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

did you start the herbs? how is it going? my husband's allergies have actually been a little better the past week due to the dry weather. Hope Hannah is getting some relief also

Hi Julie,

Wondering how the herbs are going too. I thought Glynda had some sound thoughts for you regarding Hannah's cortisol. What did you think?

IT RAINED!!!!! I think the storms came from your neck of the woods:D:D

My sister-in-law has never had allergies. Since this last extreme heat spell, her eyes puffed all up:eek::eek::eek::eek: You should see her. It has to be an allergic reaction.

Maybe we need to move to Alaska:):):):):)

Hi Guys-
Thanks for checking on me. Hannah is doing fine on the Si Miao San herbs, although I haven't seen a major difference in her itchiness or anything. It will be a week today. The vet called and left a message that they were checking on her yesterday. I'm going to call back and ask if/when I should notice something.

Glynda, thanks for your perspective on cortisol testing. It makes sense. I would not say Hannah is eating ravenously or drinking/peeing buckets. Her main issues really are leg weakness and occasional skin/ear issues. Her coat does seem different too, but not thinning at all. It's just kind of more dull. That is the least of my concerns.

Sometimes when she does her business I hear a sigh as she squats or a grunt/groan as she poos, but I don't know what to make of that either. Sore knees? Hips? Back? Just feels good? Who knows. I wish they could talk.

At this point I think I'll just have her regular mini blood profile run to check her main organ values. We are due in a week or so. She gets groomed on the 5th of Aug. and then I'm going to have her lasered again. She does her hips and her back now.

Addy, it is finally raining, yes! :):):) Although Izzy is terrified of thunderstorms it is really welcomed this time!

Anyway, thanks for checking on us!

Julie & Hannah

That is great that the vet called to check on Hannah. Cheers to little Hannah.
Gosh don't you just want to cuddle that little face. LOL I love her picture.

Sharlene and the molly muffin

Hey Julie, just checking in to see how you and Hannah are doing. :) Hope all is well.

Hugs,
Sharlene

Hi Guys,

I need some help. I posted a pic. on my profile of a couple of "growths" on Hannah's back. I am hoping they are just the sabaceous cysts she gets (one is bigger and one is smaller). She got groomed today (always an ordeal because she goes with another dog-either Izzy or one of my parents' so the groomer can rotate them so Hannah doesn't have to stand the that whole time with no break) and the groomer pointed out how she had a big goopy scab come off in her bath. There seems to be a little hair missing right by it. I've seen the growths for a while and they looked like the cysts, but she scratches them sometimes so they get irritated or scabbed.

Anyway, I am worried it could be calcinosis cutis. I don't even know much about it, but know Cush dogs can get it. She also had a few small patches of dry skin around them-like dandruff. One vet thought she might have seborrhea and it seems like that's what it could be. I could pull the chunks out of her hair with no problem. It didn't irritate her skin.

Can you look at the pic and let me know if I should be concerned? I do think one of my vets saw this at one point after she scratched it and didn't seem concerned, but I am a worrier.

On a different note, she is tolerating the Chinese herbs just fine, but I haven't noticed a change in her allergies at all. They wanted me to try it for a month. I think there are about 10 days left.

She seems pretty tired and maybe a little sore after her grooming. I'm going to have her lasered this week. She was having a really tough time on the wood floors--she couldn't get up from a sitting position. I'm wondering if part of it was being overdue for a groom with long hair and really long toenails. She still moves around the house with a really quick pace and trots around all the time. I have lots of rugs on the areas not carpeted so she has paths to take to avoid the slippery floors. I'll be curious to see if anything improves with the toenail trim and haircut.

Aside from this weakness and occasional skin issues, other Cushing symptoms are not stronger. Still no pot belly or panting and not excessive thirst, peeing, hunger. So there doesn't seem to be a reason to pursue anything at this time.

I talked to the vet tech and the IMS office last Friday and she said that the doctor would not recommend anything at this point, unless symptoms seem to worsen or if I feel Hannah is much worse than she was a year ago. She would then want to see her. They said the rear leg weakness could be Cushing's, but could also be other things and recommend following up with my regular vet to pursue that. She is already getting laser treatments on her back and hips, and I can try to do some leg strengthening exercises, but have to be careful she doesn't hurt her back.

So that's the update with us. She is still very happy, but I do feel that she is declining a bit. I'm hoping she maintains for awhile, or that I'll see a little improvement after the laser treatment.

Let me know what you think about the picture.

Thanks!
Julie & Hannah

Hey Julie,

I think in order to be sure, they would need to asperate them to diagnosis cal cutis. Zoe's were white and hard, you could tell they had plaque inside, not puss.

I am not an expert but I dont think it is cal cutis. Hopefully Saber's mom will stop by. She knows alot about cal cutis.

Marie is trying allergy shots on her Ella. I hope they work for her. We have not seen alot of discussions about them. I wish I knew more.

Zoe is the same way on the wood floors, having a hard time but boy, she can sure fly out the door and run and pee and run back to the house if food is waiting in the kitchen:D:D::confused::rolleyes:

Funny thing with Zoe, it seems like all her eye problems started as soon as I dropped her cortisol. Her GP thought the same thing.
I think Glynda gave you good advise. I would be concerned about what a drop in cortisol will due to Hannah's allergies. Waiting is a good plan!!!:D:D:D

Hi Julie,

Squirt has sebaceous adenomas that look a lot like that when they first appear and just after they rupture. They come up looking like a pink volcano, fill with dark crusty stuff that erupts out. Then the volcano closes and starts all over again. She has several of these spots all up and down her back, on her neck and face. Her vets in TN and those here have said we could have them removed but the odds were they would just come back. They also say it isn't anything for me to worry about. Can you imagine how well that works!? :eek::p

Can't say that IS what Hannah has but wanted to share Squirt's bumps just in case. ;)

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Thanks for the input Leslie and Addy, I really appreciate it. I think they are just the sebaceous cyst things she has in a few other places. It just kind of freaked me out with the haircut and no hair around that spot.

I'm afraid we have bigger issues though; I noticed when I was taking my girls on their 2 block walk yesterday that I still heard Hannah's toenails scraping, and after getting groomed and getting them clipped, I didn't think I should. I watched closely and I noticed she is dragging her back left paw every couple of trots. She drags the top of her foot just slightly before she puts her pads back down.

I don't think this is a good sign. I picked her up and carried her the rest of the way home when I noticed. I also called the vet who does her laser treatments and said I wanted to get in sooner than Friday. She isn't exhibiting any other signs of back issues. She isn't moving slowly or acting painful at all. She still trots around and still itches a lot, with both feet. She can stand on one back foot and itch her side with the other (and she does it with both feet).

I did notice today that it looked like at one point she had a hard time getting the back left foot up to scratch her side as high as she wanted to. She will get a laser treatment tomorrow. The vet reminded me it can be arthritis related and not just a neurological issue. She told me that a couple of months ago. I just don't know.

I also read something about some degenerative myelopathy where this happens. First they have a hard time getting up, then they drag a foot, sometimes both, then finally they become paralyzed. It sounded like it was most common in German Shepherds and larger breeds, but it could happen to any dog.

At any rate, I have been preparing myself for about a year now that Hannah doesn't have much time left. I was having such a hard time thinking about being without her for so long that I would sob thinking about it. I think I eventually forced myself to accept that it will happen at some point and that I have to remember what I wonderful life I gave her after adopting her at age 4. I know this isn't necessarily a sign of the end, but I can see her declining, and it is hard. At least I feel as at peace as I can with the fact that some day I may have to make that dreaded decision to let my little girl go. As much as I hope it isn't soon, I feel that I have to prepare for that possibility and cherish every day with her.

I hope I'll get some answers tomorrow about what this may be, but I kind of doubt anyone will have any definitive answers for me. If anyone else has experienced this with your Cush dog, or if you have any ideas of what could be going on, I'd love your input.

Thanks, guys.

Julie & Hannah

Oh Julie :( HUGS. It's so hard to watch our babies have any kind of difficulties. It just is. I too can't bear the thought of being without molly.

Has Hannah had xrays of her back legs? Molly was diagnosed at around 2 years as not having a deep enough groove for one of her back legs which makes it easy for her to strain it. Something as simple as a bad step going up or down stairs can cause her to move slowly for weeks and do a sort of limp.

My neighbor had a lhaso, 2 of them actually, and one of them probably for about 3 years or more, walked with that weird dragging step that you described. I don't know what caused it, but I know she had it for a very long time and she still did her daily walks, which were quite long for a small dog. She lived to be 16.

Hopefully the vet will be able to give you some sort of answer and hopefully it isn't anything that is life altering.

Hannah is just darling. I think that every time I see you post somewhere and that little face looks out at me from the computer screen.

Hugs again,
Sharlene and molly muffin