score:
3

Anyone have any personal experience with Cushing's disease in dogs?

One of our Boston Terrier Friendzy readers has a Bostie named Zena who was recently diagnosed with Cushing's. She would love your experience and advice on the matter! (Personally I'm only familiar with it in horses.)

Thank you!

Comments

After my dog was diagnosed, the vet gave her a few months to live. She was thirsty all the time and couldn't hold her bladder, legs lost all muscle tone and she struggled to stand, she got a huge belly. She couldn't get up off the floor and we had to put her down 2 wks later.Sorry for the bad news.

We’ve had 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with Cushing’s a few years apart. Cav #1 was diagnosed at around age 8 & lived another 2 years on Vetoryl. At the end she couldn’t walk bc she was too weak. Cav #2 was diagnosed a few weeks ago at 13. He can’t walk either and today he collapsed : (

Hi there, I'm so sorry for your experience with Cushings. My Cocker Sadie has has Cushing's for a few years. She is 13. The past couple days, she has much more weakness when getting up. She also is not eating as much. From what I have read above, this may be the end. Any advise?

12 Answers

Sort by » oldest newest most voted
1 2 next »
score:
1

After your veterinarian has seDogs with non-spreading adrenal tumors and small carcinomas will be surgically treated in most cases. Medical treatment to stabilize your pet before surgery may be necessary.

Many dogs can be treated with drugs; the type will be dependent on the location and type of tumor. These drugs can have serious side effects, so dogs taking them should be closely monitored.ttled on a diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism, there will need to be further tests to see if it is being caused by PDH related tumors, or overgrowth of the pituitary gland. The high-dose dexamethasone suppression test is a blood test that may conclusively point to PDH caused hyperadrenocorticism by measuring cortisone levels in response to administration of the anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone. A lowered, or unchanged cortisol level in response to the test will indicate Cushing’s disease.

score:
1

I, too was only familiar with Cushing's in horses, until my friend's dog was diagnosed with it. Her husky had the pituitary gland kind, and was taking Anipryl (or something like that) for it, which was very expensive. The husky was 12 when diagnosed and lived another 3 years after diagnosis.

I'm sorry you and your fur baby are going though this!

score:
1

My dog was diagnosed with cushings 5 years ago and she is doing well. Besides the fact that she drinks more water, her medication has put that under controlled. I have to admit that the testing every years and the medication every month is very expensive. I'm sorry to hear this news. I hope your dog has the same experience my dog has had.

score:
1

At 9yrs of age our dog was was diagnosed with a potential of Cushing due to her symptoms ex: extreme thurst, increased appetite, her fur took months to grow back where she had been shaved & a deep rooted uti that took 5 months of treatments to get rid of & a possible abdominal mass. Our vet said for her to be truly diagnosed she would need blood work & a sonogram & for that she would have to be sedated. Our vet then said at that point with her level of stress the results may be either a false positive or a false negative. She suggested to simply monitor her & if we were lucky we could get her to the age of 12. Well she made 12 & then some. We had our beloved till 13 when sadly she lost her battle to it. Only when we brought our new family member for a vet visit did it seems she did has Cushing & passed from multiple symptoms. Good luck in your journey down this road.

score:
1

My golden was diagnosed with Cushings at 13, but the symptoms were there for years. Since he was 90lb retriever /bernese mix, the vet decided to let the disease progress since so often the cure is almost worse than the symptoms. He lasted until SEVENTEEN years old and only died when bone cancer in his front shoulder couples with rear hind weakness made dignity impossible. Still besides thirst, pot belly, panting and restless at night, and rear hind weakness, he lived a happy go lucky life. I will say moving away from commercial foods and feeding him more meat and veggies and zero grains really seemed to help. Good luck and don't count out MANY MANY more years of love for your furry family member!!

score:
0

My Chloe was very young when she developed it. 5 years old. I knew something was wrong. She was urinating a lot, and drinking a lot of water. Unfortunately, it was inoperable. The Vet who sent away her tests for me, was going to give her Trilostane. But my regular vet prescribed vitamins and stuff. She passed away 2 years later. That was in 2010-I am sure there are more alternatives now. It is as most probably agree, a heartbreaking disease. I felt helpless to help her. I know there is nothing I can say to make you feel better. But I hope Zena stays stable and happy.

score:
0

My Aunt had a 'Snoodle"-mix and I recall the "thirstiness" is always had, but as long as we kept it occupied (playing / walking) it did not hang out at the water bowl all the time. My Aunt only gave it so much water in a day as prescribed by the vet. The dog was maybe 8 when diagnosed but was already in good shape and trim so I think this helped. It may have been another 2 - 3 years it lived with I think medication as needed. It had a good life up until the end. Sorry to hear about your dog & Cushings but my Aunt's situation was back in the 1990's so hopefully medical technology can help your dog much more 30 years later.

score:
0

We went through this with our beloved Bischon last year. We experienced a long and sad 18 month road with continual vet visits and expensive medication in an attempt to give him some quality to the life he had left. The end was the same as you described. As a nurse who is familiar with the road Bischee travelled, it was a very horrific experience to see him go downhill. And as his loving owners, are mental state was terribly affected as well. Take care and know that you are not alone.

Comments

My biz hon just started trilostane for pituitary cushings she has such a extended abdomin, heavy panting, excessive hunger, I am curious if her stomach will remain so big and hard or will it get to normal with meds. I appreciate any feedback

Hello Darcia, I am new on Rover. My little chihuahua has been taking Vetoryl for many months. They keep increasing the dosage and she is not getting better. What happened to your little dog ? Thank you. Monique

My 8 year old Shih Tzu was put on medication. After a while he was loosing muscle mass in his back legs and could not get up the stairs. After research I found pet wellbeing and found out about milk thistle. I give him that daily. After 3 weeks he was able to get up the stairs with no problem.

score:
0

My 13 year old large mixed breed is doing very well using "Pet Alive" Cushings formula S. It is a herbal liquid formula. Within two or three weeks her thirst and urination were back to normal, the bloating significantly decreased, her appetite was back to normal, and her muscles regained strength. I HIGHLY recommend it. A 2oz bottle lasts a month for my 80lb girl, and is around $35. Make sure they have food in their tummy, so there is no upset.

Comments

sorry to bother you, but my 10 year old lab was just diagnosed with cushings. was your dog on other meds from a vet ? or did you just give her the liquid formula ?

score:
0

I have had two female dachshunds (over a lifetime of dachshunds), who have been diagnosed with Cushings disease in the last 5 years. They both have been put on Vetoryl that I get online for about half the cost of getting it through the vet. The one we have now that has it, is going on 15 years old and seems to be doing pretty good. It's hard to tell at 15 which difficulties are from the Cushings and which are 'old age'. If she can get into a bag of dog food that has been left on the floor, she will still eat until she looks like she will blow up. And I do put a little extra effort into getting her outside regularly to pee. She is sleeping a lot and slowing down, but again....we all do that as we age.

Comments

I have a 12 yo female doxie with Cushings. She's on Vetoryl and just got a good check up with testing. Big complaint is that she used to sleep and rest part of the day. Now it takes her forever to settle down! She can't sit still next to me on a couch, day or night. Any suggestions?

1 2 next »