(Re) Introducing Marcie

Hi all, so 13 years ago I found this forum and was going through the process with my gorgeous boy Fraser. He has a long thread and anyone thatÂ’s been here that long may remember it. http://https://www.k9cushings.com/fo...ghlight=Fraser

Anyway, 10 years after my last post, IÂ’m back again, this time with Marcie. I got her just after Fraser had passed and she has been my little Princess for over 12 years now. She will be 13 in August.

SheÂ’s had a hell of a few years, grass seed abscess, lipomas removed, severe pain issues that turned out to have been caused by a huge infiltrative lipoma (that has now been removed twice) followed by a neurological issue where she struggled to walk for a few months, but she is an absolute trouper and has bounced back from all of it. Along the way (before the issues started) she has participated in multiple sporting disciplines, has 3 champion and 1 grand champion title to her name (she got her rally champion after recovering from the neurological issue, thatÂ’s how well she recovered!) and just loves life and working.

Along the way though, when the first infiltrative lipoma surgery was going on (2years ago) she had a blood test with mildly raised liver enzymes. I started her on Denamarin and they went down, we put it down to the muscle damage from the lipoma. I followed up and retested again last year to check, they had gone up again, significantly, hitting 1100. I started the Denamarin again, then tested again 3 months later, no real change this time. Vet suspected Cushings. I thought about it, decided not to go with testing as she wasnÂ’t really showing any other clinical signs and wanted to focus on trying to heal her liver. However then the other signs started. She doesnÂ’t drink excessively and doesnÂ’t pee constantly so I probably missed the cues along the way, but she pants constantly, is eating everything she can get hold of and her belly has really rounded out now. (SheÂ’s always liked her food and weÂ’ve always battled the waistline, but sheÂ’s chunked on a kg in 2 weeks). And while she is physically very strong, I have noticed that she seems weaker in the legs a bit, but that could also be because she is chonkier and doesnÂ’t jump up as easily now? She also does have some arthritis.

So today we went and had the LDDS test. When the infiltrative lipoma was removed again in Dec last year, she had an abdominal ultrasound then as well and while it was a lower res machine, vet didnÂ’t see anything that would cause any concern, ie no visible tumours or masses to be seen.

Now having learnt from Fraser, who was misdiagnosed, and just because IÂ’m only starting the research phase again (IÂ’ve forgotten way too much) what other tests should/could we be looking at to be certain that it is actually Cushings? With Fraser I didnÂ’t do the ultrasound that could have potentially changed his outcome, but weÂ’ve had that this time (though IÂ’m wondering if I should book a higher rest scan with a specialist?)

Some other potentially pertinent info : Marcie is really chemically sensitive, she tends to only have 1/2-3/4 doses of anything as often a full dose will make her sick. She is taking 100mg of gabbapentin daily btw, IÂ’ve been weaning her off it for a long time now but every time I think itÂ’s time to stop she has a pain flare up so itÂ’s just been holding at that with an extra capsule as needed. Weight ranges from 18-20kg, breed stats say she should be around 15 but she is very solid bone structure and very muscular as well (vets often surprised at her strength) and well, she likes her food 🤪

So thatÂ’s where we are for now. Not a huge amount to go on yet, but coming back to say hi and hope thereÂ’s still some of the incredibly knowledgable and helpful people still here.

Hi and welcome to you and Marcie!

Welcome back and congratulations on the new addition to your family, Marcie is blessed to have you as her pet parent! Also, I am so sorry for the passing of sweet Fraser, my heart goes out to you.

The test I would recommend for Cushing's is the ACTH stimulation because of Marcie's other health issues as it is preferred when a dog has any underlying health problems.

It would help us greatly if you would post all abnormal blood Chemistry/CBC levels for us, I did see that you said her liver enzymes were elevated, could you post which one/s and how high?

Sorry this is so short and I'll try to get back later.

Hugs, Lori

Welcome back, Naomi, although I’m so sorry that Marcie is having these problems. I apologize for the delay in writing to you, but I’ve been doing a bit of traveling and am just now catching up on things here. I wish there were more folks here for you to talk to, but sadly many of the familiar faces from earlier years are no longer posting here. People seem to be gravitating more to Facebook groups now, and not so much to message boards such as K9C. But we will still do our best to answer any questions we can.

Under the circumstances, I agree with Lori that an ACTH stimulation test would be a reasonable diagnostic step. Of the two tests, the LDDS is less likely to return a “false negative” in a dog who truly has Cushing’s. But the ACTH is less likely to return a “false positive” in a dog who is actually suffering from a stressor or illness other than Cushing’s. So if an ACTH also comes back positive for Marcie, I think you’d have greater confidence that Cushing’s is genuinely the culprit.

Also, like Lori, I’d welcome seeing any other abnormal laboratory results for Marcie. Dogs with Cushing’s often exhibit certain abnormalities in other labwork. So again, having the chance to review the results can add more clarity to the diagnosis.

In the meantime, though, I certainly want to join in welcoming you once again. Fraser will always be remembered and honored here, and now we hope to support you and Marcie in any way we can.

Marianne

Hello & welcome (again).

Have you done an MRI to rule out or confirm a pituitary tumor?


As for treatment, due to past negative experiences, i'm all for natural remedies & quality of life, instead of chasing ever increasing side effects with a dozen drugs for certain health problems for which (lets face it) the outcome is inevitable.
Ex. Omega-3, 99% curcumin & milk thistle work. I can confirm because i take them myself too for my health issues.