Trying to help a friend (possible calcinosis cutis)

[4Vicki]

Hi all: Brand new here & looking for help for a friend who doesn't have a computer.

She has a 10 yo Boston Terrier who has had Cushings for a while. Her vet kept telling her that she didn't have Cushings & I was concerned because I thought her symptoms sure sounded like Cushings. I'm not a vet tech or anything like that but I have read a lot about dogs & various diseases. I started doing research because poor Vicki was breaking out w/those lump (calcinosis cutis?????) & she was getting worse by the day. Finally, a different vet diagnosed Cushings (rah rah)!

Now she's on Vetoryl but because this has gone undiagnosed for so long, her skin is in really bad shape. There are some meds she can't take because she has problems w/dry eyes so antihistamines are out. She keeps calling & asking me what she should use on her topically & I just plain don't know. Looked around on the internet but only can find info on hot spots, not calcinosis cutis (that's a real mouthful, huh?) She's using something for hot spots which her vet said was fine (sorry, can't remember what it is right now) but she said it isn't working.

I decided to come to the experts..........

Does anyone have any ideas? Any input would be greatly appreciated & I will pass it on.

Thanks.....

[Sabre's Mum]

Welcome ... and what a good friend you are!

Our Hungarian Vizsla had calcinosis cutis and was treated with Lysodren.

We tried to keep infections down and to keep the areas dry. Things we used were:
• Medicated Shampoos (this did not work for Sabre as it just made the areas more red and inflamed)
• Oatmeal Shampoos
• Antibiotics when infections looked likely – here we found that we could get away with cheaper antibiotics.
• Betadine
• A t-shirt or jacket (depending on the weather)

Here is a recent link to a thread which has some info on calcinosis cutis. http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3765

Angela

[addy]

Hi and Welcome,

How nice of you to try to help your friend. We have members who have dealt with Calcinosis Cutis and I am sure they will all be along soon to relate their experiences.

I am so glad you found us!
addy

[lulusmom]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Thank you for having a compassionate heart and wanting to help Vicki. Calcinosis Cutis can be very difficult to resolve and you have already heard from our resident expert, Angela. As she mentioned, her Sabre treated with lysodren, which may be a better choice of treatment for dogs with calcinosis cutis. Dr. David Bruyette, one of our country's reknown veterinary endocrine specialist, stated in one of his lectures that his facility (VCA West Los Angeles) has not had good luck with resolving the calcinosis cutis in dogs being treated with Vetoryl (Trilostane). VCA West Los Angeles treats hundreds of dogs with cushing's so they have lots of experience under their belt. If your friend's vet is out of suggestions, you may want to ask her to ask the vet to contact Dr. Bruyette to discuss Vicki's case.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/west-los-angeles

[4Vicki]

Many thanks for your helpful suggestions. I have some reading to do on that thread to see if I can find help for her.......I did look around before I posted but I missed that thread......

I have a Lab w/allergies so this is why I'm always researching something on the internet having to do w/dogs, allergies, diseases, etc. etc. & why she always comes to me for help.

Last vet just put her on a/b because the mess on her skin is getting infected. She also said she cut up a T shirt & put that on w/an E collar to try to keep her away from it.

I will keep reading all over this forum to see if I can come up w/some suggestions for her........& many thanks from her too. She is a nervous wreck right now (plus her mother is in a nursing home & not doing too well) so my heart really goes out to her. I just don't know what to tell her to do!!!!!!! I thought if I could find something to make Vicki more comfortable, that would lessen her stress just a tad.

Thank you for the nice welcome.........

[4Vicki]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Thank you for having a compassionate heart and wanting to help Vicki. Calcinosis Cutis can be very difficult to resolve and you have already heard from our resident expert, Angela. As she mentioned, her Sabre treated with lysodren, which may be a better choice of treatment for dogs with calcinosis cutis. Dr. David Bruyette, one of our country's reknown veterinary endocrine specialist, stated in one of his lectures that his facility (VCA West Los Angeles) has not had good luck with resolving the calcinosis cutis in dogs being treated with Vetoryl (Trilostane). VCA West Los Angeles treats hundreds of dogs with cushing's so they have lots of experience under their belt. If your friend's vet is out of suggestions, you may want to ask her to ask the vet to contact Dr. Bruyette to discuss Vicki's case.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/west-los-angeles

Thank you so much for your thoughts on this. I think we were posting at the same time so I didn't see your post until I finished mine.

My friend heard somewhere that lysodren is a very harsh med & is very harmful to the dog so my guess is she told the vet she refused to put her dog on it. I don't know that for a fact but she did tell me that she would not allow Vicki to take that lysodren. I researched that also & found good & bad about it. I will go to that website you gave me & if need be, print it out & drive over to her house later.

Again, many thanks to all of you..........my friend will be very grateful for your help. I already told her that I'm no expert.

[Sabre's Mum]

I should add to my first post .... it takes time!! It took probably about 4 to 6 months before we had everything sorted with Sabre. He not only had the calcinosis cutis but had lost a lot of hair .... more lumps would come up and he would lose more hair. So we controlled the calcinosis cutis ... areas healed up..... the hair grew back once the scabs disappeared .... then it just remained there .... never being an issue for him. Most of Sabre's calcinosis cutis were more like "plates" of deposits ie some were 3cm x 5cm in size!

Angela

[4Vicki]

I do have one question........you mentioned Betadine. Exactly how do you use it? Just dab it on full strength or what? I always keep that in the house because it's wonderful stuff but wouldn't it stain a dog's coat???????

I have a feeling that the skin problem was allowed to fester for a little too long because it took so long to diagnose Cushings. It seems to me that I told her months ago that it sounded like Cushings to me but I'm certainly no expert.

I also don't think she's seeing a specialist, I think she's going to a regular vet. Do you think I should suggest she go to a specialist?

I printed out that thread where you were all giving another poster some helpful hints on calcinosis cutis. I will bring it over to her later on.

You are all wonderful........thank you.

[Sabre's Mum]

I am really trying to recall with the betadine ... to my recollection we just followed the instructions on the bottle. I suppose it would stain the coat but in Sabre's case he had little hair ... and his coat was "russet gold" ... near the colour of the betadine! At one stage we also used Epiotic to scuff the thickened skin off as well. A lot of it was trial and error. We did also add EPO (Evening Primrose Oil) to his diet.

We just used a regular vet as there is only one specialist clinic in the North Island (I also think this is the only clinic in NZ) ... yes we are a small country ... and they are VERY expensive! A lot of members here do use an IMS .... if her regular vet is what she is comfortable with .... and is knowlegable or willing to learn and listen about treating cushings and calcinosis cutis then I wouldn't rock the boat. Dr Bruyette, will do a phone consult with your vet so this may be helpful.

Calcinosis Cutis, although is a symptom of cushings, is not commonly seen and many vets have never seen a case before. This was the case of the vet who diagnosed Sabre .... and his next vet (changed due to the first vet only working part-time and she was not comfortable with treating a dog on Lysodren when she would not be available for me all the time) had only seen one previous case when she was practising in the UK.

The other comment I would make is that the dog's "cushings" needs to be controlled ie the dog's treatment must in range. How long has her dog been on the Vetoryl? Are her ACTH stim tests where they should be?

Angela

[4Vicki]

She was just diagnosed so she hasn't been on any meds but maybe two or three weeks, month at the very most. She was on a/b for a long time because of the skin problem & also because her kidney numbers were off. I hope that's accurate........this poor dog has had so many problems, I'm getting confused! The one vet that told her it was NOT Cushings was treating her for some kidney problem & also for the eruptions on her skin. This has been going on for a few months & the only thing I know that she's been giving her are a/b.

I can get any information for you that will help but she has been to so many different vets that I have lost count. She has spent so much money on testing but I honestly don't know which tests she has had. Far as I know, she has not seen a specialist for the Cushings. I can't speak for her as to why she's been changing vets a lot recently because she finds one she likes & then she calls me to tell me that she's been to yet another one. Maybe she has not been comfortable w/them, don't know.

She went to see my vet (very special man).....he told her that he felt the testing that was done up to that point was what he would have ordered. She was just looking for a second opinion. I think this was when she got the results for the kidneys but not sure if she had the skin problem then.

I have Betadine here........I'll check it out. Thought maybe you were doing something special w/it. Her dog has a lot of white but I haven't seen her so I don't know how much fur is left on her! I also don't know when she is scheduled to go back for another checkup. I don't imagine much has changed simply because she's just started on the meds. Most meds need a few months to "kick in".......

If there's anything specific you need to know, I can call her & find out for you. I still have to drop off that thread I printed.

(I hope I'm not giving you inaccurate info........this is all from memory & that is not one of my best assets........& each yr it gets much worse........:-)