Suspected Cushings, help and advice sought

Hi I am new here and registered as my dog has suspected cushings.

She is a Rottweiler of 9 years and 9 months and has started showing the following symptoms:
Drinking excessively - 3 to 4 litres per day and so needing to urinate almost constently
She has also started to develop a pot belly
Hind legs are becoming weak, she can no longer jump into the car and today her hind legs gave way when going up a small step in the garden
Lethargy
Panting after minimal excercise
Increased appetite
The symptoms started with us noticing the drinking as she wet in the house (something she has never done in the 9 years we have had her) about a month ago and I immediately took her to the vet. She has had blood and urine tests. All bloods from the initial tests show negative for urinary infection, kidney disease and diabetes. However her urine is extremely diluted.

She went back today after her legs gave way and she is booked to go back tomorrow for a cushings test.

I am posting as I am very worried and know very little about this disease. I understand it is tumour related, but would like to know if anyone has experience with the disease first time and can give me some information on it and how to live with it going forward. Am I at risk of losing the best dog I have ever had? She has already been through a lot in her life as she was badly abused by her previous owners and it has taken a great deal of hard work and patience to turn her around and into the most loyal, patient and affectionate dog I have ever had. Would be absolutely devastated to lose her.

Hello, welcome to Dogsey.......I have no experience of Cushings but just wanted to say how sorry I am that your much loved dog has become ill.

I have no doubt that there will be many replies from knowledgeable people over the next twenty four hours or so, so do keep looking in; in the meantime I wish you all the luck in the world for the test tomorrow. At least if you have a clear diagnosis then steps can be taken to help your dog.

Same here just to say I'm so sorry. I can tell how upset you are. I'm sure some here will have some first hand knowledge about this.

I'm devastated, but thanks for the support

Sorry I can't advise on her condition.Fingers crossed for you both tomorrow,understand how worried you must be

Most of us know what you are going through, and my heart goes out to you.

Please let us know what the vet says tomorrow.

Firstly try not to worry too much. The vet thought one of our boxers had Cushings. She had all those symptoms too. Her results were negative for Cushings xx

I'm so sorry you are going through this with your dog, but try to think positive, she can live a relatively normal life with this.

My previous gsd was diagnosed with cushings at around the same age as your girl, but he coped with it along with ourselves. He put on a tremendous amount of weight with the pot belly, and ended up 55 kgs, but could still go on his walks. I believe there is medication for this, but we couldn't use it because my dog was already on steroids and had been all of his life for skin problems.

The very worst thing about cushings, and this came a few years later, is the demodectic mange. My vet explained to me that all dogs have this mange, but the immune system manages to keep it at bay, whereas a dog with cushings has no immune system to be able to cope, so it is very difficult to control it. I already had years of experience with a dog suffering from skin conditions, so I managed to keep it under control until I needed a bit of help from the vet. He would put him on a certain anti biotic (Cephorax or Cephalexin I believe but can't remember). This is a very expensive ab, but it worked, and although he had to stay on it for quite a while, we did eventually manage to get him on one week in 3 and it kept it at bay. His coat doubled in thickness too, he drank lots of water but at certain times of the day, bit like a camel!

You can only do the best you can, and research on it, speak to your vet about what can be done when the symptoms become too much for you to cope with, there is help out there for your girl.

My dog went on to enjoy his happy life for a further 4 years and it wasn't the cushings that got him in the end, it was spinal problems in his rear end meaning when he ran a few yards his back legs would get tangled and bring him down, and that was something that we just couldn't live with for his own benefit, being such a heavy dog, he could never get himself back up again without our help.

I'm sure you will be able to enjoy your girl for many more years to come, you just need a bit of help from the vet and learn about how to cope with this condition. My heart goes out to you.

Thank you all for the replies.

And thank you Helena for sharing your experience, reassured me no end.

Ellie is at the vets as I post this and undergoing tests for the cushing disease. Hopefully I will know more in the next couple of hours

Fingers and paws crossed here(( hugs))