Rosie (14 y/o Staffie) - Calcinosis Cutis (Lysodren)

Hi - I'm a newbie - what a great forum tho! I have 2 Cushing's dogs - Ralph (Jack Russell aged 17) and Rosie (Staffordshire Bull Terrier aged 14). Ralphie was diagnosed 5 years ago and is on a really low maintenance dose of Lysodren - he stabilised really quickly and has had no on-going problems, but Rosie is a different story. She was diagnosed about 4 months ago and it has taken a lot of tweaking to get the Lysodren dosage right. Her last bloods were within normal range and she perked up well, but now she has developed calcinosis cutis - really quickly over a 2 week period. She initially had it on her backside and base of her tail - that healed well with topical steriodal cream and medicated wash, but she has now developed huge weeping sores on the back of her neck (in her hackles). She is so sore, it is bloody and weeping. The vet has prescribed antibiotics today but does anyone know anything else I can do to help it heal? Should I keep bathing her or keep her dry? All help gratgefully received...
thanks so much! Jan

Hello and welcome to our family!

I have taken the liberty of moving your post so as to start a new thread entirely for Rosie :). I noticed that you had replied to an existing thread about Bruiser, another pup suffering from calcinosis cutis. There is a lot of helpful information on Bruiser's thread, so here is a link for the benefit of anybody else who would also like to read more about this condition:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3765

But this way, with a thread of your own, it will be easier for our members to give you direct feedback about Rosie's situation and her progress from this point onward.

Once again, I'm so glad you've found us!

Marianne

Welcome to you and Rosie!

Sorry for my belated reply as I have been staying with family over Christmas.

Marianne has kindly given you a link which provides you useful reading but I just wanted to pitch in and give you some support as I truly understand what you are going through. With Sabre we gave him medicated shampoos every few days – we found an oatmeal product was the best in the end for him - and we patted the calcinosis areas dry. We also used betadine to try and dry the area up. Antibiotics are great to stave off any infection which can occur. We tried to keep the area as dry as possible – we also used a t-shirt to cover him (he was losing a lot of hair as well). Eventually we were able to keep the infections away and his calcinosis cutis healed to just become calcified lumps under his skin.

If you have any further queries please ask away.

Angela

Hi Angela,
Thanks so much for the info - I've been bathing her with a medicated wash from the vet, and giving her antibiotics. It seems a lot better, the raw patches have dried up, but very lumpy and bumpy and itchy -her hair seems to be falling out in that area too - did your dog progress like this?
Poor old girl, she's not very happy. Great to hear that your baby has come right tho. I used to have a dog called Sabre too, but she was a GSD - great name :o)
Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan

Yes Sabre is a fantastic name ... our Sabre was quite the regal boy. Yes, Sabre's calcinosis did progress like that ie. hair fall out in the spot where the calcinosis had formed. In his case he actually did lose his hair right along his spine and further down his side. Eventually with the Lysodren treatment his hair grew back and the calcinosis cutis became easier to manage ... and eventually did not require any further treatment and became "just there".

Angela

Hi Angela,
Thanks so much for your reply - it does really help to know there is someone else out there who has actually experienced this! I think Rosie is getting another patch on her side, and the original patches all down her spine are shedding hair in clumps now - she keeps rolling madly on her back and is very determined to keep doing so too - this seems to make it sore again but in all she is much happier in herself so I think we're on the right track. I'm not bathing her at all - do you think I should?
Happy new year :o)
Jan

Hi Jan
Happy New Year to you as well.
From my recollection, we did the shampoo thing for a few weeks, but I believe we stopped and just tried to keep the areas dry. We found the oatmeal shampoo, which you leave on for 5 minutes, was the best as it is supposed to "soothe" the skin.

Calcinosis cutis can get very itchy .... just out of interest, do you have Rosie's ACTH stim results - dates and dosage changes, weight, and current dosage. Sorry for all the questions ... A T-shirt or jacket may help with the rolling around so that no more areas become infected. Without trying to scare you ... Sabre was itchy when his cortisol levels were lowering .... just something to keep in the back of your mind when watching Rosie to look out for any other symptoms of her cortisol being too low. BUT ... our vet always said that it can be incredibly itchy. IMO, all dogs would have their own tolerance point so Rosie's may be different to Sabre.

Sorry for the round about long post. My answer re the shampoo would be ... if you think it is helping ... do it .... if you don't .... don't worry about shampooing. The best thing from our experience was to keep the area as "dry" as possible. So after a shampoo we dabbed it and at one stage we used betadine.

All the best
Angela

Hi Angela,
Actually no I don't have her results - I will ask the vet for them. She is responding well to the Lysodren now (itchy stuff aside), she has lost 4kgs, most of which was her very bloated tummy which has gone now completely, however she's been a bit off her food (but so has my other dog) - more I think because of the hot weather and maybe the antibiotics didn't agree with her a bit to start with. In general tho she is much improved - brighter eyes, back to her tail-waggy, smiley self. The calcinosis patch is now fairly bald, but dry, just a bit scaley. I spoke to the vet today who recommended using vaseline or cetaphil lotion on it to keep it moisturised and stop it cracking - the first dollop went on an hour ago and boy, she loved it being rubbed in! The other patch on her side has stopped at just being a bit bumpy but hasn't erupted like her back did. I think we're on the right track... thanks so much for taking the time to put my mind at ease - it is so appreciated!
Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan

I am a little surprised at the vet suggesting to put vaseline on the calcinosis cutis ... our plan of attack was always to keep it dry to ward off any infection. It obviously depends exactly how things are healing but with Sabre we actually tried to scuff (when moist after we shampooed him) the loose bits as we found that it healed better without a scab. There were areas which did bleed slightly which did end up scabbing but these eventually healed.

Watch the dosage on a mg/kg basis ie if Rosie is losing weight her dosage is actually getting higher. Hence the reason for asking weight and dosage. Being off her food may be the weather ... but may also be that her cortisol levels are lowering. You are a great Mum and I am sure you are on the look out for anything ... and you are doing a fantastic job.

Angela

hi Angela,
Sorry for slow reply - but the good news is that my girl is doing well. Her back has healed well, and has regrown the hair, which I didn't expect - I moisturised it with Cetaphil and it really helped it not to crack open again. The patch on her side is lumpy and bumpy but hasn't erupted at all. Her Cushings seems to be well under control now, but she has been very sad as we lost our other dog 2 weeks ago, she has definitely been pining for him :o(
Hope all is good with you!
Jan