Young Diagnosis

[BentleyBichon]

Hey everyone,

I am just wondering if there are others out there who have experienced a young diagnosis, and if so, how many years did you get with them after diagnosis.

I have a Bichon named Bentley who was diagnosed a few months ago, and so far things are going well, and my vet says it was caught quite early. I know they say dogs who are well controlled can live a normal life span but, Bentley is only 4 1/2 years old and I am terrified that my time with him is going to be cut short.
(I should add that I am more worried because last year we lost our other dog to a devastating auto-immune disease. He was only 2 1/2 years old. I am so afraid that Bentley will also leave us too soon.)

[WinstonTheWestie]

Welcome to the forum, though I'm sorry you're going through this with Bentley. I am pretty new around here myself, but I'm sure the wonderful 'regulars' will be on soon to give you some guidance and address your questions. I'm sure they'll want to see results of any bloodwork or testing that Bentley had that lead to his diagnosis, if you have access to or can get that information.

If I remember from reading the forum while dealing with my own dog's issues in the beginning, there have been a couple members with younger dogs dealing with Cushings. The post titles often have the age of the dog in them, so while we wait for someone with more knowledge about Cushings you might be able to find some old threads to browse.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and Bentley!

That is a bit young but not the youngest I have heard of. In fact, one of our Admins had a cush baby, Lulu, who was diagnosed at the age of 3 and I have heard of others that young. You can find Lulu's story here - https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1638

Meanwhile it would help us a lot if you could give us details, something we dearly love around here. First tell us what prompted the cushing's testing in the first place...were you seeing things - if so what? Did something show up on other tests...if so what?

What tests were done to diagnose the Cushing's? Would you mind posting the actual results from any LDDS, ACTH, abdominal ultrasound, and/or wellness check that shows things like BUN, CHOL, ALP and so on? Those results will help us a great deal in offering more meaningful feedback.

I'm' sure others will be along soon to chat with you as well. I'm' glad you found us and look forward to seeing those test results and additional info on your sweet baby.

Hugs,
Leslie

[BentleyBichon]

The first symptom was Bentley having a couple accidents in the house. A urinalysis was done and results leaned toward the start of infection so he was put on antibiotics. Symptoms stopped so it seemed we were clear. Well, about 2 weeks after finishing antibiotics he started having accidents again, but they weren't just little piddles here and there. He would be sleeping and jump awake and start peeing what seemed like 3x the amount his bladder could hold for his size. It happened while he was awake too, out of nowhere, a lake would just start pouring out. You could see in his face that he couldn't control it. ( These accidents would happen even after going outside just an hour ago.) I told my vet something was seriously wrong, so we did a full CBC/Chem 17 and everything was normal, so we moved onto Cushing's and diabetes insipidus testing. The first cortisol panel was 10 (range 1-6). He was given a low dose of dex, and his cortisol was suppressed to 3.3. Everything else (thyroid, electrolytes etc. Was normal)

So now we had our diagnosis. He was showing no other symptoms at that time (5-11-17). Since starting the meds the peeing has stopped, but he does now have a more filled out middle (not pot-bellied) and some mild hair thinning on his side and the back of his legs.

[Harley PoMMom]

I told my vet something was seriously wrong, so we did a full CBC/Chem 17 and everything was normal, so we moved onto Cushing's and diabetes insipidus testing. The first cortisol panel was 10 (range 1-6). He was given a low dose of dex, and his cortisol was suppressed to 3.3. Everything else (thyroid, electrolytes etc. Was normal)

Hi and a belated welcome to you and Bentley!

It is really unusual for a dog with Cushing's to have their CBC/chemistry panel levels normal. In fact, 80% to 90% of dogs have a steroid induced isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) so if one of those dogs has Cushing's, you are gonna see anywhere from a mild to severe increase in ALP.

Now, there is that 10%-20% of dogs with Cushing's and their ALP does not elevate that drastically, I have seen this situation a couple times on the forum, so it could be that your boy falls in that 10% - 20% group.

The 2 test commonly used for diagnosing Cushing's are the ACTH stimulation and low dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDS).

With the ACTH stimulation test there are a pre and post value. Could you check his paperwork and see if it does include these numbers and post them here for us?

The LDDS test requires 3 blood draws, could you look at his paperwork and post those 3 values? Thanks!

Lori

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum from me too. Leslie and Lori have gotten you off to a good start with their questions. Any information you can share would be helpful to us in giving you feedback.

Yes, if your furbaby can live out a natural lifespan with cushings medication. Younger dogs that are otherwise healthy can live many years.