Page 5 of 7 FirstFirst ... 34567 LastLast
Results 41 to 50 of 63

Thread: Pookie - Dog not eating and has Cushing's

  1. #41

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Pookie has not gone for a walk outside in over 3 weeks. Last night she showed some spunk when I came home, and sure enough, Pookie went for a walk last night. Experiencing that was priceless. Still not out of the woods, but it felt amazing to have her do that again.

  2. #42

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    How’s she doing today?

  3. #43

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Pookie is doing much better. It has been an exhausting stressful month. Her kidneys are back to normal and she is eating good again. I'm waiting on a thyroid test to come back and am considering Trilostane, but haven't made a decision on it yet. Pookie lost 10% of her body weight through this ordeal and they think it was Pancreatitis. All the tests and mixed opinions of not knowing was an expensive, stressful ordeal. Currently, Pookie is on Azodyl, HMR lignans, Pepcid, VitC, Kidney Gold, SubQ's 3 times a week, FishOil, and Denamarin Advanced. Thank you,

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,549

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    FYI - if you are giving the lignans in the hope they will help with Cushing's they won't by themselves. In Atypical Cushing's, in which the cortisol is NORMAL but 2 or more of the intermediates are elevated, a combination of lignans plus melatonin is used to correct the intermediates. It takes at least 4 months for that combination to work...if it is going to. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville (their vet school) has done the research on this form and devised this treatment. My Squirt started off Atypical and we used the combination treatment; it helped her. Just wanted you to know that the lignans alone will have no effect at all on the intermediate hormones or cortisol. The combination does not effect cortisol - only the intermediate hormones involved in Atypical.

    I am VERY glad she is doing better! I still would hold off on treatment until she is back on her feet and strong again if she were mine tho. Give her a chance to recoup then look at starting treatment.
    Last edited by Squirt's Mom; 09-01-2019 at 04:20 PM.
    "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.

  5. #45

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Before this past month, I was using Adrenal Harmony, Melatonin, HMR Lignans, Ginkgo Biloba, and some Tumeric. Also, before Pookie crashed, she had 2 doses of 4 marvels, because I heard that might be good for her. Now that she is getting better, I'm afraid to give her supplments, because I don't know if they caused it or not. I could try and go back to natural treatments for cushings, but her kidneys became my first concern. I read that melatonin and trilostane are not good for the kidneys, which has me somewhat lost in space for treatment plans. I still don't know if her kidneys were from something acute, or maybe she now has CKD. I guess I just have to wait and see. The vet recommended she stay on SubQ's, which is what I'm doing, but don't know for sure if she needs it.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    York, PA.
    Posts
    11,037

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    If feasible, I'd recommend having a SDMA test performed to gauge the function of the kidneys.

    Lori

  7. #47

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Can someone clarify what these numbers mean, or if Trilostane should be started? Here are Pookie's numbers for her Cushing's tests and dates:

    913.18 - BAAH
    Dexamethasone Suppression Test- Cortisol; Pre Dex= 1.9 ug/dL, Cortisol; 4hr Post Dex= 2.1 ug/dL, Cortisol; 8hr Post Dex= 1.8 ug/dL

    5.4.19 - Michigan State Univeristy
    Endocrine Test- Cortisol Baseline= 102 nmol/L, Cortisol; High Dose Dex 4hr= 125 nmol/L (H), High Dose Dex 8hr= 130 nmol/L (H).

    7.31.19 - Michigan State Univeristy
    Endocrine Test- Cortisol Basline= 181 nmol/L (H), Cortisol 1hr post ACTH= 494 nmol/L (WNL

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    York, PA.
    Posts
    11,037

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Quote Originally Posted by fkhan View Post
    Can someone clarify what these numbers mean, or if Trilostane should be started? Here are Pookie's numbers for her Cushing's tests and dates:

    913.18 - BAAH
    Dexamethasone Suppression Test- Cortisol; Pre Dex= 1.9 ug/dL, Cortisol; 4hr Post Dex= 2.1 ug/dL, Cortisol; 8hr Post Dex= 1.8 ug/dL
    These results look like they are from a low dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test, when interpreting this type of test the 8 hour post number is looked at first, if this number is over the cut-off value (which is usually 1.0 or 1.4) than the dog may have Cushing's. In Pookie's case her 8 hour result is over the usual cut-off value which indicates Cushing's but her results do not differentiate between the adrenal or pituitary form of Cushing's. With this test, and unfortunately, all tests for Cushing's, any non-adrenal illness and even stress can yield a false positive result.

    Quote Originally Posted by fkhan View Post
    5.4.19 - Michigan State Univeristy
    Endocrine Test- Cortisol Baseline= 102 nmol/L, Cortisol; High Dose Dex 4hr= 125 nmol/L (H), High Dose Dex 8hr= 130 nmol/L (H).
    This is a high dose dexamethasone suppression (HDDS), interpretation results are the same as LDDS.

    Quote Originally Posted by fkhan View Post
    7.31.19 - Michigan State Univeristy
    Endocrine Test- Cortisol Basline= 181 nmol/L (H), Cortisol 1hr post ACTH= 494 nmol/L (WNL
    These results are from an ACTH stimulation test and show that her post stimulation is within normal limits (WNL), which indicates that she doesn't have Cushing's.

    Given the fact that Pookie doesn't display the most common Cushing's symptoms such as a ravenous appetite and increased drinking/urinating along with the issues with her kidneys I would not pursue treatment. I would focus on getting her to eat normally and keeping those kidneys functioning well.

    Lori

  9. #49

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    Quote Originally Posted by Harley PoMMom View Post
    These results look like they are from a low dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test, when interpreting this type of test the 8 hour post number is looked at first, if this number is over the cut-off value (which is usually 1.0 or 1.4) than the dog may have Cushing's. In Pookie's case her 8 hour result is over the usual cut-off value which indicates Cushing's but her results do not differentiate between the adrenal or pituitary form of Cushing's. With this test, and unfortunately, all tests for Cushing's, any non-adrenal illness and even stress can yield a false positive result.



    This is a high dose dexamethasone suppression (HDDS), interpretation results are the same as LDDS.



    These results are from an ACTH stimulation test and show that her post stimulation is within normal limits (WNL), which indicates that she doesn't have Cushing's.

    Given the fact that Pookie doesn't display the most common Cushing's symptoms such as a ravenous appetite and increased drinking/urinating along with the issues with her kidneys I would not pursue treatment. I would focus on getting her to eat normally and keeping those kidneys functioning well.

    Lori
    Thank you for your feedback. I'm just concerned that an untreated dog with Cushing's is more prone to all sorts of problems, which can be fatal. I'm also concerned with treatment, because that could be fatal as well. The interesting thing is if she was taking Trilostane, according to table 2 here: https://www.drugs.com/pro/vetoryl.html, she would need an increase in her dose. Her hair loss and skin changes seem to be screaming for treatment, as well as her back leg weakness, but her panting, appetitie, and thirst appear to be normal, but she use to pant alot. I'm waiting on her T4 test to come back for her Thyroid results. Thanks again.

  10. #50

    Default Re: Looking for Dr. on East Coast for Pituitary Tumor Removal

    I'm still waiting on her Thyroid test to come back, which was over a week ago. Given the immune suppression of cortisol in our dogs, I'm supplementing Pookie with Vit C twice a day. Since Cushing's has effected her liver and her kidneys were failing last month, I have her on Azodyl, SubQ's, Denamarin Advanced, and Vit B12 shots once a week. I also give Pookie fishoil, Pepcid, HMR lignans, Kidney Gold, and just started alternating Kidney Gold and Adrenal Harmony, and a little Ginkgo Biloba again. Since my vet hasn't recommended Trilostane, I have to be my own vet and see what works and doesn't work for Pookie. It's dangerous to experiment with our own dogs, but I feel leaving Cushing's untreated is not a good idea. At the least, I think VitC is needed if their immune system is being suppressed. Since Pookie is suspected of have been dealing with Pancreatitis, her CLP still shows a light positive, but the Vet said it could take time for that to resolve.

Posting Permissions

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