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

Im so glad Hannah was seen.

I asked eye doc about Tacrolimus, he said he uses it when cyclosporine doesn't work for the dog. Many of the IBD dogs used it. A few had a problem because it was suspended in corn oil and they had trouble with the corn oil but otherwise no one reported any other issues. I hope it helps Hannah.

The other med I don't know but since Zoe has the crystals and the divet, he is weird about what to use on her. Right now Zoe's eyes look pretty good. She sees eye vet in 2 weeks.

Funny, I had wondered if her eyes look better because it seems like her cortisol may be going higher- but who knows!!!!

Good to hear about Hannah's back improving. Sweet thing:):):):)

Hi Julie,

How is Hannah?

Keep cool:D

Thanks for checking on us, Addy!

Hannah seems to be doing well. I feel like the Tacrolimus/NeoPolyDex combo worked almost immediately, but I really think I caught the worsening of her eye right away. It already looks wet and shiny most of the time, and is no longer red. It looks like her other eye, which has not been the case for a while. I am glad to see such an immediate difference. He thought it would be a couple of weeks, but it has been noticeable even in a few days!

We are trying hard to stay cool, but it's been tough! I avoid the outdoors except for early morning and evening. It's been tough to find time to take our short walks. Hannah was extra perky with that pep in her step last night on our walk, so I loved that! Any time she looks good makes me thrilled!

She has been scratching her little cyst-like growths lately because they are in her "itchy spots" of course, so I don't like that much. I have been using the chlorhexidine wipes and antibiotic ointment as needed, and it seems to work, but I wish we could get the itching under control!

I haven't noticed a difference with itching since starting the fish oil, and they did call me back to ask about Chinese herbs, but I wanted to give it a couple of weeks. Plus now I want to do more checking on what side effects the herbs might have.

Anyway, we're hanging in there and things are good for today!

Julie & Hannah

Hi Julie,
Your words are tobe taken to heart. I to have been worrying so much about Apollo's deteriating health and not trying to focus on his happiness. how is our little girl Hannah doing. We need to take one day at time and enjoy the moments we still have . But it is hard. I look back at all the joy, laughter, mischieve ,Apollo gave me and I love him so much it hurts.
Hugs Sonja and Apollo

Hi Julie,

Stopping in to say hi and to see how Hannah is. I hope her eyes are okay. The eye vet told me he was concerned that if I dont control Zoe's dry eye that she will keep getting ulcers so she is on Tacrolimus in her ulcerated eye and cyclosporine and Tacrolimus in her left eye. Her tear production was down again Friday.:(:(

The weather has cooled off and it feel so much better, doesn't it?
The drought is terrible though. It has been weeks since we have had any rain.

Enjoy your week!!

Hi All,

I need some input/clarification from you all. I took Hannah into the vet yesterday because of a yucky looking "hot spot" of sorts (on her chin) from all of her scratching/rubbing. They shaved the area and gave me an antibiotic and told me to use my chlorhexidine wipes once a day and to try Gentaved once a day. (I have an expired bottle from my parents that my vet said was fine to try. I'm not too thrilled about it but did put on a tiny bit yesterday).

While I was at the vet, I asked lots of questions to cover all of Hannah's issues:

*allergies (lots of itching and biting and a few small scabs from it). The holistic vet said we could try Chinese herbs and at this point we have tried everything else so he agreed we should. I picked it up today and she took her first one. It is Si Miao San. Is anyone familiar with this? It is supposed to help with "heat in the body." I did remind them of her Cushing's, as well as all of her other meds, and they assured me it would be fine. From what I read, it seems like it should be okay, and apparently is sometimes used in dogs with Cushing's because it can help with inflammation and weakness. At this point I just hope she does okay on it, but I would be thrilled if it helped her allergies! There is another formula she would like us to try, but for now she thinks this will help with the hot spot, small wounds, etc.

*possible senility (wandering into closets and recently getting stuck between the end table and the wall in our living room)

*hind leg weakness (anything to do to build muscle). I didn't get much of an answer, other than trying some gradual hills like the woman who does the laser treatment suggested.

*teeth--should she get her dental next month (in April he thought we should probably go ahead and do it and yesterday he looked in her mouth and said her teeth look okay and he wouldn't do it. I'm not sure what to make of that. Does he think she has limited time so why do it? Does he really think they're fine? She's had tons pulled from issues in the past)

*Cushing's check-in--should we continue as we are? Is there any point to checking her cortisol, etc.?

Now for my questions:
1. Is there any benefit to checking Hannah's cortisol level? Does it give me any indication of how "bad" her Cushing's is? My vet wavered between baseline cortisol level and an ACTH, and also mentioned a UCCR. He said we would probably get the most info. from an ACTH, but really didn't answer my question about what, if anything, it would tell us. It is $192. I also called the IM vet and left a message with the same question for her to call me back.

2. Has anyone heard of DermaPaw? I found it from that link that was posted about paw licking by breed and it looks like it could be promising. It's some kind of paste/salve that you put on the areas your dog licks/bites/etc. The people who created it seemed to study different combos and found the best one. I ordered it. My mom wants to try it on her collie who licks his paw really badly, usually in late August. I can't wait for it to arrive. My vet thought it looked good.

3. Anyone else know anything about Si Miao San? Or have you used any Chinese herbs with your dog with any success? (Or issue). It is pretty cheap, and I would love to give her some relief, but am always nervous about something new. It took me about 15 min. to finally give it to her. ;)

That's it for now. We're off to get Hannah's sweet little face trimmed.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Julie & Hannah

Hi Julie,

I have only used Shen Calmer with Zoe so I have no experience with Chinese herbs. Zoe's holistic vet switched her to a turkey diet a few years ago because she was "hot" and turkey was cool or neutral, I cant remember which.

The ACTH will tell you her current cortisol levels. Zoe was sky high in the beginning with not all symptoms and I wonder if her unresolved allergies could contribute anything to the cortisol levels? Maybe Glynda or Marianne will have an idea on that.

I know Marianne tried different products on her Peg for her allergies and chewing. Maybe you could check her thread. I cant remember if Dermapaw was one of them. Is that the product that shows you how to make the sock suspenders?

I am so sorry Hannah is having issues. It is always so hard to know which path to take.

Thinking of you both and hoping someone else has input.

hugs, hugs, hugs

Hi Julie,

I looked up the Four Marvels and didn't find anything in my books on it...but I can't locate one of them and it is the best bet...of course. :rolleyes: What I find online is the same you have found, I'm sure...which didn't tell me a whole let either! :D

Is Hannah showing any signs of her cortisol being off?

Hope the herbs works! Let us know!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Good Luck with the herbs Julie. They do sound promising! I've never tried any of the Chinese herbs, so really curious to see how they work.

Poor little Hannah, feeling so itchy. :( The heat probably doesn't help any either.

Hugs,

Sharlene (and molly muffin)

Hi Julie,

Aside from skin issues and weakness, which I'm not certain is cushing's related, is Hannah displaying any of the more typical cushing's symptoms? If she isn't, then if it were me, I wouldn't incur the expense of checking cortisol levels. Lack of symptoms is reason enough not to start treatment but my concern that is even if Hannah had symptoms, I would be hard pressed to start treatment, given her itchy skin and the onset of doggie dementia. Both could get worse with reduction of cortisol. Is Hannah still on Anipryl?

Glynda