The ugly side of Cushing Disease (My experience)

[Vampire]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to share my experience of going through Cushing's disease with my hamster butterscotch, and maybe help others who are struggling with their little fur babies. (I'm using dates from my phone on the days I took pictures) Just a warning some of the pictures aren't for everyone.

So my hamster butterscotch (see below picture, 3/03/22). So this picture was from her birthday, and I noticed nothing out of the ordinary from her. She just turned 1 years old and was her usual cheery self.

https://imgur.com/yc2DJ1S

In the beginning of June I decided to take both my hams to the vet to get their teeth checked. I took butterscotch the 2nd week i wanna say of june, I noticed she was loosing fur on her hips (both sides), She was still on her wheel, eating, drinking etc. I also noticed she was itching more.

https://imgur.com/Oqb9P8h

So I talked to the vet & they decided to do a fungal culture test & see if she has mites, ringworm etc. All the tests came back negative & I made another appointment for them to check her out again. Beginning of July I was seeing really bad results from her, her fur lose kept getting worse each week, It started on her hips/thighs. She then lost fur on her tummy. I also noticed her scent glands were showing. (see below pictures). I was getting worried so I phoned the vet and asked them to get a sooner appointment. I also reached out to kikya at this point because i was desperate to find help. At this stage I want to mention she completely stopped coming out of her nest, unless it was to drink & eat. She wasn't running on her wheel no more, her skin was horrific. I went through this whole forums from years back to find ANYTHING to help her. I tried manuka honey, Aloe vera (amazing stuff) and grape seed extract. Her skin was so dry & she was getting these cuts all over her little body, So i took out a lot of her hides because i was scared she was cutting herself on it.

https://imgur.com/rV1e521
https://imgur.com/izoBurp

I had the appointment with the vet, he did revolution because he thought it could be mites. So we did that, after seeing my baby in the state she was at i reached out to kikya again and she helped me (I believe she saved my hamster) she helped me get trilostane while the vet was still figuring out what was going on. I really thought my hamster was going to die before she even helped me out with the medicine. My hamster was not herself no more, she was grumpy, didn't come out to play, she hated me being near her, and still wouldn't go on her wheel (even tho she LOVES her wheel, like she always ran on that thing for hours, I even got her an upgraded wheel from niteangel & she still wouldn't go on it)

So at this point she was bald, no fur on her head, no where. She was getting cuts & scratches, her skin wasnt healing. So the vet gave her antibiotics & they tested her for Cushing's ( they sedated her and took her urine) all awhile i was giving her the trilostane, and once is started giving her it everyday, she reverted to herself, she was running on her wheel, she wanted play time, her fur was growing again (see picture below)

So it took 2 1/2 months ish to get my vet to get her on trilostane, he gave me the email Kikya & me been wanting. It's bittersweet because my baby got Cushing's BUT the vet prescribed her trilostane. I just want to give others hope if you got a fur baby & they are going through Cushing's, please find a vet who will give you a chance to save your baby.

https://imgur.com/p5cyYU2

Conclusion: There is hope for your lil bundle of joy with getting medicine, Trilostane works wonders, to this day my hamster is regrowing her fur. She's playing & enjoying her best hamster life. I won't lie, there were lots n lots of tears & days where i would wake up to check on her and expecting her not to survive. It's a horrific disease but shes always beautiful in my eyes, and i will always spoil her <3

Just a thank you for reading and bigger than you for kikya for helping me & support. :valentine: don't give up, please find a vet who cares about your pet and not just the money, i was lucky my vet gave me free visits to check on butterscotch & understood rejecting the $800 testing i couldn't afford.

UPDATE: So just an update of when I actually posted this on HH fourms, alot has happen & alot has changed. She currently grew back fur, a lot actually and then the next day she lost it all again. A week go by she would grow fur again and lose it again. She then started to have matted fur, which i then gave her baths, she has a very bad smell to her. Like dirty socks! I thought everything was going good until her skin became so crazy dry, I currently am waiting on sedocrem to get to me so i can use it but she will be returning to the vet thursday & I will update this till the end to inform others that cushings is a terrible disease.

[KellyK]

I’ve worked for a dog and cat vet for the last five years. Dogs, cats and humans all get Cushing’s but it was finding out critters as small as hamsters can develop this disease that broke my heart. It looks so painful.

[Kikya]

I’ve worked for a dog and cat vet for the last five years. Dogs, cats and humans all get Cushing’s but it was finding out critters as small as hamsters can develop this disease that broke my heart. It looks so painful.

Cushing's can be quite terrible but if it's caught early enough your hamster can live a really normal life. The major problem with Cushing's is because it's relatively unknown to vets for hamsters, it's still hard to diagnose and get the vet to use the treatment. It also causes a lot of damage to the organs if not treated early. So a lot of the complications come from the organ damage, even if the Cushing's is being treated.

My hamster Dipper was diagnosed very early and he's been living with Cushing's for over a year. He's the hammy in my profile picture.

We are still trying to find a good balance for Butterscotch but Vampire is doing an amazing job with her!

[Little Hammy Moon]

The poor little Butterscotch. It looks painful for the poor thing. Best wishes for both of you

[Pinenut]

Thank you for sharing this. You are such an amazing hamster guardian. I can see how much you love Butterscotch. This will help so many people who may experience this too.

[KirstyTreen]

Can any one help me, my hamster has cushings. Which I diagnosed through forums and my vet agrees as she was unsure what was wrong with him at first. He has lost all his fur and looks like your hamster with no fur and wrinkled skin. He has been in the trilostane for 2 and half weeks and still losing hair and drinking excessively. He is still active (not as much as he used to to) should I have started to see improvement by now and also how much were you dosage were you giving you hamster daily - we are currently giving him 0.1 mls. Any infor would be greatly appreciated as I am desperate and hate seeing him deteriorate.

[hamsworth]

Kikya should come around. She'll be able to tell you more! In her thread on Cushing's disease here, she mentioned starting out on 0.1 ml of Trilostane. Maybe they increased the dosage after that?

We started a medication protocol of 0.1ml of Trilostane, once a day, which I administer with a small amount of baby food mixed it on a spoon. He licks his spoon clean, and we never have any issues regarding his intake of medicine.