Reply With QuoteIf it's any comfort, our CKC Spaniel lived happily with Cushings for 5 years before old age got her, at 13.
Two weeks ago my 14 year dog started to drink lots of water, has incessant hunger, weak back legs, panting a lot and weight loss.
She has been at the vets for two whole days for bloods, urine and blood pressure tests that came back as good.
Vet thinks she has Cushings so she had another test on Friday which will prove if she has ‘Cushings’ or not (when the results come back)
For those that are unfamiliar with Cushings its when the body over produces adrenaline)
If it comes back positive and she does have Cushings I believe she will be prescribed some drugs but I have read there are some nasty side effects.
Are we looking at the end now? because I don’t want to preserve her life if she is miserable and unwell on the tablets.
Thanks
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If it's any comfort, our CKC Spaniel lived happily with Cushings for 5 years before old age got her, at 13.
Last edited by chrisb; 31st March 2019 at 20:20.
Did she regain strength/weight was there any vomiting?Originally Posted by chrisb
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She seemed normal, except the tip of her tail became hairless.
We crushed the tablets and mixed them into her food. Make sure you wear latex gloves when handling the medication.
Thanks for the reply, that’s put my mind at rest a bit.
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I'm sorry to say that we lost our 7 year old Boxer to Cushings last year. It took a long time for for him to be diagnosed after numerous collapses and different treatment. He was on Vetoryl for about a year before his symptoms became too bad and our vet sat us down...
I do know that many dogs live good lives with Cushings and I wish you well.
Mine was diagnosed with Cushings at the end of December.
Started noticing the excessive drinking and peeing towards the end of November. Vet originally thought urine infection but after 2 rounds of antibiotics and further tests.. cushings.
She's on vetoryl which is working wonders, she hasn't had any side effects but we make sure that the capsule is taken whole in a ball of pate with her breakfast and dinner so her stomach is lined.. the peeing and drinking is almost back to normal (but I suspect she will need 2x 30 mg rather than the current 1x30mg and 1x10 mg that she's on now to fully bring her back to normal)
Its been a slow process with monthly blood tests to check that they're getting the levels of vetoryl correct as overdosing on that can cause equally nasty symptoms, the name of which escapes me.
I was really worried that it would be "the end" and google didn't help but on speaking to the vet, vetoryl can fully control symptoms and while its a life limiting condition, its not a life ending one. She could well go on with medication and die of old age as she would without the disease.
She was SO flat and lethargic and now she does her usual laps around the house and garden of a morning so fingers crossed.
Bags is 10 and a Bichon cross so im hoping she will have another 3-5 happy and comfortable years.
I have to admit that at the beginning when she was feeble and peeing hugely I shared the same concerns as you, but she's genuinely turned around, much to everyones relief.
Oddly enough my friends dog has just been diagnosed as well. Seems like its Cushings everywhere at the minute.
Im a few stages down the road to you so if you want any feedback from someone who has been there / is doing that then just fire me a pm and I can at least tell you what ive seen with my bundle.
Forgot to add that she lost a LOT of weight and became quite thin and frail.. but the past 6 weeks she's levelled out and been eating as normal again and has gained weight. She's back to a normal/healthy size.
Last edited by verv; 1st April 2019 at 15:32.
I don’t want to cause unnecessary worry but I seem to remember a mates dog having similar symptoms and it was kidney damage.
Aye, if you let the disease develop and dont catch it early then you get hair loss, kidney damage, all sorts.
Also some people choose not to treat because its expensive.
Just back from the vets, she has been prescribed 1x30 mg daily of Vetoryl.
Had a good chat with the vet and she seems to be in good order according the the blood and urinalysis.
The tests and visual clues all point to Cushings, it’s taken two weeks for diagnosis from when we first noticed panting and drinking gallons of water although her back legs have been wobbly for a while but assumed old age as she’s 13 years old.
Not sure how this will pan out but hopefully we can have her for a bit longer.
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Fingers crossed for a good outcome fizz. ATB Jon
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Dizz have you tried yumove for the wobbly back legs?
Its a supplement and its brilliant.. its on amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lintbells-Y.../dp/B003W5VDWO
Hopefully they will get the dose right quickly and all will be well. I know the results differ broadly.
Riley (the Boxer) was on the max dose in the end but he was a shadow of himself. He had lost a lot of his hair on his flanks and back and lost lots of weight, in the end it was his constant need to drink that was the tipping point. The only thing on his mind was finding water and you wouldn't believe the lengths he would go to, the vet said it must be driving him crazy and although i still feel the guilt today I guess she was right.
Sorry for the doom and gloom, fingers crossed for yours.
One month in and and a bit of an update....
Once on Vetoryl initially she (Dolly) started to regain weight, about 900g which was very encouraging and had stopped drinking gallons of water, but in the last week she had a blood test and we re-weighed her and she had lost 700g.
So we are upping the dosage of Vetoryl from 30mg to 40mg.
She is very weak now but still eating well with no hair loss, can’t see this is going to go on for much longer unless this extra 10mg works some kind of miracle.
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Sorry to read of her struggle, but sounds as though she's coping at the moment. Does she seem happy in herself?
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Today we said goodbye to Dolly, ourselves and the vet agreed that she had reached the point where Dolly’s quality of life was well below par.
The Cushings was not completely under control and she was still loosing weight and was very bony (lose of appetite) and always on edge and pacing up and down (especially at night)
Also she had developed a large cancerous lump on her hip that due to her age and the type of cancer was inoperable, this has caused her to have poor/little control of one leg which was making her unstable.
So we’re feeling relief that she’s at peace now and huge sad emotions at the same time
Thanks for everyone’s replies and I’ll leave this post with a picture from better times.
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Very sorry to read that Dolly has gone. It is heart-wrenching to have to say goodbye to such a loving companion though as you say she is now at peace.
My thoughts are with you.
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So sorry to hear about Dolly, it's heartbreaking when they go...
Thoughts with you.
Adam.
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Sorry to hear about Dolly, it’s always hard to not only lose a dog but a best friend.
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So sorry to hear about Dolly. You did everything to help her, but it's always a terrible loss. Try to remember her many good years with you.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
So very sorry for your loss, our friends are not with us at all long enough, the best we can do is give them our love and care always.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
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