Checking in for March 2006

[acushdogsmom]

We suspect that we have a good number of folks here who read the messages regularly but who don't post very often. Maybe that's because their dogs are doing well and they don't have any questions to ask, or maybe they don't feel very comfortable about posting answers to other members' questions.

It's perfectly understandable and acceptable for folks to only post here once in a while, but when we don't hear from people, many of us find ourselves wondering what those folks have been up to recently and how their dogs are doing.

"Checking in" is a topic that we start on the first of each month, where folks can post a reply to let everyone else know how they are doing. You may just want to say "Hi! We're still here and we're doing fine" or you may want to tell us more -- about a really good test result, or something funny that your dog did recently, or a camping trip that you went on ... that sort of thing.

We'd love to hear from you! :)

[chapmandou]

Carol and Sam here (or should we say STILL here ;))

Thought it was about time we brought you up-to-date on Sam, at least now that we can breathe a sigh of relief once again! :rolleyes:

At the end of July, it was found that Sam had an apparent nonfunctional tumor on his left adrenal gland as well (after having the right removed two years previously as many of you know). It came to our attention because Sam had a bout of severe tachycardia and off-the-charts blood pressure that sent us to ER and required medication to get under control; so while he was in hospital overnight, another ultrasound was performed and the tumor visualized. Sam had negative results to ACTH as well as 17-hydroxyprogesterone testing, so the tumor was considered to be nonfunctional at that time. He was put on BP meds and sent home, as there was nothing further to do at the time.

Fast-forward to January (after a nervous "watchful wait" for six months), and Sam had another tachycardia/BP spike which sent us to ER again, but resolved on its own within the hour. However, another ultrasound revealed that the tumor had grown significantly and was suspected as being the culprit. :(

Well, of course we were mortified at the prospect of another surgery, :( especially since it had been extraordinarily difficult the first time because of the type of tumor Sam had in the right adrenal and the fact that it had invaded the vein adajcent to it.

In any event, surgery was being strongly recommended to us once again. After a week of letting this dreadful news sink in, we decided to follow our specialist's advice. The tumor was not yet invading anything and the left adrenal is much easier to access and remove than the right, so we hoped the procedure would go smoothly this time. As a safeguard, Sam was put on beta blockers for two weeks to help prevent any untoward events in case he actually had another pheochromocytoma (exceedingly rare, but had to be anticipated nonetheless).

It has now been exactly one week and two days since Sam had the left adrenal gland removed and we are delighted to report that today Sam is acting like he never even had surgery. :D :D In fact, we just came in from a walk and I had to stop him from running (he's not supposed to run for 2 weeks! :rolleyes: ). This surgery was cake compared to the last. He went in a week ago Monday and was out two days later, Wednesday at noon. He then spent a lot of time sleeping for a few days in between meals (he is around 11-12 years old after all!), and as reported, today he's just like new. :) :D :D

More good news: the tumor was benign, not a pheo, just cortical this time, but still responsible for the attacks he was having.

Having had both adrenals removed, Sam is now Addisonian and must be treated with once-every-25-days injections plus 1 pred a day for the rest of his life. But, other than that, he's just fine and has already become his old cuckoo self again. :cool: :D :D


(((hugs to all of you)))
Carol and Sam, the Super-Duper-Wonder-Out-to-Prove'em-Wrong Survivor Dog

[acushdogsmom]

I know that this thread is meant for updates and it's not where we'd expect to get replies to our posts, but I just had to take this opportunity to say ...

Hurray for Sam, the Super-Duper-Wonder-Out-to-Prove'em-Wrong Survivor Dog!!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Loraine]

Hi all, I am still checking in and posting when I feel I can add something worthwhile. There are so many fighters (both human and animal) here, it is truly amazing and heartwarming to see the lengths we humans go to for our furry babies :)

I now have Zedley the Wire Haired Fox Terrier who was going to be PTS as his show life had ended, plus I am fostering a pound girl, Bonnie. I think she is a Maltese Shitzu cross. She is about 8 and has cataracts in both eyes :rolleyes: She is housetrained and very well behaved and gets on well with Zedley and Alfie (the son's 18month old Weimaraner). She is the Alpha around here :) and at times Zedley feels a little jealous. He sleeps on me bed, and Bonnie sleeps on the floor on her own bed. Zedley did not like her on the bed too :)

Hugs
Loraine (Coco's Mum forever, Zedley's new Mum and Bonnie's foster Mum)

[ernietsmom]

Hi all,
Ernie and I are still hanging in there. He's still not on any meds for his Cushing's (we went too low with loading). He seems to be doing fine and not showing any symptoms of Cushing's. I will be taking him in soon (next week I hope) for an ACTH test just to see where we're at. I'll let you know how it goes.
prayers and drool to all.
hugs,
Audrey, Ernie's mom

[SkeltiesStepMom]

Hi All -

Skeltie's StepMom and Skeltie here!
Well, since she was diagnosed in November, we've had a bit of a journey. She started out at 20mg of Trilostane daily and the vet actually lowered it to 15mg in January - her numbers were good but she has started having tremors (not constant but certainly daily) and he was worried she was building up the meds in her system. We've also found her protein levels are high in her urine. Having ruled out adrenal cushings via ultrasound (which can impact kidney function, I'm told), we've put her on Benazepril (ok, I'm sure I misspelled this!) to help her kidney out. She's still drinking and urinating excessively - but that could be caused by the protein loss. So...we're trying to figure out what symptoms are due to what, and get her kidney functioning, tremors to stop, excessive drinking/urinating to stop, etc etc etc.

Her numbers are good though, and she's still frisky so I count those blessings for sure!

[MabelBudZoe]

Checking in - Buddy had a ACTh test last week and though the numbers arent perfect they are ok - at a 7 doc and i are gonna try and add a half a dose to his twice weekly Lyso staring this week - hopefully it will do the trick. He is doing good - peppy and ahppy and thats all I ask for

[carolyn mcdaniel]

I know I have not posted lately, bit I would like to update you on Angel, my schnauzer. My baby is still blind and it has not be easy for her to adjust. I have read that is like training your dog all over again and that it can take 4-8 weeks. Sure hope this goes by quickly because she is so unhappy. Night time seems to be the worst. But we have come upon a new problem, and I was wondering if any of your cushing dog might have the same. Angel has started making this snorting noise through her nose. A few times she started to shake, while and after doing this. The vet said that it is sinus and allergies. The have her on (since Tuesday) 25 mg of benadryl twice a day and amoxicllin 200 mg twice a day. She is only taking Marlin for her liver right now. Nothing for the cushing until March 24, they are going to retest her then. But if she is not better by tomorrow (Friday) I will take her back to the veterinary for this other problem. Could this be cushing and should I suggest that to my vet? Thanks for listening.

[EllieEskies]

Hi Everyone! Just checking in for March.
Snowdrop is doing great. I am thrilled to say that she will be celebrating her 8th Birthday on March 26th. She is definitely my little miracle girl...she was 1st diagnosed as a Hypothyroid dog when she was 2 years old, and a Cushing's dog when she was 4 years old. Right now I have noticed absolutely no symptoms of Cushing's, or Hypothyroidism. Snowdrop is just a normal little dog who happens to take pills 2 times per day. Her next appointment for a check-up and ACTH test is not until the end of May, or the beginning of June.
I'll check in again as time permits.
Hugs!
Ellen & Snowdrop

[Murphy'sMom]

Murphy's health is deteriorating, unfortunately very quickly. In the past few months, her hind legs have gotten shakier when she stands and she has just been diagnosed with a luxating patella and arthritis in one leg. Her kneecap pops out of place periodically while she's walking around, making her do a little hop and kick while she tries to pop it back in. She's on Medacam now for her legs and it has made them less painful but she's just not getting her strength back. She starts her day by going outside for a pee, has breakfast, sleeps on the couch all day, gets up to eat her supper, back on the couch for more sleep, gets up at bedtime and climbs onto our bed, sleeps all night, wakes up with us and starts the day all over again. She's not in pain, but I wonder what quality her life has these days. We're having to think about tough decisions in the future. Normally, a luxating patella would be fixed with surgery but our vet doesn't seem to think this would be a viable option for her since we're just mainly doing palliative care at this point. I'm feeling pretty down about the whole thing, over all. She's only 8...it's not fair that she should have to deal with this. :(

[danni]

Hi Murphy'sMom

:( I'm sorry to hear that Murphy's not doing so well. Is the decline in the strength of her hind legs attributed to her arthritis or to cushings disease? Perhaps a bit of both? is there any way the extreme fatigue and hind leg weakness could be partially due to high cortisol levels?

Buffy was on Metacam for arthritis but I didn't think it took enough of the pain away. We switched to Rimdayl (Carpofen) which really made a big difference to his pain levels/mobility. Rimadyl is known to have had some bad side effects in a small number of dogs but I've read countless testimonies of owners who were considering putting their dogs to sleep because they were so immobile/in so much pain and then started Rimadyl and found their dogs were so much better. Buffy now takes Previcox which is thought to be safer and also provides good pain relief. ?? just a thought - Murphy is so young and I agree it's so unfair she should be having such a tough time.

Just in case you're interested - Rimadyl website
www.Rimadyl.com

I can only imagine how tough it must be for you at the moment - I'll be thiking about you both!!

Danni

[Mary Ann Mann]

Skipper is hanging in there. Some days better than other. One very surprising and pleasing happening - He is started to get new growth of hair on his back and tail...and it is very, very red..... :D Much reder than before...
Best wishes to all, Mary Ann and "Red" :D

[wwhall]

Happy to report Coda has been doing well. Over the past couple of weeks, he has only pooped on the floor once! Maybe the Grapeseed extract prescribed to help with doggie alzheimer's is helping.

His back leg strength is okay. At least they are not giving out on him lately. I try to take him on a leash walk once or twice a week to help strengthen them. We have a big fenced yard, but do not live in a place that is easy to walk on a leash (country road and no shoulder), so I drive into town to walk on a path through the park.

He still takes a break to go outside halfway through breakfast, then finishes when he comes back in.

We're doing pretty well, despite the return of winter and SNOW in upstate NY.

Wendy & Coda

[Unregistered]

Thanks Danni.
I'll definately look into those if the Metacam doesn't help her.

[Unregistered]

Thanks Danni.
I'll definately look into those if the Metacam doesn't help her.
(From Murphy's Mom...forgot to sign in. Ooops.)

[Jo_79]

Hi All,

Its been a while since I last posted about Caesar. In my last post, he had been to the specialist in Sydney, and we stopped taking Lysodren a few days before we went up. We decided to re-load him and as yet this hasnt happened. So its been about 7 or so weeks since he has been off medication. Caesar has been doing really well though, his hair is still growing and his water consumption has levelled off really nicely. Unfortunately, his belly is well and truely rounded and its time to get back on the drugs. We are going to start loading later this week so Ill be dropping in more frequently with updates.
I feel bad that i havent reloaded him as quickly as i should have, but I have been so tired and lacking in energy that this has all taken a back seat. Im starting to feel full of energy again and so caesar is back at the top of my list.
My partner thinks we should just leave him because he is so full of energy and is his normal cheeky self. i have to agree that its wonderful that he isnt lethargic, and it breaks my heart when he has side effects, but i have to hope that the long term benefits of being on lysodren pay off for us.
Ill be in touch more often!
Jo & Caesar

[bgdavis]

Crissy and I made a trip to OSU las Friday. She had her eye checked and everything is good as long as she is getting her eye drops for glaucoma.

They ran another ACTH stim and both pre and post were within range...stil haven't received the actual numbers.

We're continuing to reduce the amount of insulin she is getting since her blood sugar levels have been extremely low at times. Internist said that she wanted to see her running higher and to continue to adjust her insulin downward. She's down to 14 units, twice a day from 18.5. All she could say was that with the Cushings' well controlled, the insulin requirements were dropping.

We don't have to return until September!

Bonnie and Crissy