Diabetic and Cushings

[GuinnessStout]

So about 4 months ago I had a normal I thought healthy lazy Yorkie...
since then we have had..
DKA and diagnosed with diabetes almost a week in the hospital..
Unable to get blood sugar under control..
Pacreatitis along with DKA and gastritis so another 6 days in the hospital and has gone blind.

Now today we get our test results and he has Cushings.. explains a lot BUT now I have sooo many questions and fear

[KatysMom]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

So about 4 months ago I had a normal I thought healthy lazy Yorkie...
since then we have had..
DKA and diagnosed with diabetes almost a week in the hospital..
Unable to get blood sugar under control..
Pacreatitis along with DKA and gastritis so another 6 days in the hospital and has gone blind.

Now today we get our test results and he has Cushings.. explains a lot BUT now I have sooo many questions and fear

Oh my. I'm sure this is a fearful situation. Bless you for lovin' and caring for you sweetie. Sending you hugs and will crank up the prayers.

I've not dealt with Cushings, but several YTers have. Here's a link to the article from the library on Cushings, including the difference between ACTH and LDDS Cushings Tests. See, "Symptoms of Cushings."

Apparently it is not so unusual to find pups with Cushings to also have diabetes.

--KatysMom

[GuinnessStout]

Yea thats why I pushed for the Cushings test after we found out he had diabetes... it just made all the puzzle pieces fit together. Granted it was odd timing since I am being tested for it too lol

[Marhcarter]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

Granted it was odd timing since I am being tested for it too lol

They say dogs and owners start to resemble each other...
Prayers for Guinness!

[Wylie's Mom]

So sorry to hear of all these recent issues - it's so worrisome when figuring out what's wrong and waiting for the answers.

I have a lot of experience w/ Cushings - our late beloved Wylie was diagnosed super young - 4.5 yrs old, which is very unusual! He was diagnosed w/ hypothyroid at the same time, which is also very common in Cushingoid dogs. Wylie had Atypical Cushings - which in a nutshell means his excess cortisol was caused by an intermediate steroid (also very common in dogs and yorkies).

Oftentimes, the initial treatment regimen is melatonin (3mg, regular release, twice a day) and lignans - so see if these natural remedies have an effect. Most times, they don't - but it's worth a shot. If that route is chosen - you use that regimen for about 6-8wks, then you do another ACTH test to see where the cortisol level is at. From there - you make treatment choices. It took us a good year to initially get Wylie's meds titrated correctly bc every time you try something - you have to wait weeks, do an ACTH, and go from there. Wylie was on Lysodren (ie mitotane) for eight years - never had a side effect and it worked great for him.

Please keep us posted and hang in there!

[GuinnessStout]

They started him on Vetoryl 10mg once a day BUUUUUT after reading all the support groups and being advised there should be a morning and night dose (which would make sense to me lol) ugh I just don’t know....
I already kicked his other vet to the curb when she told me I didn’t need to test his blood sugar daily that I could watch him and he would tell me his levels and then when I asked for a Cushings test because he also has these odd sores on the edges of his ears that like crust up get hard and the fur come out she told me I didn’t need the test he didn’t look like a Cushings dog... umm lady thats fine BUT I asked for the test and I am willing to pay.... which good thing I ignored her.

[GuinnessStout]

Originally Posted by Marhcarter

They say dogs and owners start to resemble each other...
Prayers for Guinness!

Lol... fat lazy smelly.... hmmm you are right haha

[GuinnessStout]

My other issue right now... just coming off pancreatitis so he is eating chicken rice and green beans... rice isn’t that great for a diabetic dog BUT tummy is still not 100% and I am tossing in a new medicine....

I have no clue if I am doing what’s best and at this point unless a vet had a Yorkie with the same medical issues on the same meds I am not sure I trust them lol

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

They started him on Vetoryl 10mg once a day BUUUUUT after reading all the support groups and being advised there should be a morning and night dose (which would make sense to me lol) ugh I just don’t know....
I already kicked his other vet to the curb when she told me I didn’t need to test his blood sugar daily that I could watch him and he would tell me his levels and then when I asked for a Cushings test because he also has these odd sores on the edges of his ears that like crust up get hard and the fur come out she told me I didn’t need the test he didn’t look like a Cushings dog... umm lady thats fine BUT I asked for the test and I am willing to pay.... which good thing I ignored her.

What about seeing a specialist like an internist? I'm not sure 100% what they do but maybe they would help you feel better since they are more specialized in some issues.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

My other issue right now... just coming off pancreatitis so he is eating chicken rice and green beans... rice isn’t that great for a diabetic dog BUT tummy is still not 100% and I am tossing in a new medicine....

I have no clue if I am doing what’s best and at this point unless a vet had a Yorkie with the same medical issues on the same meds I am not sure I trust them lol

I feel lucky because my vet has a dog with cushings.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

They started him on Vetoryl 10mg once a day BUUUUUT after reading all the support groups and being advised there should be a morning and night dose (which would make sense to me lol) ugh I just don’t know....
I already kicked his other vet to the curb when she told me I didn’t need to test his blood sugar daily that I could watch him and he would tell me his levels and then when I asked for a Cushings test because he also has these odd sores on the edges of his ears that like crust up get hard and the fur come out she told me I didn’t need the test he didn’t look like a Cushings dog... umm lady thats fine BUT I asked for the test and I am willing to pay.... which good thing I ignored her.

I've said it here countless times -- but generalist vets will misdiagnose signs of Cushings 80%+ of the time bc they are so diffuse and the Vet will most likely not correlate symptoms - it makes me crazy!! My Wylie was initially misdiagnosed for 1.5yrs! So, *good* for you for being such an amazing advocate for your baby - and listening to your gut, which knew something was wrong.

On the Vetoryl - is the vet doing a 'ramping up' dose perhaps..? More importantly, do you think this vet has a lot of experience w/ Cushingoid dogs? If not, ugh, you may want to look elsewhere. I stuck w/ my Internist until Wylie's meds were titrated correctly, and then went about finding a new generalist vet and had him maintained from there.

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

My other issue right now... just coming off pancreatitis so he is eating chicken rice and green beans... rice isn’t that great for a diabetic dog BUT tummy is still not 100% and I am tossing in a new medicine....

I have no clue if I am doing what’s best and at this point unless a vet had a Yorkie with the same medical issues on the same meds I am not sure I trust them lol

If I were you, I would be viewing a pancreatitis relapse as the greatest and gravest risk right now - if his tummy is still not 100%. Rice may not be ideal...but I'd wait to adjust food until tummy is more stable. And then control his glucose/diabetes in the meantime. You could also switch to a low fat / easy digestion prescription food if that would make his tummy easier.

I'd highly recommend a Vet Internist - their office call would be more expensive since they're a specialist. But had I done that immediately, rather than mucking around with generalists who didn't know what they were doing -- I seriously would've saved myself hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Keep us posted - keep breathing and just know you'll get your baby to a better place !

[GuinnessStout]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I've said it here countless times -- but generalist vets will misdiagnose signs of Cushings 80%+ of the time bc they are so diffuse and the Vet will most likely not correlate symptoms - it makes me crazy!! My Wylie was initially misdiagnosed for 1.5yrs! So, *good* for you for being such an amazing advocate for your baby - and listening to your gut, which knew something was wrong.

On the Vetoryl - is the vet doing a 'ramping up' dose perhaps..? More importantly, do you think this vet has a lot of experience w/ Cushingoid dogs? If not, ugh, you may want to look elsewhere. I stuck w/ my Internist until Wylie's meds were titrated correctly, and then went about finding a new generalist vet and had him maintained from there.


If I were you, I would be viewing a pancreatitis relapse as the greatest and gravest risk right now - if his tummy is still not 100%. Rice may not be ideal...but I'd wait to adjust food until tummy is more stable. And then control his glucose/diabetes in the meantime. You could also switch to a low fat / easy digestion prescription food if that would make his tummy easier.

I'd highly recommend a Vet Internist - their office call would be more expensive since they're a specialist. But had I done that immediately, rather than mucking around with generalists who didn't know what they were doing -- I seriously would've saved myself hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Keep us posted - keep breathing and just know you'll get your baby to a better place !

I will have to make some calls and research to see what I can find in this area or if anything in Gainesville since thats where we are taking him for cataract surgery.
Right now he is doing perfect on the rice chicken and beans BUT they way pancreatitis sneaks up on you... holy crap it scares me.
And of course since Guinness gets one food Stella wants the same and now eating rice beans and chicken has her tummy messed up UUUGGGGGHHHH I cant win with these two haha

[aweitzm1]

My dog has Cushing's and is also on Veyterol 10 mg once a day. His levels are stable and we are retesting in 3 months. My vet said he wanted to start him on a low dosage and only increase if necessary. I have spoken to a few people in the industry and 10 mg once a day is not an uncommon dosage.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

My dog has Cushing's and is also on Veyterol 10 mg once a day. His levels are stable and we are retesting in 3 months. My vet said he wanted to start him on a low dosage and only increase if necessary. I have spoken to a few people in the industry and 10 mg once a day is not an uncommon dosage.

Confused . The last time you posted in your thread about Thumper where we were trying to tell you (those of us w/ experience in Cushings) that it was likely Thumper had Cushings -- you stated your vet said there was no Cushings. What changed?

[aweitzm1]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Confused . The last time you posted in your thread about Thumper where we were trying to tell you (those of us w/ experience in Cushings) that it was likely Thumper had Cushings -- you stated your vet said there was no Cushings. What changed?

Originally we did the LDSS test which was normal. About a month later with no change in symptoms we did the ACTH test which came back positive for Cushings Disease. He has been on Veteroyl for about two months now and it seems to be helping. Last test showed his numbers were high normal compared to high the first time.

He still pees and drinks a lot but not as much.