Miss Millie Mayhem (Eng Bulldog) - NEW Dx: Cushings PDH and AWFUL Calcinosis Cutis

Good job Glynda! What you say makes totally good sense... for those of you who are new to the disease - 8-10 yrs ago trilostane was not legal in the US.. lysodren was the sole drug of choice really... and we never saw cc. All of a sudden it seems like it's everywhere. And you are right - the majority are with dogs using trilostane. Thanks for all the research you do. Kim

Kerry,
Glad to hear the derm vet is happy with Millie's progress, that's great news. It is hard to have patience when you just want your pup back to normal. I have trouble waiting for symptoms to abate..have to constantly remind myself too..all in good time! Millie just has such expression on her face in her photos. I hope she's feeling better and that her skin issues will soon clear up. :p

Barbara

For folks who want to share general thoughts and comments about this study that Glynda has found, I've created a new thread in which our comments can be consolidated all in one place:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5509

Marianne

Just checking in! Have had to travel for work this past week, and husband has taken care of Miss Millie…she had her dermatology appointment on Friday, and the dermatologist said she looks amazing…really??? I think she looks terrible, but I guess it is all relative and since the Derm had not seen her for a few weeks, she could see the progress that I do not see day by day. I am taking Sharlene's advice (thanks!) and taking pics just once a week and will compare week by week. The Derm was also open to seeing how coconut oil may help and we will use it on just her cheeks and see if any improvement. Millie goes in for her next ACTH test on Tuesday, so given her non-standard test results previously, I am interested to see how she is doing this time…making sure Cortisol not too low. She's been on Trilo for 22 Days now, and still a little slow, but taking things day by day... I have to also understand she is a 10 Year old English Bulldog so I shouldn't expect her to start galloping around the yard!

Most messy thing now is she may just start randomly bleeding from something as small as a pore and then it just bleeds and bleeds. In my next post, I am going to do my best to explicit detail her CC from start to today....so many details that I want others who may be new to this to read - I know I always wondered what next? How do I know if it's getting any better? What products are being used? etc...

xoxox to all!
Kerry (Millie's Mama)

Hi Kerry, I am so glad that your Derm Dr thinks Millie is improving. Like you I see Peety everyday and I use to wonder if he was actually improving. But I know he is. He has no sores now, he has two places that are hard black skin but the hair is growing there. Occasionally when I bath him (every other day) when I rub the black part it will sometimes bleed a bit. I put some Neosporin on it and that is all that I ever see. I don't know what is under the black, it is not like a scab just black hard skin. :eek: :eek:
I am the exception to the rule in that he is not Cushing's and he is not on any meds. So his CC most likely came from the prednisone and now that he is off of it I am not seeing anything new and what he has is very slow at going away. He is not interested in it anymore either. No scratching. Which is good. To see him now you would not really see the skin issues because they are almost hidden again by the regrowth of hair. But in the beginning he did have the pimplely lil wart like bumps that easily bled. I dealt with open sores for a few months and I was always scared of infections. After my Derm Dr. tried to put him on DMSO I just started reading everything I could to find what worked for others. Someone suggested Hibiclens and to me that was the one thing I had the most confidence in because of the medicinal qualities. I did the Hibiclens every day at first. Neosporin for sores and then I started taking him to the beach or making salt baths to put him in. Then I did the Manuka honey when the sores were sores and now that there are no sores I just use the coconut oil after his bath with Hibiclens. I shed a lot of tears over this. I honestly did not know if anything would ever work. At first he was so sore and raw that I put pants on him and long sleeved shirts just to keep him covered. I will see if I can post his "first day of school" photos. He looked pretty pitiful but I was trying to keep the sores covered as much as I could. I am so sorry for those that are dealing with Cushing's and CC. But this is the best place to be. I think there is more knowledge here than any of the previous Vets I went to. Hang in there. If I think of anything else I have experienced I will post it. Sending big hugs to you and Millie. Pat and Peety

Kerry,
Just dropping in to give you a great big hug and Millie a nice tummy rub. You are doing a awesome job taking care of her skin issues and it can't be easy. Xxxxxx

Good idea to document it all. I use Molly's thread to keep track of what is going on with her. I can go back and look to see what I thought something was on any given day. If there isn't much change, then I just do the stories of life with her, but recently I went back to see what I thought about a couple bumps on her and I'd forgotten about a bump that I now can't even find. So that is another way to keep track of things too (using the thread). Plus the pictures of course.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Kerry, I learned to document EVERYTHING! You never know what might end up being important. Documentation helps you to see any patterns that may be forming. You are doing great! Xxxxx

My little boxer girl Ruby has the calsinosis just as bad as your Miss Milly. I am trying to figure out ho to navigate this site but finding it a bit difficult. I am now using only diaper cream as nothing has worked.
How have you made out , please reply.
Sandra

Hi Kerry, yes indeed it is about time for an update on Miss Millie. :) How is she doing?
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin