UTI + Overnight blindness + then sudden dementia like symptoms + Cushings dx

[SassyTerrier]

My senior Yorky silky terrier mix woke up blind. I was traumatized. I didn’t know anything like this could exist.
This year she has been walking from 1-2x around the block to begging for 6x around the block (contest little girl, I can’t say no to her requests).

I thought we were doing really well, and in November I noticed she started drinking a lot of water! Suddenly, she Peed on the floor, and she’s never done that before. I called the vet and he wanted to run test for diabetes and get to urinalysis. No diabetes. Positive urinalysis.

We were good.

Then mid February 2020. UTI returned. Back to vet. I noticed she couldn’t smell her food dish. Odd.
UTI confirmed. I administered her Heartguard chewy. We went to bed.
Next day, she woke up BLIND. No time to adjust. Just blind.
She was stuck behind a door trying to get to me. I can’t forget this moment.
The day before we were playing fetch. I watch videos from 2 days before and I sob.

The night before being blind she did bark at my bed, when I wasn’t in it (but she always barks at it if I’m in it to let me know she needs to go potty or chase the rat outside or bark at the possum on fence.

This wouldn’t be as bad, but she went deaf years ago (After her vaccines. She always spikes a fever each year, but this time she went deaf. Vet said it happened to his small dog too. “Hears in mo day, deaf on Tuesday”. I felt better hearing it bc she was in clomid flea pills and I had worried maybe it wasn’t so safe.

She was a very alert dog, good listener, sensitive to every sound, so afterward, she was a more calm dog that no longer barked at the coffee pot or the damn blender (we knew immediately lol).. And also didn’t mind the vacuum and could sleep (she was such a light sleeper from any sound).

Anyways, back to present.
The same day she went blind, she was rushed to vet who then had us rush her to an opthamologist.
Who confirmed she was blind. They spent 45 mins to hour with her and adored her. They did light tests which showed little to no response, obviously she didn’t respond to movement of any type either).

for the UTI, the Baytril made her sick. Her eyes were also so dilated and I thought Zenequin killed her bc she slept a solid day and was in deep sleep. Her eyes were so dilated.

She was eating ravenously.
I took videos because I’ve never seen anything like it! She’s always been a picky eater and eaten one meal a day and it takes bribery to get in a second. (She’s always been lean).
She was inhaling dog food like she had never seen it.

She developed A few weird “breathing fits” (no air going in and none coming out) which I took a video of (I thought it was related to Denamarin or Ocuglo we had started her on?).
We raced her to vet bc we thought she was dying from inhaling a leaf (as she was now eating EVERYTHING, like a goat). But the breathing fit ended before we got there, and The vet said looking at her right now (she was excited about another dog in the waiting room) she was fine on presentation, so he would not doing anything bc there were no symptoms (he didn’t do anything but look at her 3 secs just enough to say that to me- but we did rush in and he’s always busy).
Or the breathing fit was brought on from drinking chicken broth (The “dementia” that was developing seemed to now make her not want to drink water, she wouldn’t touch water bowl which was odd. (fortunately she now laps it up again).

She started peeing every hour in her sleep And outside.
Then, she was walking around like a zombie that didn’t sleep for 7 days and thrashing about and running into everything like a high powered lunatic. I cried.
I took her on walks/runs six times around block which she LOVED (only time my ‘old’ dog came back). I was trying to help her sleep at night, because at night we ran laps around back yard and inside she was running into everything (note: I have padded a lot of the house).

Covid was happening at this time, and I was pretty much screwed.
I found melatonin in my medicine cabinet and finally we were getting sleep at night.

The eyes were so dilated it scared me.

Over next 2 months:
Her UTI hadn’t responded to 10 days of amox clauv. She was peeing all over. Back legs were getting so weak. She stumbled over everything and fell randomly while standinf or walking in house, about every 10 seconds. So sad! I don’t know how a person can cry this much but my eyes now had rashes underneath from tears.
every morning when I held her, and on our walks I saw my baby and she was so strong and happy in these walks (I took videos- so happy and darling and fast!).

So now, we tried selegiline for cognitive decline, bc she was getting stuck in corners and ‘sun downing’ ( happening too fast), but she had every symptom. After 2 weeks she was so lethargic on it and slept most of the time, and the vet didn’t take her blood pressure bc they didn’t have working equipment and her urine protein was high- I couldn’t risk this drug having a side effect of ruining her kidneys! we stopped.

Her liver enzymes and triglycerides were high (Last 2 years I found out) , so a friend suggested I put it on a liver diet.
I also couldn’t get food and essentials because of Covid.
I was pretty much stuck with staples in my pantry of rice, pasta, yogurt. It was awful.
She lost a lot of weight on this diet, and the crazy thing is her eyes were no longer dilated, and she actually could see! I WAS OVER THE MOON IN JOY!
She was following me from several feet away, and acting coordinated.

But she was getting oh so skinny and frail, and her legs were getting even weak, and her midsection and ribs were puffy. Because her liver enzymes and fats were high, a friend suggested I put her on a liver diet. I also couldn’t get food because of Covid. I was pretty much stuck with staples in my pantry of rice, pasta, yogurt. It was awful. She lost a lot of weight on this diet, and the crazy thing is her eyes were no longer dilated, and she actually could see! She was following and acting coordinated. (I think I even have a video of this). She could navigate house perfectly! I cried tears of joy and my heart was so fulfilled.
But she was so skinny, and her legs were getting so weak, and her midsection was puffy. I felt her little doggy bones above tail sticking out.
Finally New dog food came! (Hills Liver care). she was thrilled to see it and gobbled it up. (She was ok ch one and rice/sweet potato before this and Purina dog food)

It was a few days later she plumped back up and lost vision again (but she felt more sturdy and strong) and became more uncoordinated and lost her balance again. Sadness


sometimes I wonder if because she lost all that weight, it decompressed a tumor pressing on nerve? Or I wonder if it’s some type of cyst pressing on her optic nerve? She sneezes a bit more now but it’s also allergy season which is horrible for all here.

(Although, She had been back at vet (I took any and all apts I could get) and I mentioned a lump on the top of her head, but she’s had for a couple months. We went to do a biopsy, and he told me to his surprise, it drained! No cancer like we all feared. And no more gross thing on her beautiful head. She was seeing around this same time (on diet that was not ideal) so maybe I thought the cyst had pressed on something.

But alas, she’s back to blind (see below) .

She had started to lose hair now above her tail.

The next vet apt I made a list of all that was wrong. I was no longer myself and falling apart. my brain couldn’t accept this.

My family tried telling me “It’s just old age“ but my brain SCREAMED, “you don’t age in 24 hours!”.

The vet did physical and came back, “We have a major problem. Your dog may have lung cancer. She is having a major coughing fit and it’s SEVERE.” I told him the coughing was impossible. She had not coughed in years besides an asthma attack (that wasn’t a cough)
He left saying it was grim. I sunk down feeling dizzy. I thought she would die right there.

On her chart that he has, I reminded him of her narrow trachea and xrays they took. (she was given onne shot years ago and we has no problems since! She runs everyday).

(Note: except for the 2 current breathing fits that were NOT a cough but more like rapid asthma? I have video if anyone interested?)

He came back out and my dog was apparently ok now.

I asked what happened, if someone hadn’t handled her correctly (he had new staff and they almost dropped her and grabbed her by the head from the car..)

He said during the physical he “induced a cough” which is routine and necessary (I had no idea).
And she coughed horribly. We had to have xrays.
The xrays were clear thank you lord.

Then, he said “I noticed she is developing cataracts. If you notice her vision is affected in future we need to talk about cataract removal”

I said “You do know my dog is blind right?? I told the girls several times and they wrote it down and it’s included in the note”
“No. I had no idea.” He said.

Anyways, he mentioned Looking at her blood test, he thought she had Cushing’s disease and wanted her tested. We did the test and it’s positive. In two weeks, she no longer has dementia, She is not falling down and she’s aware of who I am at all times.
The biggest moment came a couple days ago, she just “scooted back” and is so proud of herself (I took a video). she continued to “practice” and now giving eye drops or pills is a little more difficult but I am so happy for her! I can sleep a little now knowing she won’t be in a corner stuck.

She still has trouble sleeping at night When Med wears off, but if I give her the 10 mg trouble staying in the evening she sleeps all night. Solooking at her blood test, he thought she had Cushing’s disease and wanted her tested. We did the test and it’s positive. In two weeks, she no longer has dementia, and she’s aware of who I am at all times. She still has trouble sleeping at night, but if I give her the 10 mg trusting in the evening she sleeps all night. it’s timing.

The first week of bad was great, no side effects. But by day 7 to 10 we had shaking that turned into TREMBLING.. I have been so scared. I realize that happen 30 minutes within giving denimarin. So we stopped. Since this blindness has happened, what I’ve noticed is she cannot handle stress at all. When I give her a bath, She also does this trembling and it’s like “fight or flight”

She used to roll around on the towel and let me blow her dry. Now she PANICS! She is like a trotting horse and can’t sit still and her heart races. Bath time is TORTURE.

Each day is something different for the last 3 months.

On the positive,
She is no longer peeing all over herself every hour! She can hold it now for 5-6 hours.

Our urinalysis, after 3 weeks looks much better. She still has bacteria in urine but her protein is lower, and this time in 5 months is the first time she had NO white blood cells or red blood cells! Microalbumin has gone from 10 to 4.5! her blood pressure average was 140/160 (as long as it’s under 170 we are safe).

Anyways, I wish I had found the support group sooner. I’ve felt very alone.

I was hoping some of you guys could look at her bloodwork or if I could email it? Is there a way to post the picture? I’m having some horrible hand inflammation and Voice to text doesn’t seem to copy lab values.

We started low-dose 10 mg, bjt she gets milk thistle and a few other things I added like vitamin e + fish oil, etc...

I just had the ATCH test and I worry about one of the values... it seems too low after 4-5 hours...
Anyways, have you guys heard of a dog going blind overnight from Cushings?

can she still take milk thistle if I give it 12 hours apart?

Her triglycerides were normal after a couple weeks of milk thistle/Denamarin, and the liver enzymes had lowered a little bit.

But I worry it will interfere with medication.

Also, I want to do another post on the possible risk of me giving heart guard again?
I know it was just coincidental with the blindness And cognitive issues,.
But my gut says ’don’t give it to her.’ Something bad will happen to her delicate blood brain barrier.

I also have a horrible fear of heart worms.

So I went and got interceptor.

But it says it can cause ataxia.

I’m so afraid.

[LtlBtyRam]

I am so sorry you are in such a state of unknowing and panic. I have never done much with voice to text, so I can't advise you there. The only way to get pictures that I know of is to make an album in your profile area and post them there. About the heart guard, I say follow your gut. You know your furbaby best. I hope those with more extensive knowledge have options for you regarding the heartworms. I can empathize with you about emergencies and the love we have for these beings which rely on use for their care. I still can't entertain the idea of getting another dog and mine has been gone for a little over 4 years, although everyone is different. I know you love her and want the best. Hang in there, you are not alone.
Angela

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and your little girl. Gosh, it sounds like you two have really been through a nightmare of problems — I’m so sorry! There have been so many issues involved that it will take some time and thought to try to address them all. I’m so glad that Angela and Claire have already had the chance to reply to you, and right now, I only have a little bit to add. But in answer to your primary question, as Claire has explained, Cushing’s can cause high blood pressure and that, in turn, can cause retinal damage severe enough to cause blindness. However, your description of your girl’s sudden loss of sight makes me think of another possibility.

As soon as you mentioned sudden blindness, my mind turns to the possible diagnosis of SARDS. It is a syndrome of unknown origin that causes sudden blindness in dogs, along with certain other symptoms that overlap with (and can be confused for) Cushing's, including excessive thirst, urination and hunger. Like Cushing’s, SARDS may be related to abnormal levels of adrenal hormones. Some dogs with SARDS actually test positive for Cushing’s, however others do not. The possible relationship between the two conditions remains poorly understood, Here’s an article that will tell you more:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-p...syndrome-sards

Now that I’ve mentioned SARDS to you, however, here’s one big feature that makes it unlikely for your dog. SARDS causes irreversible blindness. Since you say your girl’s sight has bern coming and going, this basically rules out SARDS. Also, the ophthalmologist ought to have been able to diagnose this condition, as well as the actual likely cause of the initial blindness. Can you find out what actual diagnosis was given after her examination?

Leaping forward, though, it sounds as though you’ve been giving her Vetoryl (Trilostane) to treat Cushing’s, and you’ve actually seen improvement. But as you’ve noted, we’ll really want to know what the results were for this recent ACTH monitoring testing. The result should be in the form of two numbers: her baseline cortisol level, and then a second cortisol level taken an hour later, after a stimulating agent has been injected. At a minimum, if you could just type those two numbers in a reply, that would be a big help. As far as earlier tests, all we really need to see are just any abnormal values on any of the panels — the whole list of results are not necessary. So maybe you can just type those in, too. If not, as Angela suggested, if you can take a photo of the lab results, you can then create a photo album here and upload the image.

I’m going to stop for now. As I say, there’s a lot to think over. But in the meantime, once again, we’re very glad you’ve found us.

Marianne

[SassyTerrier]

Hi Marianne,

I took my doggy in the day she went blind. My dog did not respond to her light tests and exam. They spend a long time with her (almost an hour in the back room with her - this was right before covid.

It may have been too early.

I’d go back now but walking in was not cheap.

She did confirm blindness saying very little activity.

I can certainly call and ask for her diagnosis.

I was suppose to get a print out and differential diagnosis but I left with just a bill and paperwork on how to care for a blind dog (I.e. always supervise, cover any pools or dangerous stairs (I don’t have any but I did appreciate the print out).
She told me my dog was happy and plenty of dogs live good lives and that she would adapt.
(she was still smiley at this point)

The opthamologist did want to run another test ($500) but it would not bring back her vision.

She said, if needed it would allow her to give a referral for a a neurologist and that would be next step, getting an MRI and CSF fluid (which I can not afford here) and if it were a tumor pressing on optic nerve then she said a neurologist would likely treat that with radiation to shrink it. Which she said my dog was healthy and a good candidate if that were the case (which I didn’t know how bc doesn’t that require a lot of anesthesia?)
I did ask if I could just go to the neurologist for an MRI, and she said no. First they needed to do the eye exam.

My dog has not had any vision for the last 3-4 weeks. I had a huge glimmer of some hope that she was seeing several weeks ago, when she lost all the weight, but right now there isn’t any vision.

She feels noticeable lighter during the day when I give her the Vetoryl. Her appetite is still good but she isn’t begging. But she does shake About 4 hours after (I feed her at this time again, just incase it’s low blood sugar? Or bc the vet said the minutes she doesn’t want food, we are in trouble. So this is something He said I am to always watch for. And I do.

12 hours after the med at night time she is ravenous.
She hovers the kitchen and licks the floors all night for food. I can’t eat knowing she is hungry and she knows and races to kitchen if I have even a cracker in my mouth.

I’ve added in veggies ( broccoli, green beans, cucumber, carrot, apple) to help, but she is so hungry
I give her 3 smaller dinners instead of big meal. But then she feels so much more heavy. She is drinking a lot again too evenings (large amounts at once. I don’t take water away ever, but I wondered today if like food, she needs help monitoring or pacing herself with water.

I had asked about splitting her dose so it would be more smooth: 5 mg in morning and 5 mg at night bc this Med is up and down. And the vet said no.
He said she is on the correct dose (10 mg). We just had bloodwork.

I did ask if I could give her the Med at night (I have not slept much in months) and he said yes.

I have been giving it in the morning because it makes her sleep a few hours which helps her get through very hot afternoons where she can’t be on walks or outdoors.
She does not understand why our consistent walking schedule has changed.

I am glad I pressed again for blood pressure check. He said as long as it stays under 170 she will be ok.
I do wish I had my own device to take her blood pressure bc she gets so stressed sometimes.

Im concerned because when he called me with results he said “ Blood pressure is very difficult to take in dogs. They struggle to move around, and we have to restrain their legs and take it six times to get an average reading.“

I noticed today one of her legs did something weird. It was under her body and she wasn’t aware of its location.
I wipe her feet off everyday and check her reflexes (I lightly tap toes and 2 other parts of each leg to make sure she responds and she does). But one leg didn’t.

I’m so freaked out.

She was tilting to one side.
Her energy is fine, but I feel it would be best to keep her in a cage until this gets better but she would die from stress as she’s a busy body.

I’m praying this gets better. The legs feel good but now I’m regretting letting anyone handle her.

I have not been able to restrain her and put her on her side, so I have no idea how the staff managed that.

Her leg looked like it was tilting to one side.

I will be praying all night this is a temporary sprain. Bc I can not afford another vet bill and I don’t want her to have any issues.


I really appreciate all the help and support,

(I myself feel like I may have high blood pressure).

I Will type out the blood work. (I have pictures of it)
Let me work on that right now

[SassyTerrier]

Thank you Angela,
good advice.

I am still searching the internet for a solution on safer Heartguard.

I feel nauseated thinking about giving it to her if I poison her system with it.

I face the risk of heart worms which would kill her if she got them.
Or a risk of euthanasia if the Heartguard damages her CNS.
Unknown is so scary.

[SassyTerrier]

Sentinel is sounding like a good idea.

Dang. I just bought 6 months of interceptor and then at vet I got several months of Heartguard bc the vet assured me there were no side effects and Heartguard was extremely safe. (I wasn’t going to use both. I decided on interceptor and he then told me heart guard was safe and to use that so I got that instead other day for him.)

[Remy’s Mom]

I think interceptor and Sentinel are Essentially the same drug.

[SassyTerrier]

The first test for Cushing’s was dex test:

Cortisol sample time 1 9:15 am
8.5 (High) ...(reference range: 1.0-5.0 ug/dL)

Cortisol sample time 2 1:15 PM
2.4 (High) ...(reference range: 0.0-1.4 ug/dL)

Cortisol sample time 3 5:15 PM
5.7 (High) ...(reference range: 0.0-1.4 ug/dL)



ACTH test:
(she took 10 mg Vetoryl pill at 8:50 am on empty stomach as vet suggested. (I had to give her a small bit of food to make sure it didn’t stay stuck in her throat though)

Time 1 11:10 am
Cortisol sample 1: result = 3.9 ...(reference range 1.0-5.0 ug/dL)

Time 2 12:10
Cortisol sample 2: result = 7.4 (low) ...(reference range 8.0-17.0 ug/dL)






And then I have a new urinalysis

pH: 5.5 (previous, it was 8.5 last time)

Protein: 1+ High. (It was 2+ High last time)

Bacteria: COCCI and RODS 26-50 (High)

‘Note: want to make a population of bacteria is identified using right stain, organisms appearing as Cocci may be Cocco-bacilli (very short rides). Culture is a preferred test for verifying viable bacteriuria.’

(Previously, she had “Rods 100 (High).”)

Urine microalbumin canine reflex:

Microalbuminuria: 4.6 (High) ...(reference range < 2.5 mg/dL)

(Previously, “microalbumin 10.0”)

She Peed on herself other night which was one reason I asked for a culture.
I was sad with myself. I set an alarm to get her out every 4-5 hours (this is a huge improvement considering it used to be every 45 mins-1 hour) so she can go, but I had fallen asleep and slept through alarm.

Nights before when I had forgotten, she actually woke up and came to get me <3


I have added in low dose cranberry the last couple weeks bc when we took her to the vet for UTI, they had forgotten to get a sample (she was going to have the needle test). I wasn’t able to get an appointment so had anxiety that the bacteria would destroy her kidneys so did what I could. The vet, calmed my fears by telling me most older dogs are incontinent so not to worry.

I thought they were doing a culture this time, but it was a free catch
(considering she came out of the vets office looking sweaty, hot, and miserable, with no smile, I thought for sure they did).

She has always comes out of vets perky and happy even last time, bc she gets to sense other doggies.

So seeing her little face so sad and she felt so hot to the touch, made me feel bad she had a rough day.

I put her in the AC, had her emergency dinner and water (... she never has eaten or drunk water in the car before (too exciting for her)...
but I pack it just in case.

she drank a big bowl of water and some kibble.
I promised her a nice evening walk later on and we ‘sensed’ big dogs and she was overly filled with joy and the sweet smile came back after that.

[SassyTerrier]

Also, the reason he ran the Cushings test was because of obvious physical symptoms, and she had a high ALK phos, ALT, and triglycerides despite running everyday and a chicken and rice diet that didn’t bring it down. (Denamarin normalized the triglycerides and had begun to lower Alk & alt a little:

(ALK: 700 to 623;
ALT (SGPT) went from 421 to 122* (normal is below 118)

But we began to see changes in normal BUN and creatinine and then magnesium was elevated (mag was 3.1...normal is under 2.6), but he told me still not terrible, but it freaked me out bc it’s always been normal.

She will be put her on Hills kidney diet dog food when the current bag runs out (Currently I ordered hills liver care bc we didn’t know what I was treating before Cushings.
I do add in a little fresh chicken breast meat, 1 tsp yogurt for calcium, steamed veggies and rice (her kidney values changed/slightly elevated when I had lowered protein... she is also active)
I use dog food to help fill in nutritional gaps a home diet could miss.
And I just started high quality fish oil, vit e, cranberry (I give 1/6th human dose), and probiotic (Culturelle).

I’ll take any suggestions on what else I could do or any immune boosting supplements.

I wanted to add in mushroom extract but then thought what if these kids get a fungi infection from it? I know it’s healthy but wasn’t sure?

Also, has anyone here given their dog quercetin?
I did a search on Cushing’s disease, and found that so many people have dogs that also get sarcoma. sent my spiraling.

Quercetin is suppose to be anti-cancer/prevention, but I didn’t want to overdo anything.

[SassyTerrier]

Does anyone know if CBD oil actually works as an effective anti-inflammatory?
Or is it overhyped? (I know fish oil is too, but it’s not fast acting like an NSAID, which she needs).

Looking to get this back healed ASAP.

She’s killing my heart by wobbling over to the door and pressing her body up to it as close as she can.
She is not taking this lightly...

She’s also going to be as big as a house without exercise.