Niah - introduction (SARDS; Cushing's too?)

[Niah]

Hi everyone, my 7 year old female Jack Russell Niah has recently been diagnosed with SARDS, she has gone completely blind, and it has been very hard for me to cope, seeing her not being able to be her hipper active self is heartbreaking. But she is trying very hard, i wish I could be as brave as her. She still insists on playing fetch, her favorite pass time.

Anyway, the ophthalmologist told me she may also have cushings disease, since she is showing all the cushings disease symptoms, excessive drinking extreme hunger and excessive urinating. however, I read that SARDs has the same symptoms as cushings.

I have an appointment with her vet tomorrow anyway, see what he says. Do you guys think I should go forward with all the necessary tests to find out whether or not she has cushings?

Thanks

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and Niah! :)

In my opinion, no, I would NOT pursue Cushing's testing right now. As you have found yourself, many SARDS pups do display the signs of Cushing's but many of them return to normal, the cush signs going away over time. PLUS the stress of the new condition, blindness, and the conditions, SARDS, itself can skew the tests causing false positives which could result in giving very powerful drugs that are not needed. I would wait a while and give her time to adjust and see if the signs disappear. If not, then you can look at testing for Cushing's.

I am the proud mom of 3 blind babies and one who is blind in one eye. All of mine came to me already with loss of vision and all have adjusted well to their dark worlds. Some tips - do not move anything on the floor unless it is absolutely necessary; don't rearrange furniture, move water/feed bowls, rugs, nothing. You can do things like use different scents in different rooms to help her know where she is or use rugs of differing naps in the doorways to let her know where she is. One of mine has sonar like a little bat and can find her way around anything anywhere, even completely strange environments. My little male is my pin ball, bashing into one thing after the other so my house is bubble wrapped - BHG is having a hissy fit! :p BUT he is strongly tactile oriented and knows where he is by what his feet touch. I have always been one to talk out loud to myself :o but that has come in very handy with the blind babies - they always know where I am and can follow me anywhere.

I hope Niah adjusts to her loss of vision soon and well. This is typically MUCH harder on us parents than it is on our babies so don't get discouraged. Niah may well teach you what you need to know in order to help her - my first dog did that for me. She was deaf and blind but taught me how to communicate with her by simply observing her.

I'm sure others will be along soon with more info and input on the SARDS.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Squirt's Mom]

And a link from our Helpful Resource Section on SARDS -

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213

[Squirt's Mom]

I have also taken the initiative and changed the title of your thread to add Niah's name so it will be easier for you to find in the future. We like to keep all info about each pup in one thread so it is easier to look back through the history if needed. ;)

[goldengirl88]

Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry to hear your Niah went blind, but maybe she can still have a good quality of life. I too have read sometimes this Sards goes away. I will pray it it goes away for your girl, as I too have a Jack Russell and I know how special they are. Blessings
Patti

[labblab]

Hello from me, too! I've also edited your thread title to add the info about SARDS so that other owners facing similar challenges will be able to find you more easily.

Marianne

[goldengirl88]

Hi:
Just checking in to see how Niah is today? I just love her name. Hope to see a picture of her. Blessings
Patti