Cushings in dogs

Chuffy99

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Would be interested please for information on dog diagnosis of Cushings, did you have an MRI scan, prognosis, treatment and outcome
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meleeka

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Not unlike horses, my mums dog went to the vets for the morning, had a blood test and was put on medication. He had a blood test every 3 months I think and lived normally until something unrelated finished him off after a couple of years.
 

FinnishLapphund

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On of my late dogs developed Cushings when she got older, we noticed that she started drinking more, took her to the veterinarian, they took a blood sample, came back saying that she was beginning to develop Cushings, but we had noticed the symptoms too early to give medication.
This was several years ago, I don't recall MRI ever being mentioned as an option for me to consider, in fact, back then, they first only had Cushings medication available for large dogs in Sweden, so at 11 to 12 kg, they worried the medication could cause the opposite disease of Cushings, which is Addisons. So we had to wait until her symptoms got worse.
(With Cushings there is an overproduction, but with Addisons there is an underproduction, and the later can be lethal. Sometimes Cushings medication stops the overproduction so much that it becomes an underproduction instead = Addisons.)

Don't remember how long it took, but she slowly started to drink more, and more, and when we went back, the blood test showed that she now had Cushings. Tried the medication for large dogs, and after only about a week or two she showed symptoms of Addisons, so we had to stop with the medication.
But by luck, not long afterwards a Cushings medication for smaller dogs became available in Sweden, so she could get a Cushings medication in a suitable dose.

As Meleeka mentioned, with regular intervals you have to take the dog back for blood tests to check so that the medication level is correct. Because as I've already mentioned, if the dosage isn't correct, it can lead to Addisons.

The only Cushing symptom I had noticed was that she drank more than usual, and sometimes the owner doesn't realise that there is something wrong until the dog drink so much that they start to pee indoors, but it had never gone that far with my dog. So basically the only difference the medication did for her, was that even though she was still a bit more thirsty than before, we didn't need to worry that she would drink so much that she would start to pee indoors.

I don't remember exactly, but I think it continued uneventful for between 1 to 2 years. But then she sadly got an unrelated tumour in/on her heart, and had to be euthanised.

I do remember that before we started the medication, we did a quick calculation, which showed that the annual cost of the expensive medication, + veterinarian visits with blood tests, would equal a cost at the time of around 12 000 SEK per year, which in todays value equals a bit over 1 000 British pounds. Even though we didn't hesitate, and thought she was worth every krona it costed, the actual costs involved in the treatment is perhaps also something to take in consideration.
 

HelenBack

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My old dog, who died 14 years ago now, was diagnosed with Cushing's. So far as I can remember it was via a blood test. Her main symptoms were panting a lot, drinking more and her coat went scurfy and she was constantly moulting.

She was given medication and responded well although the symptoms didn't completely resolve. She was happy though and lived with it for three or four years. She was nearly sixteen when she died and I think she'd just had enough really as she just gave up one day. Can't argue at that age though.
 

satinbaze

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Our first CKCS was diagnosed with Cushings when she was 7. Her symptoms were a crusty nose, symmetrical coat loss, increased thirst and hunger. Im pretty sure it was diagnosed via a blood test. She was on a weekly tablet called lysodron and she had a happy and normal life until she died at 14 years old.
 

meleeka

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Just to mention that any meds you are prescribed can be bought much cheaper on the Internet (unless your vet does a price match). It’s around £16 at my vets for a prescription covering 6 months but they tend to charge well over twice as much as online pharmacies. Just something to consider with long term meds.
 

Umbongo

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Cushings is normally diagnosed through blood tests (ACTH stimulation test or low dose dexamethasone suppression test). Cushings will either be pituitary or adrenal. Scans may show if adrenal and surgery can be performed to remove the tumours from the adrenal glands. But most dogs suffer from the pituitary version. Medication is trilostane (vetoryl) and most dogs do very well with regular check ups. As stated previously, regular check ups and blood tests are important to make sure the dosage is still correct and the dog doesn't go the other way and develop Addisons, which can be fatal.
 
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