New to this Forum

[yogismom]

Hello everyone, I’m new to this forum, and hoping to get some good information on other dogs with cushing’s disease.
I have an almost 11 year old Yorkie Poo who just recently was diagnosed a year ago with Cushings disease. Yogi has never had ultrasounds to check on the tumor but has had bloodwork to confirm he has the beginning of the disease. He started with a bloated belly, weight gain, and excessive thirst and hunger, along with skin issues and panting . I researched treatment, and after a lot of it did not want to put yogi thru that along with not being able to afford it. I was told by a friend a holistic vet may be my best option as with my research I had learned a cooked diet along with natural herbs and supplements is what would be beneficial to my dog.
Yogi has been on a cooked diet along with supplements and I have seen a huge improvement over the year. Bloating, thirst and panting has completely gone away. Yogi still has mild skin issues but my main concern now is how hungry he is! It’s so bad that he waking me up at 230 am and with having to ignore him and direct him to go lay down until finally at 4am I give up and feed him as he is not settled which is all new for him. I have tweeked his food with adding an extra feeding and extra things to try and satisfy him ( all ok’d by his vet) with no luck. He's completely happy and we walk twice daily. He’s eating and using the bathroom all very normally. The hunger issue is what is most concerning and I’m just looking for any type of advice or thoughts that can be shared. I’ve done everything possible to try and satisfy him but unable to, I feel like he is starving! But very aware he is not as his weight is stable and he is eating 4 meals a day including veggies and fruit for snacks.
Any thoughts would be so appreciated! Yogi is my whole life, and my best friend, I just want to make sure I’m doing my best in regards to his newly founded disease and changes.
Thank you!

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and Yogi! If you’ve already done any reading here on our forum, you’re probably aware that Cushing’s can be a very difficult disease to definitively diagnose. Upon reading Yogi’s history over the past year, I must confess that I have questions as to whether or not traditional Cushing’s is actually the cause of his current hunger problem. The reason why I say this is because if Yogi truly has Cushing’s caused by elevated cortisol, it would be highly unusual for all the other symptoms to disappear in the absence of medical treatment. It’ll help us a great deal if you can provide us with more specifics about his original test results, as well as the types of supplements you’ve been giving him. If you can get copies of the original laboratory tests, you can tell us actual numbers for any tests that are abnormally high or low. Also, if he was given either one of the two blood tests that are given to help diagnose Cushing’s — either the ACTH stimulation test or the LDDS — the exact numbers will be very helpful to us.

If dogs truly suffer from elevated cortisol, the symptoms generally do not resolve without prescription medication. However, elevations in adrenal hormones other than cortisol do sometimes improve when dogs are given the supplements of melatonin and lignans. This is why it’ll help us to know about both Yogi’s original tests as well as the actual supplements you’ve been giving him.

In the meantime, I wish I could give you some great suggestions about easing his hunger, but it sounds as though you’re already doing most everything I can think of myself. So let’s try to put our heads together as to the root cause. Once again, welcome — we’re really glad you’ve found us.

Marianne