Buddy, The Mighty Lizard Hunter - Suspected Pituitary Macro Tumor

I need to stop reading about brain and macro rumors. That is really grim stuff!:(. It puts me in the wrong frame of mind. Buddy's mobility has greatly improved since starting the prednisone. He's been licking at his feet when he rests or sleeps, I am hoping the prednisone isn't causing the itching. He is allergic to a lot of things. The licking only started after I started giving him the prednisone. That concerns me.:confused: He has been drinking and peeing much more often and in larger amounts. He is also more hungry now. Those Cushing's symptoms have returned. The peeing is a problem for Buddy. He will not have an accident in the house and doesn't have a clue as to what to do with pee pads. He is likely to injure himself trying to hold it until he's let out. He has a doggie door that he can no longer use because of his mobility issues. That is really hard when no one is home to be able to leave the door open for him. Thankfully, it is almost my summer break so that won't be a problem then. I am staying home tomorrow because I'm not feeling well. That's at least one day I won't have to worry about.;)

Hugs,
Kathy

Kathy, Jasper was exactly the same way about not having an accident in the house. He would hold it indefinitely, and I worried about that so much. His drinking and peeing decreased a lot when he was on the Lysodren, but that was just for a short time. After he went through the Addisonian crisis and was hospitalized, we have never been able to get the drinking and peeing back within normal limits. He apparenly has some kidney damage from the Cushings, which my vet believes is the reason his drinking and peeing have not decreased to be more normal.

I had to start barricading him in the kitchen with pee pads when I go to work. I was sure he would not be able to figure out how to use the pads either, and was just praying that he would pee and not try to hold it all day.

I learned about pooch pads from this forum, you can google them for more information. They are washable and hold a lot more liquid than the disposable pee pads. I bought some, and it took him about a week to figure out what he was supposed to do. ;) I was so pleasantly surprised! They have been absolute lifesavers, I don't know what I would do without them. Jasper drinks so much during the day when I am gone, and he goes on the pads. I mop the floor real quick every day after work in case his aim isn't so good. :rolleyes: :D

You are very lucky that you will soon be on your summer break. I work year round so did not have any other option for Jasper. Like I said, the pooch pad have been lifesavers. He has figured out that he can go on them so doesn't worry about it or try to hold his pee, which I was very concerned about since he already has some kidney issues that he is being treated for.

I would highly recommend that you try this for Buddy so that will be more comfortable when you are gone. :)

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Kathy:
I feed Tipper 4 small meals a day. I have done that for about 10 years now as it has always help keep her weight down. The only draw back is she times it to the minute and bugs the heck out of me 4 times a day instead of one. That's ok though as it has helped her, so I am sure it is good for the Cushings too. They seem not to get as hungry throughout the day if you do the smaller meals more often. Well the honeymoon is over, Tipper started back with the breathing struggles last night. I am hoping since the Dr. said she would contact me early this week that she meant Monday. I am carrying the phone around with me until she calls, as I do not want to miss this. I have some notes of questions for her also. This waiting is killing me. Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a small shower here this morning, and just got Tipper's walk done. God Bless
Patti

Sometimes it's hard not to look at there is a wealth of information at your fingertips. Knowing when to stop is hard, I think you have to remind yourself that what you read doesn't mean that will happen in buddy's case. Each pup is different

So I am nipping in to send you a tight hug and let you know i am thinking of you and the little guy.

Love
Mel
Xxxxx

So the news sounds mostly positive about the neuro symptoms and overall reaction to the Prednisone. Funny that Trixie has been doing a little habitual paw licking recently, something she rarely did. Maybe the high cortisol in her symptom kept her from being very itchy?
No tremors for all these days is probably proof of the hyperglycemic episode then?
Sounds like it's going pretty well..a few Cushing's symptoms peeking out but all in all not seeing Buddy struggle with mobility is great!
We do many small meals all day too...seems to work best for Trixie that way. She actually comes to "tell" me when she's ready for a snack. These dogs have great body clocks!
I hope Buddy continues do show good results from the new combo treatment. :)
Barbara

Hi Barbara,
I am home with Buddy today. He's been sleeping most of the morning. His AM trilostane dose seems to be keeping his drinking and peeing under control in the morning. That is actually good because he can't always get out. He hasn't been out to pee since 7:00 this morning. That does make sense since he only takes trilostane in the morning once per day. As it starts to wear off later in the afternoon, his cortisol rises and the symptoms appear. That is fine because someone is around to leave the door open then. It is better that his cortisol rises in the afternoon and evening anyway. That might actually help slow the growth of the tumor a bit. He's getting a little benefit from the cortisol rising and still has the prednisone for his mobility and neurological symptoms. No head tremors for 16 days now. It sure looks like that they are related to the hypoglycemia. So far, so good!

Yay 16 days!!! Go Buddy!!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Wow!16 days-that's awesome Kathy!I haven't responded in awhile but have been following your thread as well as the others.Sounds like the prednisone/tril combo is doing a good job-must be a huge relief for you both not to have the head tremors.The small frequent meals are a great idea and probably very helpful.We actually should all eat small freq meals as it it helps regulate our blood sugars and keeps our metabolism going.Hope Buddy continues to do well and glad you'll be home with him soon.
Patty

My vet just called for a report from me, so he could relay that information to the neurosurgeon who is supervising the trial. He then called me back with her findings. Per doctor....Since Buddy' s neurological symptoms have improved so greatly, and so quickly, that would indicate a problem in the central nervous system. Specifically, the presence of a brain or Pituitary macro tumor. Since Cushing's is a factor, a macro tumor seems much more likely. If there had been no changes in his neurological symptoms, then it would've been unlikely that a tumor was interfering with his mobility. This is the most accurate verification we're going to get without image testing. We are continuing with the drug trial now as is if he does have a tumor. The goal is to lower the prednisone to the smallest possible dose that still takes care of the symptoms once the trial is complete. Lowering the dosage lessons the chance of serious side effects, especially when it's a long-term use of prednisone.

Hi Kathy
Well it does make sense and I'm glad there is a plan to get to the lowest possible dosage. It's a good goal to have for best mobility and quality of life. So proud of you Kathy. You're an awesome mum for the might lizard hunter.

Hugs
Sharlene and Molly muffin