5.3.15 Zoey 422 CUSHING'S INFO?

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Rose

Rose

Member Since 2015
Good morning!
Zoey's numbers were flat and not low so that translated to uninterrupted sleep last night. That's some lemonade from lemons that I will readily drink.

Vyktor's mum raised the question, again, of Cushing's disease. We've talked about that being a possibility a few times here. Here's my reply to her post from last night and I'm reposting here for any new readers who might have some insight to share:

"Vyktors Mum -- yes, I think she has Cushing's disease. I raised this question a month ago and the vet dismissed it. :/ At that time, her skin was not tearing like it is now. I don't know how to read Zoey's labs, but there is something in the labs that made him think that it is not Cushing's ... If anyone is reading and knows how to read labs, if you've got a minute to glance, her lab report is attached to her spreadsheet. Any help/interpretation/clues are appreciated. I hesitated to put her flea medicine on her for the last two months and finally, on 4/21 I relented (vet's advice) and gave her flea treatment. I noted then on her SS that her petechiae became inflamed. I'm hesitant to even take her to the vet to be honest. To any vet. I really feel we're just throwing good money away on bad advice. Surgery doesn't usually extend the life for very long in cats and carries its own set of risks; not to mention the recovery. I'm not sure how much her quality of life would improve. I've ordered some Cushex and it will be here on Tuesday (Amazon ). Linda and Bear Man had some experience with Cushings and she replied to an inquiry several weeks ago, but if my memory hasn't totally failed me, her Bear Man's Cushing's was brought on by steroids/medications and the symptoms abated when she stopped treatment. Zoey's not on any medications other than the flea treatments which will now stop. I'm going to copy this post into today's new thread (5.3) and see if anyone else with Cushing's experience happens to see it. "

If anyone has any alternative treatments or any kind of experience with Cushing's, we're all ears ... or is that eyes? o_O

Thank you all for your participation. This really is a group effort and everyone needs to take a moment to reflect on how much good this site does. Pretty amazing and thankful to be a part of it.

Happy Sunday, y'all!

Yesterday
 
I posted a note on the Lantus FB group board. Some of the "old time" members post there and not here. Hopefully, someone with information will stop by.
 
Hi Rose. I did post, as you mentioned, in your thread of March 30. The skin tears in particular seem very characteristic of Cushing's. The pot belly would seem to support that, though your vet feels it is due to overweight. I think you have mentioned that the skin tears are new or now worse and this is since the vet and/or specialist last saw her or consulted. I think this new finding warrants follow up. I don't know if petechiae are related or caused by a separate issue. I am not aware of their being associated with Cushings. I'm not sure what in the labs might negate a finding of Cushing's, but there were other items that might seem worthy of repeating to see if they have resolved such as elevated white blood cells and slightly low hematocrit. I would encourage you to go back to the vet with your concerns about the skin tears and ask about a urine cortisol/creatinine ratio test.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...mps-pmps-329-4-105-6-285.135383/#post-1395773
 
Rose

If you can get a different vet to test her....and she might need more than one test (Linda's suggestions are good), cats can be treats with trilostane. It's perhaps not as effective as in dogs but can work well.
 
Hi Rose - :bighug::bighug:

In addition to the article I linked a while ago for you by Stijn Neissen, I found some more on Cushing's on this one on Insulin Resistance. The article is from an acromegaly post, unfortunately we don't have one collecting the articles talking about Cushings or hyperadrenocorticism (HAC). If you look at the section starting on page 249, on the bottom of that page there is some discussion of tests and what you can see in blood work results. Of note, what the vet may be looking for as markers of Cushing's may be different in cats than in dogs, where Cushings is more commonly seen. I like Linda's suggestion of getting that urine C/C ratio test done.

Of the few kitties here I've seen with Cushing's, most are from pituitary tumors (benign) and kitties have been on trilostane. That first Neissen article also referred to ecchymosis as a symptom, which I see are defined as larger petechiae.
 
Oh, thank you all for the information! Sienne, thank you for cross posting for us!

@Wendy&Neko I had saved that article by Stijn Neissen but didn't label it well enough that I would remember what it was about, amongst all of the articles I've saved for future reference. I read it then but will reread it again along with the second article you posted. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but am interested, for sure, on things to look for in the blood work. It's on the radar and list of things to do today. TY for taking the time to find those and link them for us.

@Marje and Gracie -I'll mark trilostane as one of the drugs that, if mentioned by the vet, I will know is okay for Zoe. I searched Cushing's in the threads but didn't come up with much so this is good information. TY!

I have to take a step back and get my attitude in check with the vets. I really have a great respect for them and it doesn't always show. Like I said, I think the degree to which owners seek vet care has changed tremendously over the last 30 years (which is a relatively short period of time to work out the kinks). Things that we're treating our pets for are what used to be death sentences. And now, caregivers have access to information that was not readily available to us even 15 years ago. It's made us smarter, but also probably a huge PITA for them because now we question what they do at every given turn. We also probably come across as more studied or versed on the matter than perhaps we really are (this applies to me) so maybe they don't go into as great of detail. This is a new vet, he knows nothing about us or our history with our critters; we know nothing about him or if he keeps thoughts to himself. Our old vet would think out loud and we'd know what he was looking for or expecting to see. This vet is extraordinarily kind and the top vet in our area. I know he's smart and on top of his game -- you don't get the rankings and reviews if not. DH and I were talking yesterday and have decided that, like Wendy said, he was probably looking for something in the blood work that wasn't there (yet?), and he probably didn't want to alarm us any sooner than needed. We do have instructions to bring her back in this week, so I'm sure, as @Linda and Bear Man said, the new symptom of the tearing skin will be a huge red flag that says to look again. I don't know if I've said this enough times .... I am not a patient person and I need to try and be better with that. It's sooo hard and I KNOW I'm a PITA. By now, y'all probably know that, too. :oops:
 
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