Down the Cushings Road Again -- Abbie, 15 year old beagle is now at peace

Oh you must be worried sick.

You think it is her neck? What about her back? If you touch down the back does her skin do that ripple effect? That can be a sign of a sore spot.

So not eating because the pain makes her nauseous you think?

Today will probably be a long day. Hopefully the vet can give her something to make her feel better.

Hi! The tramadol seems to be making a difference. Abbie ate some canned food mixed with pumpkin at about 1:00 and I was able to give her some of her meds rolled into the canned food. She is still not eating enough to get the Vetoryl but will see how it goes this evening. I took her outside and, after peeing, she just wanted to stand in the sun, with her nose catching all the smells (it is very windy today). Just gave her another dose of tramadol and she is sleeping now. A lot less shivering this afternoon.

Sharlene -- I did try to see if her back/neck rippled with touch. I didn't see anything but really didn't want to press too hard. The only reason I think it is her neck rather than her back bothering her is that yesterday she wouldn't even open her mouth and, when I tried to open it a little bit, she screamed. I'm sure the vet will do a more thorough check.

Oh, sorry that our dear Abbie was feeling poorly :( And so glad to read she is feeling better!!! Give her some hugs and kisses from me :)

Hi, folks! Abbie woke up today back to where she was on Saturday -- in a lot of pain, barely able to move and not eating anything. I called the vet and he told me to bring her right in (interestingly, the receptionist, who is new, said he only had 4:15 available but I asked her to check with the vet as he will always give priority to Abbie). My Abbie is now very drugged up!! Vet thinks partially collapsed disc (seen on previous x-rays) caused inflammation of the nerves in her neck. He said her neck was just one big, tight area with lots of muscle spasms. He gave her a shot of buprenorphine (a morphine derivative) and a dexamethasone shot. I have prednisone, valium and tramadol to give to her at home. The vet knows I am not happy giving her prednisone but he strongly believes that her current issues override those concerns.

A little while ago I was able to get her to eat a few pieces of chicken while she was laying down and tucked pills inside. The hope is that the meds will perk up her appetite so we can get back to giving her Vetoryl.

Unless she gets worse, we go back to the vet in a week. After that, if pain and spasms have calmed down, I will make an appointment for her to see the veterinary chiropractor. The last time she had this problem the chiropractor was like a miracle worker.

Think healing thoughts for Miss Abbie!

P.S. I did get all of her test results from last Thursday. All in all, pretty good. Her ACTH pre was 3.8 (up from 2.7) and post was 8.5 (up from 7.1). Not enough change to increase her dose, especially since she has arthritis/inflammation issues. UPC dropped a whole point to 4.2 (from 5.2). Urinalysis/culture normal. Potassium was high: 6.0 (range 3.6-5.5)(was 5.5 last time). I vaguely recall that her BP meds might make this go up but too tired to look this up ...

Oh poor Abbie :( hopefully the pain meds work for her, I'll be praying that they do.

Yep, BP meds can cause the potassium to elevate, was her creatinine within the normal limits?

Always love to see that UPC number come down..good job!!

Great that the UPC came down.

She has had the collapsed disk or partial collapsed disc before? That sounds painful alright. I certainly wouldn't worry too much about the cortisol levels while working on the disc issue, definitely more important.

Talk about seeming so unfair when she was doing so good. :(

Lori -- creatinine was within normal limits. BUN/creatinine ratio has been consistently high. As much as I read about the ratio, not sure what it really means. :confused:

Sharlene -- yes, Abbie has had disc issues before. I think it has been a year since the last episode -- we tried acupuncture which Abbie couldn't tolerate and then chiropractic adjustments which helped immensely.

I agree -- not fair!! :mad: We have even been going on good walks now that our weather is nice and cool. Abbie is definitely more comfortable tonight and not stumbling with crossed legs like she was after the morphine injection. She just ate her usual evening meal so I was able to give her Vetoryl. Prednisone and valium in a couple of hours so I think she will sleep quite well tonight. Thankfully, so far she is signaling the need to go out and pee. In the past she has had significant side effects, i.e., drinking/peeing, from both dexamethasone and prednisone

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Originally Posted by judymaggie

Lori -- creatinine was within normal limits. BUN/creatinine ratio has been consistently high. As much as I read about the ratio, not sure what it really means. :confused:

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Quote:

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The ratio of BUN to creatinine is usually between 10:1 and 20:1. An increased ratio may be due to a condition that causes a decrease in the flow of blood to the kidneys

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https://labtestsonline.org/understan...s/bun/tab/faq/

I really didn't know what was learned by the BUN/creatinine ratio but thought this was a good definition. So many things can elevate that BUN, dehydration is one, so I never put a lot of stock when the BUN is a bit on the high side.

Hi, folks! Abbie did not sleep well last night and, this morning, is back to hanging her head and creeping around. Even going down the last step of her steps from the bed caused her to yell out. She would only eat a liitle bit of chicken--I was able to get her meds into her tucked into the pieces.

Question: since I am giving Abbie prednisone, is there any reason to give her Vetoryl if she does eat a full meal? I am thinking that the Vetoryl would be diminishing the effect of the pred and vice versa.

I wish I could make my Abbie feel better ... :(

Aww Judy, I hate it that Abbie is hurting!!

As paradoxical as it sounds, we have had occasions here when dogs have been dosed simultaneously with pred and trilostane. Examples include cushpups with lymphoma or pituitary macrotumors. I've always supposed the rationale is to keep the natural cortisol production stabilized so as to allow the pred to be dosed, and the total overall steroid profile to be maintained, on a controlled and consistent basis. So on a longer term basis, it may make sense to dose them together. On the short run, though, when she is struggling so much with both appetite and mobility, I don't know that I would be worrying about getting the trilo in her. Just my two cents worth...