Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: My boy Armin

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    6

    Cool My boy Armin

    I have been fostering a 3 yo American bully mix I've have had him almost 3 months now a week after I first got him I noticed he had been drinking ungodly amounts of water and peeing every 30 mins at first I thought he's probably just stressed and need to settle in I also talked to the vet and they concurred told me to give it another week and and if things didn't improve to bring him back. I waited 4 days things hadn't gotten any better so I brought him in to his vet they took some blood had me bring in a urine sample his blood work was fine but the urine sample came back screwy so then I had to do the 3day urine collection for The urine cortisol:creatinine ratio screening his level came back at 15 so now I'm waiting to do the next test what can I expect next I know the vet said I would need to leave him with them for the day to run this next test does any one know of any programs to help with the costs of medications can any one give any advice on tests or things that absolutely need to be done and things that are a waist

    I'm upset for armin because his previous owners just dumped him off at the shelter with out saying he had this disease they said he was a Viscous dog he has been anything but that he has been such a loving boy he loves to meet new people loves the water my family just loves him we are going to adopt him

    Thank you in advance for reading this and offering advise and answers
    Rhonda and Armin

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Welcome, Rhonda, to you and sweet Armin! We're so glad you've found us and we will do our best to help in any way we can. First off, bless you for bringing Armin into your home and hearts. He is so lucky to have you advocating for him! He is quite young to have already developed Cushing's, but it is not impossible, and it sounds as though your vet is following a reasonable testing progression. The all-day test is likely the LDDS (low dose dexamethasone suppression test); it is a diagnostic blood test that takes 8 hours to administer, and it is considered to be the more sensitive of the two Cushing's blood tests. This means that it is more likely to give a "positive" result if a dog truly has the disease. The flip side is that it can also return a "false positive" in the presence of diseases other than Cushing's. For that reason, thorough diagnostics are important in order to rule out other disease possibilities.

    In that vein, I am hoping you can tell us more about Armin's initial abnormal urine result. What about it was screwy? Do you know whether a urinary tract infection has already been ruled out, since that can be a common cause of excessive thirst and urination in any dog. Also, were there no abnormalities at all in his general blood panel? That would actually be unusual for a Cushpup since there are certain bloodwork elevations that are commonly associated with the disease.

    Last but not least, does Armin exhibit any other typical Cushing's symptoms aside from excessive thirst and urination -- things like excessive appetite, hair loss, skin issues, pot belly, panting, muscle weakness in his hind end? It's possible that the disease has been caught in its early stage, but the presence or absence of other observable symptoms can help make the diagnosis seem more or less likely.

    Jumping far ahead, yes, we can give you info that can help lower the medication costs if Armin does have Cushing's. One big cost-saver is to purchase a "compounded" rather than brandname version of the medication. Compounded meds are prepared on a custom basis by specialized pharmacies, and we can tell you much more about that as we go on. But in the meantime, let's find out as many specifics as we can about his testing. I encourage you to request hard copies of all his test results so that you'll have actual numbers on hand to refer to.

    Once again, welcome to you both!
    Marianne

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    York, PA.
    Posts
    11,037

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Hi Rhonda,

    Welcome to you and Armin! Bless you and your family for giving Armin a forever home and he is a lucky boy to have you as his Mom.

    In order for us to give you our best possible feedback we'd like to know more about your boy and the way we get this information is through a ton of questions, so here are some of mine.

    Could you get copies of his urinalysis and the urine cortisol:creatinine ratio test and post those results for us? And although his blood work came back fine would you get a copy of that and post those results for us too? I assume that diabetes and an UTI were ruled out as both of these will make a dog drink and urinate more. Besides the increased drinking and urination does Armin display any of these common Cushing's symptoms: ravenous hunger, pot-bellied appearance, skin or hair issues, a reluctance to jump on furniture or go down steps, seeking cool places to rest, panting? Is he taking any other medications/herbs/supplements?

    The all day test your vet is wanting to do is probably the low-dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) and is considered the golden standard test used for diagnosing canine Cushing's. And this would be the next step I would recommend but if Armin is not presenting more of the common Cushing's symptoms and since his blood panel came back normal, I'd be a bit hesitant to have any other Cushing's tests performed right now.

    With regards to the cost, I use care credit to help with those vet bills, and from our Resource forum I am including a link to information that may help with the financial burden: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

    So, hopefully once we get some answers to those questions we'll have a better picture of what is going on and can provide you with an appropriate course of action.

    Hugs, Lori

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Armins first blood test and urine test restate

    Wellnesschemistries
    Total protein 6.0g/dL
    Albumin 3.2g/dL
    Globulin 2.8gd/dL
    A/G ratio 1.1
    ALT (shot) 34 IU/L
    Alk phosphatse 44IU/L
    Urea nitrogen 12mg/dL
    Bun/creatinine ratio 20
    Glucose 119 mg/dL
    Potassium 4.7mEq/l

    Complete blood count
    WBC 9.9 10^3/ul
    Rbc 6.5 10^6/ul
    Hemoglobin 15.8g/dL
    Hematocrit 48%
    MCv 74fl
    McH 24.3 pg
    MCHC 33 g/dL
    Platelet count 333 10^3ul
    Platelet eat adequate

    Differential
    Neutrophils 7326/ul
    Lymphocytes 1584/ul
    Monocytes 594/ul
    Eosinophils 396/ul
    Basophils 0/ul

    Urinalysis
    Color yellow
    Appearance clear
    Specific gravity 1.002
    Ph 7.0
    Protein -
    Glucose -
    Ketone -
    Bilirubin -
    Blood -
    WBC 0-1 hpf
    Rbc 0-1 hpf
    Casts none seen lpf
    Crystals none seen hpf

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Armin was tested for a uti which came back negative
    He does have areas on his elbows and paws of missing fur he pants very easily he does seem to be overly hungry but doesnt overeat with dog food he would with people food tho he seems to have dry skin and little skin tags and little lumps under the skin

    His cortisol/creatinine ratio 15

    The vet thinks it's cushings more then he thinks its diabetes Insipidus
    He goes in for the ldds test on the 12 of may

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Rhonda, thanks so much for this additional information. When you have a chance, can you please edit your reply with the posted lab values so as to add the "normal" range for any of the values that are abnormally high or low? If they are all within normal range, please let us know, as well.

    Thanks so much!
    Marianne

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Armin had his ldds test Friday I got the results back today saying he doesn't have cushings but I'm worried because he was given 2 sedatives b4 his 2nd blood draw and I read that can skew the results I asked if this could b a problem and the vet said he didn't think so but I just read that it can so now idk what to do

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    16,150

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Print out where you read that sedatives given in before the blood draw could be a factor causing a false result and give it to your vet. Ask if they will redo it on the house as they shouldn't have given sedative during the testing.

    Also can you edit the post with the results in it, so we can see what was high or low and by how much? This will help us to give you better feed back.
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    All of his test results were between the norm levels except the cortisol/creatinine ratios witch was 15 anything higher then 13 is high and his urine was very diluted the specific gravity was low
    Last edited by Ronna; 05-15-2017 at 09:45 PM. Reason: Forgot content

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: My boy Armin

    Ronna, I believe you are absolutely correct in your worry that the sedatives may have skewed the results of Armin's test. Here's a direct quote from an article written by Dr. Mark Peterson, a noted veterinary endocrinologist:

    In dogs that become highly stressed while in the hospital, tranquilizers and sedatives can not be administered before or during the LDDST. Any of the commonly used tranquilizers may skew the cortisol results and make the LDDST invalid.
    https://endocrinevet.blogspot.ca/201...cy-of-low.html

    I would definitely give this information to your vet and he/she should repeat Armin's LDDS test again, without sedatives this time, and free of charge to you.

    Marianne

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •