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Bichon with Cushing's disease

  • 21-05-2010 9:09pm
    #1
    swingking
    Registered Users Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭


    Hi

    My Girlfriend's bichon was having problems recently. Weight gain, excessive thirst, large appetite.

    Anyway she brought her dog to the vet today because she thought it might have been diabetes. The dog is 8 years old now.

    The vet ruled out diabetes but said the symptoms point towards cushings disease.

    Has anyone else's dog had this and if so, how did you cope. Hoping to hear an optimistic story because I'm trying to reassure her that everything will be okay.

    I read up on some info on the web. It mentioned something about a tumour, which is quite scary to read about :(

    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    Kalahari
    Closed Accounts Posts: 45 ✭Kalahari


    Hey, it does sound like cushings. Has the vet arranged for blood tests to be done to confirm whether that is the cause? There's 2 blood tests which will tell you if it is cushings, and which type of cushings it is (brain tumour or kidney tumour). Our dog was diagnosed with cushings a couple of years ago. She has the pituitary kind and takes 1 vetoryl tablet a day to regulate her hormones. This medicine gave her a new lease on life and almost all the symptoms disappeared soon after starting her on it. It is fairly costly, maybe 50 euro a month, but it really does work and I think it is worth it. Our dog is now at the stage where her disease has progressed far enough that the symptoms are slowly returning but she is 16 and has had the tumour for about 3 years so I guess it is inevitable that eventually you start to lose the battle. But you can give the dog a good life for a few years at least. I read a lot about cushings when she was diagnosed and many young dogs go on to live almost normal lifespans with treatment, and old dogs seem to get to live around 1-3 years after diagnosis. The disease sounds really scary at the start but is actually fairly easy to control with medicine. If left untreated the prognosis is not good tbh, as the symptoms will just get worse and worse until euthanasia would need to be considered. Best of luck with the dog, I'd definitely try get the blood tests done so you can know for sure what you're dealing with. If you've any questions about cushings i'll try my best to answer them. :)


  • #3
    lorebringer
    Registered Users Posts: 1,712 ✭✭✭lorebringer


    Cushings is really easily regulated with medication and most dogs lead a very happy life after diagnosis. Initially, it can be hard to sort everything out for the dog (right concoction of meds, weight management etc.) but once you get into the swing of things you're flying! If the dog is insured, the insurance company should pay for all the tests, medication etc. Good luck!


  • #4
    swingking
    Registered Users Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭swingking


    Kalahari wrote: »
    Hey, it does sound like cushings. Has the vet arranged for blood tests to be done to confirm whether that is the cause? There's 2 blood tests which will tell you if it is cushings, and which type of cushings it is (brain tumour or kidney tumour). Our dog was diagnosed with cushings a couple of years ago. She has the pituitary kind and takes 1 vetoryl tablet a day to regulate her hormones. This medicine gave her a new lease on life and almost all the symptoms disappeared soon after starting her on it. It is fairly costly, maybe 50 euro a month, but it really does work and I think it is worth it. Our dog is now at the stage where her disease has progressed far enough that the symptoms are slowly returning but she is 16 and has had the tumour for about 3 years so I guess it is inevitable that eventually you start to lose the battle. But you can give the dog a good life for a few years at least. I read a lot about cushings when she was diagnosed and many young dogs go on to live almost normal lifespans with treatment, and old dogs seem to get to live around 1-3 years after diagnosis. The disease sounds really scary at the start but is actually fairly easy to control with medicine. If left untreated the prognosis is not good tbh, as the symptoms will just get worse and worse until euthanasia would need to be considered. Best of luck with the dog, I'd definitely try get the blood tests done so you can know for sure what you're dealing with. If you've any questions about cushings i'll try my best to answer them. :)

    Thanks very much for your reassuring post. I'm a lot more optimistic about the situation.


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