Checking in for December 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! :)

[mymollygirl]

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to give everyone an update on Molly.

She is doing really great. She is jumping into the house from the patio, easily jumping down from the couch, trotting when she goes somewhere, and just has a great attitude and spirit. She's still very hungry, but that's partly being a beagle and partly her Cushings! She's still bald from all the ultrasounds and IVs, but that will take a LONG time to grow back I know. She may have another UTI??? She had a culture so we will get the results next week. If she does, she will start pulse therapy on antibiotics to try and keep them away. Also, she has giardia. She probably picked it up at Texas A&M being around all the sick doggies. She's on antibiotics for that and we will see how that goes. It sounds like she's having a rough time, but really compared to where she was a month ago, she's like a new dog! And you can't see her spine anymore!!!!! She has gained back a few pounds (she was 30 pounds and fell to 22 in a couple weeks! :eek: She is now back to 24.4 or so!!). She really just looks good.

She finishes her pred on 12/11 and will have her first ACTH Stim on 12/18. Then we will see where we are.

Thanks for all your support as we go through this. I really appreciate it. It has kept me sane! Hope all your babies are doing well, too!

- Brandi & Molly

[bgdavis]

Happy Holidays to all.

Crissy had her remaining eye removed on Nov. 13 and a prosthesis put in. We went back to OSU yesterday for a post-op check up and it's healing well, but a little slower than the previous one. Criss has set a new record at OSU...3 major eye surgeries in 24 months.

She seems to be hangin' in with all of her other problems. We will have to run an ACTH stim test early next month to check where she's at and have to change insulin this month since they stopped manufacturing what she's been on last year.

Bonnie and Crissy

[Buffaloe]

Shiloh just continues to do exceptionally well. She is a very happy and a very healthy dog. She loves her daily trips to the park and her walks around the neighborhood in the evening. It's been almost 7 weeks since her surgery and her strength, stamina, and behavior are those of a very healthy senior citizen. Getting that nasty adrenal tumor out of her has worked out much better than I could have ever expected. We'll be celebrating her 12th birthday this Thursday.

I see every precious day with her as a gift from God. I know I won't have her forever but I am so deeply thankful for all of this quality, extra time with my partner.

I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ken and Shi

[wwhall]

Just looked at a post regarding Coda I wrote last January. Can’t believe I’ve been cleaning up dog poop on the floor for a year, and now, I don’t even mind. Now, I only mind when Coda’s legs give out and he is stuck sitting in an awkward looking pose, and I have to go lift his ever shrinking bulk up and help him get going again. (Makes for messy poops.) He had about 7 days straight of diarrhea a couple months ago, and that almost put me over the edge. Now I keep sheets on the LR floor in prime areas, so that helps.

Coda is days away from being a 10 ½, which is a ripe old age for Danes. He has been on Lysodren for three years and three months, and done very well. I just had an ACTH stim test done yesterday, and his numbers were 4.5 pre and 3.2 post. For the past couple months I have given him 1500 mg of Lysodren per week. (One 500 mg tablet on M-W-F.) He acts happy, eats well and still enjoys life. For whatever reason, he has been losing weight over the past many months, and is now 99.5 pounds (down from 115-120). He hardly has any muscle, and his back legs are wobbly and unreliable. Just in the last month or so, he has started falling (to a sitting position) while pooping.

I do what I can to help. I hold under his tummy if I’m near him when he does the poop walk. He jumps his front feet into the car and I assist with the back legs. I keep Roo behind the door so she doesn’t tackle him when he comes in and bounds up the 8 stairs to the LR in two bounds. I spot him going down the stairs to steady him if the back legs are wobbling.

He still manages a hoppitty gallop across the yard if there is real or imagined activity around the perimeter—or even a good scent in the wind. He barks loudly when the hunters are shooting deer in nearby woods, when the mailman leaves the mail in the afternoon, and especially for the UPS truck. He lays with his head in my lap while I pet him and watch TV in the evenings; Ben, me, three sizeable dogs and one cat all on the sofa. Good times. Good life. It doesn’t last forever.

I’m reminded of my favorite saying (from a refrigerator magnet): ENJOY LIFE—THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL.

Wendy (a dance teacher and pet lover) & Coda

[dhallett]

HI everyone.
Penny went on Trilostane (30 mg per day, she weighs about 10kg), a month back. On day 10 she had good results from the ACTH stim test, and she was Cushing-symptom free, feeling great.

But then on day 13 she came back to her symptoms of CECS (see that yahoo group for more info -- basically a genetically linked tendency to muscular cramping. CECS - Canine Epileptiod Cramping Syndrome. Epileptoid because on first glance, it looks like Epilespy, but it's not. She's had it since about a year old, and she's 7 now).

Anyway, then came three bad days of repeated cramping episodes (and this is a full body full on cramp. They are heartbreaking to see, but once it's passed, the doggies seem to be fine within minutes.)

After a vet consult, we took her off the Tril, and she's had two weeks med-free. Of course, all the cushing symptoms came back. But the cramping went away. Yesterday we put her back on the Tril. We'll now see if the meds were exacerbating the CECS.

Maybe we'll be able to find a happy medium. I can see 7-10 days on Tril, then 3 days off. Of something like that. Keep her just cushingoid enough to prevent the cramps, but not too un-cushingoid that the cramps return.

Thanks for the ear.
Love to all,
Debby

[Loraine]

I'm still hanging here :) (addiction I think). Hoping you all have a very happy Christmas and the best of New Year's! Woof's to all the pooches, stay on track doggies - nothing like trying to find the vet over the hols :D

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

[dedgekko64]

Hi All,
An update on Fox for December....He's been on Trilostane for 43 days now. So far, so good. Finally his symptoms are starting to subside. The excessive drinking is down to the point that now when I look over at the bowl there usually is some water in it, whereas before I was always filling it. I don't have to take him out every half hour to pee, although being a creature of habit he still likes to get up very early in the morning for a drink and a stroll outside. As long as we can go back to bed after then it's okay. His appetite never changed, he eats ravenously and I would love to see some extra weight on him so his backbone wasn't so noticeable. Perhaps this takes more time, as I'm sure the coat growing back takes lots of patience. His skin looks good though. He is still battling this ear infection, it's very stubborn. All in all, I'm happy with his results as he has settled into this medication without any major problems. He'll go in for an ACTH soon. I had to delay his 30 day because I was hospitalized but will post his numbers when I get them.
Happy Holidays to all and hang in there.:)

[EllieEskies]

Hi Everyone
Wishing each and everyone of you a happy holiday season.
Snowdrop had her check-up last month and her ACTH test, bloodwork, and thyroid test all came back great. All in the endocrine department is under control.
However, :( Snowdrop's skin was slightly inflamed. So, she was looked at by the Dermatology department. Seems my little furgirl was suffering from seasonal allergy. Of course, because she is a Cushing's girl, and cannot have any of the oral medications to correct it (steriods), we were given topical treatments. Poor little one has to be bathed 2-3 times per week with an antibiotic based shampoo, and afterwards, a special rinse which is left on.
It has been a month since the treatments were started, and I am starting to see a lot of improvement in her skin. Hopefully this will continue.
She goes back on January 17th for a follow-up by Dermatology and her Endocrinologist. Also, Snowdrop will be visiting the Dental department on the same day. She is definitely not going to be a happy camper.
Overall, she is full of energy, plays and continues to have her attitude.
For those who do not know, Snowdrop was diagnosed at the age of 4 yrs, and she is going on 9 yrs old...doing fine.
I will check-in again and keep everyone updated.
Happy Holidays!
:) Ellen & Snowdrop

[Snoopysmom]

Happy Holidays to everyone and their fur babies!!! Snoopy and I are just checking in. He has been on maintenance since Sept. 11th. He is doing fine. Appetite and drinking still under control at this point. We go in for another ACTH in late Jan. Pam & Snoopy

[ernietsmom]

Hi all,
I've been remiss in checking in lately. Ernie is doing well. He's not on any meds (maintenance dose of Lysodren took him too low in June). His last ACTH showed his levels creeping up, but he's showing absolutely no Cushing symptoms. I'm going to schedule an ACTH after the holidays just to see where he's at. He turned 12 on Oct 1st. He really seems to be feeling good.
I'm very thankful for that!
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Audrey, Ernie's mom

[we3dogs]

HELLO!!! We are all doing fine! Angel was on trilostane 30 mg 2x day but seems to do better on 1 60mg. I may have mentioned that her right eye seems crooked, and when she is on the 60mg 1x day her eye looks better - go figure! I am actually getting my next batch of meds from Phoenix - it is the pharmacy that the vet uses so I will try them out and see how Angel does. I'll let you all know what I think...Can you believe she is still on the meds that Bonnie gave me when she brought Angel to us?!? :eek:
Pebbles was spayed this month (yes, 6 yrs old and not spayed!). Our new vet wants to do a LDDST on Pebs as he doesn't like the fact that her tests when she was found (July 05) showed a positive for cushings. Her last LDDST was Jan 06 and was negative.
Zee! is doing as good as can be. He is now completely on a raw diet and stilll takes 4 supplements a day. His skin/fur is still not where it should be. So cha-ching cha-ching!
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON NO MATTER HOW YOU CELEBRATE! A very MERRY CHRISTMAS from Joyce, Harry, Alex, Zee!, Pebbles and Angel (LabBlab-I see you are online now and you are always wanting to know about little Angel so I figured I'd better log on!!!)

[MattiesMom]

Hi everyone and Happy Holidays! It's been a while since I last checked in and I hope everyone is doing well.

Mattie is doing so good that half the time I forget she even has cushings, if it weren't for that little swollen belly. She is really feeling good these days. Loves to chase the birds and squirrels and visit the neighbors. I am so happy that we finally got the Lysodren dose right. She eats & drinks normally now and no piddles in the den!

There is one thing that I guess the Lysodren causes and that is like a tic. I can't really call it a seizure, it doesn't last but for 1 or 2 seconds. Bless her heart, she came up the steps to the couch and had one just as she landed on the couch and fell off (she's ok, landed on the cushy doggie step). But, if that's all she has to deal with I think that is pretty good.

Happy Holidays everyone, and God Bless.

Mattie & Ruthie :)

[BestBuddy]

I just wanted to wish you all a Merry and Safe Christmas. Since finding this site I have had so much joy hearing all the success stories and so much sadness hearing about those who have lost the battle. One thing I have learned is that we don't have to do it alone. A trouble shared is halved and a joy is doubled when we have someone to talk to.
Thank you
Jenny & Buddy