Grissom, 9 y/o Lab on trilostane

[2Furbabiesmum]

I was searching for advice on Cushing's and its side effects to look for with my fur baby 8yo Labrador Grissom.

I haven't looked at a lot of things on the site yet, but I will with time. Hoping to get some help or advice about the effect Vetoryl has on my baby's beautiful coat.

He's one of two beautiful boys we have, and they're brothers. Jack has arthritis in his front legs, and is treated with glucosamine, chondrotin and fish oil capsules, plus cartrophen and trocoxil. Other than that he's doing ok. Grissom has been diagnosed with Cushing's and is on vetoryl. He has been tested and gone through an ultrasound. No growths on his adrenal glands, but they are on his pituitary glands, so we have the 10 day ACTH tests ritual at the moment. Our vet is excellent, and is treating a couple of other fur babies for Cushing's. he has explained everything about treatment to us, also the estimated costs and what we should expect to see regarding any improvements.

I feel like I'm rambling on, but I'm just concerned about my boy. He has such a beautiful coat, but it seems like it's losing condition and falling out. Can anyone help?

[labblab]

Hello, and welcome to you and Grissom!

I noticed you had added your reply to our "How did you find us?" thread, and I have taken the liberty of moving it so that you will now have a thread of your own in which our members can reply to you directly.

I'm really glad you've found us! :)

Marianne

[Budsters Mom]

Hello and welcome from me too!:)
.
You have come to the right place! There are many K9Cushing's angels standing by to help and stay with you every step of the way. They love details, test results, any information you can get your hands on. The more the better. We will do all we can to help.;)
So again welcome to you and Grissom,

Hugs,
Kathy and Buddy:cool:

[mytil]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Coat conditions improve over time and the "old coat seems to blow out" and is slowly replaced by the new growth. It seems they have to loose this old coat and I know it looks bad, but over time it will be replaced as long as the excess cortisol levels are kept in check and there is nothing else going.

When you get the results of the 10 day ACTH, post them here.

Keep us posted
Terry

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to you and Grissom.

From what we have seen on the forum, many other symptoms tend to clear up first, like the hunger, drinking, etc and the coat can take longer. Keeping the cortisol in a good range, seems to be key to the coat condition.

Goldens are so beautiful and such sweet dogs. I hope that you see some improvements sooner rather than later.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[mypuppy]

Welcome to you and your precious Grissom (cute name),

My girl was diagnosed with pituitary cushings almost 4 years ago. She started treatment with Vetoryl (trilostane) on and off during these past 3.5 years, for her extreme appetite and thirst and panting. My girl never had issues with loss of hair patches other than the blowing of her coat. She has been in remission for a whole year now since her last Vetoryl treatment and is doing well aside from some arthritis. Do not be frightened at everything you hear with side effects of treatment, but just assure you and your vet are diligent in monotoring her levels with the acth tests and watch for any unusual symptoms (vomitting, diarrhea, lethargy, lack of appetite) while on Vetoryl treatment.

I wish you both smooth sailing as you embark on treatment.

Tight hugs too. xo

Jeanette and Princess

[2Furbabiesmum]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your responses. It's been over a year since I looked at the site, which is not good in one way. We have all been so consumed with what life has thrown at us, that time has gotten away.

Grissom has been on the trilostane (120mg/day) for over 12 months now and doing well. He has had his 9th birthday too, with no signs of growing up yet. Darn Labradors, puppies to old men in the blink of an eye, with nothing else in between lol.

I do need some help though. One of our vets has said that Grissom should go back for an ACTH which we can't afford. Do we need to be worried, or should we heed the vets comments?

I am also looking for a more economical price for the medication. $200+ each month is killing us financially. Can anyone suggest where I could get it from at a lot cheaper price?

Thanks guys
Denise

[Trish]

Hi and welcome back!! The real smart ones that will give advice of frequency of ACTH testing are probably still sleeping, but they will pop in and give their thoughts on the testing. It might help if you can post when Grissom was last tested and what those results are.

I know a lot on here get their Vetoryl compounded and it is cheaper. A lot use Diamondback and order it online. Again those more familiar with that will give you some tips.

Great to hear Grissom is doing so well on the meds for over a year! :) Members like to hear stories like this about how well it can do and improve the quality of life of their pups so thanks for coming back to tell us :)

[goldengirl88]

Welcome back. I am feeling your pain in the wallet too! My Tipper has had so many ACTH tests I am losing track I think we are at 15 or 16 now. She is not the normal case though as she has two different tumors. My best advise to you is this, you love you dog that is why you are managing this disease. These are powerful drugs make no mistake about it. I would never not have my dog tested and it has really hampered me financially at times due to her having so many tests. When you are using this drug though, the safety of you dog must be paramount to anything else. Trilostane is good in a way that it leaves the body in 12 hours. So if you have problems the dosage will leave the body it is not a cumulative effect. That is why many like to use it. On the other hand the pitfall is that you must have ACTH testing done. The schedule is usually like this: after 10-14 days on the drug you will retest, if there are adjustments you must give the new dosage and have another ACTH within 10-14 days. Do not ever increase the dosage at the 10-14 day mark if the dogs cortisol is still showing it is too high as the cortisol continues to fall for a month and in some cases a little longer. This is where the experience of your vet comes in. Dechra has seen many inexperienced vets increase the dosage on a dog after the 10-14 day period and the dog becomes over dosed. That is why Dechra now says to test in 30 days. I would do the shorter period especially in the beginning just starting off to see where your dogs numbers are as long as you do not increase the dosage before the 30 days. You must do an ACTH for every dosage change. Also from experience I can tell you that when you start your dog on a lower dosage, the safer and better off you are. The Dechra guideline is 1mg per pound. Start slow and low and your dog will adjust to the drug and his cortisol dropping a lot better this way. Starting too high has safety concerns and many dogs that are started high have problems. also you will need a rescue dose of prednisone in the event you need it if your dogs cortisol would drop too low. You vet will give it according to your dogs weight, and always keep it handy. You might want to think about applying for Care Credit. It lets you pay low payments on your vet bills and is like a credit card. you could use it for the testing if it is too much money to put out, and you can get your Vetoryl with it at the vets, I am not sure if Diamondback takes it, but you might inquire. This would save you from having to put out so much cash, but still keep your dog managed and safe. Blessings
Patti

[Harley PoMMom]

Grissom has been on the trilostane (120mg/day) for over 12 months now and doing well. He has had his 9th birthday too, with no signs of growing up yet. Darn Labradors, puppies to old men in the blink of an eye, with nothing else in between lol.

Oh My, Happy belated Birthday to Grissom!!!



I do need some help though. One of our vets has said that Grissom should go back for an ACTH which we can't afford. Do we need to be worried, or should we heed the vets comments?



I do sympathize with you, the ACTH stimulation test is ridiculously expensive but it is very important that it be done accordingly. We have seen many dogs here have their cortisol drop lower on a dose that was being given over a period of time, so it would my recommendation that Grissom have an ACTH stim test done. How are Grissom's symptoms? Is he eating normally? Any diarrhea?

Hugs, Lori

[molly muffin]

Wow, happy birthday Grissom, so glad to hear that he is doing well. Is his symptoms doing okay? how is he?
Try the compounding pharmacies like, Diamondback in Arizona, California Pet Pharmacy and there are a couple others that members here use. I'm not sure if you are in the states are not, but there are more options certainly stateside.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

Just wondering how everything is going? Blessings
patti

[Junior's Mom]

Happy Birthday Grissom. I'm glad he is doing well. You asked about the acth tests, and whether they are important to do. The stim test is the only way to tell what Grisssom's cortisol levels are at. Once you were settled on a dose, they should have been done every 3 months. Over time, their medication needs can change. It is important to know his body is producing just the right amount of cortisol with the medication.
Regarding the price of the meds, if you can get it, the compounding is definitely cheaper, they call it trilostane. They can't compound an amount too close to what is available as vetoryl, though. My dog is on 57mg trilostane, twice a day, so very close to what Grissom is taking. I live in Canada, but order it (my vet sends a fax), through Diamondback. I have it delivered through the mail. It costs about $100/month.

[2Furbabiesmum]

Thanks for the advice guys. I might have to put aside some money for a test, although he is doing well at the moment. His eating is normal. He is a food fiend, so I would definitely notice if he wasn't eating. His bowel movements are normal too.

We were probably given his test results, but they are either packed away, or lost as we have moved three times since his diagnosis.

Regarding Diamondback, I don't think we have that system here in Australia, but I will find out what our options are.

He is asleep, at the moment, but that's no surprise. Him and his brother sleep a lot. Always have :). Can I post a picture of them on here, anywhere?

[molly muffin]

Hi, I've sent a message to one of our members in Australia asking about a compounding and if they use that. I'll let you know what they say, or they might pop in here themselves.

Yes, absolutely, we'd love to see photos. :) We're photo crazy around this joint ya know. :)

At the top of your web page, left hand side, is a link that says User CP, click on that and you'll see on the left side panel, Pictures & Albums, click that. Then you'll see, Add Album, so click that, name your album (make sure you click public so we can all see the pictures :) )and then click to upload pictures. You can add 3 at a time to the album.

You can also click option to Edit Avatar, then click on the link to Use Custom Avatar and add your own picture.

Let us know if you run into any difficulties

Sharlene and molly muffin

[molly muffin]

Well, not much luck I'm afraid. She is using vetroyl. However, her vet said he found a pharmacy that would compound, so best bet might be to ask your vet to find a pharmacy that will do compound trilostane and find out what the cost would be. The vet should be willing to work with you to do that.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

[2Furbabiesmum]

Thanks Molly Muffin, for all your efforts. I will ask my vet.

I posted three pictures of my boys. Now that I know how to change my avatar, I will do it right now.

Cheers
Denise, Jack and Grissom xoxo:D

[LauraA]

Hi to you and Grissom :)

I am in Australia as well and am using the Vetoryl for my Cushings girl. Though my girl is a LOT smaller than a lab fortunately:) She has to get tested every 3 months. It costs me $109 for 30 30mg tablets from the vets. They did find a place that would compound it and from memory it was something like $120 for 100 tablets of the same dosage. I am not sure if it was from within Australia or not that they were looking at getting it.

They did say that it was important to use a reputable company though as it had to be compounded properly. As my girl had a few other problems and took a while to come good we have at this stage not gone the compounded version and it gives something else for Hubby to have a whinge about about hehe. I would ask your vet to try and source you a compounded version as I am sure they would do the same for the trilostane.

[goldengirl88]

I hope you are able to get your Trilostane cheaper. It is just so expensive, I hope you find a way to get it cheaper. Hope all is well with your babies. Blessings
Patti

[molly muffin]

Well, didn't they grow up into handsome boys. :)

Sharlene and molly muffin