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Recently lost my companion.
Hello. Two weeks ago, I lost my 13 yr old shepherd/chow mix, Nikita; two weeks prior to her passing, she was diagnosed with adrenal-dependent Cushing's. Leading up to her diagnoses, she had been exhibiting all the classic symptoms (excessive panting, excessive water drinking, excessive urinating, pot belly appearance, ravenous appetite, didn't want to go on long walks anymore, weight gain). Blood work leading up to her diagnoses showed high liver enzymes, low albumin, an ultrasound showed an adrenal mass approximately 2.5cm in diameter, and a full body X-ray showed no sign of metastasis. Urinalysis showed proteinuria. Low-dose dexamethasone test confirmed that she was a cushing's dog. After her diagnoses I started her on 30mg once daily trilostane (at this time she was about 60lbs - her usual healthy weight was between 45lbs and 50lbs).
After two weeks of treating her with trilostane, her albumin had gone back into range (though still on the low end), her electrolytes were good, still showed proteinuria, and the ACTH stim test showed that her cortisol levels were within range and that the trilostane was being effective in lowing her cortisol levels. Her excessive panting, water drinking, and urinating had decreased. She even began to want to go on walks again. Unfortunately, two days after the appointment that showed the treatment was helping, she passed suddenly in the night. The day prior to her passing, she had been exhibiting excessive panting during the day, an inability to get comfortable, and pretty elaborate hind leg weakness. Also the two days leading up to her passing, she seemed like she had insomnia pretty bad. I would stay up with her until she could calm down and get comfortable and fall asleep. The night she passed I waited for her to fall asleep before I went to bed; I found her early the next morning away from her sleeping spot, she had passed. She passed on a Sunday night into a Monday morning. I was going to bring her to my vet the next day (that Monday) because her behavior that Sunday was worrying me (the panting during the day and the inability to get comfortable). Looking back now, I am filled with guilt and regret that I did not take her to the ER Vet 25 miles from my home on that Sunday.
In talking with my vet after her passing we came to the conclusion that she may have thrown a blood clot, incurred ascites, or succumb to what was actually a malignant adrenal tumor. It has been so hard losing her so suddenly. She was healthy as a horse her entire life until the last 2 months of her life; all of these things just hit her and took her. She was a senior dog, but I thought I could make her comfortable and give her a good quality of life for maybe a year. I know there is nothing I can do now to change what happened, but I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this type of ending with their beloved companion? What hurts the most is not knowing if the ER vet would have been able to identify the issue and help her. I feel like I let her down. I was fortunate to find this website. Reading the forums has helped me a lot. Any insight anyone can provide based on their experience(s) would be appreciated. Thank you.
Last edited by NovNikita1111; 10-10-2018 at 12:47 PM.
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