14 year-old Shih Tzu With Recent Cushing's Diagnosis

Hi there,

Just a quick update on my Hannah girl. She got her Bordetella vaccine today and they also drew blood to monitor her liver (ALKP), as well as her other organs. Everything (as far as organs go) was NORMAL! :D:D:D Even the ALKP, which most recently was down to around 400, but which had been over 1700 last March! The Denamarin is working amazingly well! I am so thrilled! She has a few little things just out of the normal range, but he said none of those are concerning and have always been a little off with her. It was so nice to get some good news about my girl for a change! Just wanted to share with you.

Hopefully I'll have more time to check in on everyone tomorrow; it's a busy week this week!

Julie & Hannah

What a wonderful update on sweet Hannah!! I am so happy for you both! You're doing an amazing job, time to celebrate! ;):D

Love and hugs,
Lori

Great update on Hannah, Julie you must be so happy and relieved about her liver values!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D

Thanks for the advice on the eye drops. I think about you and Hannah quite often too. I thought it ironic the derm vet did not think Zoe's allergies were that bad and that it was more ocd but the er vet thinks her bloodshot eyes are allergies besides the scuff. I hope you have better luck with the derm vet if you go that route.;);)

Have a wonderful day!!! Hope you are enjoying Spring Break!!!:):)

love,
addy

Julie, this is wonderful news! Thank you so much for sharing it with us -- you've made my morning! :) :) :D

Marianne

yay! way to turn the corner Hannah and Julie!!

Congratulation Julie and Hannah on a job well done. Great update and great way to start my day!

Thanks everyone!

Does anyone know about using Atopica (Cyclosporine) for allergies in a Cushing's dog? I have not gone to a derm vet because my regular vet posted on a forum where she can get info. from derm vets. One said Atopica works really well for dogs with a lot of allergies and it would not have any effect on Cushing's. Another option was Claritin and I had not heard of the last option. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Julie & Hannah

I am wondering the same thing Julie, so share any scoop you may find:D:D:D You always do, thank you.:):)

For some reason I thought one of Glynda's pups was on Claratin. Maybe I am remembering wrong. I thought I read you cannot give it though if the pup has liver or kidney disease, which Hannah does not have.

I always wonder what happens when they give warnings like that. What if you don't know your dog has kidney disease, then what?

Anyway, some of the IBD dogs on my IBD forum take the Atopica. And all I can remember and it may again be a false memory but something about a side effect of possibly having the gums grow funny.

But since I am on day five of an insomnia attack, who the heck knows what I am talking about:eek::eek::rolleyes::o:o:o

LOL Julie, sorry I am so weird.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

love,
addy

Hi Julie,

My non-Cushpup, Peg, takes Claritin for her allergies. It is just another type of over-the-counter antihistamine, like benadryl, so it is basically benign. I wish I could say it has done great things for Peg's itching, but not-so-much. But neither has benadryl or chlortrimeton, which we had tried first. Not a huge percentage of allergic dogs respond to antihistamines, and you sometimes have to run through several in order to find one that does work. I feel like I may see a bit of improvement with Peg on the Claritin, so that's why I go ahead and give it to her during her itchier time periods.

Atopica (cyclosporine) is a whole different ballgame. It is a drug that suppresses the immune system, and is therefore used to treat conditions when the illness or problem is caused by an overactive immune system that is attacking the body's own cells. Human transplant patients take cyclosporine to keep their immune systems from attacking ("rejecting") their transplanted organs. Long-term use in humans has been linked to gum overgrowth and more seriously, certain cancers like lymphoma.

Having said that, I do think it is has been used successfully to treat dogs with severe allergies. Whether it's such a great idea for a Cushpup, I cannot say. Since Cushing's already tends to suppress the immune system, I don't know how desirable it is to add cyclosporine into the mix. Maybe if the Cushing's is being well-controlled, it wouldn't be an issue. I would really want the advice of a derm specialist as to that question, which is what it sounds as though your GP vet is trying to find out. Maybe it would be OK to use on a short-term basis.

I believe that Debbie ("StarDeb55") used Atopica with one of her Cushpups. I'll send her a message to see if my memory is correct.

Marianne

Julie, my first boy, Barkley, was treated with cyclo by my derm vet as he preferred not to use steroids. I PREFERRED he not use steroids. There was a second drug that was used in conjunction with the cyclo, but I do not recall what that was at the moment. I will say that this treatment did truly remarkable things for B's allergies. He was easily averaging 3-4 major ear infections yearly. After treatment started, he had an ear infection maybe once per year. At the time the derm vet started seeing him, he told me that B was not a candidate for allergy injections because of his Cushing's. Over the years, Dr. Lewis made the comment more than once that if he had it to do over, again, that he probably would have tried skin testing/allergy injections before putting B on such high powered drugs.

Marianne was spot on about the drawbacks of long term cyclo use. B had 2 strikes against him when it comes to a compromised immune system, the severe allergies & Cushing's. He did, indeed, develop lymphoma for which he underwent successful chemo. I have discussed this with the derm vet more than once since I lost B, along with the fact of losing Harley to some type of cancer. I think our babies immune systems are already compromised because of the Cushing's, & I would hesitate to use such a powerful immune suppressant drug ever again because of that. In the short term, it may not be an issue, if you simply want to try to get Hannah some relief. In the long term, you really want to think very carefully about this, & most definitely get the input of a derm vet.

Marianne is also right about OTC antihistamines. Not all of them will be effective for a pup. I used to have a list from the derm vet for the OTC meds & dosages, he always said to allow about 6-8 weeks on one of them before you decide it's not working, & move on to the next one. For Barkley, I had pretty good success with kid's Benadryl twice per day. Benadryl did nothing for Chewy, but Zyrtec does seem to help Chewy quite a bit. He gets the some dose that I take, one tablet daily. Of course, please check with your vet before you try anything new.

debbie