Tipper - adrenal tumor/breathing issues

My 9 yr old min poodle started making noises when she breathed and snored about 5 weeks before she died. I asked the vet about it also but he did not feel it necessarily had to do with the Cushings. She was so bloated and gained so much weight that that is what I attributed the snoring from. I wondered if the labored breathing could have been from her enlarged liver pushing up on the lungs. Hang in there. Keep a close watchful eye on your pup and follow the doctors instructions. You are doing everything you can!:)

Vicki:
We are doing well thanks for checking up on us. Tipper has been very restless the last few nights. It seems she has some type of discomfort. The Dr.'s assured me 2 times that Tipper's liver in not enlarged. I just don't understand why her girth has gained so many inches then? I think whatever this issue is, is what is making her move around all night in an effort to get comfortable. When she stands it is not as pronounced, but when she lays down it really is, her ribs stick out a lot. She was such a muscular dog before this happened, can this all be fat deposits? I feel so bad for her she just keeps moving around and neither one of us get much sleep.
Hope you are doing well. How is the weather there today. We are getting sleet and freezing rain now. We got about 5 inches of snow on Saturday. I just want Spring weather so my Tipper can go out, she loves the outdoors, but she loves the snow also. She played a while last night in it, I should have taken the camera out and forgot. I just have to watch because she always wants to rub her ears in it, and then she has an ear infection from it. She acted just like a puppy. If only I could take her back to that time, in hind sight I would surely change the way she was treated for allergies, and she would never get this dreaded disease. It seems like all those years just went by so fast. Sending prayers to you, that God may heal your heart.
Patti

Hey Patti

Could she just be hot? I know it's winter but you both generate heat when next to each other maybe she needs to cool down sometimes. Just a thought

You can't think like that you will drive yourself batty, you treated those conditions the best way at that time and you needed to do that as they were bothering her

I wish we all didn't have to deal with this blinking condition in the first place but that's the same as cancer and many other horrible things, sooner they get to the bottom of figuring out the why we can look to move forward in prevention I guess that is a time thing.

Big hug for you and a kiss for Miss Tipper
Mel
Xxxxxx

Hi Patti, That's great that Tipper loves to go out and play in the snow. On Sat. we got a coating on the grass and the trees looked beautiful but that's melted now. We are supposed to get some later today mixed with sleet.

Mel could be right about Tipper being too warm. We think Scoop gets too warm when he is laying next to someone on the recliner. He wants to get down and just lay on the floor. When I pick him up sometimes his belly feels very warm. He is always kicking his cover off. There are plenty of times Scoop seems like he just can't settle and he moves around a lot.

I agree. I don't know where these last 12 years with Scoop went to. Went by too quickly.

Hope you and Tipper have a good day.
Hugs

Zoe moves around a lot too, she wont sleep in her bed in our room, she wants to strecth out, no curve to her pine, but to lay flat and she gets warm too, so she only stays in her bed maybe 15 minutes.

Her tummy has also gotten larger, I attribute it to muscle loss.

You are doing a wonderful job caring for Tipper.

((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))

Addy:
It is not so much Tipper's tummy either, it is around her rib cage where she is huge. I bet 4-5 inches bigger in circumference than before all this happened. Her belly is slightly larger, maybe 2 inches more around than she was. It worries me that her girth is so large around the ribcage. Does Zoe have that also? I think it must be fat pushing on her organs or something. When she had her chest Xray, I am sure anything would have shown around the ribs. I am going to have to get the Vet to pull the xray and check it out for me, as I never specifically asked him that question since we were concentrating on other issues we saw. I just worry that I am not catching something that is wrong!!! Thank you for the help,and God Bless you and Zoe.
Patti

No, not on her sides, I can feel her ribs, it is all Cush tummy hanging down, low belly look. Like an old horse with a sway back look and belly sort of. Has gotten worse the last few months. I wished she would not of had to have surgery and I could have changed her dose in early January like I wanted to. I feel like I lost all this time with her again for her cortisol not being where it needs to be. we can never get past that.

You do wonders for Tipper really. You totally amaze me. I think it is just wonderful. I know you love her so.

Addy:
Thanks for the help, every bit and piece of information you get along this road certainly helps your knowledge of this disease. I know what you mean about catching it earlier. I begged my Vet to test Tipper earlier and told him I knew she had this. He thought he knew everything at that point, so she could have been treated for the high cortisol earlier if he had listened to me.
Sweet Zoe seems to be doing well under your vigilant care. If the Vets only knew half as much as the people on here, we would be in good shape!! Prayers to you both.
Patti

Hi everyone:
Well today is the last of Tipper's laser treatments. I was up most of the night thinking about the fact that I wanted to talk to her laser Dr. and tell her not to measure Tipper's progress by putting her hind legs thru range of motion. The first time when she did this is when Tipper couldn't walk well when we got home and the first time ever she fell on the way up the steps. I know some of you had cautioned me that this manipulation can do more harm than good. I figured that since she is in touch with my Vet as he was the referral, that she would want to show him any progress made.
So I made an executive decision this morning and called my Vet, he wasn't in so I got the other Vet. I told him my dilemma and that I did not want to go to this last appointment, and get into a sticky wicket with the Dr. If this helps Tipper a lot, I may want to continue treatment every once and a while, and do not want a bad attitude from this laser Dr. I asked my Vet to call or fax her a request that Tipper not be measured, and that we will check her progress from a clinical stand point. I am not going to put my Tipper thru all these treatments only to have her walking worse than when she got there, and undo all the good that the laser did. I will ask the Dr. before she even starts Tipper's laser treatment if she was contacted by my Vet, just to make sure we are on the same page. You can't leave anything up to chance with this Cush pups. The Cushings is bad enough to deal with, I don't need a lame dog on top of all this!
I did however have a revelation last night as I lay there awake. I realized that I have not seen Tipper in a sitting position very often. She is either standing or laying. She will sit on occasion on the back of the sofa, as it is really padded. I am concluding that it must be her hips, and that long trip we took in the car seat was too much on her hips. That is why she wants to lay on the seat now. It is funny it was as plain as the nose on my face, but because I am looking for so many other things I failed to connect the dots on this one. I must talk to the Vet about her blood pressure being taken also. They shave and use her rear leg. I need to make sure the tech. is not injuring her by moving her rear leg in a bad position to do BPs. Also I thought that exam table they use is stainless steel, so I will be taking a pillow from now on for her to lay on, I'll just throw the cover in the wash when I get home so as not to transfer anything from the Vet's table home. If your hips are bad and hurting, and you are her age to lay on a hard table for 10 minutes would not feel too good. I will let everyone know how the appointment goes. I am grateful for every day I have with my girl as I feel we are on borrowed time, and it scares me. God Bless All of Us., and all our babies.

Hi Patti, looking forward to hearing how everything went today.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin