Hi,
My name is Allison, and my dog is Samson. He is a 13-ish Schipperke/Pomeranian mix (we think) that I rescued 7 years ago. I first had Samson tested (low dose dex and ultrasound) in the summer of 2013 after he exhibited months of depression (shortly after the sudden death of our other dog), and then started developing the usual Cushing's symptoms of thirst, frequent urination and crazy hunger. His test results suggested Cushing's but I was advised to wait to treat and have him tested again by three vets (one an endocrinologist) because his results were very mild.
I had him tested again in early December 2013. His ultrasound showed both adrenal glands were enlarged, his liver was enlarged and had a "node" on it, and his kidneys were enlarged. His dex suppression test (I left the results with the endocrinologist) showed that he had Cushing's but they were unable to determine which type. Shortly after the test, Samson developed chronic diarrhea which was believed to be from stress, and was given flagyl and then tilan (which finally got it under control.)
Samson began to act strange on the Friday before Christmas--refusing to eat his food, not taking treats, so I took him to the vet and she gave him a mild antibiotic. He didn't improved over the weekend, so I returned and asked for blood work and a BP measure. They said his BP was normal.
I received a call the next morning saying to get him to the ER because he was in possible kidney failure. His Alk Phos was 1875 and his BUN/creatinine was elevated etc.
The ER gave him fluids and his kidney function improved immediately, however, they did a dopler blood pressure and said his BP was 250! They said he probably has pancreatitis, and possibly liver and kidney disease. So they kept him for 2.5 days. They also got him on trilostane 2x per day and BP meds.
Since Christmas we have had another emergency because (apparently) due to the high amount of BP meds (he was on two) his BP dropped so low that he had a fainting episode (which looked to me more like a seizure), and he spent two more days in the ER.
We have since adjusted his meds twice and he still is not the same. I understand it takes time for the meds to get in his system, but he is only eating chicken and rice (after he began refusing the canned food), and has now gone from chronic diarrhea to constipation. He doesn't want to walk or go outside except for brief moments. He is going off alone in the house, and sleeping on a dog bed which he always refused to use in the past. Samson is getting the ACTH stim test tomorrow and having his BP rechecked.
I guess I am just looking for advice from other people who are going through this. I was told Samson's case is more complex than usual (and I was also told all Cushing's is complex) so we are using a specialist. I want to make my guy comfortable and I just don't know what to do. I don't know if we waited too long to begin testing and treatment or what. We have committed to giving this guy a chance.