Hi - I've just just registered

[Sonja]

Hi,

I am Sonja from New Zealand. I've just registered to find information about Cushings. My 7 year old Border Terrier, Cara has not been well lately and we are still unsure if she has Cushings or not.
It started with her drinking a lot and toileting a lot, she is ravenously hungry and started raiding the rubbish bin, which she has never done before. Then her stomach was quite distended, but all the while she's been in good spirits. There is no temperature, no vomiting, no diarrhea. She continues to eat well.
Her blood tests last week came back with elevated Liver Enzymes, a high white cell blood count and the Urinalysis showed a high dilute in her Urine.The laboratory suggested and infection and the vet put her on antibiotics, diuretics and Denosyl. I also gave her Milk Thistle, Probiotic Yoghurt and put her on a liver cleansing diet and she was doing really well. Her stomach has flattened again - just a little 'bump' left and she is drinking normal quantities now.
However, we did a follow up blood test yesterday and her liver enzymes are even worse then last week and so is her White Cell count.
Today the vet did a fine needle aspiration to send some fluid to the lab and an XRay. The Xray showed a slightly enlarged liver, but no shadows or dark patches to suggest there was anything untoward.
I am still waiting to hear about the fluid test.

[StarDeb55]

Sonja, welcome to you & Cara! I'm certainly sorry for the reasons that brought you here, but really glad that you found us. A lot of Cara's symptoms most definitely sound like Cushing's. Have diabetes & thyroid been ruled out? I ask about these 2 because a lot of their symptoms overlap with Cushing's. If you could round up the results of all of Cara's testing that has been done so far, & post only the abnormal results for us, along with the reference ranges & reporting units, that we help us a lot to give you more appropriate feedback. I'm a lab tech with 30+ years of experience, so I can help you make some sense of all of those numbers.

With Cara's white cell count continuing to increase, this is very suspicious for some type of infection. Was a UTI ruled out in any of the testing? Even if the urinalysis results appeared to be normal except for a low specific gravity, IMO, a urine culture would not be out of line, with the elevation in the WBC continuing.

I'm a little concerned with the use of a diuretic. If cushing's is, indeed, the problem, our pups can't concentrate their urine, so giving Cara a diuretic is making the situation even worse. Because of the disease's effects on the kidneys, our pups will pee gallons, & they have to drink buckets to keep up with the fluid loss, or they can dehydrate quickly, becoming ill. Administration of a diuretic will cause even more peeing & fluid loss.

Lastly, if Cara has an active infection at the moment, you absolutely do not want to start any Cushing's diagnostic testing, until the infection is cleared up & Cara is in good health. The presence of an infection will cause cortisol levels to elevate because of the stress in the body from the infection. Once Cara is feeling better, if you decide to proceed with Cushing's diagnostic testing, I will suggest a quick, inexpensive test that could rule out Cushing's. This is a urine cortisol creatinine ratio. If it's negative, that absolutely means you aren't dealing with Cushing's, & you need to look at something else. A positive result means that Cushing's is a possibility, further testing will be needed. Cushing's does it damage in the body over a period of years, not days or weeks, so you have plenty of time to make sure you get a confirmed diagnosis.

On the upside of this, I will give you a positive note. Cushing's is easily treatable, & with treatment, your baby can live her full lifespan with a good quality of life. My first boy, Barkley, was treated with lysodren for nearly 8 years, crossing the bridge at 15 from causes unrelated to his Cushing's. We have a number of pups in this group who have been treated anywhere from 2 to as long as 5 years or more & have done very well.

Please keep us posted as to how you proceed. We are here to help in any way we can.

Debbie

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Sonja,

Welcome to you and Cara! :)

I have a dear friend named Cara! She is a true free spirit, full of love and light. :)

The signs you have mentioned - drinking, peeing, huge appetite, pot belly - all sound like Cushing's for sure. But as Debbie said, these signs can also indicate several other conditions. Cushing's is one of, if not THE, most difficult canine condition to correctly diagnose because 1) so many other conditions mimic the signs AND 2) because non-adrenal conditions can cause elevations in cortisol, skewing all the testing. So testing to rule out other conditions is an important part of the diagnostic phase. ;)

An xray isn't going to show the organs that need to be seen when considering Cushing's nor will it tell much about any organs, like the liver. An abdominal ultrasound is needed to look at the internal organs, like the adrenals, and see if there are any abnormalities that could be causing the signs you are seeing. Liver disease can cause the same signs and an ultrasound will give a much, much clearer view than an xray. ;)

For now, the thing to do is determine the source of the infection, treat it and get it cleared up, and while all this is going on, educate yourself on Cushing's. Your knowledge about this condition is as important as your vet's knowledge - in many cases, more important. So use the time you have to read all you can and ask all the questions you may have. We will do our best to help you understand. Our Helpful Resource section has a wealth of information, yours for the taking! :)

I am glad you found us and want you to know that you and Cara are not alone. We will be with you every step of the way.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang