Scottish Terrier 8yrs 7-20-11 dx with Cushings

[Sandra]

I'm sure I have questions, but have read about Cushings as it is common in Scotties. My scottie Alex is only 8yrs old and we started with an ultra sound which showed an enlarged liver. Next came the urine test which showed very pale as he was drinking more water than usual. We live in Florida and I thought the increase of drinking was from the heat. Alex also had a senior profile done which led the vet to have a Dexamethasone Supression test done. His test came back positive cushionoid and was put on TriLostane (Vetoryl) 30 mg to start, tomorrow he is having another test to see if this milligram is working. He seems the same to me. We use to cook for him but he is now on Hills LD Canine food, fish oil, vit E, Denamarin, Ursodiol. My problem (question) is, every night around 4am he starts panting, and panting. He sleeps with us and keeps me awake. I give him water, take him outside, he still pants very hard. Only after his walk in the am around 6:30 when he returns does he stop. We have air on and an overhead fan, so it's not heat. Has any one had this trouble. I spoke to the tech at the vets but she said she never had any one complain about it before. Any help would be appreciated. Sandy

[frijole]

Welcome. Thanks for the information... the more you tell us the greater help we can be. As you will learn, cushing's is NOT a death sentence and with treatment your dog can lead a normal life. Panting is a normal symptom and is due to the fact your dog is producing too much cortisol (think adrenaline rush). My guess is that you give your dog the trilostane in the a.m. It doesn't stay in the body all day and so by 4 am your dog is probably ready low on the trilostane and ready for the next day's dosage. :) Also we tend to notice the panting, restlessness at night more than in the day. My dog used to walk on top of me and even over my head sometimes at night. It gets better once the cushing's is controlled.

The main focus should be to lower the cortisol and that is what you will be checking when you do the follow up test. It is an acth test. You want the second number to be between 1 and 5.

Tell us more about your dog. How much does Alex weigh? The only real diet changes that most people make is to feed a diet that is low in fat. Cush dogs can't tolerate much fat in their diet. Otherwise many here home cook.

Glad you found us. Hope the test results are great. Kim

[Sandra]

Thanks Kim for the info, Alex is a big Scottie weight is 36lbs. He has a large frame and of course now has a bulging belly on both sides. We followed Dr. Pitcarins diet for Alex as we did for our other Scottie who is at Rainbow Bridge, lived to almost 15yrs. Alex never had bought or canned food, now our Vet (sorta insisted) on the Hills Ld. He seems okay on it. We do give him lean chicken, or ground (very) lean turkey.
Had his ACTH test today, I'm sure he needs a higher dosage. I will find out Thursday. I will let your know. I see you have a total that you strive for. What do I ask the Vet when they call? Forgot to tell you I have a wonderful vet and staff, only took me 5 others till I found them. After reading some horror stories on this list I'm very thankful for them. Sandy

[frijole]

when they call ask them for the test results... there should be too numbers. write them down and the date of the test. start a file as you will want to refer to it up the road. ask for copies of all tests. Assuming you are within the desired range then you are good to go til the next test. If not then the dose will be increased. just make sure the increase is slow and gradual. Sometimes vets get a little crazy and try to increase it too fast and trust me... slower is better. Kim