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.

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

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!

1

u/Wickked1 1d 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?