Endings for Untreated Cushings in Dogs

[SpartacusGeorge]

My 14.5 yr old beagle was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease a few months ago. He is nearly blind and deaf already - we decided not to put him through the treatment. My question is how do most older dogs with untreated Cushing's begin to fail? I would really like to minimize any suffering in his final days. Right now, I am red-flagging every little twitch and thinking if I knew what to expect, I could calm down a little and hopefully not send any frightened messages to Spartacus. He is currently on Proin to control his urine accidents and that has worked for a few months now. Would just really prefer to look at him with joy rather than fear these days. Thanks, in advance, for your knowledge & stories.

[1puppydog]

Hi to all, I have come to read this website after months of thinking about my dear little "Pup". We called her pup because she looked like a baby seal when she was tiny.  She was a cross jack russel collie, but I only found out after she died she was likely a cattle dog, which would explain why she was always nipping at everyones feet when she was wee!  The story goes, and this is a heart wrencher, my mother decided to go for a hip op, though I was dead against it as she had so many problems besides.  Six weeks later she had a massive stroke, and there was a mad struggle to drive the 50 mile round trip just to get her to eat a tiny morsel of food,   She survived the stroke, but died of a hospital infection.  For three months, I was driving too and fro, caring for her poorly cat which she adored, trying to cope with Pup who was peeing everywhere on my return from the hospital, and trying to keep my mum alive.  After she died, Pup deteriorated rapidly, seizures, had gone blind and deaf, and died 2 days before xmas while I was still sorting out funeral details for my mum.  Nobody would take the cat so I took her, and am still cleaning her bum every five minutes of the day as she has hypertheroidism and arthritis.  I too this day cannot get over the fact that I did not do the right thing by my dog, but reading all your comments, I can see there is not alot that can be done with Cushings.  I was in the middle of the most intense pain and when I took her to the vet I think he was mostly interested in getting the 90  pounds (in money) to put her to sleep as fast as possible.  However, She must have had cushings for about 2 years, and was to be honest as happy as larry right until about 3 days at the end, and having read all your comments I can see there is no easy way round it.  The problems I had was cleaning up after the dog and the cat and trying to save my mum all at the same time,  I was also left to clear her house, pay for the funeral costs and had almost no help from family members, let alone friends.  I am still trying to come to terms with it all, but my dear little girl was the hardest pill to swallow.  I hope I will see her again, but writing this has been cathartic for me, so thank you to all, yesterday was a mad dash to the vet with the elderly cat (Katie, a maine ****) as skinny as could be but with a feisty character like my mum, it seems she has pulled through!  Still gotta clean up the sh... though!  Heart goes out to all of you.

[minipooh]

Sorry about your schnauzer.  We just lost our 17 year old to what we know was Cushings although when he was tested a year ago the one test was inconclusive although he had all the signs and the vet basically refused to treat him unless we did more expensive testing which I didn't agree on being in the medical field myself.   On hindsight I  believe he had this disease for quite a few years before things really kicked in as the liver enzymes were always elevated.  We took very good care of him from day one with organic food and diet which I think is what made the difference.  We did natural approach in trying to balance his electrolytes and were very strict with his food regimen which I believe kept us with him as long as he was.    The last week of his life was painstaking for him and ultimately we kept him at home and he was with us when he passed.  You definitely have to have a lot of patience as we did and for better or worse we took care of our fur baby who was loyal to our family for many years.  Good luck and prayers to you who are dealing with this.  We have another 11 year old schnauzer and pray she doesn't develop or go through what this baby did.

[BARBinKY]

My approx 10-year old beagle just received a confirmed diagnosis for Cushing's.  I brought home Vetoryl for treatment to begin tomorrow, but after reading all the potential serious side effects, I'm having second thoughts.  In reading Adrenal Harmony Gold from Pet Wellbeing, I've decided to give that a try first.  I feel much better about a more natural approach... and praying it will help my baby girl.  Thank you!

[Cooper9]

I have an 8-9 yrs old yorkie just diagnosed also.Except for the mid section of your story I just did the very same thing. Going to give it a try first. Just ordered it.  Good Luck to both ( all ) of us.

[Cooper9]

I have an 8-9 yrs old yorkie just diagnosed also.Except for the mid section of your story I just did the very same thing. Going to give it a try first. Just ordered it.  Good Luck to both ( all ) of us.

[Janmar0819]

I have a 10 year old toy poodle. 5 months ago she started peeing blood and peeing constantly. I took her to the vet and they treated her for very bad urinary tract infection. She improved then when the meds ran out she got it again. She was treated again and has been ok since for that. They did blood test then and said her liver levels were high and wanted her on expensive food for liver issues. I kept complaining telling the vet she pants, pees everywhere, drinks constant, starving all the time and has huge hard bloated belly and has lost over a third of her hair. They then decided after some time to do the blood test for cushings. It came back positive. My vet refuses to do any treatment for that. What a crime in my opinion. We should have that choice. I changed vets and have her on Vetoryl. The medicine is much much cheaper through Valley Vet online. My dog is 12 pounds and she takes the 30mg now and it's about 53.00 per month. She's started at 10mg then 20. We are on our second month of meds and she has improved greatly over the last week. She doesn't finish her meal. Doesn't drink all the time. No more peeing in the house at all. It's the best thing I could have done. Her belly has even gone done. If there is any way you can afford to treat then I advise it. Get the script from your vet and check prices. I found some a couple dollars cheaper but bad reviews. Valley Vet is in USA and they answer immediately and will talk to your vet and call you with any questions. Best customer service ever. I don't know how long my little girl has but I am so happy she seems normal. Good luck to you.

[hannahs13]

I have a shitzu that is around 14.5 years old she has always seemed to have seizures and respiratory problems but was told it was part of the breed. Over the last several years she has displayed a majority of symptoms to cushing's but I had not heard of this disease until recently, I just assumed they were things due to her getting older I now am very sure that she has cushings. she was spayed at an older age than normal so when she developed the pot belly I assumed maybe it was a symptom of being spayed at an older age and that it just did not heel well, not to long after this is when she began going to the bathroom a lot in the house its now to the point that she will go outside to potty and come back inside and pee on the floor she also often pee's blood and I am wonder if this is something anyone else has experienced with their pets and cushings? she also has become aggressively hungry and will eat as much as I will let her. I am noticing that her fur on her back is starting to thin and her skin getting a darker appearance, I have not noticed anything involving her legs yet but she does rest for most of the day. At night time she has excessive panting and the only way to get her to stop is if I rub her ears she will lay down and stop panting but when I stop rubbing her ears she begins again, I am wondering if the panting is her being in pain, does anyone know of a way to tell if panting is due to pain? Good luck to all you pet owners also suffering a broken heart watching your beloved doggies go through this, my prayers with you xoxo

[Tannerm]

My 11 year old miniature Schnauzer, Rodney has Cushing's and a terrible heart murmur. He's been panting a lot over the past few months and heavily drinking. Lately, over the past week his breathing has gotten worse. Its horse and you can tell he's having trouble. I haven't found any way online to try and ease his painting or shallow breathing. I'm desperate. He's my best friend and I'm so terrified to lose him. My question is, is there any way I can help ease his breathing or panting? The funds aren't there to take him in for treatment, plus the vet said there wasn't much they could even do. I feel so helpless knowing he's so sad and hurting. My other question is, once this starts happening with the breathing, since its getting worse, does that mean his time may be up soon? Please, any advice or help would be appreciated.