Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

[apollo6]

Trust your self, listen to your gut feelings. Don't jump into anything without getting the information you need. You have gone through a lot. Don't forget to take care of your self also, to be there for Zoe and your other little fur ball.
Sonja and Apollo.
We'll be praying for you.

[SavingSimon]

I called another vet today after dear Sonja prodded me (I need prodding so thank you)

She said I could continue using the Shen Calmer with the melatonin but if I wanted to stop it I don't have to wean her off. Last night I stopped the pm dose. I did have some panting from Zoe last night. This morning I gave her 1/8 teapsoon and again no dose tonite. No panting tonight.

Thursday am will be her last morning dose. I am home for 5 days so I can watch her.

Hope to start her melatonin July 5th, Dr.Oliver gets back July 6th, sounds like a plan to me

Oh, Honest Kitchen emailed back right away (they are so nice) Zoe eats 1/8 cup of EMBARK with her raw. They told me that had 14.5 grams of organic flaxseedin it.

How do I figure that into the flax hull equation?

Thanks!
Addy

Hi Addy,
I just read your thread from start to finish, and wonder if the runny poops issue ever resolved itself? My guess is that it wasn't the plastic, it was the raw diet that caused the problem. Dogs can get salmonella, and all of the other diseases and parasites that humans can from uncooked meats, particularly any kind of fowl or pork. I'm thinking of the "Bones And Raw Food" diet ... not sure if that is what you mean by "RAW" though. the "BARF" diet was a pretty big fad about seven to ten years ago and all research shows that it is not the best choice in diets for dogs. I am sure there are people that will want to fight that statement, and I'm not trying to start any kind of arguments, just hope that you are cooking any meats that you feed your baby. In the wild dogs are lucky if they live to be two years old, and in the wild dogs don't eat turkey, chicken, beef, pork, etc. has always been a point ignored by those who want to stand by feeding their dogs raw meats. Plus in the wild, dogs are catching wild rabbits, rats, etc, and introducing diseases into the domestic dog community like rabies, parvo, distemper., etc.. I think it's great if you want to cook for your dog and their are healthy ways to feed them that way, and raw vegetables and lignans figure into that, but never raw meat. It will make your dog sick if it isn't already, and for a Cushing's dog, it will make being able to tell what is dietary and what is medication complications a nightmare. All of this is just my opiinion, and so feel free to ignore it and proceed as you are, I am not making any judgements, I KNOW you love your dog from your thread, and I know you love her dearly, so I'm sorry if that seemed kind of didactic and definitely don't intend it judgemental - just recommendations that you can take or leave.
I wanted to answer the other dietary issue that you brought up about how to figure in the "organic flaxseed". My guess is that organic flaxseed is not the same as the lignan (which is the hull) of the flax seed, so I don't think it probably adds up to much at all - but I'm totally guessing on that one. The best way to find out would be to ask Dr. Oliver or your Vet, who could calculate it in to what is recommended for your dog if it is indeed the lignan and not just the entire flaxseed which is what it sounds like it is from the way you described it, but on the other hand, doesn't sound like it is from the way it is measured. You might want to call the food company and ask them if it is a the lignan, or if it is the whole flaxseed like it sounds like it is before you ask the vet or Dr. Oliver, that is what I would do.
Welcome to here, from me and Simon, even though here is a place I'm sure none of us wish we had to be, I know that the support and advice that we have received so far has been crucial to getting through all of the confusion and fears and frustrations that come along with a Cushing's diagnosis. If there is any thing that I can do to help, please let me know. Simon's diet needs to be adjusted and is far from ideal too in my opinion, it's just there are so many things to do when you have to manage this disease and your life and your other dogs, and your Cushings dog - I know it is overwhelming, frustrating, scary, and infuriating sometimes. If you ever need someone who can relate to all of that stuff - we are here for you, and you and your sweet Zoe (who has beautiful eyes by the way) are in our prayers.
Love,
Dena, Simon, & pack

[addy]

Hi Dena,

I agree completely with you on the raw diet and I know she can no longer be on raw with Cushings but the IMS said not to change her food now or we will have too many new things going on and will not know what is causing what. Zoe is on a commerically prepared raw diet called Nature's Menu, we tried it as a last resort. She cannot tolerate kibble and I spent a year trying to get her off the Hills canned prescription food that she was not doing well on. I could never transition to another food without getting watery squirty poops by the 3 day no matter how slowly I went. The raw was the only food we transitioned to without watery squirty poops and we did it cold turkey. She was fine with it all winter until I stopped the thyroid meds, she ate plastic, etc and we have had a major flare up since. Ims originally wanted to put her on Hills W/D and I know in my gut she cannot eat that food.
Since we now have the Cushings diagnosis she said "do not change the food yet, we will look at that down the road" and the IMS is no fan of raw." I have no strong opinions one way or another except I will not feel W/D to Zoe.

The metronidazol is helping her but I don't get consistant firm poops. Since she loves to eat bunny poops, I don't know that I ever will unless I muzzle her ever time she goes outside. I don't have the heart to do it.

Compared to where we were when I first posted, poops are much better. Am still waiting to hear back from Dr. Oliver, I resent email yestderday and did not get a auto reply

Thank you for your input. It helps to hear from others. I hate having to go so slow but other than her coat her symptoms are not horrible yet. I worry her numbers were sky high but I really believe that because of the significant colitis flare up and the severe stress, she skewed her numbers. They had to muzzle her at the vets, it was all too much for her.

I did notice she has been anxious again when she is taken from me or if I leave her all alone, like if I take Koko for his walk, she gets very upset. That might be having no Shen Calmer. SHe was like that when I first rescued her.

So many problems in the equation

Addy

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Addy,

I am not a raw feeding fan by any means but that does not mean it is wrong, even for a cush baby. The only time a raw diet is NOT recommended is when a pup is fighting certain types of cancer. If Zoe does better on the raw diet she has been on, then I wouldn't change it right now. When/if you do decide to change, the best thing is to contact someone who specializes in canine nutrition and have them design a diet specifically for her. They will take into consideration all of her health issues including blood/lab work, environment, lifestyle, activity level, climate, ect. in designing her menu. But for now, I wouldn't change anything.

What works for our Atypical babies in the lignans is SDG - which stands for a word a mile long! The hulls apparently have a higher concentration of SDG than the seed or oil from flax. The SDG content is usually listed on the bottle and that is what you want to look at. My Squirt weighs about 13 lbs and she takes 3, 40mg capsules of a standardized lignan. The bottle reads, "...flaxseed extract standardized at 20% SDG..." That means that 20% of the 40mg is SDG so she needs 3 caps to meet the amount of SDG Dr. O recommends.

Somewhere on here is a discussion about this topic and I will try to find it for you...my files are on my other computer and my memory is scary to say the least!

I also want to tell you that you are a very special person. We all question "Why?!" when our babies get sick with this condition and seek to find a reason...perhaps even something we have done in our pasts that our babies are asked to pay for. But that's not it. We are given this challenge because we can handle it, because no one else could love and care for them as we will, because the Powers that surround us know they are in the very best of hands. We seek to learn, we blanket them with our love and devotion, giving our all, we hold them up in gratitude for the love they have brought to our lives and show the world what true companionship is meant to be. You are so very special because, you see, you are the only one who can do these things for your precious Zoe. Our babies were sent to us from the beginning because we are the ones they would need at this point in their lives...and you are most worthy of that gift.

Hang in there!
Hugs,
Leslie and the girls - always

[addy]

aww, squirt's mom

what a meaningful post, thank you so much.
your kind words and support mean alot.

Addy

[addy]

thought I should clarify something:

On the package of Zoe's raw food from Nature's Menu it states

"if your dog has an auto immune disease, cook this diet"

which is why I agreed with Dena about not wanting to keep her on it long term. I really don't want to cook it. Also, it has 30% organ meat and I am worried about that fat.

although some people continue to feed raw to Cushing pups, I am not comfortable doing it with Zoe and especially this particular diet.

I sure don't relish the thought of switching foods again when we get to that point

Have a Happy Fourth of July everyone!!!!

Addy

[Harley PoMMom]

As far as I know, Cushing's is not an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease is when the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000816.htm

[apollo6]

Dear Andy,
I know what you mean, last time I had a blood panel on Apollo, he let out such a shrill scream when they took him in the back. I almost started crying my self. A day after the test he had a bruise almost all the way down his neck. I guess this is another part of cushing(easy bruising). The little guy now has sores and small cuts on his paws(skin thin). I don't like giving medications, because he has such a sensitive stomach. So , yes I am apprehensive about him being on this. For me so far the bops are not bad(can you picture all of us looking down to inspect their bops-what a site that would be) need some humor in all of this. Like I said before I got Apollo off Dog food and have him on a low fat diet now with supplements. Hope you and Zoe are doing okay.
Hugs and licks Sonja and Apollo.

[addy]

oops, read it wrong it says "cook the diet if your dog has a immune compromised condition:" I then asked her IMS and she said yes, Cushings was just that.

gee, and here i just posted how smart the IMS was since she knew about the hormone cream

i still am going to take her off the diet at some point. It was sold recently and I just know the formula will change. They always do after a sale. I was even suspicious tonite, the patties look pinker.

Do I sound parinoid? Yikes!!!

Addy

[Harley PoMMom]

oops, read it wrong it says "cook the diet if your dog has a immune compromised condition:" I then asked her IMS and she said yes, Cushings was just that.

gee, and here i just posted how smart the IMS was since she knew about the hormone cream

Addy

"immune compromised condition," yes, our pups immune system can be compromised by the excessive cortisol. So your IMS is right!