Lena, Teacup Poodle w/ adrenal tumor - Lena is now an angel

The deafness could be a part of it of course. Can't discount that at all.

I guess the only way you'd know is to watch her and see how she reacts at some situations and whether it is a sound/nonsound reaction or true confusion.

We all started just where you are today Joan, alone (or so we though) and scared. From there we progressed to where ever it is that we are at today in our learning/journey. :) Interaction on the threads is key, as you look up information to answer questions, say hello to new members and just want to find something out even for yourself, you learn. Learning is the entire key to cushings. I truly believe that.

I try to read them all, Sharlene...sometimes they are so sad that I just cry. I feel so bad for everyone who has lost their darlings. I feel the pain, the fear, the guilt...but, I am also learning a lot!

I'm reading, researching, checking out all the threads, the links. I've learned more from all of you than from my own vet.

Lena is beginning to follow me around again and wants me to pick her up. She doesn't stay in my arms long, I think with her big tummy that she isn't comfortable. I hope that it will get smaller in time. I've missed our closeness, but I assumed it was because I was at work all day and she just started following the rest of the pack.

Tomorrow I am bringing her to my sister's for my mom's 83rd birthday party. She'll really enjoy that, so will my mom who has Alzheimer's and doesn't really remember how many times she's seen Lena, so it's like she is meeting her again for the first time. And I don't want Lena to think that every time she gets in the car, we are going to the vet. She loves family get togethers!

You don't think it will stress her out, do you?

This is what I feed her. they have all been on this dry food for about 5 years. I have gotten her the small dog breed bag instead of big kibble now and mix it with some warm water and the tea I mentioned in an earlier post. Then I put a spoonful of the wet pate or casserole in for some extra flavor...breakfast and dinner.

Wellness Original Formula dry food
Wellness Petite Entrees for smaller dogs

I tried the Wellness Trufood: chicken, chicken liver and flaxseed recipe and at first she liked it just plain, but then turned her nose up at it. And now, of course, the rest of them like it especially our teacup chihuahua, so I'm buying that for them. I've got 3 different bags of dryfood going!

I want to make sure I'm feeding her what she needs...and as I've mentioned before, she loves fruit...she's not crazy about raw veggies. I've tried carrots, green beans...she loves avocado, but I read somewhere that it is on the top 10 "no, no" list so I stopped giving her any.

Of course, she will eat any table food!

Most dogs would eat any table food. LOL Molly goes nuts if she even smells chicken or beef cooking in the kitchen.

I have like 4 bags of food due to molly being so darned picky about what she wants. She's never been a very good eater, more of a grazer throughout the day and eating nonstop anything was never one of her cushing symptoms.

Treats she is also usually good with but has gotten a bit picky with those too. ugh!

I've fed my three pugs The Honest Kitchen for years and years. For some reason, just last year, Tobey started rejecting it for no reason. She just will not touch the stuff anymore, although my two boys act like it's the last supper. I ended up switching her to Wellness canned stews. It's not my number one choice (I would love her to get back on THK), but she likes it and eats it without a fuss.

I wouldn't worry too much about food. As long as she's on a high quality food (kibble, canned, etc), she should be getting what she needs. Too many people get wrapped up in thinking food is the answer to everything. yes, it is vitally important, but there is no science to support that it causes cushings or plays any part in reducing direct symptoms.

Thanks, I just don't want to feed her too much and I want to make sure what she's eating is good for her. Does anyone give their dogs fruit for snacks? Lee loves fruit.

Fruit is good and healthy, but high in sugar, so watch the calorie intake overall. Berries and bananas are favorites at our house.

The best way to figure if you are feeding enough is to calculate the calorie needs for Lena and then see if you are meeting or exceeding them. Tobey only needs approx. 315-345 calories per day, so I make sure her canned food is in that range and monitor the number of treats she gets.

Have you tried other veggies, like cucumbers or zucchini? My pugs will eat those right up. :)

Hi All,

I'm not sure if I am imagining this or not, but Lena's left eye looks bigger than the other one. I can't tell if it's just the way her hair is falling over the other one or not. The left eye is the one that is usually runny and sometimes the runny stuff hardens and it looks like she's got eyeliner, which might make it look bigger, but it hasn't been runny in the last couple of days. Then this morning my husband said the same thing. Maybe its always been bigger and we just never noticed before??

I'm trying not to freak out....could this be a symptom of anything??

If you think her eye is bigger then you need to take her into the vet to have it checked out.
Our ER hospital has an ophamologist for dogs, perhaps your vet would know of someone like that they could refer you to if they think there is a problem.

I'll take her before I go to work tomorrow...what do you think it is?

Does it still look big? yes take her in the morning if you think it is bigger or if it looks off. Has she been checked for things like glaucoma?

I can't be sure. Everything doesn't seem right anymore...I know I had them look at her eyes over the summer and they didn't say anything was wrong....and they have had her in there at least 5 times since Dec. 9. She was just there Jan. 30.

Hi--please remember that vets (just like any human medical professional) can not possibly know everything or even think of everything to check. A couple of years ago my Abbie was having her glands expressed. I was standing right in front of her and noticed a dark spot near the cornea in one eye. I asked the vet to check it and the next day we were at the veterinary opthamologist. Thankfully, the large cysts she now has in both eyes are not attached to the retinas but she does have to be periodically checked for glaucoma. My vet has shown Abbie's eyes to several techs and new vets as her condition is not seen very often. Bottom line: trust your instincts as you are Lena's best advocate!

We went this morning and she was checked and no glaucoma...thank God! She checked both eyes and didn't see anything wrong, but did agree that the left one was a little bulging.

She checked around and nothing seemed to hurt Lee; checked her teeth as much as she could see. So she said that maybe she is developing an abscess in the back of her mouth or one of the spots where she had a tooth pulled might be getting infected and is putting pressure on the eye. She gave me an antibiotic called ClindaDrops, clindamycin hydrochloride liquid, to be given twice daily (it's the same one she was taking after her dental work where her some of her teeth were pulled). She also said that she had to tell me that it could be a tumor behind the eye. So, I have to watch to see if it gets any bigger.

Good news is that she thinks she looks great. Heart sounds fine, lungs sound good although she hears a little bit of congestion, but Lee has always had that, she has had the collapsed trachea thing since she was a baby, never really bad though. So I am glad I brought her in and feel more comfortable leaving her to go to work.

She has been wanting to sit with me more and more the last few days, just like before...so for now, I am relieved.

But so sad over the passing of all the sweet dogs the last couple of days...my heart aches for their families...

okay did she mention an ophamologist if you need one? If there is any near by I mean.
Hopefully a bit of a tooth infection is all it is and the antibiotics will clear it up. Cross fingers.
Nice she is being a snuggle bunny again.

No, Sharlene, she didn't...you don't think it's a tumor, do you? She had one dose of the antibiotic while we were there and I still have to give her another tonight.

I have no idea what it is. An ophamologist is an eye specialist just like for humans. So it is there specialty. My Molly sees one because her eyesight started decreasing very quickly and we had to find out why.
I don't know what would cause the eye to seem bigger. Which is why I was thinking of a specialist in case it is something with the eye itself.
I just don't know but I am hoping some of the others might have an idea.

I'll google and see if there is one around here. Maybe I'll ask them tomorrow for the name of one just in case. I hope they take post dated checks.....

Has she been rubbing the eye. Like against the floor or with her paw? This can cause irritation which can cause the eye to look bigger. If so then try to prevent her from bothering it and the antibiotics might help if there is any kind of infection or inflammation even.

My first thought went to Grave's disease (hypothyroidism). It is rare in dogs but can occur--one of the symptoms can be protruding eyes. I could be entirely off-base and probably am! I don't recall if Lena has had any thyroid tests.

You can see if she responds first to the medication. But it wouldn't hurt to have a name or even a consult written out (however your vet does it) in case you need it later. I would probably try meds first if it where me. If it starts to look worse though what did your vet say to do? Also care credit is a good resource for the next unexpected emergency.

That is a good thought too Judy. Is there a t4 test in any of lenas labs for instance?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by molly muffin

You can see if she responds first to the medication. But it wouldn't hurt to have a name or even a consult written out (however your vet does it) in case you need it later. I would probably try meds first if it where me. If it starts to look worse though what did your vet say to do? Also care credit is a good resource for the next unexpected emergency.

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She said if it should look like it's getting bigger to bring her back in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by molly muffin

That is a good thought too Judy. Is there a t4 test in any of lenas labs for instance?

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Would they have done that in the blood work that began all of this? The one that was so bad? I'll have to ask them to fax me that one tomorrow.

Jeez, I was feeling better, but now I'm starting to worry again.

Thyroid is treatable. Not every test will include thyroid but some do. these are Just ideas that we are talking about. The meds are probably going to work though. Gads I had to put Molly on antibiotics, stop the trilostane add in pumpkin when she got a gastro upset that was awful and lasted weeks. She lost weight and I thought I'd lose my mind from worrying. I was never alone though. I had our k9cushingd family. She did get better. She is a diva and a brat and a love muffin all at the same time and here we are still carrying on.
Lena will be alright too. Just a bump on the road this eye thing.

Okay, thanks Sharlene...it seems that ever time I start to relax, another thing happens. It's hard to believe that a few months ago, she was a happy little ruler! Now even the cat isn't afraid of her.

I'll get the blood work today. I'm also going to ask for the blood work they did the morning of the dental work...I think that the dental work was the catalyst. Within two weeks, everything got bad. She also had blood done sometime over the summer or in the spring, I'll get that too.

Thyroid....My husband and I both had Thyroid cancer, and we had a Saluki who died of canine lymphoma.....

Good morning, Joan! Two thoughts to throw out to you. First, if hypothyroidism is causing the issue, I would think both eyes would be bulging and not just one. It seems to me that your vet's explanation (infection) is more plausible since only one eye is involved.

Secondly, don't panic if you discover that Lena did exhibit low or low-normal T4 levels on past tests. It is not at all uncommon for that to be the case with Cushpups. Cushing's itself can induce abnormal thyroid readings, and once cortisol levels are stabilized, the thyroid readings often do, too. For this reason, many vets do not immediately treat low thyroid in dogs when they are first diagnosed with Cushing's; they wait a bit to see whether the thyroid remains a problem. Some dogs do suffer from genuine hypothyroidism in addition to Cushing's, but if that is the case, the problem can be easily remedied with oral supplementation. So try not to stress too much over the thyroid results.

Turning back to Lena's eye, does it bulge so much that the eyelid is not able to close properly? If so, then I would think that would be cause for immediate consultation with a specialist. If the lid is OK, then trying the antibiotic for a week makes sense. But if the eye remains enlarged and even if it hasn't gotten worse, I agree with Sharlene and I'd want to head directly to a specialist at that point so as to get an expert opinion as to what is going on. For instance, from the little bit I just now read, if the eyeball has actually gotten pushed out of the eye socket somehow, you want to get it repositioned sooner rather than later.

Marianne

Thanks, Marianne...no, her eyelid closes fine...I'll give the antibiotics a couple of days and see what happens.

I received the blood work from one in May of 2015 and the one from 12/5 which started the search for Cushing's, but there is so much on them. On the one from the 5th, there are so many HIGH's. I tried scanning and loading into the album but that won't work.

What are the most important parts that you need, from the bad one and the one in May) because it is going to take me a while to type them in.

There is also an in-house blood workup for her dental work day
(11/16) , and a urine analysis from the day of her ultrasound
(12/7).

High and lows that are outside the normal range.
So, for example:

05/2015
ALKP 450 ug (range 50 - 150)
ALT 120 ug (range 25 - 75)
and so on.

05/2015
Urinalysis - specific gravity 1.020
protein +2

Does that makes sense?

What you are doing, is creating in One place, a list of the things on tests that where not within range, to which you add for each test and then can go back and look and compare them at any given time and those who see tests all the time, might spot something to mention to you.

Okay, but I probably won't get to it until tonight when I'm home...the boss keeps coming in and interrupting me~

Also, got the name of their ophthalmologist, who just happens to be one of the ones I found online last night, who hopefully, I won't ever have to see!

Okay, here are Lena's blood work with the 12/5/15 beginning of Cushing's concerns and a blood work from May 015 where we were there for bloating and gas. The vet first mentioned Cushing's then, but when the blood work came back he wasn't concerned...and I never looked it up or I would've recognized all the progressing symptoms.

I hope this copied and pasted right:

Blood work: 12/5/15
Superchem
Tests Results Ref Range
ALT (SGPT) 147 (HIGH) 12 – 118
Alk Phosphatase 163 (HIGH) 5 – 131
GGTP 28 (HIGH) 1 – 12
Urea Nitrogen 94 (HIGH) 6 – 31
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 63 (HIGH) 4 – 27
Phosphorus 6.6 (HIGH) 2.5 – 6.0
Calcium 11.7 (HIGH) 8.9 – 11.4
Magnesium 3.3 (HIGH) 1.5 – 2.5
Potassium 6.2 (HIGH) 3.6 – 5.5
Chloride 99 (LOW) 102 – 120
Cholesterol 423 (HIGH) 92 – 324
Triglycerides 543 (HIGH) 29 – 291
PrecisionPSL 488 (HIGH) 24 – 140

Test Requested Results Ref Range
Fructosamine 516 (HIGH) 142 – 450

Complete blood count
Tests Results Ref Range
Platelet Count 716 (HIGH) 170 – 400

Test Requested Results Ref Range
Urinalysis
Appearance cloudy *clear
Protein 3+ Neg
RBC 4 – 10 (HIGH) 0 - 3

Blood work: 5/11/15
Superchem
Tests Results Ref Range
Urea 46 (HIGH) 6 – 31
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 42 (HIGH) 4 – 27
Cholesterol 339 (HIGH) 92 – 324
Triglycerides 511 (HIGH) 29 – 291

Test Requested Results Ref Range
Total T4
T4 0.8 0.8 – 3.5
Free T4 (Equilibrium Dialysis
Free T4 (dialysis) 17 8 – 40

Complete blood count
Tests Results Ref Range
Platelet count 645 (HIGH) 170 - 400

I'm looking at the in-house blood work the morning of her dental work and the only things I see that look out of whack are:

BUN 80, where the ref range is 7 - 25
GLU 125, where the ref range is 80 - 110

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joan2517

I'm looking at the in-house blood work the morning of her dental work and the only things I see that look out of whack are:

BUN 80, where the ref range is 7 - 25
GLU 125, where the ref range is 80 - 110

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BUN is blood urea nitrogen I believe and the glucose is a little high. I am no expert but I hope you guys get things straightened out so your pup can live out the rest of it's days and have a lot of time left with you!

Good luck Joan!

BUN is high but that could be from dehydration, and it does look like the glucose is a bit high too but that may just be a one time thing, you might want to check the glucose in a couple weeks.

That in house blood work was done right before she had her dental work on November 16. I just wanted to put it up in case there was something showing that should have been addressed and maybe she shouldn't have had the dental done at that time.

I took Lena in for a quick check on her eye yesterday because I thought it looked better, which it is.

So I had the vet, who happened to be the one who suspected Cushing's from the beginning, check her out. He heard crackling in her right lung...I was just there on Thursday and the vet she saw then, didn't hear it. Now she has to have another ultrasound done. I was going to do it on Thursday and have her ACTH done at the same time, but I think I will see if it can be done tomorrow. Her breathing has seemed a little labored in the past few days, but I thought it might be from the antibiotics for her eye. She is also giving this big sigh a lot on breathing in. She does this when she is content, but now it is too much. She did it while we were with the vet at least twice, and I know she was not content!

I just hope she didn't do any damage when she fell down the stairs...she got up and went back to eating like nothing was wrong. The vet suspects fluid in the lungs. I am back to being a nervous wreck. He gave her shot of Lasix to see if it makes her more energetic today. So far, I don't see any change, except that she ate a little bit better this morning...

My poor little girl has spent more time at the vet this past couple of months than in 14 years. I had so many things I wanted to get done yesterday, but just spent it crying and watching her every move.

Has anyone had a chance to look at all the test results I put up the other day?

Hi Joan. I've looked at Lena's bloodwork a few times and my layperson's best guess would be that congestive heart failure, kidney failure or both are likely suspects. Can you check the blood chemistry and let us know if creatinine is normal. Can you also check the urinalysis and let us know if it included the urine specific gravity (USG). If so, can you please post the results? Blood glucose is mildly elevated but fructosomine is more than mildly elevate which is usually a concern with diabetes but I think the long term stress of Lena's illness(es) could be the cause for that increase. Your vet should have sat you down and provided you with his/her take on the test results. What did your vet think was causing all of these abnormalities? I apologize if you already shared that information but I only have a few minute and don't have the time to re-review your thread.

Glynda

From the blood work on December 5, they diagnosed Cushing's...no one said anything about congestive heart failure or kidney disease. I certainly wouldn't have put her through the Vetoryl and all these tests if they had said that to me, and I am going to be really, really pissed if this is the case. Will an ultrasound show congestive heart failure?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lulusmom

Hi Joan. I've looked at Lena's bloodwork a few times and my layperson's best guess would be that congestive heart failure, kidney failure or both are likely suspects. Can you check the blood chemistry and let us know if creatinine is normal. Can you also check the urinalysis and let us know if it included the urine specific gravity (USG). If so, can you please post the results? Blood glucose is mildly elevated but fructosomine is more than mildly elevate which is usually a concern with diabetes but I think the long term stress of Lena's illness(es) could be the cause for that increase. Your vet should have sat you down and provided you with his/her take on the test results. What did your vet think was causing all of these abnormalities? I apologize if you already shared that information but I only have a few minute and don't have the time to re-review your thread.

Glynda

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The creatinine on 12/5 shows 1.5 with a ref range of 0.5 - 1.6. The urinalysis on 12/7 has a Specific Gravity with results showing 1.018 with a ref range of 1.015 - 1.050.