Has anyone heard of Cushing's disease?

**robinh** · 12-20-2003, 06:25 PM

I've been doing some reading trying to find something to help Max. He still has the little sores popping up. We've tried antibiotics and they haven't helped. So I went on line to do some research.

I found an article about Cushing's disease. It sounds a lot like the problem Max has. Just checking to see if anyone else had any experience with this disease.

Thanks!

**dragondawg** · 12-20-2003, 10:05 PM

could be caused by most anything, with the most likely cause irritation as a result of allergy, or of mites (mange).

Cushings has a multitude of symptoms of which the most usual are an increased thirst and urination, loss of weight, thining of the skin, muscle weakness including that of the heart along with high blood pressure. It can be artifically induced by the administration of large amounts of Prednisone.

You need to obtain some antibiotics from the Vet. While there have them do some skin scraping to check for mites.

**wolfsoul** · 12-21-2003, 02:02 AM

We learned about Cushing's in psychology. It is usually caused by the adrenal gland producing too many hormones.

You need to obtain some antibiotics from the Vet.

Actually, antibiotics would do nothing, as this is not a bacterial disease.

**tomkatzid** · 12-21-2003, 02:38 AM

Tonee (RB) had cushings. She was treated for 2.5 years before she left us. She had it for several years before bing diagnosed with it. She was treated for air way, bronchial tubes constrictsion. She never had this problem, just miss diagnosed for several years. You need to get blood work done, full set and liver panel too. The emergency vet could tell by looking at her that she was 'cushingoid' our regular vet could not and sent her home on anti-inflamatory meds, ( we had gone to reg. vet for a torn ligament originally)which is what led us to the emergeny vet it the first place. Tonee did not have sores. Her signs were panting while at rest, bloated or enlarged chest area, thinning hair and after the anti-inflamatory meds, which blew up her gut, bloody diarrhea. Only the blood work will tell for sure, but if your vet hasn't mentioned cushings, ASK him.
I miss my Tonee EVERY day, her birthday was December 18th !!
Katz

**robinh** · 12-21-2003, 06:36 PM

What I've noticed are the bloated stomach area, increased fluid intake, frequent urination and hair loss after the skin sores pop up.

We've tried antibiotics thinking that would clear up the sores and all they did was give him severe diahrrea. I'm going to take the information I printed off to the vet this next weekend and talk to him about doing the bloodwork.

In the past, we have did give him doses of prednisone for his allergies. That is what the old vet suggested. We now give him shots for his allergies. Shows you the difference of how an old vet and a new vet will treat the same problem. We think the long term doses of prednisone may have caused this if it is in fact Cushing's.

**tomkatzid** · 12-21-2003, 07:49 PM

If it is cushings the meds can be causing the diarrhea. Cushings is when the body produces to much cortisone, humans get it too. It's the cortisone mixing with meds that causes the problems, well for Tonee anyway. It was like mixing bleach and ammonia together and it blew up her gut. Thats how the emergency described it to us. After the new Dr., a specialist , got her on the meds, she had to have blood work every 60 days, at $222.00 a pop. And then all her meds. She had more than one problem going on. I spent thousands on her in her lst 3 years. Not a cheap dog !!! Money well spent though. I would have spent all I had to make her better. She also had horners syndrome. $85.00 just for the 'office visit' every 90 days, and meds for that too. Bought all her meds at a drug store, nothing from the vets. Gotta love those cockers

You'll feel better once you get the tests done. And maybe the vet will rule out cushings right away for his own reasons. But better to get it checked. They can live with cushings, Tonee was proof of that !!
Please keep me posted and we will pray that Max gets fixed up right away.
Katz

**dragondawg** · 12-21-2003, 09:09 PM

Actually, antibiotics would do nothing, as this is not a bacterial disease.

Actually antibiotics would be very effective in treating any infected sores on the skin. Supportive care of the symptoms will help make the dog more comfortable. Robinh should inquire about Baytril to clear up the skin infections, as it has a very low probability of causing GI tract problems. Now back to the original cause...

If you are noticing fluid retention, increase thirst and urination then those are some classic signs of Cushings. If your dog has been on high doses of Prednisone for long periods of time then as stated before that will induce Cushings. Prednisone should only be used for short periods of time to get a dog over the worst of a severe skin problem. Long term treatment should be with antihistamines.

**robinh** · 12-22-2003, 07:48 AM

We know about the antihistamines now, but our old vet was convinced that prednisone was the way to go. I wasn't as informed as I am now either. Unfortunately, Max is the one to pay for both our stupidity.

He does antihistamines and his allergy shots on a regular basis, but we now have the added problem.

Max has not been a cheap dog either. But I can't imagine our lives without the little guy. He is my little man and Dick's little bitty buddy (our nicknames for him). He's been worth every penny in love and laughter.

**micki76** · 12-22-2003, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by robinh
We know about the antihistamines now, but our old vet was convinced that prednisone was the way to go. I wasn't as informed as I am now either. Unfortunately, Max is the one to pay for both our stupidity.

He does antihistamines and his allergy shots on a regular basis, but we now have the added problem.

Max has not been a cheap dog either. But I can't imagine our lives without the little guy. He is my little man and Dick's little bitty buddy (our nicknames for him). He's been worth every penny in love and laughter.

Our old vet had Chester on Prednisone, too. I’m so worried about what I’ve potentially done to his health.

I wish I had been better informed about the consequences of it before I gave it to him for such a long time.

We do shots and Benadryl now too, and have for a long time. We're seeing some improvement, finally.

Robin, we call Chester our Million Dollar Dog.

**tomkatzid** · 12-22-2003, 12:07 PM

Tonee was my "one in a million "dog. I would ask the eye vet 'do you think it (the horners syndrome) will affect the other eye'? and he told us it's a one in a million chance that it would. I swear on the way home the other eye started getting it. Then she also developed glaucoma. She had many things, poor girl. But as I posted before I would have spent all I had and more to fix her if it would have helped.
Katz

**robinh** · 12-22-2003, 12:59 PM

Max is our "Million Dollar Dog" too. And he knows it.

And he knows I'll do anything to help him. We've had people say they can't imagine why we would go through so much money and trouble to keep him healthy to which we respond "We can't imagine not doing it! He's not a thing - he's our baby!"

**wolfsoul** · 12-31-2003, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by dragondawg
Actually antibiotics would be very effective in treating any infected sores on the skin. Supportive care of the symptoms will help make the dog more comfortable. Robinh should inquire about Baytril to clear up the skin infections, as it has a very low probability of causing GI tract problems. Now back to the original cause...

But are the sores caused by bacteria? Or are the aintibiotics as a precaution to ward off the bacteria that may make the sores worse?

**robinh** · 12-31-2003, 08:21 AM

We talked to the vet over the weekend and had the blood work done. He doesn't have Cushings. So our vet is going to call the head of the dermatology department at Iowa State Veterinary College and see what he thinks. We are all at a loss at what's causing this stuff. Oh well, at least I know it's not Cushings. And we've ruled out one more thing.

The only thing was Max had a wonderful time at the vet's office. Since we got there so early, they let him wander around a bit and he got to go into the back room which is a big deal to him. He got to follow the two cats around - he doesn't like cats so we had to watch him closely. But even having blood drawn didn't dampen his enthusiasm.

When we got home he acted so smug, like he was a big boy and he got to go Bye-Bye in the car with Mom and Dad ALONE. What can I say - he's a goof.

**dragondawg** · 12-31-2003, 04:39 PM

But are the sores caused by bacteria? Or are the aintibiotics as a precaution to ward off the bacteria that may make the sores worse?

Open sores no matter the root cause are open to infection. Therefore the administration of antibiotics would be pro-active, rather than preventative on existing sores, and preventative on any that may occur in the near future while attempting to determine the root cause of the sores. Hopefully the specialist will be able to shift quickly through the smorgasborg of possible skin problems for Max.

**Rio and Me** · 01-01-2004, 09:52 AM

I had a pony with cushings disease (jilly), there are 2 types of cushings, 1, Tumour of the adrenal gland, this cause's excess production of cortisol,Treatment = Usually only one adrenal gland is involved, which should/can be removed surgically. 2, a tumour on the pituitary gland, this produce's to much ACTH, this simulates the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol (this form of cushings is more common),Treatment = oral mitotane given daily to suppress adrenal function.

For jilly we did nothing, she nether got worse nor better, with horse's the symptoms are, very long curly coat, muscle wastage, stomach bloat, thiness, loss of balance, excesive water/food intake.

When we got jilly, she was in a bad way (i will attach a pic), she had all the above symptoms, than after a year she looked great, than as she got older she got all of the above again, and we had her put to sleep (she was around 40 years old and had, had a very hard life) (picture after a year with us in thread "i can scetch horses")
Long post sorry
Ky and Rio