Annie has passed away - just diagnosed, refusing to eat

[jen75]

Hi,

My 7 yr old miniature shelter has just been diagnosed with Cushings after a few weeks of constant sickness. She was hunting for water but bringing it up within 10 mins. She started on beautiful on Friday & the sickness is getting better but she is refusing to eat & is very listless.

I would be extremely grateful for any advice.

Thanks

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl!

I only have a moment to post, and just as you, I am very worried about your girl.

If your girl is taking any medications for Cushing's, please STOP giving it now and do not give her any more until things can be figured out.

In order for us to be able to provide with our best feedback we need to know more about your girl and her diagnosis for Cushing's, ok? Now, lets get started on those questions, what medication is she taking for her Cushing's? What dose is she on? When was her most recent ACTH stimulation test and what were the results? What symptoms did she display that led you or your vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? Could you get copies of all the tests that were done on your girl and post any abnormalities that are listed. Is your girl still vomiting? Any diarrhea? Did the vet provide you with prednisone incase an emergency would arise?

If she is not eating or drinking normally, then, if this were me, I would have her seen by a vet ASAP.

We will help in any way we can so do not hesitate to ask all the questions you want.

Hugs, Lori

[jen75]

Hi. Thanks, we got the results of Annie's blood test on Friday & this was positive for cushings. She hasn't been right for a few weeks, at first we (us & the vet) thought she was having kidney problems as she was constantly looking for water & was drinking far too much. She then started vomiting pretty much whenever she ate or drank, she was kept in & out on a drip for dehydration. When she came home there was a slight improvement for a few days but then she she started hunting for water but would throw up minutes after drinking she also stopped eating we went back to the vet on Friday & by the time we got there they had the results of the blood test back from the lab. She has been put on vetoryl capsules, 60mg per day.

I've to go back to the vet tomorrow for more capsules & am going to mention her lack of appetite & lack of energy.

This is all so new to us & I don't mind admitting I feel a little overwhelmed. I just wasn't to do the best for her.

Thanks again
Jenny

[Renee]

60mg of vetoryl for a mini sheltie is way, way too much.

I am afraid your vet has misled you and put your dog's life in danger.

Stop all the meds now, and do not move forward until you've been able to learn more about cushings so you can make educated decisions.

[goldengirl88]

Please stop the Vetoryl immediately or your dogs life is in danger. This vet does not know how to treat Cushing's if in fact it even is Cushing's. Is there another vet you can go to, as I would be in the emergency now. This is very serious, please do not give any more Vetoryl. You must find some facility that can check the diagnostics this vet did to come to the diagnosis of Cushing's. Please this is very serious and you need to find someone qualified to treat this dog. Blessings
Patti

[jen75]

Thanks for the responses, I do appreciate them. I should have said that Annie is a very big sheltie & weighs just over 18kg. I looked at a vetoryl dosage table & it said 10-20kg would be 60mg. I am going to take her back in the morning & get more advice, especially about the medication side of things.

[Renee]

18kg would translate to just 40 pounds, in which 60mg of vetoryl is still too much to start. The starting point is 1mg per pound, then working your way up to the appropriate dose. I would have started on 30mg once per day, personally.

I do hope you will stop all medication and learn more about cushings before rushing back into medicating. I am afraid that if your only test was an ACTH test, then it is completely possible that your pup may not even have cushings at all. There is no single diagnostic test that can tell for certain that a dog suffers from cushings, and all those tests can be impacted by other factors, causing false positives. An educated and comprehensive vet will do a series of tests before confirming, but unfortunately, there are a lot of vets that don't know better, which is why it is so very important for you to know.

[Harley PoMMom]

I looked at a vetoryl dosage table & it said 10-20kg would be 60mg. I am going to take her back in the morning & get more advice, especially about the medication side of things.

Although Dechra's product insert does state that, many of our members have called Dechra regarding the dosage and they do verbally recommend starting at the low end of the dosage scale which is 1mg per pound of a dog's weight. For Annie's weight of 39.6 lbs (18kg), her starting dose should of not been any higher than 40mg.

Vetoryl should not be given to a dog that is presenting signs of being unwell, and not eating is definitely a reason to stop Annie's Vetoryl. Vomiting is a symptom of cortisol dropping too low and if this is the case Annie needs to have glucocorticoid supplementation such as prednisone.

We have a wealth of information in our Resource thread which I am providing a link to: Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10)

Link to infor regarding Trilostane/Vetoryl: Trilostane/Vetoryl Information and Resources (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185)

I'm not a vet but have seen many dogs on this forum start at a dose that was too high, so please do stop giving Annie the Vetoryl until she is feeling more like herself.

Please let us know how she is doing, we tend to be worry warts. ;)

Hugs, Lori

[Junior's Mom]

Welcome to the forum. I agree with the others, please stop the medication and get to the bottom of what is going on. While drinking large amounts of water, and therefore peeing often, can be a sign of cushings, vomiting after drinking or eating is not. If this was happening before you started the cushings meds, did your vet do any other tests?
It sounds like it could be a blockage in the intestinal tract causing problems. Has an ultrasound or complete blood work been done?

[flynnandian]

from my experience shelties and collies are very sensitive to medication in general. they can do with a smaller dosage than other breeds. you can do a MDR1-test to find out if your sheltie is sensitive to drugs.
this is a swap test from the inside of the cheek and is very cheap.
the result can be ++, +-, and --. + is ok. [-- is e.g. sensitive to meds, deworm, vaccinations, anti flee stuff etc.]
my ian is +-14 kg and is on 30 mg, but his uncle who is MDR1 -- is on only 10 mg. big difference.
but first let your vet rule out anything else before giving anymore vetoryl.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Jenny and welcome to you and Annie! :)

I read this thread last nite after I signed off and was quite concerned that we didn't seem to be getting the message across to stop the meds NOW. From what you described, your baby girl could be in trouble and stopping the Trilo is the thing to do - the only thing you can do to help her immediately unless you have pred and have been told how to use it.

Please let us know how your sweet girl is this morning and what the vet had to say. I HOPE he did an ACTH to check her levels as well as taking a look at the electrolyte levels. Looking forward to hearing from you today!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[flynnandian]

i am curious how annie is doing now?

[goldengirl88]

I am just wanting to check in and see how your baby is doing now?? Blessings
Patti

[jen75]

The vet stopped her meds straight away & kept her in for more tests, sadly she passed away this morning & following a post mortem we discovered small cancerous tumours all over her liver. Her poor wee body just couldn't cope.

Thanks for all the advice.

Jenny

[Renee]

I am so sorry to read that your girl passed.

[molly muffin]

Oh my gosh I am so sorry to hear that Annie passed. You must be heart broken, my sincerest condolences. :(

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

I am so very sorry to read this. God Bless you and sweet Annie.
Patti

[Harley PoMMom]

I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet Annie, and my heart goes out to you. The loss of one's furbaby is very difficult, so please know that we completely understand the pain you are feeling.

With Heartfelt Sympathy,
Lori

[BostonLover]

:( SO sorry for the loss of your sweet Annie. <3 sending love and positive vibes your way.

[Spiceysmum]

So sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you.
Linda