Is it cushings or not with our blue - Blue has passed

If his skin looks like any of those pics I would do what I could to get him tested asap. OR I would take him to a dermatology vet if there is one in your area. They will know pretty quick if it is CC or not. CC will get worse before it gets better. The excess calcium is deposited under the skin and will have to work its way out before the condition clears. So what starts out not looking so bad does get worse - but that is how it is supposed to work as the condition is healed. ;) So the MOST important thing right now is to get a confirmed diagnosis one way or the other - time is not your friend with CC; it needs to be diagnosed and treatment started asap to prevent widespread problems. If I were you, I would look for a derm vet in your area if his current GP vet won't get the testing started asap.

Hey Larinda, your pictures did make it through to our email box. Later on, I’ll try to transfer them here. Bear in mind that I’ve never seen or dealt with CC personally. But at first glance, your pictures look more like a staph infection that my current nonCush Lab suffered from a couple of years ago. She’d have round areas of yellow crust/goop the size of a dime which pulled out along with a small clump of hair. It left a raised angry red welt behind. It got really bad with multiple lesions all over her back and flanks, but over time we were able to get rid of it with medicated baths.

Both hypothyroidism and Cushing’s can leave the skin vulnerable to infection. So if it’s infection rather than CC, either disease could be the root cause. But as I say, for sure I’m not a skin expert, and so I’m not able to say for certain that it’s not CC. Like Leslie says, a consult with a derm vet would be ideal. If Blue was mine, I might be willing to wait another week in order to see if you get any improvement from the baths. If Blue is no better, I believe I’d contact your vet to see about a derm consult or to move up the ACTH. As I said above, hypothyroidism does not elevate cortisol. So if Blue tests positive on the ACTH as well as the LDDS — combined with all his symptoms that are consistent with Cushing’s — I don’t see any value in waiting to start Cushing’s treatment regardless of the status of his thyroid. Again, this is just what I’d do with my own dog. But I’d sure hate to see Blue’s skin get any worse if Cushing’s is the cause.

Marianne

My Gable gets those a lot, too. The vet told us they are bacterial infections and that they are seasonal. He gets a round of antibiotics and they go away. Gable is hypothyroid and on medication for that.

OK, I was able to upload one of the photos you sent, Larinda, but not the other. Dunno what the difference was — I’m afraid I’m not very photo savvy myself :-(. But anyway, here’s one of the two pix. It’s in an album created by “k9cushings.”

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1223

Marianne

thanks so much guys. so heres a new twist...blood in stool? he seems fine. regular and all. we've noticed it before but didn't think much of it. is that a symptom of cushings as well? I'm taking a sample to the vet for a check but I'm assuming its going to be fine. who knows. gosh.

I had a pup who had colitis and she would have bloody stools but there was also mucous and diarrhea. This is not typically a cush sign tho.

just checking in...its been 4 weeks since blue started his thyroid meds. no change really. he just mopes around. well actually i should clarify, he's claimed the rocker recliner, the only thing he can get up on anymore, so he's officially the old man of the house. its priceless how he leans back on it and looks out the window, and watches the world go by. his skin is no better even though he gets his weekly spa treatment of medicated shampoo and mousse. it may be a wee bit worse, we are noticing more areas effected than before. he is scheduled march 28th for the blood tests. so we are waiting it out but shouldn't we be seeing any improvement by now would you think? how long would it take for thyroid meds to kick in? all of his cushings symptoms are still as pronounced as ever. seems like he has all of them. (although he hasn't become incontenant in the house yet thank god) its just shocking to see him change so much from last month, last fall, last summer, last winter...its crazy how when you are with them daily, you make excuses and deny whats going on, but then you realize what he "used" to do and what he "cant or doesn't" do now. and its quite scary. reality hits you in the face. how will I know if hes "suffering" ? whats going on in that head of his? I mean, physically, I know if he can no longer get around, i'll see that, or physically sick, say organ failure and all, but otherwise...when he mopes in his chair, my heart just aches for him. whats he thinking? hows he really feeling? ugh...

I don’t see any value in waiting longer to perform the ACTH. Given his positive LDDS and all his consistent symptoms, it seems very likely to me that Blue has Cushing’s. If so, he will continue to degenerate without Cushing’s treatment. So why wait any longer to find out? Thyroid supplementation alone will do nothing to halt symptom progression caused by Cushing’s.

Given Blue’s young age, you may actually see significant improvement quite rapidly once appropriate treatment is initiated should he indeed have Cushing’s.

Marianne

Yep, I agree with Marianne. I'd do the ACTH and based on age, look at starting medication if that test is positive. If vetroyl/trilostane, start at 1mg/1lb to be on the safe side and go from there. I do think there is a good chance you could see some improvement sooner too.

Now the skin, if that is cc, then it takes quite a while to clear up and you want to get the cortisol down into a specific range. But skin/hair has a cycle growth, and all that nasty calcium deposit has to push up and out, without more building up. Then you get the skin and hair regrowth. It can take months, but if he is feeling better, then it is more bearable to deal with that than if he is feeling awful.

the vet agreed to do the testing tomorrow. wish us luck. hopefully we will get some answers and help for blue.