If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Excessive drinking/urination
We have a 12 year old Sheltie who's generally in great health. The
past few months, he's been drinking a ton of water (he's never been a big drinker) and urinating excessively as a result... lately he's also having some bladder control problems which I think are just a result of the water intake (never had any issues like this). We had blood and urine tests done which showed nothing other than dilute urine... the vet says he's very healthy and is not sure what's going on at this point. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
In article . com,
Nate wrote: Any ideas? Thanks in advance. It could be a number of things, like Cushings Disease or thyroid problems or diabetes. Ask your vet to run a blood panel (and frankly I'm surprised that he hasn't already done that - these are obvious and somewhat common problems). -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I cant understand why the vet wouldnt mention Cushings disease. It was my
first thought and Im not a vet. My dog started suffering from it as she got older, she was never on any pain medication, she just drank a lot. I think the main risk is of stones in the bladder, she had a few of them anyway, but that might not have been due to the Cushings. Google Cushings for a better explanation than I can give you. Dollymarie |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Forgot to say, my dog had trouble with her bladder, or rather lack of
control of it. She slept on my bed, and we had more than a few accidents! I ended up having to get up most nights to let her out, so she wouldnt "wet the bed" Dollymarie |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/cushings.html
I hope this link works, I went on ask jeeves and this page pretty much says it all. My dog never went on any of the medication as she was very old and we just decided that as it would only add maybe a year to her life, the quality of that year wouldnt be that great. You may decide otherwise though. Dollymarie |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks for all the great replies thus far... I'll definitely take a
look at Cushings. The vet has agreed to do some more tests and has mentioned several times this could be "calcium" related. Also, several years ago, we put him on a special diet (I believe Presciption Diet U/D) because of a kidney stone that he developed. I'm wondering if this could be related.. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Nate" wrote in message
ups.com... We have a 12 year old Sheltie who's generally in great health. The past few months, he's been drinking a ton of water (he's never been a big drinker) and urinating excessively as a result... lately he's also having some bladder control problems which I think are just a result of the water intake (never had any issues like this). We had blood and urine tests done which showed nothing other than dilute urine... the vet says he's very healthy and is not sure what's going on at this point. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Does he have a bloated, pot-belly look? Like everyone else, the symptoms you describe are those of diabetes, cushings disease and generally anything kidney related. A pot-belly is as close to a dead-ringer, in conjunction with what you describe, for cushings. Be aware though that its not impossible to get a false negative on a cushings test. I know 2 people its happened to and I suspect my deceased Min. Dachshund had it but received a false negative. -- Tara |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
Tee wrote: Be aware though that its not impossible to get a false negative on a cushings test. I know 2 people its happened to and I suspect my deceased Min. Dachshund had it but received a false negative. I gather that Cushings tests tend to be pretty inaccurate. When Greta was going through her diagnostic nightmare she was suspected of having Cushings. We did a cortisol/ creatinine ratio test which supposedly ruled out Cushings, but the vet (Cornell vet hospital clinician) had us do an ACTH stimulation test, which also came up negative. We never did a Dexamethasone suppression test since it's kind of a pain in the butt and a CAT scan had turned up a pituitary mass, anyway. Ultimately we ended up with a prescription for Anipryl to treat her dementia and it did help with the Cushingoid symptoms, but for several years prior to that we used DDAVP ($$$$) to treat her water consumption. I wouldn't assume that this dog has Cushings until it has a more thorough workup - there are too many other things it could be (although it obviously could be Cushings, as well). Time to try to be more thorough about diagnosis, clearly. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
... In article , Tee wrote: Be aware though that its not impossible to get a false negative on a cushings test. I know 2 people its happened to and I suspect my deceased Min. Dachshund had it but received a false negative. I gather that Cushings tests tend to be pretty inaccurate. That'd be my guess based on a handful of experiences I have knowledge of. It took at least 2 testings to get to the Cushings diagnosis and I know one dog was never actually diagnosed from testing but they tried whatever treatment is used for Cushings and saw improvement. I wouldn't assume that this dog has Cushings until it has a more thorough workup - there are too many other things it could be (although it obviously could be Cushings, as well). Time to try to be more thorough about diagnosis, clearly. I didn't mean to imply I thought it was cushings. I just wanted to provide some further info on it should that remain a diagnostic consideration. -- Tara |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
Tee wrote: That'd be my guess based on a handful of experiences I have knowledge of. It took at least 2 testings to get to the Cushings diagnosis The first test they apparently usually do, the cortisol/creatinine ratio test, doesn't diagnose Cushings but it can eliminate it as a possibility. It's really easy to do, though, and generally if it's negative they won't go on and do further testing. We did in Greta's case because, well, it was Cornell, and while they're terrific they've never met a diagnostic test they didn't like. Also, Greta had such a huge number of things wrong with her that the whole diagnostic process took about six months and some things (like Cushings) were revisited as other problems were identified and treated. Students used to call other students into the examining room to look at her, and her file was over an inch thick. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Excessive Aggression Question | Katie Wise | Dog behavior | 16 | November 24th 03 11:33 PM |
Excessive Aggression Question | Katie Wise | Dog behavior | 0 | November 24th 03 02:02 AM |
Excessive Aggression Question | Katie Wise | Dog behavior | 0 | November 24th 03 02:02 AM |
Excessive Aggression Question | Katie Wise | Dog behavior | 0 | November 24th 03 02:02 AM |
excessive barking | Sunni12 | Dog behavior | 0 | November 11th 03 07:07 AM |