Hamish, 12yr old Westie, Vetoryl - Best diet for Cushoid dogs?

[Dogwalker]

Hi
I live in the Uk and have a 12yr old Westie who finally got diagnosed back in April with (adrenal)Cushings, depite me saying to the vet back at the end of January that I feared he had it. It took months but finally after low dose Dex test it was confirmed. The reason I write is to talk about peoples' experiences with food and the Cushoid dog. My boy (Hamish) is having 30mg of Vetoryl (trilostane) in the mornings but is still ravenous most of the day. I feed him a very high protein diet because that's what he seems to crave most. I can see that after a few hours he gets mopey and restless and perks up after more food. I've put this down to his blood sugar level being low?? So it's little and often with him, often topped up with dog milk(Goats milk with Chondritin in it (we can get in supermarkets here). I have started to fee him raw food from the pet shop too which he woofs down. This, I've read, is good for them as cushoid dogs can be lacking in minerals and vitamins and is more plentiful in raw food. (he is now on day 40 of trilostane) the appetite and drinking hasn't abated but he is a bit happier (not as happy as when his cortisol levels were around 200, cortisol level was at 100 at the last ACTH stimulation test.

Anyone got any recommendations about feeding a Cushoid dog? thanks Dogwalker

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome from me and my boy Harley! I am so happy you found this forum and we will help you the best we can.

I was wondering if you could tell us more about Hamish, it will greatly help us with the information we will be providing you with. In your post you said Hamish's cushing's was confirmed as adrenal with a LDDS test. Could you post the results of the LDDS test here. Was an ultrasound done to look at the adrenal glands also? Is surgery an option? At the very least, usually a confirmation for cushing's is with an ultrasound and ACTH or LDDS test. How much does Hamish weigh? Does Hamish have any other health problems? Is he on any herbs or supplements? I am sorry for all the questions but we need to know all we can about your precious boy so we can help you help him, ok. :)

About A Diet For Cushing's: The recommendation for Cushing's is to use the diet appropriate for the dog's medical condition. For instance, Cushing's does pre-dispose to formation of oxalate stones, so the diet should be high in moisture (i.e. dry diets should at least be watered down), and urinalyses monitored closely. If the dog is overweight, that should be addressed with diet and exercise, etc., etc.

- high quality protein (and enough protein to compensate for muscle wasting)
- low in fat
- moderate in fiber
- moderate in sodium
- provide fresh, purified water at all times
- divide the dog's daily food allowance into two or more servings

Hope this helps, and looking forward to hearing from you.

Love and hugs,
Lori

[Dogwalker]

Hi and thanks for your reply, really kind.
Thanks for the info on diet. It confirms I'm doing the right thing. He has food every 2- 3 hours as he needs it and it's nearly always high grade protein. I use something called Nature Diet at lunchtime, in packs too and top up with protein throughout the day. This stuff has omega 3 and 6, flax, rosemary, sage and flax in it along with rice and kelp. I hadn't thought of purifying his water but I will do. He has always been very particular about clean water. I change it about 6 times a day. I have bought a tincture from the US,NatibrRemedies called Adreno Boost, it has Borage, Siberian Ginsengroot and Astragulus root in it but I haven't used it yet because I wanted to wait until he was at a stable dose of medication so I could see if the tincture made any effect at the moment I'm not sure he is on the correct dose of Vetroyl. I had him tested on 5th May and am going to have another done on 28th May as the last two ACTH tests showed that his cortisol had come down by 100 every 2wks so now he's at 100 I am wary that his cortisol will drop too low and am looking out for signs of this. I'm not too confident with my vet(a long story of incompetence) so I am not waiting the recommended 90 days until the next ACTH test.
:)
He doesn't have any other medical conditions luckily but I think he suffers from depression, he's a very sulky dog but I listen to him and try to work out what he needs!
We had an initial ACTH test which came back normal so we had an ultrasound which showed enlarged liver, left adrenal and enlarged prostate.
Here are the LDD test results:
cortisol (basal 81.9 nmol/l
cortisol (post low) 65.9
dose (3hr
Cortisol post low 51.6 - High
dose (8hr)

dose 3hr cortisol post low 51.6 (high)

Hamish still drinks an awful lot but I don't mind obsess too much about this, I focus on trying to make him happy.
What are oxalate stones please?
Hamish weighs between 9.5 - 9.7kgs - he has never been overweight, prior to this condition he wasn't that interested in food! He was 10.3 before the condition but has lost weight and I weigh him weekly as the vet originally warned me that in his experience adrenal tumours are always agressive and malignant!!! thanks! He has been wrong on many things so far so I believe he is wrong on this. I will ultrasound him again in a few months to see if the adrenal gland has enlarged further but the vet was more or less saying a month ago that he wouldn't last the month and that the Vetoryl wouldn't work! How wrong he was!

Thanks for your help Lori
cheers
Kim:)
x

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Kim,

Oxalate stones:
There are some metabolic diseases that might predispose a dog to creating a calcium oxalate stone. For example, a dog with Cushing's disease will be over-producing cortisol (commonly known as "cortisone"). This hormone increases calcium excretion in urine. The extra calcium present in the urine will promote a stone.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/canine_oxalate_bladder_stones.html

As far as interpreting your LDDS test, I am no expert so I will let someone else do that, so sorry. But I do know that dogs that are confirmed with Cushing's usually only 15% of them are diagnosed with an adrenal tumor.

Do you have prednisone on hand for an emergency situation?

Did the ultrasound show a mass on the adrenal gland or that the adrenal gland is enlarged?

You are doing a wonderful job taking care of Hamish, he is one lucky boy. :)

Love and hugs,
Lori

[Dogwalker]

Hi
I guess you mean the stones collect in the kidneys?
The ultrasound just showed enlargement. I have had no confirmation that there definetly even is a tumour on his adrenal gland but the vet has been talking as if there is but we don't know that for sure. He says the only way to find out if the tumour is aggressive is to scan again.

What is prednisone please?

Anyone else got any comments on the food they have given their dog? I feed and feed him but he's still not putting on any weight despite the cortisol level being down now. He's not been so great the last few days. Very mopey!
thanks

[Harley PoMMom]

Struvite and Oxalate stones can form in the kidneys/bladder. My other non-cush Pomeranian dog, Bear, just had a cystotomy to remove some stones from his bladder.

Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug, when a pup is showing signs of low cortisol; vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, not eating, etc...the pups owner would give their pup prednisone. Prednisone acts like cortisol in the pups body and makes the pup feel much better. Prednisone is used in emergency situations only and until one can get their pup to an Emergency Clinic/Vet to be evaluated because the pups electrolytes should be checked as well.

Harley, my PDH cush pup, is on diet formulated for him by Monica Segal. Harley has pancreatitis, cushings and high blood pressure so I wanted a diet that would address all his issues.

Love and hugs,
Lori