Lena, Teacup Poodle w/ adrenal tumor - Lena is now an angel

[Joan2517]

Thank you, Marianne...I like knowing what I'm looking at because I haven't got a clue what any of it means.

I too, noticed so many symptoms, but they were vague and just seemed to go with old age, or disappeared before they really registered. So it was almost like I was imagining them. But I have had a feeling for a while now, which is why I always had the vet check them out. I am relieved that I know, but also heartbroken that I know. I kind of feel like my vet should have put all this together, but maybe not.

[Joan2517]

Lena loves treats, but now I'm afraid to give her any. Any suggestions? She loves fruit: mango, apples, bananas strawberries, blueberries and lychee nuts. Are these okay to give her? What about yogurt? She loves that...

Before all these symptoms escalated in December, I had gotten them these treats that had apple, banana and one had carrots and she loved them. Now she won't eat them at all...she'll still eat ice cream, cookies, cake, and she still begs for people food and will kill for the cat food.

[Joan2517]

I'm feeling so sad today after reading about poor little Tammy last night. My heart aches for Brianna. I'm wondering if I am doing the right thing by keeping Lena on the Vetoryl. I'm getting her blood work done tomorrow.

She took a tumble down the basement stairs last night. I don't know if she slipped or forgot they were there. I feed our cat next to the stairs, so she might have backed up while scrounging for food. I know she didn't go down on purpose, she hasn't been able to do stairs for so long that I've forgotten the last time that she could. I heard the noise and thought one of the bigger dogs had chased the cat down and there she was at the bottom. She was standing, and shaking, but didn't seem hurt. I felt around to see if anything was broken and she kissed me and got down to look for more food. I can tell you that my adrenaline was pumping!

Then I read about Tammy and just cried and cried. Everything is happening so fast. A few months ago she was still my little precious and now sometimes she seems like a stranger to me. She doesn't want to sit with me anymore and when she looks at me, I feel like she is wondering why she feels so bad and I'm not making her feel better...and I don't know how to make her feel better. I'm putting my trust in my vet, but wonder....

I'm just depressed and putting my feelings out there. Now I have to leave her and go to work and act professional, when all I really want to do is stay home and take care of her.

[Renee]

Be kind to yourself. It's perfectly normal to have these doubts. It's a sad reality that there are a lot of losses around here, but there are so many positive stories too.

During the beginning of treatment, I asked myself all the time if my girl would ever be herself again. She had cushings for a few years before diagnosis and we have had some ups and downs since her diagnosis in Dec 2013. All that said, I firmly believe she would not be here, nor would she have any quality of life, if I had elected not to treat her.

Get through this tough part and once you have her cushings managed correctly, you'll find your new normal. She may not be exactly the dog she was before, but she will still be your girl and she will still have quality of life.

[Joan2517]

Thank you, Renee. Your kind words are making me cry, but more out of relief than sadness. Since her diagnosis, even though I knew something wasn't right for about a year, I have been kicking myself for not insisting on more tests, but for what I had no idea. I never heard of Cushing's until one of my vets said something about her potbelly back in May I think, but after blood work came back there was nothing showing that might be of concern. If only I had looked it up then, I would have known. She had so many of the symptoms that I never even thought to mention to my vet.

Of course, now every time I see one of the other dogs drinking too much I think CUSHING'S!!

Joan

[Renee]

Oh Joan, I over-analyze water consumption ALL THE TIME.

If my girl drinks too much, I worry her cortisol is spiking. If she doesn't drink enough, I worry she's dropping too low. If any of my other pugs drink too much, I immediately start wondering if they are developing cushings too, lol. This disease, it will mess with your head! Best way to fight the paranoia is to get yourself educated. Then you can talk yourself down when you get too worked up.

[Joan2517]

Hi Sharlene and Marianne,

I am noticing that you always say that in the ACHT test that it is checked 1 hour after the first one. My vet does it two hours after. Does this make any kind of difference? I'm just wondering....

Thanks,
Joan

[Harley PoMMom]

Do you know what stimulating agent was used for the ACTH test? The timing of the post number is dependent on the stimulating agent used. When Cortrosyn is used, one hour after it is injected the post blood draw has to be taken; when acthar gel is used that post blood draw is taken 2 hours after the injection. I would definitely ask the vet which stimulating agent they are using.

Hugs, Lori

[Joan2517]

Thanks, I am never able to talk myself down...that is why I love that I have found all of you...LOL!

[molly muffin]

um, gosh molly has been on trilostane for over a year now. She was a bugger to diagnose though as she tested negative on like 3 LDDS tests. However, 5% of dogs do, molly is just in that 5%. How do we know this, subsequent ACTH testing, showed high cortisol consistently, then she developed the other problems, and we still don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg, but she got high BP (welcome to amoldipine), protein loss in her urine (hello Benazepril), scaring of her eyes from retinal bleeds from the high BP (uh oh, shake hands with eye drops and ocu-glo) so, as you can see, diagnosis can be difficult with cushings, and results of high cortisol, no matter what the cause of the increase, can be daunting. But we carry on. My girl is happy, she has great days and some off days, she doesn't seem to care too much that she has problems seeing, it just is our life.

I'm sooooo glad she is okay after the stair tumble. Okay, first off, get gates for the stairs. Yes, we had to do that with my molly too, she can't see and took a tumble once too, end of that for the little miss independent. So, now I have gates to all the stairs down and she doesn't bother to try to go up stairs any longer, since she's learned that her hand servants will pick her up and carry her. All she has to do is make a noise so we come see what she wants and she puts a paw on the step and waits, because she is after all the diva of the house.

I'll post a picture to show you the window seat creation. http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/albu...pictureid=7186