possible hypothyroidism or cushings

Hi everyone. I have a beautiful 9 year old sheltie who was not feeling well for the past two days. I took him to the vet, and had several tests and alot of blood work drawn. I original thought he had hurt himself outside because he seemed to be having problems with walking, and did not want to get up. He also was refusing to eat, but did drink. The vet told me that everything looked fine and that he would call me with the stool results and the blood work results. Today he called and told me that he thinks my dog has either hypothyrodiism or cushings. He is leaning towards cushings  Tomorrow he will call me again and let me know what other tests need to be done to get an exact diagnoises. Just wanted to know if it is cushings, what am I to expect? Are the tests expensive (yesterday it cost me 612.00)?. Don't get me wrong I am willing to pay whatever it will take to make my baby better. Does this condition ever go away with treatment, or will he be on meds the rest of his life? Will cushings shorten his life span? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Jan

[lindapalm]

If your dog does have Cushings, it will not go away, but can be regulated with meds, if your vet is up to date on the new drugs and works to make sure your dog is on the right dose.  My best suggestion to you is that if  your vet seems unsure of treatment in anyway, or doesn't follow through on repeat blood tests to make sure your dog is not overdosed, find a new vet that knows Cushings very well, don't wait.  Good Luck.

[lindapalm]

I forgot to ask, does your dog have any other symptoms, such as peeing constantly and having accidents everywhere?  Having problems walking is a symptom of Cushings, but could also be many other things.

[twinbee]

Thank you for your response. Yes, my dog has been peeing alot lately, however he has not had any accidents yet. As soon as we see him going to the back door, we put him outside or talk him for a walk. The past week, he has been having trouble getting up with his back legs and dose not seem to want to walk. 5 years ago, he did have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his one of his  knees, and he does have some (vet says very little) arthritis. According to the vet, the knee is still tight, and he does not show any discomfort when mulipating it. The vet took additional tests (urine this time) and I think he said to check T4 or something like that. I will know the results next week,due to the upcoming holiday.. When I talked to the vet about Cushing, he told me one of his dogs suffers from the disease and is very familiar with it.

[lindapalm]

You sound like you have an experienced vet, which is great,please  let us know what he has to say when you get your tests results back.  We used to have a sheltie, they are beautiful dogs, but have many odd traits that you have to laugh at, or you'll go nuts.  They are also the smartest dog I have ever seen.

[twinbee]

Once again, thank you for all your responses. My vet called again earlier today with some more test results. Max has elevated corticosteroids. So, he is really leaning towards the cushing diagnoises. However, he still wants to wait for the hypothyroidism test to come back. If neg he will procede with testing for the cushings. He told me the next test will be called "low dose dexamithasone test", and it will have to be done in the hospital setting. I asked him which treatment he prefers, and he told me he likes to treat cushings with a drug called "lysodrin". Are you familiar with this drug? When I researched on-line, there are several drugs available.
My Max is beautiful. He is sable in color, and has a white blaze up his noise. He looks like a mini Lassie. He is a wuss though, LOL! Everything and anything scares him. I am not looking forward to this weekend. He is terrified of fireworks, so I ususally spend 4th of July weekend trying to calm him down.

[lindapalm]

We used Vetoryl for our dog, I think Lysodren has been out longer, so your vet may be more familuar with using it, which is good.  Our sheltie was tri colored, and just the opposite, she wasn't afraid of anything.  She loved fireworks, while our border collie/lab had to stay inside during them because she would run away in fear and hide.  Any noise would set our sheltie off, and then you could never shut her up..

[twinbee]

Update on my sheltie. Max has been doing okay. All his tests from last year did comfirm cushings. At the time our Vet recommended not to put Max on any meds just yet. This past Thursday Max had a full checkup , including a "senior" workup.  The Vet called me yesterday and told me it looks like his Cushing is progressing. He wants to redo all the testing and bloodwork again. I was also told that Max has the beginning stages of Cataracts, a heart murmur, and elevated cholesterol. I have noticed a change in his behavior. He is much less active from just a year ago. He seems to just want to sleep all day. There are times when he is in such a deep sleep, it takes me a few seconds to wake him up. I thought he passed away a couple of times. Is this common with cushings or older dogs?? It scared the heck out of me! Max is 11 now, so I am really struggling with the decision to put him on the meds. I am going to meet with my Vet next week to discuss the pros and cons. I have started to give Max "Cosequin" to help with his arthritis and joint problems. Hopefully, that will help him alittle. It is too early to tell just yet.

[lindapalm]

Good Luck with Max, its sounds like he's been doing pretty good so far.  Let us know what your vet says about his treatment, he sounds like he's keeping on top of things really well.

[twinbee]

Thank you for all your help. I am very pleased with my vet. His dog has cushings, so he really is keeping on top of everything for my dog.