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Julie - I hear you - its never easy -either they are drinking to much or not enough - Penny was drinking so much I couldnt keep water and her bowl and if was empty she would head to the bathroom to try to flip the lid open on the toilet!!! Now its normal drinking - go figure - thanks for your post on my thread!! Nice to have good days - but you never know what tomorrow brings - so one day at a time - hope the IMS gets back to you soon - hugsssss for now - will check back x0
Hi Julie,
thinking of you and Hannah
love,
addy
Julie - Just checking in - Hugsssssssss to you and Hannah xoxo
Hi,
Thanks for checking in, Cindy. Unfortunately, the IMS didn't get my message and doesn't work until Wed. so she will call me then with her advice on Hannah's blood work. I talked to my regular vet again and he said we could recheck her BUN/Creatinine again soon if I want to. Or we can wait about 4 weeks and recheck all blood work. Or we can do a UA. He said that a dog with kidney issues can't concentrate its urine. Since that is also the case with Cushing's, I'm not sure how much that helps us.
Regardless, Hannah has been licking her "privates" or vulva, I guess, frequently and I can see that it is really pink on the skin around there. She doesn't want me to look at it, so I know something is up. A few weeks ago we just finished a three week round of Clavamox because she had this rash all over her abdominal area. It did clear up entirely. Since it is pink again and she is licking a lot, we are going into the vet tomorrow. They want to do a UA this time too. Last time I remember them telling me if there was a UTI the Clavamox would clear it up anyway.
She was just acting off tonight and I was worried that her back was causing her pain again too. She was standing funny, had her tail down, just acting off. We went for a really short walk (it's freezing and the streets are snow and ice covered) and she wasn't moving very fast at all, but then trotted when I asked if she wanted to go home. I don't think she sees much at all, so I think walking in the dark is not appealing to her.
She did trot around the house when she couldn't find me, so hopefully the back is okay and it's just this rash that is bothering her. If I rub back there, she'll eventually let me peek, and feel the area. It does feel a little bumpy, like maybe there are some small pustules in the pink area.
Ugh. If it's not one thing, it's another. I guess we'll see the results on a UA now because of this, but I don't know what it will tell me anymore because now the potential lack of concentrated urine may not be indicative of Cushing's.
I just hope I can have two happy, healthy dogs for the holidays...
Anyway, I'll keep you posted.
Julie & Hannah
not sure if you have read everything i did with my little girl, and I am one who wants to make certain i have everything covered...everything....and if there is chance of one tiny spec being missed i want to do whatever i need to cover that. So sometimes i feel its better to just start over from scratch....do another complete cbc, biochemical, UA (cysto) pooh sample, UPC and creatine ratios, etc. and redo ultra sound and even full pancreas check. and even hormone check. Its like okay....lets see what we have, where we have been and where this is heading, i even went as far as to graph things out....(i know i know) and grouping symptoms together and then seeing what all these symptoms link back to, what do they all have in common. When i stress i cant sleep, the angels here can sure vouch for that one as the hours of my posts would come in at all times. lol
Hope you and your baby are doing okay.....sending warm hugs your way.
Hi Julie,
i am going through the same thing with Zoe with the vulva licking and her paw chewing has worsened much more that it usually is. She was cleared for UTI a month ago, we did culture too, nothing there. I think Zoe needs an anthistimine.
I'm telling you, I think Zoe and Hannah are related;););)
love,
addy
Hi Julie I had missed your update. Is Hannah feeling any better? It seems to be an awful year for allergy type stuff. Judi
Hello Everyone-
I want to write an update about Hannah. First, she is scheduled to have another NSAID test in mid-January to see how her ALKP level is, and to see if her BUN level is normal (since it was slightly elevated a few weeks ago). I am also debating the UCCR test with her, since she doesn't show a lot of signs of Cushing's.
We were back at the vet today with another skin issue. A couple of months ago she created a skin infection from licking her groin area. It cleared up, and then came back again, just by her vulva and I caught it early. We treated that for two weeks (she was done with the antibiotic on Tues.) and last night I noticed a couple of scratches and scabs on her chest. There is hair missing in that small area (she scratched it off). She has been itching there lately. It didn't look too bad, so I was just planning to wipe it with the Chlorhexidine wipes I have.
Anyway, today, I noticed that she was bleeding on the back of her front leg. I couldn't find the source of it so we went to the vet. I suspected she scratched it until it bled, but the vet said it looked like an abrasion. I have no idea how she would have gotten that.
They cannot figure out what all of the itching is about. Since it hasn't been very cold here, we wonder if it is still allergy related. She has never scratched herself to the point of injury before. For now, the vet is taking a conservative stance and we are doing a different antibiotic for ten days (Clindamycin), Benadryl three times a day (we did that in the summer) , and the Chlorhexidine wipes twice a day on those two areas.
She said if she is still itching a lot tomorrow, she recommends Gentamed, an itch spray. It does have a steroid in it, but they said they feel comfortable using a little bit topically, in a Cushing's dog (especially one with very mild symptoms). Any thoughts on this?
The next suggestion is a skin scraping to see if she has mites, since they had a case of mites a few weeks ago without typical signs. She also suggested I get Hannah's thyroid tested when I have the NSAID done, just to see if she has any thyroid issues, since that can cause skin trouble.
Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Would this be any symptom of Cushing's (lots of itching and skin issues)? My vet said it really isn't.
Also, I noticed the Clindamycin says to use with caution in dogs with liver or kidney issues. They were not worried about the very slight elevation in her BUN, but I am wondering if this is concerning with an ALKP of 400-something. I am hoping not, since I have it, but we saw the vet that is less familiar with Hannah's Cushing's issues/blood tests.
I still have been trying to check in on all of you, and now that I am on winter break (from teaching), I hope to check in more often. I hope you are all doing well.
Thanks for any suggestions you have!
Julie & Hannah
Julie: Jenny got kennel cough from her vaccine and it took 6 weeks of antibiotics to get rid of it. Her vet prescribed something stronger than amoxycillan then left for the weekend. When I googled it, it said it was not recommended for dogs with liver problems.
I got more amoxy from Jenny's regular vet and gave her that instead.
When I told this vet about my concerns he explained (and I already forget) that the liver warning are for dogs with chronic liver problems and the drug he had given me, doxycycline, would've been ok for Jenny and her elevated liver issues due to Cushings
When I started this post I thought I remembered what he said, obviously I"m losing my mind. these skin problems sound miserable though. I hope she gets some relief soon!
Thanks, Judi! I assumed it is probably okay, but now I am ALWAYS worried about my girl (who is currently barking at me and scratching my leg...why, I'm not sure...that's my Hannah). I appreciate the info.
Julie & Hannah