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

[Joan2517]

Oh that's good to know, Marianne...from now on I will just give it to her before she goes to bed, maybe with some yogurt.

Thanks,
Joan

[apollo6]

Dear Joan, I Can see how loving and caring you are to Lena. My self a senior, my nieces wear me out just skping.
I would give Apollo slippery elm for his stomach issues. You should always let the vet know what you are giving Lena, because as was said earlier you never know how they may interact with each other. The medications for cushing disease are very potent and caution must be taken with them. Apollo was only 10 lbs and could only handle 10 mlg of Trilostane. Stop being so hard on yourself. The signs of cushing showed up in Apollo 1-2 years before we did treatment, and even the blood tests didn't show it. When the time was right you knew.
Love Sonja and Angel Apollo

[Joan2517]

You're so sweet, Sonja...I'm not sure my vet believes in herbs. One of them does, but we haven't seen him since the ultrasound day (and he is so cute!)...that's how I always refer to him as "the cute one".

Looking back, Lena's started showing up about the same time frame and we also did blood work that came back fine. In fact, she had blood work done before she had dental work, which was fine, less than 2 weeks before the blood work that came back so bad. The cute one was looking for diabetes because of the drinking, and was shocked when he called me the next day. Even he couldn't believe how bad it was. He recommended an ultrasound the next day...and that is when this journey began for us.

Thank you for taking the time to "talk" me through this...it must be hard for you....I cry every time I read someone else's sad story...I feel so bad for all of us who love our babies and have to deal with this.

My grandson, Josh, who is 7 1/2 has a genetic disease called CGD or Chronic Granulomatous Disease. We found out when he was just a few weeks old. That was the beginning of my journey into googling and web surfing, so I've become quite good at it.

He is part of a study at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. They live here in Glen Cove right down the block from me and take 3 - 4 trips down there for colonoscopies and endoscopies each year. He has been on different medications to control his CGD related Colitis. The one he's on now seems to be helping (there are only 3 kids in this study). We won't know until they get in and look at his colon.

The only cure right now is a bone marrow transplant, and of course that is not foolproof, and we don't want to put him through it.

I don't know why I mentioned this...maybe because I'm overwhelmed and everything is hitting me.

Love,
Joan

[Joan2517]

My husband said our vet left a message at the house and Lena's blood work looks good and said to leave her on the 30mg for now. I asked them to fax me the results. I will post them after I receive them.

RELIEVED!! She has had a good weekend. Still drinking and peeing, but I can deal with that. She seems more comfortable and is thinking clearer...she even wanted to sit with me while I watched TV last night. I practically threw my computer to my husband to make room on my lap!

[Joan2517]

Here are the test results from Saturday:

Cortisol Sample 1: 8.5 (HIGH) Ref range: 1.0 - 5.0
Cortisol Sample 2: 9.3 Ref range: 8 - 17

What do you think? Does it matter that the first sample is high?

[Renee]

Those results are not quite low enough, especially if you are still seeing symptoms.

Remind me again - what is her dose? Are you dosing once or twice per day?

As for the baseline being so high, that is usually not a concern, as any kind of stress may elevate that number.

[Joan2517]

She is on 30mg once in the morning and has been since Jan. 21.

[Harley PoMMom]

S eye drops Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates Dexamethasone Ophthalmic Suspension USP (I only just started this again the other day) they were because her left eye started pussing up. I'm on the second bottle prescribed Oct. 6...don't remember the first date, maybe August or September.

Can you do me a favor and double check her eye drops and make sure that it is dexamethasone that is listed as an ingredient? I see from googling that there is another type of eye medication that has neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and hydrocortisone. ....thanks!

Hugs, Lori

[Joan2517]

It has the neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates listed but I don't see anything about Hydrocortisone. Dexamethasone is listed as 1 mg...I'm not giving it to her anymore anyway. I am just washing her eyes. They haven't really pussed up since we started the Vetroyl. I only used it that couple of times when her eyes were running.

[Renee]

Using artificial tears, like genteal, can make a world of difference, especially if she has dry eye.