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Any Experience With Cushings?


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Thank you everyone for caring! We're home and Misty is stabilized for now. She was in crisis and crashing. This morning late, she started staggering and losing her balance and was also not drinking. I called the vet and he told me she was in a crisis and to get her there. They stabilized her with several injections of Dexamethasone, both IM and SubQ. There were sevral other injections but right now I just can't think straight to remember it all. I have to stop the Lysodren and continue the Prednisone. Her blood pressure really dropped as well. I have to watch her closely and may have to bring her in for fluids unless she starts to drink. Obviously a new plan will have to be talked about on Monday. Yesterday's drop in water intake was a sign, only one day of meds or not. Again, thank you everyone!

 

So glad to hear she and you are home.

 

Poor Misty and poor mommy. Its all so frightening.

 

 

ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties.

Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi

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So happy Misty is home...chanting no more crisis! :grouphug

Usethisone.jpg

Patti-Mommy of Lady Sophia 7-28-92 - 8-3-04... LaceyLaine 8-2-94-12-5-07...

Flash Gordon 7-14-99 - 8-29-09... BrookLynne...Pavé Maria... and 18 Bridge Kids.

WATCHING OVER US~SOPHIA~QUEENIE~LACEY LAINE~

CODY ANGELO~FLASH GORDON.

 

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Thank you everyone for caring! We're home and Misty is stabilized for now. She was in crisis and crashing. This morning late, she started staggering and losing her balance and was also not drinking. I called the vet and he told me she was in a crisis and to get her there. They stabilized her with several injections of Dexamethasone, both IM and SubQ. There were sevral other injections but right now I just can't think straight to remember it all. I have to stop the Lysodren and continue the Prednisone. Her blood pressure really dropped as well. I have to watch her closely and may have to bring her in for fluids unless she starts to drink. Obviously a new plan will have to be talked about on Monday. Yesterday's drop in water intake was a sign, only one day of meds or not. Again, thank you everyone!

 

Yup....that's a classic crisis......it can scare the pooh out of ya! I'm surprized that it happened so quickly & while on the prednisone. The good news is that now you know what one looks like & you know how to deal with it. Having rescue prednisone handy saved Nevada's life a couple of times until we got her on a stable dose & then she did very well for a couple of years. My thoughts are with you.....give Misty a good hug from me.

Carol-Glendale, AZ

Trolley (Figsiza Trollyn)

Nevada 1992-2008...always in my heart

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Guest ChancesMom

Claudia, I just got home and saw this. I am so glad that she is at home with you now. What a scare for you. I am continuing to pray for you and Misty. Call me if you need to talk.

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Guest p51crazyhorse

Oh Misty girl I am so proud of you and your momma, and bless the vet who knew just what to do! I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Hopefully she wont have another setback. Give my sweet pretty girl a kiss for me!

Holly

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Guest greydogluvr

I am so glad she is back home and stabilized. I know how scary the crisis can be. When they start to wobble and experience difficulty walking panic sets in. That is exactly what Clementine did prior to her Addison's diagnosis. Misty is so lucky to have you and a vet who knows how to treat this. Try to get some rest.

 

I hope Misty begins drinking soon. Healing thoughts and hugs to you both.

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Claudia, I'm just catching up on Misty. I'm relieved to hear she has weathered this crisis and pray that she does not experience another. Know that we are thinking of you both.

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Marc and Myun plus Starbuck (the cat)
Pinky my AWOL girl, wherever you are, I miss you.
Angels Honey (6/30/99-11/3/11) Nadia (5/11/99-6/4/12) Kara (6/5/99-7/17/12) Cleo (4/13/2000-4/19/2014)

Antnee (12/1/2002=2/20/17)

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Checking in this morning. :grouphug

Usethisone.jpg

Patti-Mommy of Lady Sophia 7-28-92 - 8-3-04... LaceyLaine 8-2-94-12-5-07...

Flash Gordon 7-14-99 - 8-29-09... BrookLynne...Pavé Maria... and 18 Bridge Kids.

WATCHING OVER US~SOPHIA~QUEENIE~LACEY LAINE~

CODY ANGELO~FLASH GORDON.

 

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I really want to thank everyone for caring so much about my little girl. She didn't want to eat this morning but as soon as I put the Nutritional Yeast all over her food, she ate every bit of it. She still is not drinking very much but hopefully that will change as the day goes on. If not, I will bring her in for fluids. I need to have a serious discussion with my vet about the "value" of treating this disease vs not treating it.If I notice a change during treatment, and I'm going to be blown off and cause her to crash again, I'm not doing this. It's not fair to her. So, I will wait and see what the vet feels about it.I will just ask for guidance to do the right thing.

Claudia-noo-siggie.jpg

Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12

 

 

:candle For the sick, the lost, and the homeless

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Guest p51crazyhorse
I really want to thank everyone for caring so much about my little girl. She didn't want to eat this morning but as soon as I put the Nutritional Yeast all over her food, she ate every bit of it. She still is not drinking very much but hopefully that will change as the day goes on. If not, I will bring her in for fluids. I need to have a serious discussion with my vet about the "value" of treating this disease vs not treating it.If I notice a change during treatment, and I'm going to be blown off and cause her to crash again, I'm not doing this. It's not fair to her. So, I will wait and see what the vet feels about it.I will just ask for guidance to do the right thing.

I am glad to hear she is eating, can you add anything to her water to make it more appealing? some chicken broth? flavored electrolyte powder?

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I really want to thank everyone for caring so much about my little girl. She didn't want to eat this morning but as soon as I put the Nutritional Yeast all over her food, she ate every bit of it. She still is not drinking very much but hopefully that will change as the day goes on. If not, I will bring her in for fluids. I need to have a serious discussion with my vet about the "value" of treating this disease vs not treating it.If I notice a change during treatment, and I'm going to be blown off and cause her to crash again, I'm not doing this. It's not fair to her. So, I will wait and see what the vet feels about it.I will just ask for guidance to do the right thing.

I am glad to hear she is eating, can you add anything to her water to make it more appealing? some chicken broth? flavored electrolyte powder?

Holly, you've always been in Misty's corner, thank you! Making the water more appealing reminded me that Misty has always loved Gatorade so after reading your post I ran to get some for her. I think she's drinking enough to stay hydrated. On a side note....we're keeping CJ in our prayers!!!

Claudia-noo-siggie.jpg

Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12

 

 

:candle For the sick, the lost, and the homeless

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Guest p51crazyhorse

YAY!!!!! See, I can help from a billion miles away!!!! let me know how the gatorade goes!

 

Thankyou for the prayers for CJ, he seems to be doing ok, no signs of pneumonia, I think it would have showed up by now but he is on major antibiotics. he is enjoying his 12 pounds of soup three times a day. Carried out there by me thankyouverymuch..... :chow:gramps

 

Holly

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Guest mzmazzei
I really want to thank everyone for caring so much about my little girl. She didn't want to eat this morning but as soon as I put the Nutritional Yeast all over her food, she ate every bit of it. She still is not drinking very much but hopefully that will change as the day goes on. If not, I will bring her in for fluids. I need to have a serious discussion with my vet about the "value" of treating this disease vs not treating it.If I notice a change during treatment, and I'm going to be blown off and cause her to crash again, I'm not doing this. It's not fair to her. So, I will wait and see what the vet feels about it.I will just ask for guidance to do the right thing.

 

This is the reason I chose Trilostane for treatment with Fiona. We are successfully treating her PDH Cushings Disease since July of this year. Her last ACTH test on 10/17 showed the pre/post numbers right where we want them and we've never had to use the prednisone.

 

I did extensive research on my own with only Board Certified vet sources. There is a lot of conflicting information on both medications. In fact, some of the expert endricrinologists (SP?) actually advocate a crisis and moving the dog to Addison's disease because "it's easier to manage". After reviewing all these opinions, my gut told me that a medication like Lysodren that was "loaded" in high doses initially, would be too harsh for my dog. Then I sat with my vet and asked her all my questions and told her my concerns. Since we were on the same page for a course of treatment with Trilostane, the next step was to find an ethical source (it's not FDA approved), which we did with the Apothecary Shop in Arizona.

 

The Yahoo group for Canine Cushings is highly moderated and quack treatment advocates are not represented. The owners there have developed the "start low-go slow" mantra for Trilostane treatment. Therefore, we started Fiona with 30mg once each morning (this is 1/2 the recommended dosage for her 58#) then tested ACTH at 2 weeks. The first week we took Fiona to work with us to monitor because I was still very nervous about the treatment. The post numbers showed improvement, but were still too high, so we added another 30mg in the evenings every other day and tested again at about 3 weeks. Again, the post numbers showed improvement, but were still high. She now takes 30mg twice daily and her numbers are great.

 

The other thing I learned is that some dogs do not show immediate visible signs of improvement - which has been attributed to them actually experiencing "withdrawal" from having the excess cortisol in their systems. So, we've dial down our expectations of instant results.

 

After just over 3 months of treatment, Fiona has normal water consumption and her energy level has improved. Fiona will be 10 in January. I would not elect no treatment unless the dog was significantly older or had other mitigating health issues - then I would try to maintain comfort with the many holistic approaches, I've read about but not fully researched. Fiona's only other health issue is hypothyroidism.

 

By the way, I didn't ever catch what type of Cushings disease Misty has? Was an adrenal ultrasound done? Is the tumor pituatary or adrenal?

 

Don't be shy about getting a second or third opinion and doing your own research. Good luck!

 

 

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