Cushing's

My dog was diagnosed with tumors on each of her adrenal glands.  She was negative for Cushing's in spring of 2006 but showed abnormal sex hormones.  Her symptoms are Cushing's-like....chronic skin inflammation, large belly, acromegaly, slow and tired.  I understand sometimes this type of disease can convert to classic Cushing's.  Since there is treatment for classic cushing's I am wondering  if/ or when I should again test her for classic Cushing's (ACTH -type).

[idesofmarch]

Has she been checked for underactive thyroid disease? What are they doing about the tumors? Yes I think that it's been long enough for her to be retested for cushings. Did they do a 24 hr urine collection to test her for it? The poor dog, I was tested for cushings over the winter-I don't have it but had many symptoms. I do have thyroid problems and Fibromyalgia. I don't know if dogs can get that though.

[kim224]

to my best friends im so happy now all my friends on here are so sweet to me

[ddeiman]

We have some dogs in our derm clinic that have this and depending on the clinical symptoms we treat accordingly. Tumors = surgery Some that have pigmentation issues and hair loss we treat with melatonin as a conservative choice. Dogs showing classic signs of cushings with a normal range acth but a positive sex hormone we still treat with the same drugs as cushings like trilostane etc. How come no removal of the tumors? What is the age of the dog? I would recommend a consult with either a veterinary internist or dermatologist. Try the website acvd (dot) org  if you are in the states to locate a derm in your regional area that your vet could call and consult with for you. Good Luck

[Missy216]

Hi Mayzie,

I am currently dealing with a beautiful little dog that has been diagnosed with Cushings. She is 9 yo which is a prime age for the development of this disease.  She really wasn't showing many symptoms, but I usually have an annual senior screen done on her, which includes blood work that gives me an idea of the thyroid function, kidney and liver function along with her  cholesterol and blood sugar levels.  She had abnormalities in her liver enzymes, had increased cholesterol and blood sugar levels.  These abnormalities led the vet to believe that she may have Cushings Disease.  She was futher evaluated and indeed she was Cushionoid.  This disease if left untreated causes a ton of problems.  So far, I have been dealing with multiple urinary tract infections, skin infection, ear infections, vaginitis and the most recently and most deadly pancreatitis.  She was just released from the hospital today after three days of treatment of IV antibiotitcs and a multitude of other medications to try to resolve the pancreatitis.  Fortunatetly she is responding to treatment and we are hoping we are going to be able to bring this under control with medication.  It sounds like your dog has the symptoms of Cushings disease and if you can afford to take the dog to an internal medicine doctor for futher evaluation, you can probably get your answers and maybe have the proper treatment started.  It is a complex disease and it is necessary to determine if the cause is a pituitary tumor or an adrenal tumor. The tests that need to be performed is ACTH Stim to confirm the dx of Cushings and if positive an exogenous ACTH and Low dose dexamethasone supression to determine if the Cushings is Pituitary dependant or caused by the adrenal tumors.  Proper diagnosis and treatment are essential to prevent further complications from this disease.  I hope, through some of the experience I have had with this disease that I have been able to help you.  Let me know how everything is going  and I hope that you are able to get your answers.  My dog also has an adrenal tumor and as soon as the Cushings is under control, she will be going to surgery.  The statistics are that 50 percent of these adrenal tumors can be malignant.  Keep in touch.