# Eve may have Cushing's and/or hypothyroid disease



## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

As some of you remember Eve had to be spayed at 8yrs due to an open pyometra infection. I am upset as I *knew* of the cons of neutering, and suspected and knew about possible "underlying" health issues that may creep up once she stopped producing hormones. Alas I was correct in my assumption and was glad to go against the grain of typical neuter advice for so many years, but obviously had no choice but to spay her. I, in no way say it is the correct choice to NOT neuter one's pet as there are far too many unwanted pets and most pets should be neutured. In my case I knew there are risks of of keeping her intact(pyo) but it was obviously the correct one. 

I suspect Eve is either cushionoid or hypothyroid. For years Eve has been low normal for hypothyroid, as in 0.3 away(recently) from abnormal... something that CAN be affected without the regulating hormones in the body that can no longer be produced.. she has also had symmetrical hairloss on her hocks for just as long. Her next 2 hypothyroid results always decreased by a 0.1 and so did her hock hair.

Fast forward to late Feb this year.. after Eve had been ill since Jan, the doc suspected Addison's and she was tested for it. She didnt come back addison's but again *borderline* fo Cushing's.. like .3 away from being cushing's per doc. this was BEFORE SPAY! I haven't had her tested yet or aything since her spay and she bounced back very quickly. She was brighteyed and bushytailed lol... and has gained a pound!!!

However, in the last 5-6wks she has lost a large amount of hair everywhere some symmetrical some not.. in some spots it looks like I closed my eyes and started hacking away! Her skin has become dried.. looks like she has a staph skin issue, she has been itching like crazy altho she is on hypo shots AND LID food for her food allergies. NONE of these symptoms have been apparent/appeared before her spay! No most if not all the hairloss is NOT due to her chewing because even when she was chewing she did not have such hairloss. Her drinking.. she has always drank a lot.. always.. but Im not sure if its my imagination or if she actually is drinking more.

I took her to her old vet in TX while I was home visiting as she had an eye infection and he was concerned for her and rec to see her reg vet here. He felt she "looked old" even tho she wasnt. He did tell me that she should be retested to see if she was cushionoid or not now that she has been spayed. He also mentioned I need to find out which kind of cushing's whether its the adrenal gland or whether it is a tumor... *sigh* And that it is very expensive to treat.

Anyone experience this? or have any advice? Could be both or just the one? Here are some pix so you can see for yourself what Im talking about. One before her spay.. she looks plump because of the infection.. and the last three are from last week and she has had NO haircut! Both girls are due for their yearly check up.. *sigh* Going to pull *my* hair out.. oh and notice the red tummy.. I am treating her topically.. I may have to change her diet again as her Natural balance makes her poop four times more in one sitting and after going thru a bag and a quarter of it she is now finally having more solid stools. Thanks everyone!!


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

So sorry Eve is not well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

I can't give advice, but just wanted to say I'm really sorry and I hope that you find out what's wrong with her soon. I must say, it's obvious that something isn't right....she has a lot of hair loss.  does she still act normal?


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## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

Poor little thing. Hope you figure it out soon!


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

In my experience with Cushings dogs at my job, yes, it does look like it.

However, the spaying didn't _cause_ it. It's a hormone disorder is related to either the pituitary gland (in the brain) or the adrenal glands (on the kidneys). Being spayed obviously causes a massive systemic hormone adjustment in all the places that produce them, so yes, it probably did accelerate the process of the disease. I'm guessing you understand that, but I think it's important to make that distinction in order to come to terms with it, fine line though it may be. It more than likely would have come up at some point in her life anyway. It just ended up happening sooner rather than later due to the exigent circumstances.

Either way, the spay is giving you more years with her right now, where pyometra running it's course would have ended that altogether. So just keep her as comfortable as you can and enjoy her, and your memories of when she was younger.


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear it. Pls share your results & know we are here when you need someone to 'talk' to :hug:


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Thanks for the kind thoughts guys.

Mom24doggies- yes other than the extra itching, and hairloss she acts normal. Very happy girl.. but my groomer side soo wants to shave her lol. Im just afraid her hair wont grow back.. at least until after treatment lol.

Lavillerose- yes you're right I did/do understand it . I knew she had to be spayed and that the borderline cushings was going to bite us in the rear but I hoped it wouldnt be so soon. I know childish dreams, but hoped we could stave off diseases by keeping her intact.. which we did but I hoped for more time. I strongly suspected it was cushing's more than anything, but can it be cushings and hypothyroid? She did have a cushings test 2yrs ago and was clear.. obviously it decided to rear its ugly head recently. Too bad there wasnt a test to tell us hey your dog doesnt have cushing's but will when they are 8!

Do you know normal protocol for cushing's dogs? Per se what is the first step? I want to go the least steps as possible.. like if it were allergies I would just pop for the allergy test..

Thank you all:adore:, it really is nice to talk to somebody. Im upset, just want her to be better you know, and her mortality is just more in my face now. I dont want to screw up and shorten it, by treating this incorrectly.:beer:


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

I'll keep you all posted . Now just gotta figure the first step.. and hope to god I make the right choices ...


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

> can it be cushings and hypothyroid?


Certainly. I have hypothyroidism myself, so it's the first thing I tell people to test for whenever I see weird skin issues and/or hair loss on dogs at work. Thyroid imbalances are super common, and badly under diagnosed because doctors/vets look only at one symptom at a time and rarely at the big picture. Thyroid is sort of a secondary concern when Cushings is involved, though.

My only advice would probably be see how much you can manage the way you already are before resorting to steroid treatment.

It's hard, I know. I have a Spoo client (I groomed her yesterday, in fact) that had a systemic crash in January that ended up being Addison's, all coming up very suddenly. It's surprising just how fast the disease has affected her in just a few months. She lost a ton of weight very quickly (she was honestly the porkiest Spoo I'd ever seen before this happened, 20lbs overweight) but that's the only good thing that came out of it. Her coat is terrible now, thin and hard to do much with, and her personality is now dulled with the drugs she's on. 

We all lose our charms, I guess.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Ladyscarletthawk I have no knowledge to share but I just wanted to let you know we are pulling for Eve to feel better.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I could finally open yr pix today, Laura. Thanx for them. 

And thanx too for the unfortunate 'popping up' of this issue. Both in Eve . . and in this forum.  

Never having a reason to learn abt this disease I wouldn't have researched it otherwise. And . . re-reading the thread, it strikes me that it's one of the times when this forum can be a great help. The posters all show that here's some great knowledge here, and some real empathy.

It looks like there's a fairly well-defined set of steps to diagnose Cushings, and, depending on the location of any tumor, standard ways of treating it. For anyone who wants to know more abt Cushings Disease, here's the best explanation I could find. *Altho Lavillerose summed up the basics pretty well. *

The one paragraph that made me feel better is this one.

The short-term prognosis is very good. Treated, one would expect symptoms of Cushing's to fully resolve over the course of 4-6 months. Excess drinking and urinating abate quickly. It may take several months for hair and coat improvement to be observed. Dogs generally are more comfortable after the disease is under control and may live happily for years.

And those are our wishes for Eve!


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Thanks again everyone ,
I decided to join a cushings group.. joining a liver group helped us emmensely and see a cushings group to be equally helpful . I will be making an appt for the girls yearlies next week and will after being armed with a bit more info discuss the cushings with the vet. It is pretty difficult on me the whole idea of cushings but Im sure knowledge will be helpful. 

Lavi-
I try to avoid steroids for her, and limit chemicals, vax, etc.. because she has had a history of liver disease. Again the cushing's and treatment aspect have me really worried!

CB-
Thanks for the link, I remember reading it years ago and thinking, gee I hope Eve never gets this lol. I just hope things turn out well!

Thanks for all the hugs and well wishes ya'll!! That's why I mentioned it here , I knew you would all be supportive!!! :adore: *hugs*


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Carley and I both take our thyroid meds every morning. I would have that checked for sure. I hope she is well soon, so sorry.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Thank you Carley's mom,
I hope so too .


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## Tyler (Mar 9, 2009)

*Poor girl....*

Dang, these things are so darn complicated, even the best vets can't understand 'em all. Best of luck to you all getting through it.


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