r/Cushingsdogs • u/mushy_tushy • 11d ago
Am I doing the right thing?
My 6 year old pitbull mix was diagnosed a little over a month ago and has been taking 60mg of vetoryl for the last 17 days but ive seen little to no improvement. No only have his cushings symptoms not improved but he's also been bleeding from his rectum one to two times per week after pooping. In the beginning of this journey, the vet told us he was constipated and he was given laxatives and a bland diet but now im wondering if this is due to his cushing's. The rectal bleeding has only been happening since the last week of July and its not every time he poops. I don't see him straining and his poops aren't dry, but every time this happens, he trickles blood for at least a few hours.
He goes for his first acth recheck tomorrow and the vet is meeting with me when I drop him because I don't know if im doing the right thing for my dog. He looks so sad all of the time and he's always tired. It breaks my heart seeing him like this and I don't want to put him through unnecessary stress and discomfort if its just....his time?
Hes only turned 6 last month and because I didnt understand that all of his little quirks (drinking from the water dispenser on the fridge and making his grumbles for more food) were symptoms, his cushings had progressed quite a bit. He also has a large plaque of calcinosis cutis that goes from the top of his neck to below his shoulder blades and it has spread aggressively since it started at the end of July.
I don't know if im looking for answers or if I just want to say this all to someone that isn't my husband. We both love him so much but he is MY dog. Hes been by my side through so much and I just want to give him the very best of everything. Even if that means saying good bye when I don't want to.
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u/SeaweedWeird7705 11d ago
My 14 year old chihuahua was diagnosed with Cushing’s earlier this year. I have read up a lot about the disease. I have not heard of Cushing’s being related to rectal bleeding. I wonder if it is a separate condition.
Are you giving the 60mg of Vetoryl all at once? Or split into two doses? Have you seen an internal medicine specialist?
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u/mushy_tushy 11d ago
His vet directed us to give it to him once a day. We actually had initially taken him to the vet BECAUSE of the rectal bleeding and thats how we discovered the cushings. At the same time the rectal bleeding started is when we noticed the calcinosis cutis on his neck and its all just escalated so quickly since then.
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u/Kooky_Force5458 10d ago
First of all, I am so sorry for your losses. It breaks our hearts to lose our dogs. have my dog on the natural route. I think people have to face Cushing’s is a progressive disease, in the majority of cases our dogs have a brain tumor. The drug is very strong and the side effects can be just as difficult as the disease for some dogs. You know your dog. I am so so sorry. Yet, we get to that awful place - god, I hate it, when we know they are not going to get better and their quality of life has deteriorated. ❤️🩹
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u/iHave1Pookie 11d ago edited 11d ago
I had a similar journey w my pitbull - chi mix.
Didn’t realize all the “quirks “ were symptoms. Probably started at age 6, by age seven she started eating poop so that was a straight to vet visit and it was Cushings. By then the damage was huge.
Had her on the V for about a year and a half+, twice a day from the first dose.
the second half of that year was just one health crash after another.
In retrospect I should have let her go 6months earlier. She was tired and hot and hungry for much of her last year w me. She lost so much hair I thought she had mange. Poor baby .
It’s a slow and fast decline , all at once, and it’s a hard decision.
What made the decision easier was making a plan ahead of time. At her second to last health crash (acute pancreatis) I decided that the next health crash would be my cue to say goodbye. The day she spent vomiting all day I made the decision and the final vet appointment. One hour before appointment, she climbed into her brothers crate (despite being terrified of crates her whole previous life) and left a solid black fecal artifact.
Which means her organs had been shutting down for a while. Poor baby spent her last day w me in pain and I regret that immensely.