Hello from Sharon and Archie!

[sharlr]

Hi,

I'm Sharon and I've joined the forum as my dog, Archie, has just been diagnosed with CD.

Archie's an eight year old male Staffie and he's been part of the family since he was around seven months old.

He's been put on 60mg of Vetoryl per day and he started the tablets on Thursday.

He'll be back at the vets on the 20th of this month to see how he's doing and to look at the potential for further tests to narrow the diagnosis to either pituitary or adrenal.

He seems to be sleeping a lot today, but he's been sleepy for weeks so not too sure if he's reacting to the Vetoryl in any way.

He's getting lots of fuss and attention, and I'm not venturing far at the moment unless I have people to sit with him when I go out.

[addy]

Hi and Welcome,

If you have read through any of the threads, you will know we ask a lot of questions in the beginning.

What symptoms lead to seeking a diagnosis?

What tests were done to receive the diagnosis, please post the results

How much does Archie weigh?

Sometimes their cortisol drops like a ton of bricks on the beginning and they can feel yucky until they get used to the lower cortisol but Vetoryl can also have the side effect of lethargy.

You want to make sure he is still alert, eating, drinking. The protocol that produces the least side effects and is now suggested is a starting dose of 1 mg per pound.


Glad you found us. My Zoe has been on Vetoryl now for 2 years.

[Budsters Mom]

:)Hello and welcome from me too. :)
I am sorry for the reason that brought you here, but so glad you found us. 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 Sharon and Archie.:)

Hugs,
Kathy

[SoggyDoggy]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Addy has already asked the first round of questions but brace yourself, there will inevitably be more. :p The more information you can provide, the better we will be able to help you out along the way.

When your vet gave you the vetoryl, did they mention the signs to watch out for to make sure Archie is doing ok? And did they give you any pred to have on hand for those just in case emergencies? This is something to ask for if you didn't give it. You hopefully wont ever need it, but as mentioned, dogs can crash pretty quickly with too low cortisol and the pred can give them a quick boost if that happens. It's why we are always so paranoid about starting doses and weight of the dogs, it's safest to start low as they are very potent pills!

Anyway, if you haven't already found it, there is a very thorough and informative resources section on the site that will help to answer questions and fill you in on a lot of the pertinent information regarding Cushing's. You can find it here http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to post. We are a very active group and are here to fully support each other so there is no such thing as too big, too small or too ridiculous :D Oh, and we all fully understand the part of not venturing too far unless someone's there to watch. I myself took time off work for a few weeks during the initial phase. I was completely freaked out, watched my boy like a hawk and wouldn't leave him alone at all (unless I had baby sitters :p). Eventually as I got used to the whole thing and realised that it's not the end, I relaxed quite a bit, but you will always retain that higher level of vigilance. Vigilance is a good thing, just don't let it get in the way of enjoying your time with Archie.

So on that note, good luck, give Archie a big scratch from us all and see if you can grab hold of those test results. They really do help us out.