My dog has Cushing's disease. Why is his belly hard and distended?

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.

Thank you for posting this question. There are several processes that can cause muscle wasting and distended belly. Cushings disorder is a common problem in older dogs where the body produces too much steroid hormone, but also certain types of kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, or chronic gastrointestinal diseases can cause muscle wasting and fluid build up in the belly. Tumors can also have these signs. I would encourage you to have Buttons examined by her veterinarian to find out how best to help her. I wish her the best!

Hello, sorry to hear about Roxie. Those symptoms you are noting could be associated with cushings disease. This is a disease of the adrenal glands and/or pituitary gland that causes excessive secretion of steroid hormones. In addition to the voracious appetite, distended abdomen, and muscle mass loss, one may also note increase drinking and urinating, panting, and anxiety (such as the barking you're noting). Cushings disease can be managed medically, but she will likely need bloodwork and potentially an abdominal ultrasound for diagnostics. Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to have Roxie evaluated. Hope this helps and best of luck.

An enlarged liver is unfortunately one of the common side effects of Cushing's disease so it is not unusual that Ginger's liver appeared enlarged. Her urine concentration is very low (normal for a dog is 1.040) but again, this can be attributed to her Cushing's disease as well (because she is probably drinking more water and therefore causing her urine to be more dilute). In Ginger's case I would be worried about Diabetes and possibly cancer as well. I know it can be frustrating (and expensive) to keep doing more tests, especially when you aren't getting clear answers as to what is going on. I would recommend talking to your vet about costs/additional testing versus palliative care/keeping her comfortable for the time being. It may also be worth beginning treatment for her Cushing's disease because it could help allieviate some of her symptoms. Good luck. Please let us know if you have more questions/concerns.

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.

Hi there. So sorry that Paty is having this issue. I am assuming they told you she may have Cushing's disease. So she has been on cyclosporine (ichmune) I see but I am not sure wysrolyn is.....do you have another name for it? The first thing you need to do is have her tested for Cushing's disease to see if that is actually what she has. If she does have it then there is medication to control it. Here is a link to an article about this disease that may answer more of your questions. http://www.canismajor.com/dog/cushings.html The bottom line is that you need to work with your local vet to get a diagnosis and treatment plan. That is not something we can provide over the internet. Once you get a diagnosis we can help you with questions you may have. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.