Cushings tests for dogs?

[conniegirl]

question. What is involved in a cushings test for dogs?

My new vet has basically said its a £950 specialist scan.

i’ve never had a cushings test done on a dog before but given it was a blood test costing less than £100 for my pony to be tested i want to be sure that this is correct?

Also other than cushings and diabetes what in dogs can cause an obsession with water? To the point she has started resource guarding the water (but not her food).
She, an 8kg border terrier, often drinks 2 litres in a day.
She has always had free access to clean, fresh water.

 

[meleeka]

It’s not usually a job for a specialist. I’d phone another vet. My mums dog had cushings, years ago and the test was just taking blood. He did have to spend the afternoon at the vets and was tested every 2 months, so more expensive than a horse. The only thing I can think is they want to test kidney function etc too.

Her dogs symptoms were drinking a lot, bloated appearance and he was pretty much bald.

 

[conniegirl]

Her dogs symptoms were drinking a lot, bloated appearance and he was pretty much bald.

We’ve done all sorts of kidney tests etc. found nothing, diabetes has been rules out too.
She isn’t bloated, her skin is absolutely fine, her behaviour is otherwise fine except she is drinking a lot and consequently having accidents at night

 

[Boulty]

Sooooo what the next step would be would generally depend on what’s already been done. It’s not typically a test you’d do in isolation without checking how the rest of the body is doing if that makes sense?

There is a few different blood testing protocols for it (ACTH stim being the most common) but with the main symptoms you’re describing you’d usually do general bloods alongside to check organ function & for signs of infection.

As for possible causes in an entire bitch pyometra would probs be up at the top of the list (certain markers that raise suspicion would show on bloods but usually scan needed to confirm, not generally with a specialist unless practice has no scanner of their own) along with kidney disease, diabetes (either type, although insipidus is fairly rare) & yes cushings.

Vet may wish to check nothing untoward going on in abdomen, especially if they’ve already done general bloods & / or a quick scan themselves and have not arrived at a diagnosis. (You can see certain things on a scan that may point towards cushings (& my understanding is you’d need to be experienced or specialist to see and interpret these things as adrenal glands aren’t always easy to locate due to where they are & how small they are if functioning normally, typically would be enlarged with cushings). Would be a slightly random first step if they haven’t done any other investigation at all first (unless wanting to plan to do everything on same day to save you multiple trips maybe?)

If you’re not thrilled with current treatment options then you are entitled to ask for a second opinion either from another vet at same practice or at a totally different practice.

Disclaimer nurse not a vet so any interpretations of the inner workings of their minds may not be accurate…

 

[Boulty]

Sorry wrote my reply before you’d done yours.

If other things have been ruled out then a blood test for cushings would likely be a sensible next step. An abdominal scan would be an equally sensible option (if the cushings test is negative it may be what is recommended next anyway but equally if the scan suggests cushings you’d still need to do the bloods to confirm as you’d need a baseline before starting meds otherwise you’d have literally no idea how good the response to them has been / what a safe dose adjustment might be). Can see why they might want a specialist to do if everything’s coming back normal so that less chance of the significance of anything being missed

If you’d prefer that the bloods are what’s done next then they should be able to accommodate that. (& if they can’t and that’s what you want you are entitled to go elsewhere)

 

[conniegirl]

As for possible causes in an entire bitch pyometra would probs be up at the top of the list (certain markers that raise suspicion would show on bloods but usually scan needed to confirm, not generally with a specialist unless practice has no scanner of their own) along with kidney disease, diabetes (either type, although insipidus is fairly rare) & yes cushings.

She is spayed so thats thankfully not a worry

She has had a load of bloods/urine tests done, a lot of things rules out but no abdominal scan so far.

I will ask about the blood test for cushings first.

This resource guarding of water is worrying though, she has never guarded before.
She has my dads golden retriever terrified of going for a drink if she is in the same room, yet they happily eat near each other and even share a bed

 

[Chucho]

We did a blood test and followed up with a scan based on blood work results to determine which part of the system it was coming from (adrenal or pituitary). That was because apparently it would have affected the recommended treatment.

Their hunger and thirst is raging and they can't help it. Our girl was drinking +++l water a day, drinking through the night and hurt herself very badly trying to get out of her crate to get at a small morsel of food nearby. I don't know if she was typical but hers came on suddenly and was every acute. So I wouldn't be surprised about resource guarding suddenly occurring.

We retested bloods 4 weeks after medication started. Her first set of bloods post meds came back within normal limits so we thought the dosage was ok. The following week she became ataxic and collapsed with an Addisonian episode (the opposite of cushings). If I had my time again I would ask the vet to ramp up the medication dose slowly with more frequent monitoring.

 

[K9YLA]

If she did have cushings which is common in border terriers she would indeed drink excessively , a blood tests from your trusted local vet is all you need, you do not need specialist intervention.