Calcinosis Cutis and Cushings (Peety has passed)

Oh my - I can relate, but it just seems like a painful road ahead! Looked at the album, and poor Peety! Sounds like you are on the road to recovery though...Must admit, I like the elephant skin reference - so true!

You have convinced me that I need to stop staring - big hugs to Peety as well and glad I have someone to reach out to regarding this awful problem. I will try to upload pics of my sweet baby girl. I have just been too horrified to share them for fear they are too graphic and not for the weak stomach!

xoxox,
Kerry

Hi Kerry
I don't think there is such a thing as too graphic for us. We are most of us it seems always on poop patrol and let me tell you we get Very graphic! LOL I haven't yet encountered anything we won't talk about in detail or take a picture of and share so as to get the other members input on. Feel free to join in. It's down right liberating. hahaha
Peety I think is doing really well thanks to his very smart mom and you,ll have Millie turned around eventually too. I am really glad that you found each other. We are all different and yet we are the same. We're really just one big family. hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

I worried at first that they were to graphic, but to see it for what it is you have to put them out there. When I first started researching CC I found some pictures I kinda looked at with one eye closed. I was horrified, and the big thing was I knew my lil guy may end up looking that bad. I didn't want to look, I was so scared. Some days I would just hold him and cry. I would cry thinking about him during the day at work. I couldn't wait to get home to see him. I cried for weeks. But when it's your lil fur baby you don't see the grossness of it, not when you look in their eyes and see that sweetness. And you know they are depending on you to find something to make it all better. It's not fair to have to see them like this, but I know one thing for sure I will do anything to make him better. And if I can help someone else going through this I will happily do so.

Hugs to both of you.

Your are so right - no matter how bad she looks, she still has the same beauty in my eyes. I just pray she is not completely uncomfortable. For many years she has always been so slow to come down stairs in the morning, so I started singing "There she is....Miss America..." and I swear she would trot down...We of course still do that!

I hope Peety is doing well today!

xoxox,
Kerry

How cute...I love that :D:D:D I tell Peety all the time he is my handsome boy. I've gotten so I don't see the CC as much, just his sweet personality. I know that we have progressed a lot. He is not uncomfortable or distressed at all. But many weeks and months he was. He was on antibiotics for several weeks. I was glad because that was during the time his sores were open. Now it is just there and doing nothing but being ugly.

Happy 4th, hope "Miss America" is getting tons of attention today....
Big hugs...

Pat and Peety

Happy 4th back to you, and yes, "ugly" is relative! Miss America is spoiled rotten...and I am ok with that right now :)

xoxox,
Kerry

Hi! Just thought I'd check in and see how you and Peety are doing :)

hope all is going well! We're having crazy humidity here, so lots of indoor time.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

I will be posting this on four members' threads, all of whom are dealing with calcinosis cutis. Kerry, Millie's Mama; Crystal, Annabelle's Mama; Shelly, Lucy's Mama and Pat, Peety's Mama.

I've seen too many dogs on Trilostane who have either had little to no effect on Calcinosis Cutis or a worsening effect while on the drug. Based on the frequency with which we've seen calcinosis cutis on this forum, there seems to be a correlation with the increased popularity of Trilostane for treatment of cushing's. I've had a gut feeling for a very long time that Trilostane is responsible for worsening calcinosis cutis due to it's effects on the sex hormones. Dr. Oliver, was the leading expert on adrenal steroids and he firmly believed that 11-deoxycortisol levels build-up in dogs being treated with Trilostane as did other intermediate steroid such as androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, estradiol and progesterone. I've never been able to find anything in layman's terms that explains the affect, if any, these steroids have on calcium metabolism. While searching for that connection, I stumbled upon something even better. It was an abstract of a study entitled, "Canine hyperadrenocorticism: effects of trilostane on parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate concentrations". The last sentence of that abstract was eye opening.

Quote:

---

[B]Despite no significant difference between calcium concentrations in the pretreatment HAC and control groups, calcium concentrations increased significantly with treatment....and....These results show that adrenal secondary hyperparathyroidism resolves with treatment and suggest that increased calcium and phosphate levels have a role in its pathogenesis./B]

---

It looks to me that cortisol isn't the only adrenal steroid that can cause elevations in blood calcium levels. Dr. David Bruyette, a renown endocrine expert, readily admits that he has had bad luck in resolving cc with trilostane. That's pretty telling coming from a high profile specialist who is a contributor to Dechra's continuing education program for veterinarians. This is not a new study. As a matter of fact, I believe it may have been published before Vetoryl was approved by the FDA.

You can find the complete abstract here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...283.x/abstract

I'm just sharing my thoughts with those of you who may want to start asking more questions of your vets....or you may even consider calling Dechra, the manufacture of Vetoryl (Trilostane). I'd be very interested to hear what they have to say about this study.

Glynda

For folks who want to share general thoughts and comments about this study that Glynda has found, I've created a new thread in which our comments can be consolidated all in one place:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5509

Marianne

Hi everyone, We are doing really good.:):) Peety is much improved. He still has a couple of black spots, but other than that his hair is coming back nicely and he has no more bald spots. So I really do think that his skin issues were the result of the prednisone. He feels great, and I can't ask for more than that.

I continue to follow other threads and I am saddened at the loss of any lil fur babies and the continuing struggle that some are having. It's not fair to have to see our lil ones suffer. I feel so blessed that at this moment in time we are not facing any crisis. And I will continue to pray for all of you that have that fight on their hands. Peety and I send big hugs to all of you.:):)

I am so glad to hear that Peety is getting his fur back!!! YAY!!! That is the best news and yes, it sure does sound like it was the prednison, which is very possible. I'm just thrilled for both you and Peety! :) :) :)

Yes, it is very sad when we lose one of our furbabies. :( Some days are not good ones, but then other days we get good news like yours and that makes everyone smile.

HUGS
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hey Pat

Just wondering how you and the little man are?

I have been away and juts caught up to see he has fur growing, that must have been such a happy moment for you. I can't tell you in words how pleased I was to read this.

Big hug to you and sticky kisses for Petey

Mel
Xxxx

We are doing good. Peety has an apt Wed to have Dr. Morgan look at his eyes. His cateracts are getting worse and I can tell he is going more on sound (although that is limited as well) than sight. But I don't know if there is much that can be done. I'm also going to ask if there is anything else that can be done for the black skin. The hair is coming back but the black skin is not bugging. Otherwise he is a happy boy so that makes me happy.

Except tonight when I just read about Ugga. I am so sad. This site is helpful and heartbreaking at the same time. Thanks for your concern about Peety. On days like today I just hug him a little tighter.
Pat

Some days are quite hard. :(

I'm glad to hear that Peety continues to do well. Poor guy, eye sight and hearing. Sucks getting older, some days more than others. Dogs are pretty adaptable, better than people, so I'm sure that he will continue to be happy and will figure out how to manage if it is worse eyesight and hearing.

Molly is so tired of me hugging on her, she is getting grumpy about it. :D

hugs,
sharlene and molly muffin

Hi! Just wanted to check in and see how you and Peety have been.

Hope that all is going well.

thinking of you
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Dawn, I am a member but have not been active for a while. Thought I would look in and see how everyone is doing and see new members and their concerns with their fur babies. So sorry your lil one has CC. It is horrible, We were first introduced to it Jan 3rd of this year. Peety is not Cushing's and we just recently did blood work again with no positive results in that area. Thank God. The CC was dormant for a few months, by that I mean no new break outs and the ones that were there turned into black hard calcium that would not budge and still haven't. About 1 month ago the CC flared it's ugly head again and worse this time. He now is covered with calcium sores, but not open and bleeding. His hair is coming out in clumps. You can see from his album the CC from the first go around. About 2 weeks ago the worse nightmare, Peety's tongue turned white and was hanging out of his mouth. I freaked. The Vet told me his tongue was dead???? and could not offer any reason other than she thought the whole CC thing was probably responsible. Dead, I immediately knew in my gut that he would die from starvation. She put him on antibiotics by syringe and I was feeding and hydrating by syringe just to keep him alive. He lost 5 lbs. I took him to another vet that did not know either what would cause that to happen to the tongue but he showed me the end of his tongue was gone, but it wasn't dead. The color had returned to a normal pink and the swelling was gone. He said there was only a small place that looked like it was healing still. For a few days he would go to his water bowl and just stand there and look at it, but he must have known his tongue was to sore to use. I cried all weekend and had to force feed him, but I was determined he was not going to starve on my watch. I did a lot of praying and we did get a miracle, he started drinking on his own and now he is eating on his own. He has regained almost 2 lbs. One theory is that the calcium that appears on the outside of his body may have manifested itself on the end of his tongue and it just fell off. But I don't really know. I know when I have had a sore tongue how it hurts to eat. So he knew that and now that it is almost healed he has learned to eat and drink again without the tip. He still will not play with his toys but I am hoping after some time he will see that he can. They bring so much joy to him. Apparently the CC is not the only problem. His blood work shows some kidney issues. So we are transitioning to a more appropriate diet for the kidneys. For his CC I am just bathing him in Hibiclens and I use Neosporin on any bad places. He is back to wearing his cone and t-shirt. But I try to leave the cone off as much as possible. His hair had almost grown back from the first go around, but I may have to cut if off again just so I can see all the places that need attention.

Hope you are able to get to a point where the CC subsides and Butters is more comfortable. It really is horrific and this round is worse in that it covers more area, but the sores are not open and bleeding. What are you using to control it? Anything your vet recommends? I actually could not rely on their knowledge, so I just do my own research. I know when Peety is uncomfortable and I will do anything I can to make him comfortable.

Blessings to you both. Pat, Peety's #1 fan

Administrative Note: Reply copied from its placement on another member's thread so that members can reply directly here.

Hi Pat, I saw you just posted about Peety on the cc thread. Oh dear, I wonder, did you ever take him to the University to see if they had any ideas? Dawn is taking Butter to University Davis in California, where they did radiation treatments on the pituitary tumor so we are all hoping that the cc will get more under control as that comes down.

Thing is that Not just cushings can cause the cortisol to go. If there is anything else wrong, kidneys, etc, the cortisol can raise and cause the same problems or high intermediate hormones too. So those are things to maybe look into.

I'm so sorry that Peety had another outbreak and then the tongue problem too. :( such a little trooper. You know you are family Pat, so you Can come in any ole time you want to have a chat.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Pat, I too am so sorry to hear about Peety's new ourbreak. But like Sharlene, I am hoping you will finally look into a consultation at UF at Gainesville. I will be very anxious to know what the numbers were for this most recent Cushing's test. But I remain puzzled as to why your vet never believed that the May testing was consistent with Cushing's when the ACTH result was abnormally elevated and Peety also exhibited so many other lab abnormalities that are consistent with the disease. But at this point, if the ACTH is still not convincingly high, if it were me, I would opt for the 8-hour LDDS test. It is much less likely than the ACTH to "miss" the diagnosis in a dog who has Cushing's.

This is the thing, since the CC has been definitively diagnosed by the derm vet, it will never come under consistent control unless cortisol levels are also consistently managed if they are elevated. I know there was some thought that perhaps Peety's CC was the result of prednisone use early last year. But it has now been nearly a year since that time and Peety is now having an outbreak severe enough that he has actually lost part of his tongue. There has to be something else that is currently fueling the CC, and until proven otherwise, Cushing's still seems to be the likely candidate -- especially in view of his elevated ACTH last May. And how about his kidney testing? That was also worrisome back at that time. Has it been rechecked?

Can you please get us the numbers for any recent labwork that has been performed? And truly, if he was my boy, I would try to get him in to be seen at Florida so that you can finally get to the bottom of what's going on.

Marianne

My heart is broken today, because I lost my love, my sweet boy. He died in my arms earlier today. I will forever be thankful for his sweet lil personality and the joy he brought to my heart and life. I am amazed at the patience he had with me when doctoring his sores and caring for him. The Dr had told me his recent blood work had showed kidney disease and I knew that we were dealing with more than just the cc. I transitioned him over to a bland kidney diet and he was doing okay with it but he was dehydrating and we were going to start fluid injections tomorrow. I cannot believe he is gone, my world has now become just a blur. I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I don't have any strength to think, I just keep reliving that moment when his lifeless body was all I had left. I know he is free of pain and suffering, but oh how I wish I could rewind the clock to a day when he was healthy and happy. My precious lil boy will always be in my heart and I will miss him forever.

I am so very sorry to read of your baby's passing.

Oh my gosh Pat. I am so very, very sorry to hear this. I really cannot even imagine that it has occurred to be honest. Peety was so adorable and just let you do anything and everything when it came to taking care of him. And never have any doubts, you Did take care of him, you researched and tried all kinds everything to make him feel better.

My sincerest condolences Pat. I know your heart is broken.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

I,m so sorry for your loss :mad:

Pat, I'm in shock!
I am so sorry for your loss of Peety.

Hi Pat

My condolences on the passing of Peety. That does sound sudden and such a shock for you. I am so very sorry, but you can rest easy you did all you could even though I know that does not help right now when you are feeling such grief at the passing of your baby. Please pop in and chat when you are feeling up to it, there is always an ear here and a shoulder to lean on. Big hugs for you and RIP Peety xxx

I am so sorry on the loss of your dear Peety. The other Cush babies were there to meet him I am sure. Rest in peace sweet Peety boy.
Blessings
Patti

I'm so sorry for your loss.:(

I am so terribly sorry....RIP sweet Angel Peety. Your sweet soul will live forever in our hearts.

Thank you for all the genuine compassion. Did not rest last night. I want to close my eyes and see his healthy beautiful body and his one-of-a-kind personality that made the last 12 years such a joy. But right now I only see the disease that took his beauty and his life. I wish I could go back even seconds before death came and took him. How much I would cram into those seconds. I would push death back as far as I could so it would never catch up to the present. How I wish I could.

He is being cremated and he will be home again in a week. How I am looking forward to that. Today coming into the house was extremely difficult. I sat outside for a long time because I knew when I opened the door the void would hit me in the face, or actually right in the heart. Last night was so painful. My heart literally hurt. I felt like I couldn't breath the sorrow was so intense.

It's nice to come here where the rawest of emotions is understood. And the community has a bond that is defined by our willingness to educate, to encourage, to challenge, to console, to be there when the bridge takes our loved ones to a place of peace. God bless you all and please give your lil fur-babies an extra hug today from me.
Pat Peety's #1 fan

My deepest sympathies. What an enormous loss for you. Rest in Peace Peety.

I am really sorry to hear about Peety. You have both been so brave through so much. Nothing I can say will take away the hurt but know that we all care and understand. Please check in with us when you can so we know you are ok.

Hugs

Pat, I continue to be shocked at Peety's loss and my heart just breaks for you. I know your sorrow is overwhelming.
I hate the sound of silence in the house too and that must be very difficult, maybe even the hardest as the reminder is so in your face and awful.
We are here any time.

hugs and love
Sharlene and molly muffin

I am so very sorry for your loss, Petey knew he was special and loved so much. Rest in peace sweet boy, tonight you are amongst our newest and brightest stars in the night sky....

I am so very sorry to hear of the passing of your sweet boy Peety.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I am very sorry to hear about Peety. He has been welcomed by our other fur angels at the rainbow bridge. His fur is long, beautiful and healthy now and he's pain free. Run free sweet boy, run free!

Thinking of you Pat and sending you warm hugs.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

It has only been 3 days and I can still feel him and smell him. OMG, this just cannot be true. My mind just does not want to believe he is gone. I really just want to curl up in a ball and cry until I cannot cry anymore. 12 years of memories flood my mind and I hold on to them fearing they will just disappear. The house is so quiet and so lonely, everyday routines that were so familiar have been replaced with "something" that just fills time. Every day walks were his time. I always let him meander if he wanted because most of the time he was in the house and I wanted him to have time to explore and Meet and Greet all of his lil fur-buddies. I determined sniffing tells a story that only they understood. I have not yet ventured out alone, just don't want to give them the news just yet. So grieving is what replaced the fun walks and that is how it will be for as long as it has to be.

I can see him running down the hall, sliding on the wood floors as he tries to turn the corner. We use to play ball in the backyard and he would run so hard and fast he would almost do a back flip and I would laugh so hard, like that was what he wanted me to do. His toys were so special to him. Every night I would put them all back in his basket, everyday they were all out again. And they were all his favorites. He would hide them under his blanket and then pretend he couldn't find them. We caught on to that one. I took a video of his craziness and I am so glad I did. It is so funny and I will always cherish it.

When I would drive into the garage, he would hear me and be waiting at the back door for me. I loved to look at him through the window in the door, his tail going ninety miles an hour. He would greet me like he hadn't seen me in weeks. And if I ever went out of town, OMG, he would follow me around with his nose up against my leg and when I had to say goodbye, it just broke my heart. But the reunions were always great. And he forgave me for leaving.

So in answer to How are you doing, not very good but it is nice to know there is a place to come to where the grief is understood. I lit a candle for him. I read the rainbow bridge story and I cried thinking that he is there waiting for me and one day we will be together again.

I have read many a story on the grief suffered by the passing of one of these babies. None has ever touched me in the way this has. It is so profoundly true and heart wrenching I could barely get thru it. One thing that helped me was the beautiful love coming thru in every word you wrote about Peety. Your relationship was like mine is with my Tipper. I am sure you saw the joy in Peety's eyes beaming back at you for all you have done to make his life so special. I wish I had that illusive magic wand to make things go back to how they were for you and Peety. God Bless you and your sweet Peety.
Patti

I think that this is a very long process, this grieving. You and Peety have such a long history together, that I cannot imagine how profoundly painful it is now for you.
I too wish that I could turn back time and make all right again in your world. :(

I'll just continue to send you warm thoughts and strength.

hugs,

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Pat

I am so sorry to read that you lost Peety.

I will go light a candle for him.

Run free little man

Mel
Xxxx

One of my dogs was recently diagnosed with Cushings and has calcinosis cutis. I just discovered this forum this afternoon and was reading through the discussion of Peety's condition. I am sitting here crying because I just read the post that Peety had passed. I don't know you, Peety's Mom, but please know that I understand your pain at losing your sweet boy. I am so sorry for your loss.

I will be posting more soon about my Bailey's condition and progress.

Janet