excessively hungry and thirsty

Question
Hi Karen.
I realize that you're not a vet, but...i primarily am needing another opinion from a more experienced dog person. i have an 8 yr. old girl border collie mix. over the past yr. she has developed some strange health issues. initially it was just incontinence while she was sleeping. she was put on propalin. then...i felt like she was a bit lethargic. so i had the full blood panel lab test done, in addition to fecal samples for parasites, tick diseases, etc. only her thyroid was low, so she was put on thyroid meds. now her incontinence in the house is resolved and she doesn't seem so depressed/low energy, but she is drinking (seriously) gallons and gallons of water each day and she's hungry all the time and, of course, she has to pee all the time. i told these symptoms to my vet, who insisted that i keep having her thyroid tested before my dog gets more throid meds. i don't know. it seems like i'm merely just taking care of the symptoms (sort of) of an illness more serious &/or complicated. the water drinking is the most unusual...

any thoughts, other than me possibly switching vets? i've spent a lot of money without such great results. any advice would help.

thanks and my best,
Lisa R.
Austin, TX

Answer
Well, I've had a dog on thyroid meds and it did not increase his appetite (well, no more than normal for schnauzers who always think they are starving<G>) or thirst. Frankly, these sound like classic symptoms for Cushings Disease, including the hypothyroidism.

http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/sac/mededu/cushings/
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/cushings.html  

Your dog should be tested for this, and, yes, I would change vets, too.

Karen