Chow Health

[dramaqueen]

Hello

I am new to this forum so a hi to ya all. I am Carol and live in Italy. I have 2 female chow chows. Mami is black and 11 years old and Maddie is 10 and fawn. They are my chowdren, i dont have any kids and they are my life. I will post photos when i get a moment.
Recently Mami was off colour, not eating drinking more and weeing inside the house which she has NEVER done before. She just was not interested in much at all. Anyhow this week we took her to the vets and she had Pymotera, she had to have an emergency operation. We were on tender hooks all day but we picked her up on Thursday and although looking sorry for herself she seemed much much better. After seeing what the vet took out of here no wonder she felt ill
On the ultrasound the vet picked up that her adrenalin gland is larger than normal, and its probably Cushings disease. He wants her to recover from the Pyo op first before he does more tests.
Does anyone out here have any experience of Cushings disease, treatment etc ?. I would like to try Cushex drops and done some research on the internet but it is always nice to hear from people first hand. Also with regards to how much we would spend on our Chows, I would give everything for my girls, as long as they have quality of life,

Carol

[Merlin]

If there is truly a reason to spay a female, it's because of possible Pymotera! Thank goodness you were able to save her.

Just an xray or ultra sound of a swollen adrenal gland is not enough to signify Cushings disease. The peeing in the house could have been from the Pyrometra, or from a simple kidney/bladder infection, which often goes hand in hand with Pyrometra.

Did the vet find cortisol in her urine?
Did he do the blood work for Cushings?
Normally this is diagnosed after Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression test or an ACTH Stimulation Test which affirms the disease.
If you haven't done any of these tests, then you don't know.
Generally speaking she would have other symptoms as well, the stunning loss of coat, excessive drinking ( and I mean excessive), bloating, sluggishness, they become dull and mantally lost in space.

I don't think Cushex isn't going to solve your problems- even IF you have a clear and positive diagnosis.

Treatment consists of several different options. Depending on the type of disease, surgery can be performed. If an adrenal tumor is identified, then surgical removal may be a viable option. There are several different forms of tumors that can invade the adrenal gland and their treatment will be based on the particular tumor type.

Non surgical treatment is the most often used treatment for most cases of canine Cushing's disease. About 80% of the cases of Cushing's disease in the dog are of the pituitary type, and since both the adrenal and the pituitary type will respond effectively to some of the oral treatments, many veterinarians do not perform the diagnostics necessary to distinguish between the two different forms. There are currently several different oral medications being used to treat canine Cushing's disease.

Normally, the medications used are Lysodren, Trilostane, and some newer ones. Depending on where you live, some of this medication is extremely expensive because in fact they are chemotherapy pills ( not to be taken lightly).

[dramaqueen]

Thanks for the reply.
The vet did not do blood work for Cushings but he said after looking at the ultrasound he thought it could be that. We went back to the vets yesterday and he took the iv drip out and said he does not want to do any tests for the Cushings for at least 2 months. I know he thinks that Mamis loss of appetite etc and excess drinking was a symptom of the PYRO. Also she was having some discharge from her eyes and he thinks this could be the poision coming out, but if we want her to see an eye specialist he can organise it. Its only been 4 days since her surgery and she is doing so well for an older gal. She has been eating more food today but I am still hand feeding her most of it, she is loving the attention and she deserves it !!! My other chow Maddie has been great with her too, .

[Merlin]

Mamis loss of appetite etc and excess drinking was a symptom of the PYRO.

In all sincerity I hope your chow is ok, but there is something that doesn't sound quite right here.
The above symptoms are very synonymous with thyroid issues or other endocrinogical diseases, or diabetes, and have little to do with pyrometra, so what you're saying is sounding rather obsure.

I've never ever heard of a vet wanting to wait 2 months to do a Cushings test if the markers are present, because untreated Cushings can be fatal and in two months your dog could become very, very ill to the point that medication may not help, especially if the adrenal tumour keeps growing. Your dog could die ( and I'm not trying to scare you, that's the reality of the illness). - or diabetes! untreated, this illness is also very dangerous.

Did you quiz him/her? Did you ask for an explanation of the ultra sound?

If blood tests were done, then you'd know whether or not there is a thyroid issue and whether or not there is a possibility of Cushings or even Addison's.
If your vet saw a lesion in an x-ray, then he should offer you a much better explanation because infections like pyrometra don't manifest the same symptoms that Cushings does..
Consider speaking to another vet maybe. I wish you the best.

[chow315]

i personally would want a 2nd opinion.my dog has lymphoma and her regular vet was ready to put her down. we took her to a different ver and she is doing good. please get another opinion. hope all goes well

[dramaqueen]

We are going to the vets on Saturday, to take the rest of his fee !!! so we will be quizing him more because when you are in the vets and they are saying your dog is sick and has to have an op for PYRO, thats all in a way we heard, but he was mentioning Cushings. This vet is the one that we trust with our babies and is highly regarded so i am hoping in our fuddled minds last Thursday we were getting mixed up.
Thanks for the replies and i will post back on here with more news.