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Thread: New to Cushings

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
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    178

    Default New to Cushings

    Hi everyone...our Annie, miniature schnauzer was just diagnosed with cushings and she is also diabetic. Anyone out their who has a pup with a dual diagnosis?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,549

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Hi and welcome to you and your sweet Annie!

    First thing I want to do is send you to our sister site, K9Diabetes. They are the experts on canine diabetes. Once you are registered there, come back and talk to us more about the Cushing's...but diabetes will always take precedence since it is immediately life-threatening and Cushing's is not. So go register with them then come back here and talk to us, ok?

    https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...ew-to-Cushings

    Hugs,
    Leslie
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
    Posts
    178

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Thanks Leslie, I'll do that and come back.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
    Posts
    178

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Hi again... just an update on Annie. The hubby and I had a consult with the vet today and she may have been cushinoid for several years which triggered the diabetes. Her glucose has been very high and was considered insulin dependent. This is day 3 for her on 3/4 of a 500mg tablet of Lysodryn. She had been at their boarding facility because we had to be out of town last week and that's when they did all the testing for Cushings. Anyway, the doc told us he checked her fasting glucose this am before her feeding and it was down to 179--she weighs 18.3lbs, has been diabetic for almost a year and has shown no real physical symptoms of Cushings except for some weight gain and needing to go outside at night. He told us to leave her there another day and will check her glucose again tomorrow. They were not going to give any insulin today. He said once the Cushings is under control, that may keep her glucose down low enough that we might be able to get her off the insulin at some point. I realize this is the Cushings site and not the Diabetes site but they are so entwined it's hard for me to wrap my head around it all. Then to top it off, she had developed cataracts in both eyes several months ago and we were scheduled for surgery to remove those on the 25th. We've been advised to postpone that until she is stabilized. I'm just grasping for straws and reaching for moral support. I've had schnauzers for over 45 years but never have experienced Cushings so I will read all I can and check out the resources available here. Thanks.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,549

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    I'm glad she is with her vet and pray they can get things under control and help teach you how to manage both conditions. We are here to help with the Cushing's and K9diabetes will be with you for the diabetes. If you have any questions about Cushing's don't hesitate to ask and we will do our best to answer. The two conditions are definitely a handful together but I have full faith you will learn what is needed to give your sweet Annie the best life possible.

    Hugs,
    Leslie
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
    Posts
    178

    Default Re: Checking in for March 2019

    Hi All—Annie’s mom here with an update. After 3 weeks at the vet the drug finally kicked in. Her latest stim test was great and she is officially “loaded” on Lysodren at 500mg divided into two doses a week. Oh, sorry—still new to this, Annie is a 10 yr mini-schnauzer and also diabetic. Her coat is good and pretty good muscle strength. She’s drinking much less but her diabetes is also better. I’m going to start her on milk thistle to help her liver deal with the Lysodren. Any other suggestions for helpful supplements? Thanks for being here!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    This is great news! You’ll see that I’ve moved your post over here to your original thread about Annie. This way, we can more easily track her entire diagnostic and treatment history. Because we are a nosy bunch, we’d love to see the actual numbers for her most recent ACTH stimulation test. However, just knowing that she’s looking and behaving a lot better is a huge relief.

    I don’t have additional suggestions for liver support myself, but perhaps some of our other readers will have some thoughts. Thank you so much, though, for updating us. And we’ll remain anxious to hear how things are going for you guys.

    Best wishes,
    Marianne

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
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    178

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Her stim test #was down to 2 from 17:5 last week. I am concerned that it might be too low and push her into Addisons. I will give her Lysodren myself for the first time tomorrow and she will have another stim on Thursday. She never refused food to give them the signal that she was fully dosed, the little pig, so I’m sure there will be extra stims in our future and I ‘m ok with that.

    Doc originally started her out at 375mg per week and then upped it to 500 when she wasn’t responding. He mentioned a target stim of 5 when we began so that’s why I ‘m worried that 2 is too low. I know from reading the literature that this stuff can build up in the body. Any comments would be appreciated and thanks Marianne for guiding me through this forum. Wish us luck for tomorrow. I just have fears she’s going to have a bad reaction to the pill. She eats a half a can of Glycobalance 2x a day and I will give her pill in a little “meatball” of her food first then let her finish. I know I over think everything and am a worrier by nature. Can’t help it—she’s my baby just like yours are to you all. Take care. Karen

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
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    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Hi Karen, thanks so much for this additional information! I just have a couple of questions that’ll help clarify things. When dogs go through the loading phase for Lysodren, they are dosed daily, but this is what you wrote:

    Doc originally started her out at 375mg per week and then upped it to 500 when she wasn’t responding.
    I’m guessing you meant to say that, while loading, she was given 500 mg. per DAY. And now, she has shifted to receiving 500 as a weekly total, divided into two doses. For dogs taking Lysodren, the target post-ACTH result is between 1-5 ug/dL. So even though she falls within the lower part of the range, Annie’s indeed within the desired target. So that’s good. We’ll hope that the 500 mg. weekly total turns out to be the perfect maintenance dose for her, but that’s good that you’ll have the added reassurance of another test this week.

    I have not used Lysodren personally, but one suggestion that occurs to me is that you may want to make sure that Annie finishes her normal meal before giving her the Lysodren dose tomorrow. If for some reason she is picky about eating, that may be a signal to hold off on the Lysodren dose. I know that this is an instruction that is typically given during the loading phase, but it makes sense to me to still follow it even after shifting to the maintenance phase. Hopefully some of our members who have had direct experience with Lysodren will add their thoughts about this.

    Thanks again for returning to update us, and we’ll be anxious to hear how things continue to go.
    Marianne

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Spring Valley, Il
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    178

    Default Re: New to Cushings

    Marianne, Thank you for the voice of reason and the ability to enunciate my garbled words which then made sense to me. I have no pride left at age 67 and need any advice I can gain from this forum of learned pup cusings parents. I feel much better with your affirmation of #2 as OK. This is my first pup developing cushings after 45 years of pups and I feel like a first time parent of a human infant in the ER because she/he vomited and I panicked. I am prepared to give Annie her first dose at home in the morning. Your feeding suggestions make perfect sense. I will let you know how the morning goes. Take care, Karen 0

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