Ginger was just diagnosed with Cushings Disease yesterday. She is not doing well.

Ginger, my 12 year old dog (her mom was full blooded wolf- her dad was a german shepherd dog/norwegian elkhound) was diagnosed with Cushings Disease by her vet yesterday. Ginger lives with my mom- she is pretty much my mom's 4th child and my mom LOVES her to pieces. If something happens to little Ginger, my mom will absolutely go to pieces She was diagnosed yesterday by her vet and now when i think about it- the symptoms that she's had for a while now- it all makes sense. Cushings disease affects their hormones (adrenal gland) and results in things like -pot bellies, panting, excessive water drinking, excessive urination (that's the biggest problem with Ginger right now -she is going potty non-stop and just can't help it), heat flashes, and other issues. There isn't a cure for Cushings Disease- but fortunately it can be maintaned with medicine (and there are 3 pretty good ones out there right now that we can try to see if it helps her- but they are quite pricy). The vet told my mom yesterday though that Ginger has still got some good time left and that he didn't feel it was time to put her down yet (my mom was asking if she was in pain/etc- she has a few other medical issues as well). He did say though that he isn't sure how much longer she has (but then again nobody is) and that her bladder is essentially gone right now. She has almost no control over it.

Please keep my mom and Ginger in your thoughts and prayers if you can. My mom is very upset over this and Ginger is just not feeling great. Ginger has also had several bouts with cancer and has very bad hip dysplasia/arthritis and allergies...so she's got a few health problems going on right now that are making her feel pretty rotten. Also- if any of you have experience with Cushings Disease- please feel free to share your stories!

Gigi is Pre cushings ... I have lots of info on natural ways to help... drop a pm and I will send it to you...

Gigi is on melatonine( just started ) , moducare , standard process liver and kindey formulas ... AND MOST important OFF all commercial food ... she gets half raw meat half veggies/ legumes and grains

I'll keep Ginger as well as you and your Mom in my thoughts and Prayers.

Originally Posted by sharky

Gigi is Pre cushings ... I have lots of info on natural ways to help... drop a pm and I will send it to you...

Gigi is on melatonine( just started ) , moducare , standard process liver and kindey formulas ... AND MOST important OFF all commercial food ... she gets half raw meat half veggies/ legumes and grains

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Thanks Jennifer!! I'm definitely going to pm you for your recipe that you've been using on Gigi!!!! Ginger is quite picky.....but fortunately she's 1/2 wolf and LOVES raw meat so i'm hoping maybe something like that will help!!!!

Originally Posted by Graciecat

I'll keep Ginger as well as you and your Mom in my thoughts and Prayers.

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Thankyou hon!

Now i'm just frusterated with this! The vet called back my mom today and said that they got the other rounds of tests in (They tested her multiple times for different things) and they said that she does NOT have Cushings Disease. They did a battery of tests and 18/20 came back negative. He said the only two things he could think of would be that it has something to do with her brain- and there being a defect in her brain that is causing her to loose control of certain functions/etc such as her symptoms. OR that she is just hot natured Yea Right! This vet should have NEVER told my mom that Ginger has Cushings the other day without knowing 100%! (i didn't know at the time that he wasn't certain). My mom has worried non stop over this and it's frusterating to not know how to properly help her. I told my mom at this point- Ginger is 12- it's not worth it to keep taking her to the vet every single week only to be told a different thing each time. It's costing a ton of money that she doesn't have and it's also stressing Ginger out. I told my mom- at this point it would be best likely not to put Ginger through the stress of any more tests/unnecessary vet visits. She should just be able to live out the rest of her life happily and not have to constantly be poked and proded. My mom agreed...so i think at this point we're going to stop trying to test and see what's wrong as we are not getting any answers and it's only causing Ginger more stress. She doesn't need anymore My poor little wolf girl.

Dear I am only a pm away if needed/...

Oh your mom must be worried sick! Not knowing....I hope Ginger feels better soon so she & your mom can have many more years together.

Originally Posted by sharky

Dear I am only a pm away if needed/...

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thankyou jennifer you are such a sweet friend i appreciate that!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Oh your mom must be worried sick! Not knowing....I hope Ginger feels better soon so she & your mom can have many more years together.

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thankyou natalie and i hope you're right and she has a lot of good years left she just seems to be going downhill right now and i HATE to watch that- she's just been sooooooooooooooooooo spunky and rotten all of her life and to see her slowly loose that breaks my heart. don't get me wrong shes still sassy and all -it's just slowly we can see the signs of aging and her health catching up to her and making her miserable. i hate that i'm going to go to the store when i get paid and get her one of her favorite vanilla roll rawhides to cheer her up she loves those!

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

i'm going to go to the store when i get paid and get her one of her favorite vanilla roll rawhides to cheer her up

she loves those!

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thinking of Ginger and you all

Ohhhhhh honey, that's so sad Big hugs to you, your Mum and big, big belly rubs for Ginger-girl