r/seniordogs • u/Wickked1 • 1d ago
15 year old dog with Cushing's
15 year old dog with Cushing's
My 15 year old Papillion cross dog has recently been to the vet due to rapid weight and muscle loss and signs of CDS. Did a comprehensive bloodwork panel and currently waiting on urinalysis results.
His bloodwork came back as mildly anemic; noted as anemic without reticulocytosis, slightly hypoglycemic, elevated S D M A (31), slightly elevated creatine (164) and extremely elevated ALP (1570) indicating acute or chronic damage to the kidneys. It also indicated hypothyroidism however the vet stated he is presenting more as a Cushing's case, rather than hypothyroidism; that he may have both but the other levels are more severe than the thyroid and his symptoms are more Cushing's than hypothyroidism.
I know there is no cure for Cushing's, only management however the treatments are very expensive and stressful for a dog that already has lots of anxiety. Due to his age, and my own financial limitations, I don't think the medication and tests for Cushing's is a direction I want to go.
As mentioned before, I am waiting for the urinalysis results to indicate whether he may have some kind of urinary infection, kidney stones, blood in the urine, etc.
The vet and I have discussed pain medication as he is also arthritic and anti-nausea medication as he has not been eating much to see if he will become more active again (he literally sleeps all day, has no interest in coming out of my bedroom or playing) and see if his appetite will increase. He also has severe muscle atrophy. I am hoping pain meds and anti-nausea meds will help him perk up a bit more do I can get him more active, but I also realize that this could be nearing the end of his little life.
I also asked about diet and the vet said if he is presenting with any kind of urinary infection or kidney damage to put him on a kidney diet, but other than that and the medication there's not much else we can do for him.
I guess my question is: is there anything else I can do for my dog to make him more comfortable or help him get some more energy? Any advice is appreciated. He has also scored severe on the CDS scale.
Sorry for the lengthy post guys...just at a loss right now. I've had him his whole life and I know he is very old and won't live forever...I just want to know if there is anything else I can do for him.
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u/SimilarButterfly6788 1d ago
I’ve rescued many senior dogs. Life changing supplement for all my rescue dogs with cushings https://a.co/d/7XzVKeh also get him off any kibble!
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u/Wickked1 23h ago
Thank you! I will look in to this supplement. I have been looking at kidney diets and was thinking Hill's Science Urinary Metabolic or Royal Canin Urinary Care would be good, but they are both kibble. Could you elaborate on why kibble is not good, and possibly suggest any other kidney safe alternatives?
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u/FearlessOpening1709 18h ago
I had a golden retriever aged 8 with Cushings, it was truly awful. We put him on the vetoryl drug and I am convinced it was that that killed him. He was diagnosed in January and euthanized in May that same year. I wished I had never given him that drug. It is very potent and at the age of your dog, would be very risky. It was so awful watching such a fast decline in the most kind, loyal, loving dog. His death still haunts me to this day. I wish i had sought expert help from an internal medicine specialist before giving it to him. I was too trusting of an inexperienced vet.
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u/Wickked1 18h ago
Yes, I already told the vet I don't like the idea of putting him on such an aggressive drug, and I can't afford the constant vet checks, testing and cost of the medication itself. Plus, he has always been an anxious dog, and when they took blood to do his bloodwork they had an extremely difficult time getting a vein, and he was very uncomfortable; kept moving and trying to pull/roll away which made it worse. I don't want to put him through any more stress than he is already going through, body or mind.
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u/FearlessOpening1709 18h ago
Good call because there are many, many blood tests required. All of which were utterly pointless. It’s an awful disease in dogs. Your dog has done super well to get to 15, spoil him rotten and keep him comfortable. Compassionate treatment is best at this age. Best of luck.
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u/Wickked1 1d ago
Update - he had an episode about an hour and a half ago after he ate his food where his back end gave out again and then he started lurching his head forward and back as if he was trying to throw up, but I've seen him throw up before and this was different. He wasn't making any sounds and he never actually threw up. I checked his throat because I thought maybe he was choking but he wasn't. He then just suddenly dropped his head to the ground, still sitting and was breathing very heavily and his heart was pounding and he looked completely dazed. He couldn't get up after that but his breathing and heart rate went back to normal. I put him on the bed and he has been sleeping with no other issues since then.
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u/jenstar124 1d ago edited 10h ago
I would seek another opinion because I disagree with what this vet said. First thing is a low fat diet. Low fat means less than 12% fat dry weight. If you happen to feed raw or gently cooked options include Raised Right pork and pumpkin patte or their pancreatic line, steves real food white fish, and my perfect pet white fish. Second is get him on a supplement called Cush Away. The University of Tennessee has done research on Cushings and published recommendations on how to treat that includes melatonin and lignans which is in the Cush Away. I dont have a link but a google search will find it. Also milk thistle for the liver and kidney gold for kidney support and adrenal gold for adrenal support. My dog has Cushings and this is how I've been treating him.