My dog has atopy and a bloated stomach. Could it be Cushing's disease?

My biggest concern is that your vet is talking about hyperadrenocorticism also known as Cushing's disease. This is what I think of when you discuss those symptoms, liver enzyme elevations and adrenal issues. Cushings is where they produce too much cortisol in their system. You can do a test to rule this in or out. You can have your vet do a low dose dexamethasone test OR a ACTH stimulation test. If it comes up positive then you can treat with the disease with a daily medicine called trilostane to help the symptoms. But you cannot cure cushings. I hope this helps and will help guide you in a conversation with your vet if this is actually what your vet thinks is going on.

It's hard to get a full picture of a pets condition without a hands on exam, but the things that concern me with this bloodwork are the glucose level, the ALKP and the elevated WBC count. Unfortunately, in these cases, more veterinary care is the only option. Your pet may have Cushing's disease (adrenal gland disorder), diabetes and an infection somewhere. These cases can get complicated and require follow up testing, likely medications that need to be controlled and adjusted once a diagnosis has been made. There really isn't any way of moving on with your pets care until you have a working diagnosis and these results point to a few possibilities. Perhaps you can see if your vet accepts Care Credit and utilize that for financial assistance.

Hello and thank you for your post! I am sorry to hear that Aprile is not feeling well. With the Cushing's medication, this can cause the reverse disease called Addison's disease. The Cushing's medication will decrease the steroids in the body. Sometimes this medication can decrease the steroids too much and lead to an addisonian crisis. If your vet has not checked blood work to see what the electrolytes and the rest of the blood work looks like I would certainly want to see what the CBC and chemistry look like. If your vet has examined her and deems that steroids are necessary due to the examination and clinical appearance then a dose of steroids is probably okay to administer with the suspicion that the Cushing's medication has decreased the natural steroids in the body too much. Famotidine is just Pepcid AC, so it is absolutely safe to give. If the pancreatitis is very bad, then I would suggest keeping her in the hospital on supportive care until she's feeling better. I hope this helps and that she gets better! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I'm also available via phone or text consultation.

Hi there and thanks for posting! Sorry to hear Lolly has been diagnosed with allergies. This can be frustrating for both the pet and pet owner alike! The brown coating on the abdomen may be secondary yeast growth or discharge from a secondary bacterial infection that is present due to itching or scratching at the skin. If the medications do not seem to be helping, you may try having Lolly tested for allergies through an allergy screen. This can help differentiate between a food allergy and an environmental allergy. Food allergies are treated by avoiding the protein source Lolly is allergic to and environmental allergies can be treated with allergy medications such as antihistamines, Apoquel or Cytopoint injections (which work by targeting the inflammatory reaction of the skin), or allergy immunotherapy injections which ultimately produce the best outcome for the patient long term. Further investigation into what Lolly is allergic to may prove to be beneficial for her case! Thanks again for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

With the description of her belly dropping and back bone being more exposed, I would worry about any fluid retention or build up. This can be caused from liver disease, protein losing enteropathy, heart disease, or cancer. Cushing's disease make them appear pot bellied with out building up fluids accumulation though. Knowing her symptoms and what medicines she has been will help with a better answer and possibly eliminate some of these options. But ideally your next step is an x ray or ultrasound to look in there to see what is going on. It is the only way you will get better answers and see if a surgery to explore or get a biopsy is needed to better treat her and help her feel better.

I'm sorry to hear that Angel has been diagnosed with Cushing's disease. He is likely developing a pot belly that is characteristic of the disease. Cushing's is the result of too much of the hormone cortisol being produced. It results in muscle wasting and weakness. It also can cause an increase in fat around the organs in the abdomen as well as the liver to enlarge. Together these things cause the dog to have a firm distended pot belly appearance.

He does not look like a Cushing's dog to me, but I would have to test him to be sure. A UCC test would be nice, but a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test would give more information and can easily be done. The human pathology labs should have the capability to measure cortisol (I've done this in India). This black/bald skin tells me that the skin has been inflamed for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if it is mange (he looks like a classic mange dog) that is causing him to look like this. Mange can take a long time to treat; sometimes over a year with heavy burdens. If the mange was not treated for long enough, then it could have come back. He should be tested again for mange. Other conditions that would cause a lowered immunity should be ruled out (especially if he has demodectic mange). I would want to check a CBC and possibly check the thyroid levels if he was showing other signs of hypothyroidism. If you are having problems finding a vet doctor to do these tests, then my friend's organization in Pune may be able to help. The link to the website is below: http://www.bodhisattva.in/ I hope that helps and Rudy gets better soon.