Cushing's Disease/Syndrome | Electronic Forum Digest 8

CUSHINGS-PETS Digest 8

Topics covered in this issue include:

1) Introduction
by LNUSGMAC.LMCCUR01@eds.com
2) cushings disease & intro.
by kathleen richards <krichard@acme.csusb.edu>
3) Alternative cures
by Rick Sanger <MountainPath@worldnet.att.net>
4) New members of the group
by "David ROBERTS" <d_one_delta@email.msn.com>
5) Re: cushings disease & intro.
by Katerpoo@aol.com
6) Re: cushings disease & intro.
by "Dillon Pyron" <dillon.pyron@amd.com>
7) Re: Alternative cures
by "Dillon Pyron" <dillon.pyron@amd.com>
8) Re: Alternative cures
by HD Bliley <hbliley@erols.com>
9) Cushing's Syndrome - introduction
by RonJanet88@aol.com
10) New member: Hi
by MAD PRAETOR <lmbrown@TrentU.ca>
11) cushing's: Re: New member: Hi
by Leslie Lawson <lolawson@uts.cc.utexas.edu>
12) Re: New member: Hi
by Jeri <kurvenal@ameritech.net>
13) Re: cushing's: Re: New member: Hi
by MAD PRAETOR <lmbrown@TrentU.ca>
14) RE: New members of the group
by "Eric Hoffman" <latucca@classic.msn.com>

Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 12:36:05 -0500
From: LNUSGMAC.LMCCUR01@eds.com
To: "CUSHINGS-PETS(a)mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu" <CUSHINGS-PETS@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>
Subject: Introduction
Message-ID: <0095000005917557000002L072*@MHS>

My name is Lisa Hatfield. My oldest Sheltie, Sioned, who will be 8 in Jan, was
diagnosed with Cushings in Feb. At the moment, she is on Lysodren and we are
testing periodically to keep her levels in check.

I know of only one other sheltie who has Cushings, are there any on this list?
Is this considered genetic in any of the breeds. My vet did not consider it
genetic.

Thank you,

Lisa Hatfield
Dayton, Ohio, USA
lnusgmac.lmccur01@eds.com
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/6049/

Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 18:08:00 -0800 (PST)
From: kathleen richards <krichard@acme.csusb.edu>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: cushings disease & intro.
Message-ID: <199711130208.SAA06192@acme.csusb.edu>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi... I am a 43 year old "dog-mom" whose at-least-16-year-old black
Pomeranian, Ebony, has recently been diagnosed as having Cushing's syndrome.
She has thinning skin, thinning hair, "rat-tail", panting, drinks lots of
water daily, positive adrenal/cortisol test, not diabetic (they said - not
tested for it yet), and a pot belly. Her tests suggest a pituitary tumour.
After all the tests she is being tried on 5 mg of Anipryl daily. The vet
wants a 30 day trial and she has been on it now for 19 days (tonight will
make 20).

She also has severe hayfever (yup - dogs can have pollen allergies too!),
epileptic and requires thyroid replacement therapy. Thus she gets 25 mg of
Theodur (for the allergies) twice a day, approximately 5-6 mg of
Phenobarbital (for seizures) twice a day (she hasn't had a seizure in nearly
4 years now), and 1/2 of .1 mg of Levo-T (for thyroid problem) twice daily.
She's been taking the first two for almost half her lifetime and the Levo-T
started a couple of years ago. After the dosages got fine-tuned she has
been doing well on these for a long time. Now the Cushings drops in.

So far I have not seen any bad reactions to the Anipryl *UNLESS* I give it
with her other meds. If I give it within 2 hours of her other meds she
winds up vomiting and nauseous a few hours later. Right now she gets her 3
pills (above) in a bunch at 7:30 am and 7:30 pm. I give her the Anipryl at
11:30 pm or midnight (the later the better - she gets it right before I go
to bed). One mistake of giving it too close was enough. Poor baby had dry
heaves from 2 am to 4 am! The vet suggested from the beginning that we NOT
give it with her other meds. We have noticed she seems more "pooped",
sleeps more and has less energy, but we aren't sure if that is due to gum
infection (see below), Anipryl, or the slightly higher levels of
Phenobarbital she got for a week or so to try and cover any possible seizure
reaction (that didn't happen) to Anipryl.

Right now she "should" weigh about 6-7 pounds according to the vet; she
weighs 9 pounds. She has had terrible tooth problems and so lots of dental
work over the years. She is prone to gum infections which Clavamox liquid
cleans right up. The gum infections must bother her sinus because when she
gets one her nose runs a bit and she has this kind of "honk" cough off and
on. They were worried about the cough at first but can find no reason for
it other than the gum infection. They are waiting to do any more dental
work, or put her on Clavamox again (they also have her on it for two weeks
before dental work each time as a safety measure) until the Cushings is
"under control". I have had her since she was a month or two past weaning.
She's part of my 'family' and I am willing to do anything I can to help her.

That's probably more information than you wanted to know, but at least you
know where we stand. She's barking at me right now because I told her we'd
go out in the truck and she is impatient. She gets tired a lot, but she's
*not* lethargic by any means! Also, she eats, poops and pees like nobody's
business (esp. pees.. :( ).

Good luck to everyone! Btw, the Anipryl cost me $77 for 30 5 mg tablets.
The vet says the cost for 10 mg tablets is close to the same and since they
are scored I could buy those and give her halves (is that a word?) if the
drug works. -crossed fingers- He said it only works for about 80% of dogs,
but he has been calling the vet who developed Anipryl (and ran the
tests/trials) asking advice about Ebony. 'Hope it works.

kathleen richards
krichard@acme.csusb.edu
--
--
>--------------------------------------------<
~Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!~ -dire straits
kilty@tstonramp.com or krichard@acme.csusb.edu kathleen richards

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 05:08:27 +0000
From: Rick Sanger <MountainPath@worldnet.att.net>
To: CUSHINGS-PETS@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Alternative cures
Message-ID: <19971113050819.AAC23531@LOCALNAME>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

A good friend of mine, Lynn, has a 1/2 wolf 1/2 collie named Gracie
who we both love deeply. Gracie has been diagnosed with Cushings. Lynn is
powerfully spiritual, choosing to cure herself of hyperthyroidism using
alternative therapies. She was successful! Now she is hoping to cure
Gracie using alternative therapies. If anyone has any suggestions as to
information sources, I would appreciate your passing them along.
Thanks!

-Ranger Rick
MountainPath@worldnet.att.net

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 05:01:19 -0800
From: "David ROBERTS" <d_one_delta@email.msn.com>
To: <cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>
Subject: New members of the group
Message-ID: <04a111004130db7UPIMSSMTPUSR03@email.msn.com>

Hi,
My wife, Eileen, and I are the proud companions of Terrible Ted, a
six-years old Yorkshire Terrier. Over the past year he has developed a
weight problem and has not been as fleet of foot as usual. He used to take
off like a rocket after a tennis ball and was very agile. We put his
lethargy down to his developing overweight condition and took advice from
our long-established vet. This was to change his diet and cut back on thje
amount he was given, especially 'treats'.
This did not seem to have any effect and a conicident apparent weakness
in his right front leg took us to another vet who had been recommended as
being progressive and very keen.
We found that the new vet was of a younger generation and treated our
friend as a patient, rather than as a pet. His approach was refreshing and
we developed an excellent rapport with him. He recommended a further change
in diet but with the reservation that we would monitor Ted closely and that
he would have him examined by a veterinary surgeon who made periodic visits
to his clinic.
In the interim, Ted leaped from a small stool that he uses as an
observation post to ensure that nothing enters or leaves the living room or
kitchen without his scrutiny. He let out a shriek and immediately guarded
his right rear leg. Gentle examination revealed that he was extremely tender
in the knee area.
Our vet diagnosed a cruciate ligament and an operation was forthcoming
for the replacement of the offending strap. When Ted was being pre-opped,
Terri SCHILLER, the operating surgeon became concerned with the small air
passage that existed in his trachea.
Forunately for Ted, Rob MASON, a visiting vet from Tracyton, WA, was
making one of his periodic visits to the clinic and conferred with Terri,
developing the opinion that Terrible Ted may have Cushing's.
I met with Rob a couple of days later and was extremely impressed
with the thoroughness of his examination and the information he gave to me
regarding Ted's x-rays and general condition. I gained an excellent
understanding of Cushing's as it applied to my buddy and what faced us if
tests indicated a positive diagnosis.
Ted had his tests yesterday, so we now await the result with a positive
attitude, strengthened by the knowledge that we have access to excellent
veterinary help and the support of people in the same boat as us. Having the
ability to release pent-up uncertainties and tension through the internet
with others who share the same fears of loss, or who already experienced
that loss, is a comfort.
I have read the posted messages with interest and I know that the
information you provide, together with whatever insights I can provide as we
go along the route of Ted's treatment, will increase our personal knowledge
of Cushing's.
Will keep you posted,
Dave ROBERTS.
p.s. Thanks again, Rob !

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 08:15:12 -0500 (EST)
From: Katerpoo@aol.com
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: cushings disease & intro.
Message-ID: <971113081512_-1039635179@mrin47>

In a message dated 97-11-13 01:13:53 EST, krichard@acme.csusb.edu writes:

<< Her tests suggest a pituitary tumour.
After all the tests she is being tried on 5 mg of Anipryl daily. The vet
wants a 30 day trial and she has been on it now for 19 days (tonight will
make 20).

She also has severe hayfever (yup - dogs can have pollen allergies too!),
epileptic and requires thyroid replacement therapy. Thus she gets 25 mg of
Theodur (for the allergies) twice a day, approximately 5-6 mg of
Phenobarbital (for seizures) twice a day (she hasn't had a seizure in nearly
4 years now), and 1/2 of .1 mg of Levo-T (for thyroid problem) twice daily.
She's been taking the first two for almost half her lifetime and the Levo-T
started a couple of years ago. After the dosages got fine-tuned she has
been doing well on these for a long time. Now the Cushings drops in. >>

I just want to warn you - If you have a problem with the Anipryl and decide
to switch to Lysodren, you have to be very careful with the
Lysodren/Phenobarbitol combination. My ~10 year old Shep/Husky mix was also
taking phenobarb for seizures when we started her on Lysodren last spring. It
started five months of one problem after another. Since both drugs are
metabolized by the liver, the lysodren doesn't work as well as it should and
the phenobarbitol levels are increased because the liver is unable to remove
it efficiently enough. I hope the Anipryl works. We have switched Abby to
Potassium Bromide instead of Phenobarbitol and will be starting her on
Anipryl in a week or so.

Chris

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 09:28:52 -0600
From: "Dillon Pyron" <dillon.pyron@amd.com>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: cushings disease & intro.
Message-ID: <9711130928.ZM6057@dvorak.amd.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Your description of Ebony sounds exactly like Ivan when he was diagnosed. He's
also hypothyroid, and takes Soloxine for that, as well as Lysodren for the
Cushings.

Our vet thinks that Anipryl might work, but as long as Lysodren is working,
there's no reason to change (and changing does introduce a danger period).

Now for the good news. When Ivan was first diagnosed, we were told that the
average life expectancy for a dog from intial symptoms was about two years.
That was three years ago, and he was symptomatic for 6-9 months before that.
So vet science is making some headways.

I don't know about Anipryl, but Lysodren can cause lethargy when given in high
doses. In fact, during the eval period, this is one of the signs that you have
reached the limit.

Ask your vet about giving her the other meds on an empty stomach, then feeding
her 30-45 minutes later and giving the Anipryl 30 minutes after she finishes.
This might provide the needed buffering.

Remember, I'm not a vet, although I have impressed some endocrinologists :-)

--
dillon pyron
dillon.pyron@amd.com

PADI OWSI-54909 USPSA TY-26031
Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish, and next thing you know, he wants
a bass boat and trailer and $1000 worth of tackle and ...

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 09:32:54 -0600
From: "Dillon Pyron" <dillon.pyron@amd.com>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: Alternative cures
Message-ID: <9711130932.ZM6308@dvorak.amd.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hmmm, she might want to try and understand what Cushings is and how it acts
before trying anything. In particular, Cushings has many components and needs
to be identified and addressed properly.

Given that, I don't know of any herbal combinations that suppress ACTH
secretion (I know of one that stimulates it, if you want to be banned from
Olympic competetion).

--
dillon pyron
dillon.pyron@amd.com

PADI OWSI-54909 USPSA TY-26031
Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish, and next thing you know, he wants
a bass boat and trailer and $1000 worth of tackle and ...

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 11:04:23 -0500
From: HD Bliley <hbliley@erols.com>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: Alternative cures
Message-ID: <346B2506.4A82B40A@erols.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Dear Rick Sanger:
I would appreciate your sharing any information regarding alternative therapies
for treating Cushings Disease. My 7.5 yo Vizsla, IPSWICH, was tenatively
diagnoised last April and confirmed this month as having Pituitary dependent
Cushings--she is now at the heavy water drinking stage.

I would be very appreciative of any info re alternatives. While others may
have success with Lysodern (sp), I think it always wise to have other avenues
just in case. Thanks,

Henry Bliley <hbliley@erols.com>

Rick Sanger wrote:

> A good friend of mine, Lynn, has a 1/2 wolf 1/2 collie named Gracie
> who we both love deeply. Gracie has been diagnosed with Cushings. Lynn is
> powerfully spiritual, choosing to cure herself of hyperthyroidism using
> alternative therapies. She was successful! Now she is hoping to cure
> Gracie using alternative therapies. If anyone has any suggestions as to
> information sources, I would appreciate your passing them along.
> Thanks!
>
> -Ranger Rick
> MountainPath@worldnet.att.net

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 16:19:04 -0500 (EST)
From: RonJanet88@aol.com
To: CUSHINGS-PETS@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Cushing's Syndrome - introduction
Message-ID: <971113161856_1469243165@mrin79>

Hello to All,

I joined the list a few days ago - I was thrilled to find so much info
about this disease and a mailing list to boot! My husband & I are owned by 3
dogs, Bart & Daisy who are 17 month old boxer mixes and Rio who is our
approx.10 yr old Staffordshire terrior (she was a rescue 8 yrs ago). Rio was
diagnosed with Chushing's in Aug of '95 and was slightly sympomatic a few
months proir. Initially she was not put on threatment, our vet didn't think
it was necessary at the time. In Oct of '96 she ruptured a cruciate ligament
in her knee. She was then put on Lysodren and underwent surgery to repair
the knee 3 months later (I feel very guilty that I didn't insist on medical
treatment at the time of diagnosis because the ligament rupture was a result
of the disease). At that time I also changed her diet to all natural
including raw meat and supplements. The first time I gave her raw meat she
inhaled it as if she new that it was something she needed. Even now she is a
lot more enthusiastic about the raw meat than my younger two. She is now on
maintainance Lysodren once weekly and currently appears happy and healthy,
has lost approx 20 lbs, the grey is gone from her face, and she runs like a
pup at the park (something the orthopedic surgeon said she would never be
able to do again). We are lucky she has no other known health problems at
this time and we're hoping she will be one who lives past the grim 2-3 year
life expectancy given by our vet following diagnosis.
My thoughts and prayers go out to each of you whose loved companion has
this disease. I'm looking forward to learning much from the list, especially
new and possibly improved treatments.

Janet Kelson
RonJanet88@aol.com

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 16:43:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAD PRAETOR <lmbrown@TrentU.ca>
To: CUSHINGS-PETS@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: New member: Hi
Message-ID: <Pine.PMDF.3.95.971113162518.478050B-100000@TRENTU.CA>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Hi there. I just signed up a couple of days ago. I'm a university
student, aged 21, with an 8-year old Beagle/cross named Maggie. I adopted
her about two months ago, from the family of my sister's friend, as they
were moving out of town and didn't care to take her with them. Nobody
wanted her and she would have been put to sleep, but I was the last resort
and so she came into our (happy and hectic; we have 3 cats) home.
When she came, she ate and drank and peed and pooped a lot, and although
puzzled we didn't think too much of it. She was also incredibly fat,
which we presumed to be the previous family's overfeeding (she's so fat
that she can't even reach her own behind to scratch or clean it, and so
she gets filled anal glands, which are tremendously itchy). Maggie also
pants a lot. She's very hyper, and loves activity, but when she gets
tired she tends to just crash for quite a while.

I took her to the vet because I thought her itchy bum meant she had worms,
but the first thing the vet said after looking at her was "Cushings." She
definitely has the appearance of it, for she has a potbelly, and what we
*think* are ulcers on the eyes (they have little white spots, and the eyes
are runny). It was confirmed with a urine test. So now I'm faced with
the dog I just got, and love dearly, to have this disease. The problem
is, I'm on a tight budget and cannot afford the Anapryl (I could not find
work over the summer, and wasn't intending to get a dog; she was sort of
thrust on me at the last minute, and I didn't want to turn her down, as it
would have meant her death).

I know that if there were alternative treatments, they would be widely
used here, but if anyone has *any* suggestions that would not harm her, I
would like to hear them. I don't know how far along Maggie is, though she
seems to be stable right now. Her coat and skin appear to be fine, but
yesterday she was shivering/trembling in a manner that worried me very
much. I don't think she was cold, and I was wondering if it was
symptomatic of the disease :(
I want to keep her healthy and happy for as long as possible, so if anyone
has any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks,
Lia Brown

==============================================================================
"Us not dumb! Make bad things to teechers stop!"
---`Ontario Students', This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Lia M Brown, Mad Praetor and Grand High Duchess of the Procrastinators
lmbrown@trentu.ca anlmb@blaze.trentu.ca
==============================================================================

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 16:20:02 -0600
From: Leslie Lawson <lolawson@uts.cc.utexas.edu>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: cushing's: Re: New member: Hi
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971113162002.006bf8b4@uts.cc.utexas.edu>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi Lia (although I'm sending this to the entire forum)-

Welcome to the group!

Although the medication for treating Cushing's is expensive, I found that
the tests and regular monitoring are far more expensive! Be sure to let
your vet know that you are on a student's budget and that you took Maggie
in as a means of saving her life--*maybe* your vet would charge you reduced
fees. Just a thought.....

If your vet decides to use Lysodren rather than Anipryl, I have quite a bit
of Lysodren left over that you can have. Each capsule is ~166 mg (1/3 of
the big tablets) and I have ~30 of 'em. Talk to your vet and see if this
is an option, as you certainly don't want to give Maggie this medicine (or
any other) without your vet's vigilant monitoring.

As for Maggie's trembling, our little Melissa did that quite a bit, too.
Our vet never directly associated it with Cushing's and we always assumed
it was because she was cold, the result of her hair having become very sparse.

Give Maggie and good snuggling for me!

-Leslie

Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 17:00:06 -0800
From: Jeri <kurvenal@ameritech.net>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: New member: Hi
Message-ID: <346BA296.3425@ameritech.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

MAD PRAETOR wrote:
> I know that if there were alternative treatments, they would be widely
> used here, but if anyone has *any* suggestions that would not harm her, I
> would like to hear them.

Hi! I have a 7 year old Great Dane who was diagnosed with Cushings
just over a year ago. (Pituitary-dependent). My parents have a
7 year old FCR (flat-coated retriever) who also was diagnosed with
Cushings in July. We are currently using only alternative approaches
to treat them. Neither dog shows any symptoms of the Cushings now,
and both are doing great! Oblio has no other medical problems, but
Kurvenal also has epilepsy, had stomach torsion and has bloated a
few times since, and is hypothyroid. We've been able to get Kurvenal
completely off of phenobarbitol for his seizures, and he's now
seizure-free, (he was on 480 mg.pheno/day and still having grand mals),
he hasn't bloated for 5 1/2 months now, (a record for him....), and
he's
clearly feeling wonderful. So, here's the approach being used:
both my Great Dane (Kurvenal) and my parents' FCR (Oblio) take
Chinese herbs, (prescribed by a doctor of Chinese medicine), and
flower essences (custom formulas--I have phone consultations
with someone who does a great job of this!). I also do acupressure
and massage for them--daily for Kurvenal, and as often as possible
(at least once/week) for my parents' dog. I also practice QiGong,
and have Kurvenal join me when I do QiGong, and do this with
Oblio when I can. (I have 2 other dogs, who fortunately don't
have Cushings, but they also get massages and acupressure,
and join me for QiGong.) Kurvenal also takes a variety of other
supplements, which are mostly to help prevent seizures and
bloat. He does take soloxine for his thyroid, though.
I'd be glad to suggest acupressure points, etc. if you'd like--
I don't know what sort of approach you have any interest in,
but I do want you to know that alternative approaches have
been successful with my dogs so far!
Jeri kurvenal@ameritech.net

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 01:41:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: MAD PRAETOR <lmbrown@TrentU.ca>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: Re: cushing's: Re: New member: Hi
Message-ID: <Pine.PMDF.3.95.971114010650.464091A-100000@TRENTU.CA>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Thu, 13 Nov 1997, Leslie Lawson wrote:

> Hi Lia (although I'm sending this to the entire forum)-
>
> Welcome to the group!
>
Thanks, it's nice to be welcomed :)
And Maggie, who is currently zonked out behind me on the bed (she snuggles
into bed with me every night...sometimes nearly pushing me off), says hi.

> Although the medication for treating Cushing's is expensive, I found that
> the tests and regular monitoring is far more expensive! Be sure to let
> your vet know that you are on a student's budget and that you took Maggie
> in as a means of saving her life--*maybe* your vet would charge you reduced
> fees. Just a thought.....
>
I told her that when I first got there, in hopes that we wouldn't be put
through the ringer in terms of various tests, shots, etc. When I went, it
looked like she was healthy enough and was up to date on vaccinations, so
it didn't seem necessary to spend tons of money at this time in her life.
Boy, was I wrong. It's funny, because there are a fair number of students
who go to that vet so you'd think it might be an issue at that clinic.
Oh, well.

> If your vet decides to use Lysodren rather than Anipryl, I have quite a bit
> of Lysodren left over that you can have. Each capsule is ~166 mg (1/3 of
> the big tablets) and I have ~30 of 'em. Talk to your vet and see if this
> is an option, as you certainly don't want to give Maggie this medicine (or
> any other) without your vet's vigilant monitoring.
>
That's very generous of you! Thank you very much. I will talk to her to
see what she thinks about that. What she told me was that the best
treatment, one that other patients were taking, was Anipryl, and that for
Maggie's weight it would come out to $90 Cdn per month.
But we'll see what she has to say.

> As for Maggie's trembling, our little Melissa did that quite a bit, too.
> Our vet never directly associated it with Cushing's and we always assumed
> it was because she was cold, the result of her hair having become very sparse.
>
That sounds very sad for Melissa :( I hope she wasn't in pain.
Luckily, right now Maggie has all her hair.

> Give Maggie and good snuggling for me!
>
I will. She loves that, attention from everyone, and especially from
strangers. She is a bit of a show-off, much to our delight when we're
walking her downtown :)

BTW, thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I don't know how to do
accupressure, but maybe now is a good time to learn.

Lia
==============================================================================
"Us not dumb! Make bad things to teechers stop!"
---`Ontario Students', This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Lia M Brown, Mad Praetor and Grand High Duchess of the Procrastinators
lmbrown@trentu.ca anlmb@blaze.trentu.ca
==============================================================================

Date: Fri, 14 Nov 97 13:54:22 UT
From: "Eric Hoffman" <latucca@classic.msn.com>
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: RE: New members of the group
Message-ID: <UPMAIL14.199711141352190591@classic.msn.com>

Re: Terrible Ted. Sorry to hear of Ted's condition. My yorkie -- "Rocky" --
was diagnosed with Cushings two weeks ago. He's been on Anipryl daily for 17
days so far and so far I don't see any change in his sad condition. As I
understand it, Anipryl takes anywhere from two to six weeks to kick in, so we
are patiently waiting for his condition to turn around. Our hearts are with
you.
Betsy Hoffman
"Rocky's" mom

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From: owner-cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu on behalf of David ROBERTS
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 1997 8:01 AM
To: cushings-pets@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
Subject: New members of the group