Severe Calcinosis Cutis - desperate! Have you had any luck?

[doxiesrock912]

Nancy,
Can you attach a small pillow to his bed so that he can rest his head up high without bending his neck? Or make a small stand with a pillow on it to put next to where he sleeps? A large enough stuffed toy might work too.

[Bogiesmommy]

Yes. I've been doing that and have raised his food bowl too. The worst seems to have subsided for the moment in his neck area. He's not bobbing his head or keeping it up as much

[Renee]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that we did a course of abx for 2 weeks, and that really helped clear up some of the oozing. Those sores can get infected easily, and while the abx won't cure the CC, it can help them in terms of clearing up.

[Arizona Boston]

Hi Nancy,
Sorry its taken me so long to chime in. Yes…my Boston Lucy's CC has gotten so much better we are still in awe of her progress.
Our year long journey started with a single chunky bump on her neck about the time she got her diagnosis of Cushings. She was on Vetoryl for about a year and during that time the CC got worse and worse until finally she had a large ( about 1 1/2 in in diameter ) area that she apparently scratched … it was bloody and looked like she had been attacked in a dog fight. We made three changes all at the same time, so I can't say for sure what make the difference.
1) We switched from Vetoryl to Lysodren
2) She started on a new antibiotic and was on it for a month (Simplex)
3) She started a new shampoo, Sebolux
Within a few weeks we saw a difference and within a month we were seeing bald spots grow hair and less and less new outbreaks of CC. It disappeared the same route it started…along her spine and neck cleared up first and gradually the smaller bumps down along her sides disappeared.
I should elaborate on point #1…I'm not saying Vetoryl is no good…but we never got her ACTH low enough with it. Possibly if we had upped her dose from 40 to 60mg we could have achieved the same results.

You are lucky you've got the top docs working for you and Bogie. I hope you get it cleared up soon. (I'll bump up Lucy's thread so you can look at pics)
Shelly and Lucy

[Nichole]

My dog, Ralphie, has CC too. I added a few new photos. http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/albu...pictureid=6240

I'm curious what the progression of getting better looks like. I've got some early pictures where it starts coming up from under the skin and it is just pink, then it gets hard and crusty. It's got black stuff that comes and goes, but I don't really know what it is.

He had an infection and I had him on an antibiotic, which seemed to stop the progression altogether. Now, they've diagnosed an antibiotic resistant staph infection. They want to put him on a stronger antibiotic that they say he'll be on for a long time. I've been reading a lot about Manuka honey's ability to fight antibiotic resistant infections. I bought some high powered manuka honey to try it out. It's only been 24 hours. The moisture from the honey makes his spots bring red rather than sorta grey and crusty. Everyone says the moisture is bad, but why?

His, luckily, haven't bothered him too much. They don't crack or bleed or burst open. Does anyone have pictures of the progression from bad to better?

[Dawn Anderson]

Sorry it took so long to get back to ya. Butters CC is know almost 16 weeks old, it still looks really bad, she had very few issues with ruptures and oozing, her issue was how itchy it was making her and she would scratch which of course would rip it open and bleed like mad.

Please don't through the towel in because you guys are having such a hard time emotionally with the CC, it just takes time to go through the cycles and since it looks like you are getting the hormones in check then the healing can begin. I too for months have been searching for before during and after CC picks I even created a thread about it, and have yet to get any good feed backs or links on just this subject and the internet has not been much help either.

From our families experience with CC, the key has been to get the hormone level in ck and keep Butters as pain free as possible so that she is not under any additional stress, stress will cause them to produce cortisol and keep infections at bay and keep her skin as dry as possible, she has been on trilo for 2 weeks now and is being tested right know. (She under went radiation the last week of Nov. and had to wait this long to start the trilo).

It is like a burn victims skin , it takes time, lots of time!

Hang in there , remember many of us here are going through the same thing and have had the same emotional battles that your family is going through.Please remember you are not alone and the CC family will be right here for your family.

[Nichole]

It sounds like everyone does something different for their case of CC. My pup's CC was infected and I used really powerful manuka honey to get rid of the infection. That stuff is amazing. It is dry now, but I'm not convinced that is the most comfortable for him. He's so itchy. We've been lucky that Ralphie's CC hasn't not been too oozy and doesn't really break open and bleed. I've been using castor oil packs once a day to keep things a little moist and I think he is more comfortable. He's such a tough guy - it is hard to tell. The castor oil has all sorts of positive natural effects, so I'm hoping it brings some relief.

[Arizona Boston]

I think in regards to dry vs wet…its kind of like acne. Some people say dry it out and some people say keep it soft. Trial and error I guess.
Shelly

[Dawn Anderson]

Your are absolutly correct arizona, trail and error, different stages of CC call for different treatments.

[lola's mom]

My dog, Ralphie, has CC too. I added a few new photos. http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/albu...pictureid=6240

I'm curious what the progression of getting better looks like. I've got some early pictures where it starts coming up from under the skin and it is just pink, then it gets hard and crusty. It's got black stuff that comes and goes, but I don't really know what it is.

He had an infection and I had him on an antibiotic, which seemed to stop the progression altogether. Now, they've diagnosed an antibiotic resistant staph infection. They want to put him on a stronger antibiotic that they say he'll be on for a long time. I've been reading a lot about Manuka honey's ability to fight antibiotic resistant infections. I bought some high powered manuka honey to try it out. It's only been 24 hours. The moisture from the honey makes his spots bring red rather than sorta grey and crusty. Everyone says the moisture is bad, but why?

His, luckily, haven't bothered him too much. They don't crack or bleed or burst open. Does anyone have pictures of the progression from bad to better?

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to second Nichole's request - can anyone post pix showing what CC looks like as it begins to heal?

Thank you!
Lola's mom