what it sounds like, a database of recognized canine diseases) there are over 100 diseases listed which exhibit PU/PD 100% of the time. Then consider how many diseases may only exhibit these symptoms 90 or even 80% of the time. All must be placed on a "Rule Out List" and removed or confirmed through testing or history. It is often a lengthy and frustrating (for the Veterinarian as well as the owner) process.

Now, as I step down from my soap box, some advice I may offer is to inquire as to the method of testing for the Cushing's disease. Was it a "Low Dose Dexamethasone Supression Test" or an "ACTH Stimulation Test?" Low Dose Dex Sup test tends to have higher false positives but considered more diagnostic. Ask for an explanation of the test done, the results and why they felt they were negative. Was the testing lab staff Veterinarian consulted? If ACTH Stim testing was done, was compounded synthetic ACTH used? Cortrosyn is a commercially available synthetic ACTH that is preferred for accurate testing, however compounded ACTH is less expensive and more readily available. Unfortunately variations in the quality of compounding can lead to inaccurate test results. Finally, is there a referral clinic or Veterinary institution nearby you can seek a second opinion from? The Veterinarians at these types of hospitals deal with rare and complicated diseases on a dialy basis and may have more insight.

thank you for this response...let me say in no way am i upset or frustrated with my vets personally, just frustrated with and concerned about the situation. i am not sure which kind of test they did for cushings on monday. Vet A did blood and urine samples, but thought she was just incontinent and put her on 150 mg of PPA per day, which she reacted awfully to (unbelievable panting, drinking, and just laying on the floor). concerned about her worsening state, my husband took her to Vet B,who took her off the PPa, did blood and urine, then suprresion test for cushings, which he said was negative. he said she needed an abdominal xray to rule out any tumors, and then he would just go ahead and treat her for insipidus diabetes, as he didn't want to do the water deprivation test. but he couldn't schedule the xray for a week. vet C was able to get her in for an xray the next day (our old vet where we used to live who removed a cancerous tumor 2 years ago). he also did full blood and urine, xrays, and then the 12 hour water deprivation. that came out to 1.015, which he said was inconclusive and wanted to do an 18 hour. we're confused as what to do since vet B didn't want to do water deprivation at all. she reacted ok to the 12 hour deprivation...she was annoying and kept bothering us all night for a drink, but didn't seem distressed. and after the 12 hours was over, she didn't seem to drink any more than usual. we are taking the weekend to actually measure how much she is drinking. she is 85lbs, and she's at about 10-12 cups for today, so maybe she isn't drinking quite as much as we thought she was. she has definitely improved from that bad spell where she was on the high dosage of the PPA. we left vet B a message on friday and hopefully he will call us back by monday--i will ask him more about the type of test he did for cushings then.