What is the life expectancy of a dog diagnosed with Cushing's disease?
My 7 year old terrier has recently had blood work done which indicates the possible existance of Cushing's disease.
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- My parents beagle was diagnosed a few years ago with Cushing's. He is about 14 years old now...so I wouldn't worry too much about it, especially if he may be "pre" cushings. Just take care of him and do everything you are supposed to and hopefully he will live may more years.
- Cushing's disease, also known as hyperadrenocorticism Left untreated, Cushing's disease will progress and can lead to life-threatening disorders such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, and liver and kidney failure, and to chronic maladies such as hypothyroidism and infections of the skin, ears, gums, eyes, or bladder. Cushing's disease cannot be cured, but the treatments available can prolong your pet's quality of life and keep him around for years longer. If an adrenal tumor is causing the disease, surgery may be indicated. Either way, it's better to get started on treatment.
There are 3 forms of Cushing's Disease:
Pituitary-Dependent Cushing's Disease - This is the most common form of Cushing's Disease. It accounts for approximately 85% of cases. It occurs when a very small tumor develops in the pituitary. This tumor sends excessive messages to the adrenal glands to produce and release steroids beyond what the body needs.
2. Adrenocortical Tumors - Tumors of the adrenal glands account for the other 15% of the cases. These are functional masses which are malignant about 50% of the time. The majority of dogs with adrenal tumors are female.
3. Iatrogenic Cushing's Disease - This form of the disease is caused by excessive and/or prolonged steroid administration.
The life expectancy of a dog with Cushing's is shorter than for normal dogs. The average survival time after diagnosis is 2 years with the appropriate treatment. Complications that may arise include embolisms, infections, hypertension, heart failure diabetes, pancreatitis, and other illnesses.
Owning a pet with Cushing's Disease can be problematic.
- Don't worry about the existence of cushing's yet. When my dog had some blood work done she also showed elevated levels of the ALP, and her vet said it indicated cushing's. I worried about it several months because she was showing all the signs, excessive urination, drinking, etc.....several months later, I took her to a different vet who is very competent and up-to-date with veterinary medicine. He ran the appropriate tests, including a matched sample of the blood work and then conducted a test SPECIFICALLY for cushing's. It turned out she does NOT have cushing's.....the old vet had me so worried over nothing.
Basically, just don't worry about cushing's yet, because there are several other things that could cause the change in ALP levels. Also, ask your vet to do the more appropriate tests. If he/she is set on cushing's, I would highly recommend a different vet, as it seems like you are having a similar problem as I did with my dog's old vet too.
- Holy cow I never heard of a dog having cushing's disease. My friend just got diagnosed with that and she now has to have brain surgery. Crazy. Sorry to hear about your dog but if it affects pets and people the same way I would think your dog would just begin to be very moody and get really fat.
- The prognosis for this disease varies depending on the type. Surgery can cure an adrenal cortical tumor that has not spread to other areas of the body. However, about half the adrenal tumors are malignant and therefore may have already spread, in which case, there is a much poorer prognosis. Pituitary-dependent Cushing's has a good short-term prognosis, as the microtumors do not generally cause other problems. Long-term, however, pets with Cushing's disease are predisposed to other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infections, kidney disease, hypertension, and pancreatitis. Iatrogenic Cushing's disease has a good prognosis, if proper withdrawal times are maintained.
- He had elevated ALP of 146 last year and this year it is 176.
- His thyroid is low at 0.49.
- My question is how might the presence of cushing's disease effect his life expectancy?
- He shows no other symptoms of the disease, no excessive drinking or eating, no incontinence or frequent urination. He is active and playful and has no intolerance to heat.
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- The vet thinks he might be pre-cushings, hence the only slightly elevated alp levels.