Cushing's Disease

[Patti]

That's good they ruled out Cushing's. Hope they can find out what is ailing her.

[PANAMA69]

Originally Posted by Jeri Cunningham

The final test on Krissy came out negative for Cushings so it is back to the drawing board. Our vet is posting everything about Krissy on a World wide vet forum to see if anyone has any ideas.

Krissy is improving slowly so we will see......


The did the ACTH test and Low-dose Dexamthasone test and both showed negative for Cushings.

Our next thing is a MRI of she doesn't get better...

I also so happy that she doesn't have cushing, but I want her so bad to be fine, sending more prayers of healing to her way and I just did a good one for her be heal Krissy in the name of Jesus

[teffiemoore]

I am so thankful to have a site that I can read and appreciate the true love and passion for these beautiful dogs...I love the care and patience to stick with them through thick and thin...I love you all for this. I just wanted to say this to you all that are struggling with sick ones and to the supporters..It makes me feel better about ppl after a day of being taken advantage of in our business...but then us that have and raise Yorkies are different aren't we

[leipshen]

Well Steph...that was certainly sweet!

[Jeri Cunningham]

OK our vet got some feed back from UC Davis. They think it was Iatrogenic Cushing's Disease.

Krissy at three was tested for everything and it looked like it was Cushing. She had all the available test done and now we suspect it was due to using Excel Hydrocortisone Spray and she licked it. I was using this more than once a day for a few weeks.

She had all the symptoms and after stopping the spray on 8/10 she is improving daily. She gained three pounds going from 9.4 to 12.8. She drank tons of water and peed and panted all the time.

It took over two thousand dollars to find this out. I'm just glad she is OK. Make sure you are not using any meds with cortisone in them. We never though the spray could be the issue but due to licking she absorbed it in her body.

This was her problem:

Iatrogenic: Iatrogenic Cushing's Disease means that the excess of cortisone has resulted from excessive administration of cortisone. This may occur from oral or injectable medications. Although the injections or tablets were given for a legitimate medical reason, their excess is now detrimental.

We are hoping she will be OK now. This is just to warn others about cortisone for dogs.
The vet said she should be fine and be able to have her last litter of puppies if she is OK by the time she goes into heat!!

[Lisa and Pic]

I'm so glad she is going to be okay and the doctors figured out the problem.

I would like to know more about the cortisone. Are cortisone and prednisone the same thing or are they different? Could either cause Cushings Disease? Thanks for educating us - it is much appreciated.

[Jeri Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Lisa and Pic

I'm so glad she is going to be okay and the doctors figured out the problem.

I would like to know more about the cortisone. Are cortisone and prednisone the same thing or are they different? Could either cause Cushings Disease? Thanks for educating us - it is much appreciated.

Good question I found this:

Prednisone and prednisolone are members of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. This means they are steroids but, unlike the anabolic steroids that we hear about regarding sports medicine, these are "catabolic" steroids. Instead of building the body up, they are designed to break down stored resources (fats, sugars and proteins) so that they may be used as fuels in times of stress. Cortisone would be an example of a related hormone with which most people are familiar. Glucocorticoids hormones are produced naturally by the adrenal glands.

It even mentions Benadryl on the web site!!

Here is where I found it:
Prednisone


After what happened to Krissy I would stay away from both!

[Yorkieluv]

Wow...I'm so glad you found out what was making Krissy so sick...Thanks for sharing this information with us, as I know it will be helpful to others. I'm so happy Krissy is going to be okay!!!

[Lisa and Pic]

[QUOTE=Jeri Cunningham;2208212]Good question I found this:

Prednisone and prednisolone are members of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. This means they are steroids but, unlike the anabolic steroids that we hear about regarding sports medicine, these are "catabolic" steroids. Instead of building the body up, they are designed to break down stored resources (fats, sugars and proteins) so that they may be used as fuels in times of stress. Cortisone would be an example of a related hormone with which most people are familiar. Glucocorticoids hormones are produced naturally by the adrenal glands.

It even mentions Benadryl on the web site!!

Here is where I found it:
Prednisone

Thanks for the information, website, and educating us.... I saved it, on my computer.

[harleygirl99]

Thank you for the info---- My 1 year 11 month old yorkie was diagnosed with mild cushing disease on Thursday and I found this forum to be wonderful in helping me with my questions.. Thanks again

Originally Posted by AprilLove

Jeri, I am sorry to hear Krissy might have Cushings. If she does, or if you want much more info on Lysodren, treatment, types of Cushings etc, there is a wonderful forum full of Cushings owners where you can ask questions, find out more as well. Has your Krissy been tested for diabetes too? Cushings can be a very difficult one to diagnose.
Here is a link to the cushings forum:

Canine Cushing's Forums - Powered by vBulletin

[PinPin]

My yorkie PinPin is 5 years old and 23lbs. He has a little pot belly and really enjoys eating. I took him to the vet because I thought he had a scratchy throat (he didnt bark one night) and they thought he may have cushings because of his belly. I had blood work done and then they did an ultrasound and think it is tied to his pituatarty gland...but wont know till Tuesday till they do a urine analysis. I'm really scared. Does anyone have experience with having a yorkie with cushings? What can I do to extend his life and the quality of his life...i keep reading that their life expectancy is 2 years after being diagnoised. Is that correct? Does anyone reccommend any particular medicine?

[zcb]

I'm sorry I did not see this thread until just now but I did have a Lhassa with Cushings. This was about 5 or 6 years ago and at that time the only drug used was Lysodren which is a very difficult drug to use. All drugs are bad but this one is especially tough on the dog. I didn't want to use it so I searched the net and found the British were using Trilostane with a lot of success and it was easy on the dog. Long story short...I had to import the drug from London but it worked very well and Candy lived several years after that without any problems. She was around 10 or 11 when diagnosed so those several years helped her live a normal live expectancy. Now, however, I see that Trilostane has been approved by whomever does that here in the U.S. so that makes it lot easier. Please don't despair, it's a serious disease but it can be controlled. It does require periodic testing and daily medication but there is hope. Hang in there your baby is worth it.

[DesertChildAZ]

Originally Posted by Jeri Cunningham

The final test on Krissy came out negative for Cushings so it is back to the drawing board. Our vet is posting everything about Krissy on a World wide vet forum to see if anyone has any ideas.

Krissy is improving slowly so we will see......


The did the ACTH test and Low-dose Dexamthasone test and both showed negative for Cushings.

Our next thing is a MRI of she doesn't get better...

The ACTH test is known to have alot of "false negative" results. It's hit or miss. Sometimes it takes several tests to get the positive result. This is why it's so hard to diagnose.

My 15-year old, Tahoe, needs his teeth cleaned. His blood tests showed some elevated cortisol levels, so my vet suggested testing him for ACTH before allowing him to go under anesthesia for the teeth cleaning. (Cushings dogs need a different anesthesia than what he usually uses.) Tahoe has several of the symptoms of Cushings, including:

1) Pot belly
2) Deaf and mostly blind
3) Calcified bumps under his skin (dozens)
4) Diluted urine
5) An enlarged liver (though his blood panel shows a normal enzyme level now after 2 years of Ursidiol treatment).

I read up on the ACTH test before having him tested and was concerned because I read that there is often a "false negative" result with the ACTH test. I was concerned that we would get a "false negative" and then we'd treat him with normal anesthesia when he was, in fact, positive. Well, as it turns out, he tested positive.

My point is that you can have several ACTH's done and get false negative results. Something to think about.

~ Kelly

[DesertChildAZ]

Originally Posted by harleygirl99

Thank you for the info---- My 1 year 11 month old yorkie was diagnosed with mild cushing disease on Thursday and I found this forum to be wonderful in helping me with my questions.. Thanks again

I find this suspicious. It's very usual to find a yorkie to have cushings that is less than 5 years old. Normally they get it at around 5 but it goes undiagnosed for 6 years.

Did they do the ACTH test or is this an "off the cuff" observatory diagnosis by the vet?

~ Kelly

[DesertChildAZ]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

The ACTH test is known to have alot of "false negative" results. It's hit or miss. Sometimes it takes several tests to get the positive result. This is why it's so hard to diagnose.

My 15-year old, Tahoe, needs his teeth cleaned. His blood tests showed some elevated cortisol levels, so my vet suggested testing him for ACTH before allowing him to go under anesthesia for the teeth cleaning. (Cushings dogs need a different anesthesia than what he usually uses.) Tahoe has several of the symptoms of Cushings, including:

1) Pot belly
2) Deaf and mostly blind
3) Calcified bumps under his skin (dozens)
4) Diluted urine
5) An enlarged liver (though his blood panel shows a normal enzyme level now after 2 years of Ursidiol treatment).

I read up on the ACTH test before having him tested and was concerned because I read that there is often a "false negative" result with the ACTH test. I was concerned that we would get a "false negative" and then we'd treat him with normal anesthesia when he was, in fact, positive. Well, as it turns out, he tested positive.

My point is that you can have several ACTH's done and get false negative results. Something to think about.

~ Kelly

Oh, he also has two other symptoms I forgot:

1) muscle atrophy in his hind legs. He used to have very pronounced muscles in his back legs (from humping pillows!) and they are mush now.

2) He went from humping pillows whenever I left the house to absolutely no humping. I discovered that "loss of reproductive ability" is a symptom of cushing's as well....which explains his loss of interest in the pillows! Not that I mind, nor does my couch!