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Author Topic: Cushing's Syndrome  (Read 2644 times)

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Offline Tuuli

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Cushing's Syndrome
« on: February 05, 2005, 06:11:41 PM »
:( Bailey has had problems with one of his paws.  It started to swell and after 3 weeks of antibiotics the vet desided to operate.  A small sample was sent to lab.  It was not cancer.  The stitches were taken away and although it hurt Bailey was very brave.  The vet said that it might be Cushing's Syndrome.

 Apparently there are two forms of this Syndrome; one where there is a slow growing tumour in the pituitary gland and another where the tumour develops in the adrenal gland.  Both tumours result in large amounts of cortisol in the blood.

This syndrome usually affects older dogs - Bailey is 1 year old!!

Bailey is again taking really strong antibiotics, however, his paw is swollen and one side looks bloody and it doesn't seem to get any better.  Although he loves to go for a walk, he can't but walk a short distance as his paw starts to hurt.  The vet wants to see him again this week...

Anybody, anywhere? Do you know about this syndrome? I hope that it is not it but it is a possibility....  

My poor, lovely Bailey who seems to have pulled the short straw...

Tuuli & Bailey
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Offline Sheila

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2005, 06:36:59 PM »
Poor Bailey..I'm afraid I dont know anything about Cushings disease but I hope that the vet can sort it out and that he feels better soon.

Cocker kisses and lab licks from Lottie and Goldie to Bailey :)  
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scoobie

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2005, 07:25:16 PM »
Tuuli so sorry to hear about Baileys troubles it's such a shame for him and he's only very young :( do you know when you get the results back saying that it might be cushings? have you done a search on cushings try and get enough info as you can ..Bailey may be lucky and he might not have it Im keeping everything crossed for him keep us posted and try not too worry too much as whatever the outcome he has a great mum doing the very best she can :D take care x and hugs to little Bailey x
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Offline Jane S

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2005, 07:29:40 PM »
I've not heard of Cushings Syndrome in a dog so young. We had a Cocker with this condition but she didn't develop the signs until she was about 7. Normally the signs you see with Cushings are excessive drinking, skin problems & hair loss (our poor girl lost virtually all her hair!), pot belly, muscle weakness etc. Our Cocker had to spend a week at a Veterinary Hospital before she was diagnosed with the condition but once she was diagnosed, treatment was successful (although sometimes a little tricky to get the right dose of medication) & she lived until she was nearly 16 years old (though I think this is fairly unusual for Cushings patients). Hopefully, Bailey does not have Cushings & your vet will get to the bottom of his problems.

Jane
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Offline *Jay*

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2005, 07:37:03 PM »
Poor Bailey - he really has been through a lot lately :(  Has he been on drugs at all for his previous problem? I know Cushings can be caused by long term use of certain medications containing corticosteroids, although i'm unsure how long "long term" actually is.

According to my book, Cushings caused by tumours of the pituitary gland is more common than tumours of the adrenal gland. Pituitary tumours often respond to radiation therapy whilst tumours of the adrenal glands can be surgically removed in some cases.

We have only had a couple of dogs diagnosed with Cushings in my work, and they were all put on a drug called Mitotane, although I think that has now been replaced by one called Vetoryl. They had all the classic signs of Cushings such as the hair loss and pot-bellied abdomen and were older.

Has he had the test for it yet? Do keep us updated and let us know how he gets on at the vets next week
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Offline alan&ness

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« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2005, 07:41:09 PM »
:( CAN,T HELP , BUT FEEL VERY SORRY FOR BAILEY, AND YOU SORRY. :(  
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Offline tobycat

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2005, 07:58:49 PM »
I'm so sorry to hear your sad news. :(

I only know about Cuchings in horses - not in dogs. One of the horses I looked after a few years back developed it in old age (she was 21 at the time) and she had the version that you mentioned with a tumour in the pituitary gland.

We treated her with medication for some time afterwards and managed to keep the Cushings under control but sadly she had other health problems (not Cushings related) which ultimately led to us losing her around 3 years after the Cushings developed.

I have heard that Cushings is controllable in dogs though I don't know the name of the drugs.

I hope that your vet has better news for you when you next visit him.

Thinking of you both.
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Offline lindsey

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« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2005, 09:28:35 PM »
Often along with the coat loss they will get strange little hard marks on their skin which is calcium deposits.  Is Bailey showing any of the signs anybody has listed? Hope you get the results soon, fingers crossed. :)
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Offline PennyB

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« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2005, 10:51:17 PM »
Am curious how he worked out it might be cushings from a swollen paw. I thought that one of the noticeable signs of this illness was excessive drinking and urination.
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Offline Jane S

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« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2005, 11:21:32 PM »
Quote
Am curious how he worked out it might be cushings from a swollen paw. I thought that one of the noticeable signs of this illness was excessive drinking and urination.
Yes these were the first symptoms we had with our Jennie & initially our vet thought she had diabetes. I have to admit it does seem strange for a vet to suspect Cushings in a dog presenting with a swollen paw unless of course there are other symptoms?

Jane
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Offline suzysu

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2005, 01:51:20 PM »
:( Sorry to hear Bailey is unwell.  We're keeping our fingers and paws crossed here that it is'nt CS and something more easily treated for you.

Take care and a big HUG for Bailey x
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Penel

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2005, 04:50:16 PM »
I too have never heard of Cushings in one so young and I don't see how a swollen paw can be a symptom either...  where exactly is the paw swollen - was it a joint, or a pad - or the whole thing ? are there any other symptoms of him being unwell - could there be a foreign body in his paw - grass seed etc ?
I think it highly unlikely that he has Cushings disease tbh - and the only way to diagnose it properly is by an ACTH test - they take blood, inject the dog with some stimulating hormone, and then take more blood two hours later to see if there has been a change in levels.  Other than this test you can't diagnose it properly.
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Offline noelleybelley

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« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2005, 05:03:30 PM »
We had a Samoyed who had Cushings for the last three years of her life, she was nearly 14 when she died. We noticed she was drinking excessively to begin with and she was diagnosed with diabetes, which, apparently, is one of the side effects of Cushings. We had to inject her daily with insulin, and she had the parallel hair loss and skin problems too. I'm not sure how a swollen paw triggered the Cushings trail of thought either, but he must know what he's talking about!  ;)
Hope you get an answer soon.
 
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Offline mum of kimmi

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« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2005, 08:16:12 PM »
Sorry to hear Bailey's poorley.

Lots of hugs and kisses from Kimmi xxx
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Offline Tuuli

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Cushing's Syndrome
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2005, 07:06:04 AM »
:( Dear All

I took Bailey to see the Vet yesterday.  The paw is still swollen but otherwise he seems to be much better.  Long walks are out of the question - pity as he so loves them, but Bailey starts to limp and usually plants his bum on the ground and refuses to go any further.  A few times I had to carry him home which is not an easy job as he weighs 10kg.  Then he spend a good 10 minutes licking his paw.

Anyway, the vet did not mention Cushing's this time but said that Bailey might have to have an operation to remove MOST of his pad!!!!  The vet said that he has never seen anything like this and mentioned that it might have a link to the steroids Bailey has been having for his fascial twitching.  Apparently steroids lower the natural resistance to infections and the more you have steroids the less the antibiotics help.  So, Bailey has now been over 4 weeks in strong antibiotics.  But not any more.  They have helped somewhat but the swelling is still there.  He still has ½ a steroid tablet daily.

I said that I will need a week to think about this operation.  I am so worried.  I do not like to put him through another operation and many weeks uncomfortable recuperation period.  The vet said that the operation most probably would cure the whole problem though. - Then we could go for long walks and play in the field.

Help!  Do I HAVE any option?

The vet nurse said that I should take Bailey to the "Waggiest Tail" competition as
Bailey can hardly keep his balance - he wriggles his bum and waggs his tail so much!  

Tuuli & Bailey

 
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