Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

Dear Addy
Love the clothes
Apollo has already picked out his lounging coat.:D
Hugs Apollo and Sonja

Maybe Zoe's hair will grow back and she wont need dresses and sweaters!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D

I dont think it will, though. Well, she will be decked out for sure!!!

love,
addy

Atta girl! That's how to look at it! :):):D I'll put in a link for Bailey's when I get it ordered.
Love,
Sus

I love it that you are shopping for sweaters and stuff for Zoe & Koko. Ella would rip it off and tear it to pieces so I won't even continplate any clothing and hubby would just roll his eyes.:rolleyes:

I will post later more. Work was hell this week so that is why I haven't been around.

Let me know more about Carrol's son if you can get on Facebook--I don't have Facebook so I wouldn't be able to get there especially if you have to be logged in.

Take care!!!

Need advice:

Quote:

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Adverse Effects and Precautions
•Suppression of systemic lymphoblastogenesis has been reported in small dogs treated with 2% topical cyclosporine, but not with 0.2% (Optimmune®), suggesting that lower concentrations are advisable, particularly in small animals.
Ocular irritation reactions, including conjunctival hyperemia, periocular alopecia and blepharitis are common when topical
•cyclosporine is made from oral cyclosporine (Sandimmune®) but rarely are seen with Optimmune. Ingredients in the oral solution such as alcohol and surfactants as well as higher concentrations of CsA contribute to the irritation response. Cats have a lower tolerance to this ocular irritation than do dogs.
•Experimentally, CsA-induced exacerbations of ocular herpes in cats occurred when used without concurrent virostatic agents.
•Unlike corticosteroids, cyclosporine does not induce collagenase and is therefore not contraindicated in the presence of corneal ulcers

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HELP!!!


Zoe saw opthamologist today. Dry eye is nuch better she responded well to the .2% solution but the conjunctivitis is not better. He wants to change the clyclosporine to 2% precuations described above from Wedgewood Compounding Agency. Otherwise he said we have to use steriod eye drops and Zoe is not a good candidiate for that as the crystals in her eyes with the steriod eye drops could easily cause ulcers on her cornea.

He thinks if we leave things the way they are, the conjunctivitis will not improve.

He told me he uses the 2% all the time without problems then I come home and find this.

Hi Addy-
I vote for the wisdom and experience of the ophthalmologist. It is a helpful suggestion worth trying.....and not to do that will not counter the conjunctivitis. I have no experience with the drugs, so I can't help you there. The doc DID say he has used it before....a lot....with no problems. Sometimes you just have to trust and move forward.....I think. At least for me.

Love,
Sus

Hey Addy: I know Zoe will look cute in her new clothes. My CoCo would tear everything up, although lately he is just not the hyper dog, he just seems to feel so bad lately. I have got to get him on the Lysodren, but my husband has been under the weather lately, so am waiting until we can devote time to watching CoCo closely. My CoCo looks so old lately, he has really thin hair on his head and baldness really like pattern baldness and is getting so gray on his back. My grandson graduated from nursing school yesterday and the family was here and my CoCo was so scared and seemed sick the whole time. He has a new symptom which I had noticed his bark was different and does not bark much, but last night I noticed he was so hoarse when he tried to bark, don't know if it is Cushings. Guess it is a another symptom, he still does not drink much water, but is really hungry and is losing his hair and now the bark and seems so weak and tired. I tried him on the Melatonin, but it did not see to make any difference and since it is a hormone I was afraid I was doing harm. Just wanted to know if you think the barking is due to Cushings or if he has something else. I knw Zoe will look like a doll in her new clothes. Hugs, JoAnne

Jenny has used 1% cyclosporin with no problem. Could you ask your vet to check with another doggy eye doctor to see if they have had problems with the 2%?

sounds like you have to do something. hugs, Judi

Thanks Judi, he did say we could try the 1%, when hubby balked, maybe that is the route we should go.

Joann,

thanks for the kind words. I posted on your thread.

Sus,
I know I have a trust issue with the medical profession, but I think it developed over too many personal misdiagnosis in our family.
But you are right, I have to trust him at some point.

Maybe I should copy the discharge summary and see what input everyone has.

Eye doc report- I dont want to increase the cyclosporine to 2% yet.
He said I should not let this problem influendce what i do to control her cushings:confused::confused::confused:


On ophthalmic exam, Zoe appeared to have less discharge compared to previous exam and the corneas are better lubricated. She is responding well to dry eye disease therapy. However the conjunctivitis, while improved, persists. The follicular nature suggests an underlying allergic component. If the dermatologist believed underlying allergic skin disease was present (and the Cushing’s disease is currently controlled), then a reevaluation by the dermatologist is reasonable to discuss allergic skin disease (treating this appropriately will help the allergic conjunctivitis). If the dermatologist did not believe there was underlying allergic skin disease, then topical medication may need to be changed in the future. Additionally, the inflammation of the left cornea also persists. This may be due to relatively recent control of dry eye disease and thus the corneal inflammation may take more time to resolve. However, given the appearance, this may also suggest an immune mediate keratitis (her body identifying cornea as abnormal). We discussed topical steroid therapy to address the keratitis and conjunctivitis. However, there is significant risk for corneal ulceration with topical steroid given the current status of the cornea (dense crystalline opacity). Increasing the concentration of the topical cyclosporine is another option. This may address the corneal
inflammation but will not likely reduce conjunctival inflammation (this will most likely require control of systemic allergy if present or topical steroid).

As discussed before, there was significant crystalline opacity in both cornea -this is most likely related to the ulderlying cushings disease, however other possibilities exist (inherited, high fat diet, other endocrinopathy, etc). There are small cataracts which are not causing vision deficits that should be monitored over time.

Zoe has been diagnosed with dry eye disease (keratoconjunctivitis sicca -KCS). KCS is a condition in which the glands that produce a component of the tear film do not function appropriately resulting in inadequate aqueous tear production. This can result in ocular
surface pathology including corneal scaring, pigmentation, vascularization, ulceration, pain, and potentially blindness. Treatment for this condition will be lifelong topical medications.


Topical ophthalmic medications are designed to decrease associated ocular surface inflammation and stimulate tear production as well as lubricate the ocular surface. Additional medication may be required in the future. It is very important that she get these medications
as directed as missing doses can result in decreased response rate over time. Serial examinations are important to help ensure Zoe is responding appropriately to medications.

Zoe has been diagnosed with follicular conjunctivitis. The appearance is suggestive of allergic conjunctivitis (conjunctival inflammation). Primary infectious cause of conjunctivitis in dogs is rare. As discussed, any antigenic stimulation in her environment may be resulting in the inflammation of the conjunctiva. The clinical signs tend to be seasonal, but depends on what is inducing the irritation. Please take note of when you are noticing clinical signs (ie, seasonal,
after being outside; in the morning after waking up; etc) to try to identify potential sources of irritation.

In cases where the conjunctivitis is associated with other systemic signs of allergies (skin, ears, etc), identification of an underlying allergen can be helpful (inhaled, food, etc). A dermatologist has evaluated Zoe in the recent past and underlying allergy was reported to be suspected, however control of Cushings disease was recommended first. Please follow up with your dermatologist when the Cushings disease is considered controlled.

Wow! :eek: What a detailed report. Wears me out just reading it.;) So how and where are you with all this now? Is there a next step?

I am sending the XL size package of hugs. :) Try to take care of yourself.

Love,
Sus

She is pre 2.3 and post 3.9


SHE IS PRE 2.3 AND POST 3.9


It is the best mother's day present I could ever ask for.


she is pre 2.3 and post 3.9

i cant stop crying and I am shouting to the WORLD

Oh Addy.... :o :) :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

This is such SUPER news!!!!!!!!!!! :p :p :p :p

Super HUGE hugs all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marianne

YES, PERFECT NUMBERS!!! Go, Zoe, go!!!

Go Zoe.....go Zoe.....go Zoe!!!!! :):):) Give her an extra hug or an extra treat or an extra kiss or all of the above. I am so happy for you both!!Love, Bailey and Bailey's Mom! :D:D:D

Speechless! See, never doubt yourself Addy.... you did it!!! Way to go and huge hugs to Zoe. Hope relief comes as a result. Can't help but see improvement. Wonderful wonderful news. Hugs hugs hugs, Kim

Yay! That is wonderful news!


I am so happy for you! I hope you and Zoe can relax for a little while. I also help you can now get her allergies under control.

Congrats on the excellent news!

Julie & Hannah

Yay!!! Congrats on the amazing news!!!!!!

CONGRATS!!!! I am so happy for you and Zoe.

Great news, Addy! So happy for you! Hope things continue in this direction!

What wonderful stim numbers!!! Congrats to you and Zoe! Sending huge and loving hugs, Lori

Wonderful news !!! :D:)

I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, what were her results? :D

wonderful news! yay for you & Zoe

Thanks guys, I was sitting at the desk thinking I was going to 30mgs am and 20mgs pm when the call came in. I was shocked.

Truth be told, she doesnt seem any different:o:o:o:o:o

Now I just have to figure out how to fix her eye. It is not the conjunctivitis so much that is scary but the cornea inflammation, keratitis, I thinkl is what he called it. You can see all the blood vessels in the white part of her eye when you retract her lid.

I am really scared about it. It does look better today. I am hoping the dry eye treatment helps. I really dont like the side effects of the 2% cyclosporine and I dont want to give her steriod eye drops and vet thinks that is where we are headed.



Go Zoe!!!!!! I love her so.

addy

Life is good! :)

Yayyyy Zoe and Addy!:)

Tightest hugs.

xo Jeanette and sweet Princess

yes Jeanette, life is good, we went from 20 to 40 mgs with no IBD flare. Double the dose:eek::eek::eek: Poops got a bit soft here and there but I fixed them up right away before it got out of hand.

Now if I can finally finish changing her raw food and then stop the metronidazole, life will be perfect:D:D;)

love,
addy

p.s. derm vet said to do 40mgs, but I just did not want to increase 100% so I took the long way:p:p:p:p:p:p

Yay, wonderful numbers, such good news for you. Jo anne

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by addy

She is pre 2.3 and post 3.9


SHE IS PRE 2.3 AND POST 3.9


It is the best mother's day present I could ever ask for.


she is pre 2.3 and post 3.9

i cant stop crying and I am shouting to the WORLD

---

I just now saw this. It gave me the chills I'm so happy for you!!!

Yesssss!!!!! That is the best Mother's Day Present!!!!:D:):D:):D

Do you feel like you studied so hard for the test and it paid off--you Aced It!!!! :p;)

Oh how I know the thoughts going through your head about the eyes....there is always still something to worry about. I do not have any advice on the eye situation--wished I did!!!:( You will have your gut feeling and go with it which will be the best for Miss Zoe.

Have the Happiest Mother's Day!!! Is your Mom coming over too!!!!???

((((HUGS))))

So glad to hear. Happy Mother's day. GREAT news on Zoe. YA! YA!:p

Awesome results Addy!!! :):)

I too am dealing with dry eye with Oreo - its a struggle to get the meds in and he doesn't like it :confused:

Congrats and give Zoe a hug,

Hi Ellen,

I sat and watched videos on Utube last night about how to put drops in a dogs eyes, how to flush their eyes, how to handle a dog who does not want you to touch their face:rolleyes::rolleyes:;):confused:

I am betting Oreo is feeling ALOT like Zoe right now.

So I watched all these videos then stumbled on a video about clicking and treating to get a nervous dog used to being handled about their face. Out came the clicker and chicken:D:D

I also changed my technique to using my arm to raise Zoe's head so "the dreaded hands" are not coming at her face. Some of the videos suggested coming at them from behind but it is harder then to see if the drops are getting in.

We can struggle together:D:D:D:D:D Sorry to hear you are dealing with it too. Always something!!!!!

love,
addy

I like the clicker chicken technique! I've been bribing Jenny for everything!

Jenny only tolerates me messing with her face if she is on the bathroom counter. She knows I mean business if she is there. I will sometimes lean her against me and tilt her head up so I am behind her. It sounds weird but it works if Zoe freaks at seeing your hands come at her!

you are doing great!!

Hi addy

Just wanted to say hi...just doing alittle catch up.... Hope the new techniques work:)

Hugs xoxo

Hi Addy,

One question regarding Zoe's dry eye? Have you noticed any white gunky stuff in her eyes which comes out after you put in her drops? Princess suffers from the dry eyes as well and is on the tracolimus twice a day, but she gets that gunky stuff in there. I think I may need to address it soon because it doesn't get any better with the drops and not sure if even related to dry eye or some other issue? Never ends as that saying goes.

For now, let's keep on partying in celebration of our wonderful stim numbers.....:D

Love ya both...xo Jeanette

hey Jeanette,

yup, zoe gets white junky stuff, you can sometimes see it floating around in her eye before it lands in the corners.:eek::eek:She does not have it all the time.

Zoe has multipe eye problems. dry eye seems to be better with the cyclosporine and genteal gel severe. She also has either allergic cunjunctivitis or imune related conjunctivitis and her cornea is inflammed and she has calcium deposits in her eyes.:(:(:(

Arent I glad I went to the opthalmologist?:eek::eek::eek:

eye doc said I can use an eye wash to rinse her eyes out.

mean while, yes girlfriend, party on down, we both had good stims!!!!! yahoooooooooo:D:D:D:D:D

love ya,
addy

Hi Addy: So sorry Zoe is having so much trouble with her eyes. Always seems to be something with our puppies. My CoCo has diarrhea again. I tried to change his dog food and evidently any tiny change causes diarrhea. He seems ok diarrhea wise this morn. He actually just seems to feel so bad. Hair is turning gray on his back and head is almost bald symmetrically and seems to be getting weaker. Taking him to the vet Monday for more tests. I forgot my password as Infoviewer, so re-registered as transcribe. I am a medical transcriptionist, so I just say I have too many words n my brain. Maybe the eye drops will help Zoe, I sure hope so and I am sending happy wishes for you and your puppies. Hugs, JoAnne

(Administrative Note: JoAnne, I went ahead and approved this single reply under your new username so that Addy will have the chance to read it. But I will be contacting you about getting you a new password for "Infoviewer" so that your membership on the site will continue under that username alone. Otherwise, it gets too confusing if we having members registered under different usernames ;). Marianne )

I AM ALL FOR A PARTEEEE IN THE NON BASEMENT!!!!:D:D
DRINKS TILL WE PASS OUT????? WHAT KIND SHALL WE HAVE--NONE THAT WILL MAKE US SICK OF COURSE!!!!:D:p;)

See I knew you would find a solution to getting the drops and such in Zoe's eyes. You amaze me with what you find!:)

I hope the weather holds out for that dinner out this weekend!!!

You couldn't see the beach from the restaurant, but the breeze and smell is always nice. I love when we can hear the waves breaking when I am out for a walk with Ella. I remember that is what made it so peaceful when walking Maddie and having my coffee too on the walks. :( Miss those times a lot; especially when dealing with Miss (I like to eat yucky stuff on the trail) Ella!!! :eek:

Flowers??? I didn't plant any Zinnas yet, but some are coming up from last year. We finally planted some impatients and marigolds; so now it will give some color to the front yard. What did you plant in the boxes???

It would be nice to get a little more rain--it helps all the plants so much better than just water. :D

Have a most wonderful weekend!!! Oh, you will because we are going to party hardy in the non basement with Mom--girl's weekend!!!!:D:p;):)

Bree has dry eye as well. I guess the fact he had a juvenile cataract and was getting 13 drops a day during that treatment made the one drop and ointment per eye seem like a picnic!

I would say you might need a second person to hold the head, or to find a way to securely hold the head (preferably without strangling the dog - even if you might want to after try 25!!) so you can do it on your own.

Your vet might have some ideas that youtube didn't cover.

Wait Addy,

You took Zoe to eye dr. so he can tell you "you can use a eye wash on Zoe" lolllll.... How much was that office visit? :D

Still partying....:p:):D:rolleyes:;):cool::eek:

xo Jeanette