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Thread: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
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    Canada
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    16,150

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis?

    I think I would want to talk to a board certified surgeon when he comes to decisions about surgery and personally, your best bet for options might be U of Davis. We've had several members go there, so they might have further answers for you, cost estimates, or alternative routes to take.

    The issue is going to be both adrenal glands having tumors. If they are growing into the vena cava or one of them is I should say, then it is life threatening unfortunately. I don't know if they can do anything with radiation to shrink the tumors on adrenal glands like they do with pituitary tumors or not.

    I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what options there might be and if I think of something I'll pop in.

    I'm going to also copy/paste a questionaire we use for dogs with adrenal tumors considering surgery:

    This was put together by one of our members Trish whose dog Flynn under went an adrenalectomy for a pheo successfully.

    Part I is for owners in the initial stages, when an adrenal tumour has been identified and they are considering if surgery is even an option for their dog.

    Part II is for when surgery has been decided upon and what questions might help when they are discussing it with their surgeon.


    Part I - Questions to ask when considering if surgery is an option for your dog’s adrenal tumour:
    1. What type of tumour do you suspect, ?functional, ?non-functional, pheochromocytoma, benign, metastatic
    2. Expected life span for my dog in a normal situation. If your dog is close to, at or past his expected lifespan for his breed is surgery going to be of any benefit?
    3. Prognosis for my dog if we treated medically i.e. with Cushings medications. AND if we do not proceed with surgery how long do you think it would be before the tumour started adversely affecting his quality of life?
    4. If he is miserable now, does the benefit of potentially risky surgery outweigh his current quality of life?
    5. Are there any other health problems that could impact on a positive surgical outcome, for example: if your dog is overweight or has heart, BP, liver, kidney or lung conditions
    6. Is there any sign of tumour spread – imaging should be done, including ultrasound and on advice of specialists either CT or MRI to check whether there is local invasion around the tumour, into blood vessels including vena cava or spread further away in the body to lungs etc
    7. Surgeon recommendations – would he/she do it for their own dog?
    8. Psychological impact for the owner: It is important to understand this is risky surgery, sadly current guidelines indicate 1:5 dogs do not make it, and some recommendations are not even that high. Can you accept it if your dogs dies during or in the postoperative recovery period surgery? This is where it is important to weigh up whether the benefit of your dog being fully cured is worth the risk of possibly losing him.
    9. Financially – can you afford it? Find out estimate of costs.
    10. Hopefully this will not happen, but if your dog collapses, e.g his heart stops either during his surgery or afterwards what emergency measures should be undertaken, do you want your dog to have CPR, how far are you (the owner) willing to go for your dog to be saved in such circumstances

    Part II - Surgery has been recommended as treatment for your dogs adrenal tumour, here are a few suggestions on what questions you should ask your surgeon:
    1. Are you board certified? How many operations of this type have you done? What complications have you experienced? What were the outcomes?
    2. Please explain to me how you will do the surgery, which part would likely give you the most trouble? Will you be doing the actual surgery or a resident in a teaching situation? If so, is their close supervision?
    3. Will there be a specialist anaesthetist available for the surgery?
    4. If it hasn’t been done, do we need a CT/MRI scan to look at the tumour more closely to check for vena cava involvement or any other tumour spread?
    5. What are the risks associated with this surgery, including
    • Bleeding (including trauma to blood vessels or other organs during surgery)
    • clots
    • Blood pressure or heart problems such as arrhythmias
    • pancreatitis
    • pneumonia
    • kidney failure
    • infection
    • wound problems
    • bowel problems
    • anaesthetic risks
    • adrenal insufficiency or electrolyte abnormalities
    • death (sorry but you have to ask that risk too)
    6. If we proceed with surgery does my dog need preoperative treatment with Cushing’s meds, antihypertensive if high blood pressure is a problem – phenoxybenzamine recommended preoperatively for dogs with pheochromocytoma, anticoagulants or anything else?
    7. How will you treat to prevent clots postoperatively?
    8. What would you do if you found anything else during the surgery i.e. nodules in other organs e.g. spleen, opposite adrenal, liver, kidney. Would you remove them and what are the risks associated when doing additional abdominal surgery together with adrenalectomy
    9. How long will it take and when will you contact me so I know all is OK, when can I visit after surgery?
    10. How will the postoperative period go, how long would you anticipate he would need to stay in hospital? How will we manage pain?
    11. What monitoring would be needed, e.g. heart monitoring, oxygen levels in the postoperative period
    12. If your dog has an adrenocortical tumour affecting cortisol production will he need to be on steroids following surgery and for how long?
    13. If there are problems when I take him home, who do I contact? Hopefully the surgical team until all is stable.
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Atwater, California near Merced California
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    10

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis?

    Casey is being treated holistically and is doing very well. She had 2 more ultrasounds and the mass has grown just a tiny bit but has not been active. I guess there is now a blood test to dx pheo's, and our vet ordered the test "kit". Have been giving her chinese herbs and other things to try and dissolve tumor. She had a nodule on her spleen but that is completely gone now. Surgery, chemo and radiation will not be an option.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Canada
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    16,150

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis?

    Keep us informed on how Casey is doing. I'm hoping that you'll have luck with the herbs enough to keep the tumor inactive at least. The risk is always the growth and spread of course, but I think that by keeping up wht the ultrasounds you should be able to at least know how that is going and what progress is being made.

    big hugs, it's a rough road sometimes.
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Atwater, California near Merced California
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    10

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis? Probably a pheo.

    I kept researching options and found a man doing research and had very good results with dissolving tumors with B17 (laetrile). So after consulting with Casey's vet, we started her on the protocol 2 1/2 months ago. She was doing GREAT! No episodes of tumor activity, great energy, appetite good, and then past couple of days she has had vomiting and diarrhea and no appetite. So taking her in to vet tomorrow. Anybody know what the course of events are as a pheo situation worsens?

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,549

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis? Probably a pheo.

    Having never heard of this alternative cancer treatment I did a bit of research. The most alarming thing I read was this -
    The incidence of cyanide poisoning is much higher when laetrile is taken orally [21-23] because intestinal bacteria and some commonly eaten plants contain enzymes (beta-glucosidases) that activate the release of cyanide after laetrile has been ingested.[17,22]
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0032851/

    This study was based on use in humans but could translate to canines I would think. So not knowing how you are using this product, or which form, it is hard for me to offer any ideas about the signs Casey is now exhibiting. Can you contact this person where you got this idea and see what his experience is? As for "which form", from the same study -

    Although the names laetrile, Laetrile, vitamin B-17, and amygdalin are often used interchangeably, they are not the same product. The chemical composition of U.S.-patented Laetrile (mandelonitrile-beta-glucuronide), a semisynthetic derivative of amygdalin, is different from the laetrile/amygdalin produced in Mexico (mandelonitrile beta-D-gentiobioside), which is made from crushed apricot pits.[15,16] Mandelonitrile, which contains a cyanide group, is a structural component of both products.[15] It has been proposed that released (hydrogen) cyanide is the active cancer-killing ingredient in laetrile, but two other breakdown products of amygdalin—prunasin (which is similar in structure to Laetrile) and benzaldehyde—may also be cancer cell inhibitors.[17-20]
    I wish I had more to offer. But sincerely pray Casey recovers. Did you decide against the surgery completely?

    Hugs
    Leslie
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Canada
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    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis? Probably a pheo.

    How is casey doing? What did the vet say? Could it just be a bacterial stomach upset? Has the vomiting and diarrhea resolved?
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Atwater, California near Merced California
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: Help! Is it Cushing's or Glomerulonephritis? Probably a pheo.

    Cyanide poisoning does not occur because when the Laetrile enters a normal cell, nothing happens. It is only when it enters a cancerous cell is when it destroys the cells. And there has not been a officially documented case of cyanide poisoning from Amygdalin, (B17) Laetrile. Her vomiting and diarrhea were caused by a dog flu that was going around in our area. She has been doing very well, no flare ups at all until yesterday. She started drinking more water and has been restless, but seems to be getting better now. You need to remember that the government is not going to want people to know about Laetrile being successful in treating cancer. There is no money in it for them, period. It comes from Apricot seeds, so it cannot be patented. You need to look underground for true information.

    http://www.oasisofhope.com/cancer-tr...pies/laetrile/

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