My dog's Cushing's is gone. Can a tumor disappear with medication?

Cushing's or Hyperadrenocorticism is a fairly common endocrine disease in dogs. It can be caused by a bit of overactive tissue in the brain (in the pituitary gland, which is the master ruler of hormone secretion in the body) or a mass in an adrenal gland (sits by the kidneys, secretes hormones as directed by the pituitary gland). Basically what happens is an excess of a hormone in the body, usually a steroid called cortisol, if it is traditional Cushing's. This then causes some symptoms in the pet, blood work changes, and sometimes other changes like high blood pressure. I suspect based on the value that you report that this was a liver enzyme elevation call ALP. This very commonly occurs in pets that have Cushings, but is not specific for Cushing's and elevation can be caused by other disease processes. This value does not correlate with severity of disease as many dogs have a high value. It sounds like your vet is on the right track by recommending an ultrasound to look at the adrenal glands and also the rest of the abdominal organs to rule out other disease processes. Ultimately Cushing's Disease has to be diagnosed by some sort of endocrine testing which your vet may recommend as well. Treatment if then based on what type of Cushing's disease is present. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am sorry about the high vet bill. A CT scan would give more accurate results and a better image than ultrasound. Most veterinarians do not have access to CT scan for dogs and therefore use ultrasound instead. I think it is very cool that your veterinarian has a CT scan unit available. You should call your insurance company and see if they will cover it for you. Explain the situation. Maybe get your veterinarian to talk to them as well. They probably don't have CT scan listed because most vet clinics do not have a CT scan machine available.

I am very sorry that Yager is so ill. Unfortunately Cushing's disease is a progressive disease and cannot be healed. There are two possible causes for Cushing's: 1) a pituitary tumor (a tumor in the brain) that is telling the adrenal glands to make more cortisone that the body needs and 2) a possible adrenal tumor that is overproducing cortisone. Most of the time the cause is a pituitary tumor. Unfortunately the medicine your dog is taking is only affecting the adrenal glands, ie basically reducing cortisone production. In the meantime the tumor in the brain keeps growing slowly, Sometimes the medicine works too well and the body is not getting enough cortisone because the adrenal glands are not producing enough anymore (the medicine destroyed too much tissue). This can cause the signs you describe and therefore your vet recommends that you halve the dose. The other problem is that your dog's tumor is growing and may be pressing on vital structures in the brain now, which can cause seizures, wobbly gait, fainting spells. So I suggest that you trust your vet and follow his recommendations. Unfortunately the day will come that you need to say good bye to Yager when the tumor is causing too many problems. Listen to your dog: he will tell you when it is time.

The concern is often more linked to a tumour of the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain. The tumour can be benign or malignant and what it does it is stimulating the adrenal glands to produce cortisol. If the pituitary tumour grows, it can cause neurological signs and therefore seizures too. The masses can be quite large , over 1 cm , and cause symptoms related to pressure to the brain structures nearby. If the seizures are not very frequent, it means the tumour rate of growth is not that fast, and this is a good sign in itself. However an MRI would be able to provide more information and allow monitoring, if possible.

Hi there. It would help to know what specific tests have been done so far. The most common test used to diagnose Cushing's disease is called a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDST), but an ACTH stim test or urine cortisol/creatinine ratio can also be used in some cases, especially if initial LDDST results are inconclusive. I'm not sure what was found on her ultrasound exams, so I can't comment on that without more information. But if she hasn't had an ultrasound done by a board-certified radiologist, this would be a reasonable next step to consider. Since getting a diagnosis has been such a challenge for your pup, I would consider requesting referral to an internal medicine specialist at this point. He/she can evaluate Hanz, go over all of his previous testing and lab results in detail, and help you determine the best way forward from here.

I am so sorry to hear this and I know how hard it can be to tell if your pet is having a good quality of life. The three big things I look for are: 1) Good appetite 2) Comfort level- are they moving around on their own, able to posture to urinate/defecate well, using the stairs, able to rise and lay down easily. If not- would medications or other therapies help? Also, with neck pain- can they eat/drink from their bowls well? 3) Are they still doing the things that make them 'them'- whether it be greeting you at the door, wanting to take walks, whatever it is that makes their personality unique. To answer your specific questions- the term 'tumor' can be scarab, but Cushings can be a disease managed without a loss of comfort, although it may take management- Eg checkups to make sure they don't have urinary infections or skin infections. I would certainly be concerned about any neck pain and want to ask your vet if any therapies would help improve their comfort. I hope this helps!

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.