Seems like the stresses never end... Jaya.

[Stormy Peak]

I've had more than my fair share of stress this past year and a half...I mentioned about most of it in my post about my brother's issues with meth and it landing him in prison, but also how an embezzler destroyed our family business of 47 years....in 2 and a half months he stole everything without any way for the store to recuperate from it. I got through most of that stressful time and was thinking...finally a little bit of a break from all the worry, and heartbreak.

Then yesterday I took Jaya to the vet because she's been drinking a lot of water this past month and panting heavily even when it's been fairly cold in the house. She's about 12 years old now, and I've had her for about 7 years. I searched her condition on line and unfortunately came up with Cushings. My vet seems to think I might be onto the right diagnosis because Jaya also every summer has been having to take steroid shots for her summer time allergies...and those steroids can contribute to a dog getting Cushings too.

She will go in all day on Wednesday for a series of tests to determine for sure if that is indeed what is the matter with her. So, I'm going to be stressing about not knowing until then...and then on Wednesday worrying about her while she's there. Jaya is still semi-feral and is just terrified of humans and she doesn't adapt well to changes. I know it's going to be very hard for her on Wednesday. Then...if it turns out she does have it... I'll have to make a decision about what to do.

I read on line, that it costs on average about $70 dollars per 3 months of treatment for a 25 pound dog. Jaya weighs 80 pounds. The amount of money for her medication would really be stretching my budget to a breaking point...as I owe my dentist and my doctor money at the moment. But too... it doesn't sound like...even with treatment...that it extends a dog's life all that much. And I worry too, that while it could make her live longer...would the side effects of the drugs make her miserable.

My heart is so heavy right now...and has been for some weeks, as I started to realize she was having some issues...and it wasn't just her getting over-heated as the weather warmed up. When I first noticed her drinking a lot of water, I thought diabetes, but then recalled she had some blood tests for geriatric purposes a few months ago and things came up clear for that. She had an infection on her nose back then and as she's an elderly dog the vet and I decided to do the general health blood-work on her as well as take cultures on her nose to see what was needed to clear up the infection there. Her blood work didn't show anything alarming back then. And her nose, was cleared up of a staph/strep infection with some medication.

Anyway... I feel like I have a huge pressure inside of my chest. Hate having to think about putting Jaya to sleep. She's reached a good age for a dog her size...but before this panting and water drinking...she seemed to be in overall good health...with just a touch of arthritis in her back hips...but she's not all crippled up with it. I was hoping maybe I could have a few more years with her...but it seems now, that the chances are more like a month or two...maybe even towards fall at the very best. It will all depend upon the tests and if it is Cushings...how advanced it is, and how fast it could get worse.

I want to comfort Jaya, pet her..give her a hug...but I can't even do that for her...even after all these years with me, she's still fears people touching her due to the brutality of the man who had her for her first 5 years of life.

I'm just so tired of crying due to all the stress. Seems like my life is never going to be enjoyable again...or at least not for a long time.

Stormy

[Darcy McBride]

Oh, Stormy, I am so sorry to hear this about Jaya. I am assuming they will check for diabetes again, as well, since they are doing a big blood workup. If it turns out to Be Cushing's, well, you can face that fence when it comes. If it is advanced, and meds will not prolong her life without a good quality of life, then you know her last years within the safety and love of your home was far, far better than how her life started. And it was all because of you, and your patience with her and your love for her. Keep us posted on any updates, and I will hope for the best!

[The Steward]

My old German Shepherd was having exactly the same issues and we and the vet were SURE it was Cushings. Then the test came back negative, no Cushings at all, but heart trouble. He's on a cheap heart pill that has VASTLY improved his quality of life and he's lived about a year longer than we thought. So, hopefully something like that?

[Nini Panini]

Terribly sorry to hear about this Stormy. I was in a similar situation with my dog a few years back, and it was awful. I sincerely hope that this turns out as well as it can.

[Stormy Peak]

My old German Shepherd was having exactly the same issues and we and the vet were SURE it was Cushings. Then the test came back negative, no Cushings at all, but heart trouble. He's on a cheap heart pill that has VASTLY improved his quality of life and he's lived about a year longer than we thought. So, hopefully something like that?

I never thought I would be happy to hear my dog could have heart problems, but if that is the case... I would welcome that news over the Cushings....especially if a lower prices medication could help her out.

I've had a lot of elderly dogs in my life, and I kind of mentally gear up for "issues that might happen" as they age - but it still always hits hard when one of those old age problems finally do develop. It's never a good time for it to happen, but right now...having Jaya getting sick...after everything else that has gone on ... all I seem to do anymore is feel like -- that any moment, more bad new or something bad's going to happen. I'm just so tired of it.

Em, I'm glad your dog avoided the Cushings and you were were able to get some more time with him than what might have been.

Stormy

[Stormy Peak]

Darcy and Nini thanks for the kind words.
Nini, I'm sorry you had to go through such a sad time with your dog. : (

Darcy...Adopting Jaya took a ton of time and filling out paper work and being interviewed on the phone and sending a lot of email letters back and forth...because the rescue org wasn't going to adopt her out to just anyone. But I knew with my quiet home, and with my personality...being patient and using positive training lessons...and in my heart...being honest about my expectations with her...knowing she might never bond with me...that at the very least she would be in a good environment and never have to fear being yelled at or hit - I knew I wanted her in my life....and I'm so glad the rescue org came to the conclusion that I could handle all the baggage that Jaya brought with her.

I know Jaya has come to trust me as much as she's capable and she's shown so much courage for a dog that has a deep fear of humans hardwired into her brain. I had to work for her trust and her love...most dogs just give it to you...but it's a whole different feeling when it's earned. Jaya will eat from my hand now, and she will remain laying down if I walk past her, and she no longer has panic episodes...and she comes when I call her. And last year, she started to feel safe enough with me to go on car rides...and she Loves them...I roll down the back window and she puts her face out and thoroughly enjoys smelling everything and feeling the wind on her face. I know she didn't have any experiences enjoying things before she came to live with me.

And I will say, I'm proud of that...proud I took on the challenge of a mentally/emotionally shut down dog and got to experience her wagging her tail for the first time...after almost a year of owning her. Or seeing her stay relaxed as I walked by her, seeing her come into the house without having to have a drag line on her collar that I would have to step on and then coax her into the house while she slightly resisted. So many milestones like that.

Family and friends have asked me 'Why would I want to adopt a dog like that."
Well, I got a lot of good feelings as a reward for every single one of Jaya's improvements. It was worth the all the work. We didn't bond right away...it was a slow process, but she did finally bond with me. She's not an affectionate dog, but she looks at me with trust in her eyes and she's so calm anymore...having her in my home during this past year...we almost reversed roles...she was the calm influence and I was the emotional mess. It was good to be able to just watch her and feel myself relax during some of the worst of it.

Stormy

[Carole Hanson]

I’m so sorry to hear you might be facing such a difficult decision Stormy. I really hope it’s not Cushings, but even if it is, you gave Jaya a great second life and like you said, she has reached a very good age for a dog of her size.

I’m praying that it all turns out well in the end for you and Jaya.

[Tammy Stawicki]

Has she had a steroid shot recently? I admittedly am not a vet and in this age of "fake news" maybe shouldn't put out my non-expert opinion but based on my understanding as to how the cortisol pathway works I don't see a way that past steroid treatments would cause genuine Cushings and I haven't seen anything on google showing me this would happen (I know google does not make you an expert). Now if she recently got a steroid shot it is absolutely believable that that could cause Cushing syndrome symptoms (and indeed this is actually at least in people more common than real Cushings according to google) as they are essentially the same thing (too much cortisol) but in that case, the treatment is easy don't give her any more steroids. It is problematic with the allergies but there are nonsteroidal allergy options out there.

[Stormy Peak]

Has she had a steroid shot recently? I admittedly am not a vet and in this age of "fake news" maybe shouldn't put out my non-expert opinion but based on my understanding as to how the cortisol pathway works I don't see a way that past steroid treatments would cause genuine Cushings and I haven't seen anything on google showing me this would happen (I know google does not make you an expert). Now if she recently got a steroid shot it is absolutely believable that that could cause Cushing syndrome symptoms (and indeed this is actually at least in people more common than real Cushings according to google) as they are essentially the same thing (too much cortisol) but in that case, the treatment is easy don't give her any more steroids. It is problematic with the allergies but there are nonsteroidal allergy options out there.

Her last steroid shot was in the fall. She has summertime allergies that go away as soon as the snow falls...well.. about a week after the snow falls. I wish I could stop the steroid shots, but I'm in-between a rock and a hard place with them. Without them, I would have put Jaya asleep just due to her allergies.

The allergies when they kick in...do so very fast. One day she will be fine and then a few hours later she's scratching herself Constantly. So, by the time I order in a steroid shot, and go get it and get home and give it to her...then have to wait about 30 hours for the shot to kick in... she'll have gouged deep holes in her shoulders, ribs, the top of her head and face/muzzle.

That much damage in like less than 2 days....and I'm talking really deep, with blood pouring out them oval shaped holes in her . Then I'm playing catch up with anti-bacterial salves that I try to keep her from licking off the wounds...and cleaning up blood drips from everywhere as she's walked or laid down or even shook off of her. And, she's just miserable from the itching.
The only thing that stops the itching are the steroids from what I've seen. I know my vet was concerned about the steroids, but she never mentioned anything else that might work....although I did try benedryl (sp) a few times to help though a tough night or two before I could get to the vets to grab a steroid shot for her....the allergy med didn't put a dent into the problem.

Some summers she's gone with only 2 shots ... other summers she's had to have up to 5 before the snow fell and her itching stopped. So whatever pollen and its 'count' must vary from summer to summer. My vet and I have tried to keep the shots to a minimum, so I don't rush right in after the snow melts to get her a shot...but wait until she does actually start scratching...which as I said can go from zero to she's being driven crazy by it inside of a few hours. BTW, I give her the shots myself, so I don't have to stress her out by taking her to the vets. My vet has been really good about that...and as Jaya's weight doesn't vary, due to me feeding her measured out amounts of food, the steroid shot amount stays the same. I hate having to be the one to give her the shot, but I would rather do it than take Jaya to the vets where she's so terrified of all the people there.

I also know the shots are hard on her kidneys... as soon as she gets them, she starts drinking a lot of water for the first 3 or 4 days and can't control her bladder - she's really good at warning me that she needs outside, but every single time she gets those shots, it's like she doesn't have enough time...she wakes up and just pees. So I spend three or four days with my carpet spot cleaner out and cleaning up after her....good thing I have moisture barrier padding so none of it goes into the pad. After a few days though, things level out and she doesn't drink as much water and gets her bladder control back.

Hopefully the tests that will be done on Wednesday will point to something easier to take care of than the Cushing... I understand what you are saying about Google...and I even told my vet that...and that's why I brought her in....as hopefully something else will show up. I also worried it could be some kind of lung cancer....a heart problem never occurred to me. I've had dogs with heart issues as they aged, but most expressed that there was a problem by coughing...having hacking fits. Jaya hasn't done that...it's all been the super hard panting and she's also licking at her toes a lot...which she does too, when her allergies kick in.

Stormy

[Tammy Stawicki]

Yea my own dog has allergy issues and can definitely relate to some of what you say. He chew himself to bits and the steroids really work. I've been lucky in that I have been able to get benadryl to help some with preemptive allergy treatment (my dog used to flare up whenever he got shots and I have found giving benadryl before the shot seems to help with that) but yea once he's already in a flareup it doesn't do much.

One of my neighbors swears by Apoquel. It is a nonsteroidal pill. His dog had pretty chronic allergies and he sayshe has had great luck with that.

I can say growing up we had a dog that developed an enlarged heart latter in life and he did indeed show the excessive panting. If he really exerted himself things would get to the point where he had a blue tongue. I don't remember any coughing. I was a kid so can't comment on the cost of the medication.

Hopefully you'll get some answers soon. My own pets are getting up there in life and it definitely is hard

[Stormy Peak]

update:

The tests that Jaya took on Wednesday lasted all day, - I took her in at 9am -- as what they wanted to do was get her in there in the morning and draw blood, then give her a shot with some drug in it. Then they wait 4 hours, then draw blood again to see how her body processed that drug.

Then they wait again for a few hours, taken another blood draw/test, give her a different drug, wait a some hours, and do another blood draw/test. They finally called me around 6:30 pm and told me to come pick her up around 7pm, and before I left with her they drew blood one more time.

I, unfortunately, won't get any news about the results until next week as the blood samples need to be sent to an outside lab.

I had AU waiting in the car when I went to get Jaya, they were so happy to see each other...it almost broke me down into tears seeing that. AU moped around the house all that day, looking for Jaya. Once home and out of the car...he was gleefully running circles around her and playfully bumping into her and she had her tail up and wagging and touching noses with AU when he settled down enough to allow that.

She looked so tired though....I know she had to have been so stressed out all day with people handling her and being alone without AU...she's just so afraid of humans.

Anyways, she's home, and I think the recent hard rains have kept the pollen down as she's not scratching too much, nor licking her feet.

Tammy, I have tried Apoquel on Jaya before, it didn't do anything to help her, I tried whatever was out there to try to keep her off those steroids. My vet warned me that while they work, they are very hard on the dog's body and will shorten their lifespan.

Stormy

[Tammy Stawicki]

So sorry. This all must be incredibly stressful and hard on both of you. Keep us posted as to what the test results say.

[Stormy Peak]

Sorry it took a few days to post this..

But on Thursday night, while I was in chat waiting to hear the last few races of the night...between 8:30pm to 9pm, I got a call from my vet. (She's works long hours sometimes!) Those there heard the results, so for those who didn't.

The report came in on Jaya's tests for Cushing...and good news! She doesn't have it.
I almost started crying when I heard the news... I was so relieved. I just would not have been able to afford the medications for it if it had been Cushing and at Jaya's age, I'm not sure if it would have been the right thing to do anyways.

So...the next step, is on Tuesday, I'll take her in for some imaging on her heart, lungs and liver and see if something is going on there. I have had dogs with heart issues before and they coughed a bit but didn't pant like Jaya, and my vet said that, that depends upon what side of the heart is effected. So there is a chance that Jaya has some kind of heart issue, but from what I've heard...medication for that is less expensive and the results are pretty good for keeping the dog more comfortable and for old dogs...given them more time than what they probably could expect from Cushing issues.

I feel like there is some hope now that I can have Jaya in my life for another year or two...and just typing that out has me in tears again. I so much want her to have many more good years of life than those first 5 years of torture and isolation she endured with her former owner. She's been with me for not quite 6 years now, so we are over that hump, but again, I would love to see her get a few more years of lovely peace and the feeling of safety to enjoy...and of course, the company of a canine companion with AU.

A photo I took of AU and Jaya yesterday, cool morning hour, in the shade of the back porch each enjoying a pork rawhide treat.




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Stormy

[Carole Hanson]

That's incredible Stormy! I'm crying with joy for you

Hopefully you'll be able to diagnose exactly what she has but I'm so so happy it's not Cushings.

[Stormy Peak]

My vet called with the results of the images she took of Jaya's heart, lungs and liver.

The good news, is that there doesn't appear to be any tumors.
Not so good news, is her heart and liver are both enlarged, and her lungs have liquid in them...and she has kind of a small chest cavity for a dog her size...so things are all kind of pressing against each other now.

Jaya has summer time allergies, so we are going to address that first. She's going to get a steroid shot tomorrow.. Every time she gets one of those shots...for about 4 or so days, she has a hard time with bladder control. I try to let her out every hour or so, but usually I do end up cleaning up at least one daily mess because she just can't warn me quick enough to get outside. Fortunately, I have a spot cleaning machine (that doesn't even get put away for those few days she's like that) and I have moisture barrier pad under my carpet so the liquid doesn't go down into the pad, where it would be almost impossible to clean. I hate having to give her steroids, but if I don't she will gouge serious holes in her ribs, neck/shoulders and even her face.

Then, once the steroids quit affecting her bladder control... next week, we will put her on lasix. (and she'll be ready to race!).
Seriously though, hopefully the lasix will help rid her lungs of liquid, and I'm also going to reduce her food intake a little and see if I can get about 10 pounds off of her, and that would take her down to 70 pounds.

She was at 75 for a long time, but over the past year, and a half she's gained another 5. I *think* she's been eating what AU sometimes leaves behind in his dish. HaHa never left food behind and he sucked it up like a Kirby vacuum... but AU is a slow eater, and I just never know when he's going to clean out his dish or leave some. I have measured out my dogs' food for years...so I was surprised at Jaya's weight gain. She's a big enough dog and her hair is so thick and long...that it wasn't really noticeable to me.

One more thing I'm going to do, is get the clippers out and shave Jaya down a lot closer to the skin that I usually do in the summer, and hopefully she will be cooler and thus not pant so much.

The vet said the enlarge heart and liver are a sign that Jaya's health is starting that 'old age' slide. But she's not in pain, and hopefully she will get another year or two to enjoy life...which is what I want for her. I just wanted her to live more years enjoying life than she spent at the start of her life. Just a year and a half ago, I finally got her to play...she watched AU chasing 'the bug' -- a laser light, and she joined in....front leg pronging at it and enjoying the chase, with her tail up and her ears forward. I almost cried when I saw her just so relaxed that she would play like that with me near-by and she was enjoying herself so much that she wasn't warily watching me.

Anyway... I feel like a heavy weight has been taken from my chest... I was having such a bad feeling that everything was going to turn out horrible.

Thanks everyone for your concern.

Stormy