11 year old Brittany Spaniel

[Grendle]

Hello!

My dog, Grendle, was recently diagnosed with Cushings. She does not seem lethargic or in pain but is having a few of the symptoms that appear to be common when reading on your boards. She has heavy and labored breathing, frequent urination, and drinks quite a bit of water.

Her vet has prescribed Danamarin for her and has asked me to come in for a various other tests. The problem is these tests are quite expensive. I work for a small nonprofit and cannot afford them. I have done a bit of research online and found that Cushex Drops have been helpful in some cases.

Do any of you know if these work well or any other holistic and natural treatments? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welocme to you and Grendle from me and my boy Harley! Since cushings is a slow progressing disease and strong symptoms are a huge part of making the diagnosis please take your time and get a proper diagnosis for Grendle.

Other non-adrenal illnesses do share some of the same symptoms as cushings; such as diabetes and hypothyroidism, were these ruled out?

Re; cushex drops:

Hi Felice,

I am the member that wrote to PetAlive, as well as other companies claiming to have natural remedies that are effective in treating cushing's. None of these companies have done any testing to prove their claims. PetAlive ignored my very direct question about testing and provided a list of wonderful things their natural remedy would do for my dogs. They also mentioned that it is safe to use with conventional treatment. Well duh, the point of my email to them was to ask them to provide supporting documentation that their product's efficacy would allow a pet owner to avoid conventional treatment. It is pretty disturbing that these people get away with such blatant fraudulent advertising.

Pet owners with cushdogs, especially those new to the disease, are overwhelmed and very vulnerable which makes them huge targets for these unscrupulous companies. I would suggest that any member that is contemplating treating with anything other than conventional treatment, to do their own research and ask questions of any company that claims to have an effective treatment for cushing's. It is only effective if clinical trials have been done to prove its effiicacy by way of acth stimulation tests, low dose dexamethasone suppression test, urine cortisol:creatinine ratio, etc.

Glynda

Could you tell us more about Grendle...what tests were done to confirm her cushings? How much does she weigh? Was a chemistry/CBC blood panel done, and if so, could you post anything on there that is marked abnormal with the reference ranges and units of measurements. The more we know about your beautiful furbaby the better our feedback will be, ok.

I do understand about the financial hardship, I use Care Credit for my 2 boys, and I will provide a link to our Financial Resource Thread for you to look at that may be able to help you.

Just remember you are not alone on the journey, we are here for you and Grendle, so ask all the questions you want and we will answer them the best we can, ok. ;):)

Financial Resources to help with Vet bills
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

Links to Cushings Websites (especially helpful for new members!)
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180

Love and hugs,
Lori

[Nathalie]

I too wanted to welcome you and Grendle!:)

Reg. Cushing drops – if you take a look at the list of ingredients it does not contain anything that could possible lower and control cortisol levels in a dog with Cushings syndrome. http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/pet-faqs/adrenal-support-dogs-cats.html (http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/pet-faqs/adrenal-support-dogs-cats.html)
Burdock, Dandelion etc. can be readily purchased at Health food stores.
They mix homeopathic remedies with herbs. This is not how homeopathic remedies are prescribed nor administered.

Looking forward to learning more about your Grendle.
Nathalie

[frijole]

Welcome from me as well! I wish so much that there was a holistic treatment. Trust me, none of us would go thru what we have, if there were a shortcut. :(

Since sometimes dogs are misdiagnosed and the alternatives are cheaper to treat - please tell us exactly what tests were done to diagnose the cushings. Maybe its something else?!

Glad you found us - we'll help you thru this. Kim

[Grendle]

Thank you so much!

She was given a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test to diagnose Cushings. Her WBC was high at 11-20. She also had an infection she is taking Claxomox for.

The vet put her on Denamarin and a few herbal medications (Ophiopogon, Shen Calmer, and Wei qi Booster).

She also said to put her on a whole food diet and suggested susanwynn.com

I am still a little confused about all this (so much to learn!).

Any advice or tips are so helpful - thank you for welcoming me!!

[labblab]

Her vet has prescribed Danamarin for her and has asked me to come in for a various other tests. The problem is these tests are quite expensive. I work for a small nonprofit and cannot afford them.
If you could find out the actual numbers from Grendle's Low-Dose Dex test, that would be great. It always makes us feel better when we have the genuine numbers to look over and talk about. Also, can you find out which other tests your vet is recommending? Perhaps we can help you to sort through them in order to settle on those that would be the most helpful or important to you. And then from there, we might have some suggestions for ways that they could be performed the most economically...

Marianne