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Coolidge
11-14-2009, 08:54 AM
Quite a few of you will remember when I first came to this board. You asked questions, I posted answers and test results. Quite a few people thought that the test results were not truly indicative of Cushings. Slightly elevated numbers could have been from stress and her lack of Cushings symptoms (she was panting and excessive thirst/urination) had a few of you wondering if she really did have Cushings…



I’m posting this to get everyone thinking, especially those who are in limbo for an actual diagnosis.



A study by the Department of Neurology at the University of Chicago has indicated that they have discovered a link between drinking water and relieving pain.



Although I don’t condone animal testing, the results of their tests on lab rats was very interesting. The following is MY interpretation of the tests. The link at the end will give you the official press release.



In this test, the lab rats were given water to drink. Some animals were subjected to pain stimuli, while others were not. In this case the bottom of their cage was heated up so that they would have to lift their feet to avoid the heat. When the stimuli was increased as the animals took a drink, they did not react to the pain and continued drinking. Researchers concluded that the pain was reduced (in their minds) by the act of ingestion. Ingestion stimulated a system in the part of the brain that controls subconscious responses, which was known to blunt pain.



So here’s my question. Is it possible that the excessive thirst that Coolidge had was merely her way of tolerating the pain she had with the bone spur and arthritis in her hips? After all, the more she drank the more she stooped and urinated, the more she stooped the more pain she had, and the vicious cycle started all over again. That maybe, just maybe, those of us who had/have pups in limboland should look for something in their animals that may cause pain? Especially those animals who really don’t show the classic signs of Cushings.



My thoughts are this. Testing, loading, and maintenance of an animal with Cushings is expensive. And if the classic signs aren’t there, is it more worthwhile to have a CAT scan or xrays done on the animal to see if anything else could be there first? And rule that out before going on to a diagnosis of Cushings? If I hadn’t been grasping for straws at the end of Coolidge’s life, we never would have had the series of xrays done that showed she had the huge bone spur IN her hip joint. The rimadyl and pain pills did diminish the amount of water she was drinking, not a lot, but it did go down by approximately 10 cups a day. In her case, surgery was ruled out because of the severely deformed hip socket (arthritis) on the other leg. At her size she wouldn’t have tolerated putting all her weight on the other leg until it healed. That being said, all the rimadyl and pain pills in the world wouldn’t have helped her. But it may help a smaller pup with less problems than Coolidge had.



It’s a thought. Here’s a link to the press release. Regretfully I don’t subscribe to the Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2009/20091014-pain.html