Shakes - diagnosis? treatment? side effects?

[Shakes]

Hi all :)

I am effectively Shake's aunt, as she is my sister's dog, my sister is quite young and I'm not sure she knows quite how to deal with all this, all the information is a little overwhelming. She spends plenty of time with her and comforts her as much as she can, but none of us had ever even heard of cushings before this so we don't quite know what to make of it, we are just following vet instructions, but they don't seem to be going very well...*

Shakes is a sweet little 13 yr old maltese who has recently been diagnosed with cushings. She was prescribed vetoryl, one capsule a day with food, but reacted very badly to the medication. She got muscle tremors and completely lost her appetite...*

I'm joining this forum as a desperate attempt to get some more information, as it's now been four days since she has eaten anything. She's been drinking water, which is a little comfort, but looks quite miserable and sometimes regurgitates a yellowish liquid.

After reading up more about cushings, I've come to understand it's often misdiagnosed. Honestly, I have just returned from being away from home for almost a year, so I didn't know any of the symptoms.*

The story of her diagnosis goes: a friend of ours who is a vet was visiting and recommended we take her to get checked for cushings (I don't know what he saw to make that assumption. She has a very barrel like appearance and has gained weight the past few years, but other than that I always took her as a very normal dog). So she was taken for tests and blood and urine tests later confirmed that she had cushings, the vet then gave us instructions for the vetoryl.
After the third day of vetoryl, we called in and said that she was experiencing side effects (tremors, lack of appetite, general malaise) so he said to stop the medication.

He's promised to come by and check her out, but hasn't yet. I'm just wondering if there's anything we can do to get her to eat... After the third day, she won't even look at a piece of steak. Nothing piques her interest.

Has anybody experienced anything like this? What can we do? It breaks my heart to see little shakes like this :(

[Squirt's Mom]

First, welcome to you and Shakes!

Second, get this dog to a vet ASAP! I'm not sure where you are located but if your vet hasn't has the decency to come to Shakes, you must, must, get her in to see someone as soon as you possibly can. An overdose of Vetoryl can be fatal. Did the vet give you any prednisone? Do you happen to have prednisone around?

What you are describing could easily be from Shakes cortisol going too low. This can be a life-threatening situation and cannot be taken lightly. Shakes needs an ACTH and to have his electrolytes checked NOW. If you have an ER or 24 hour vet within reach, go now.

We will talk more when you get back home.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

PS. You can start thinking about another vet now, too. This one doesn't seem to care one bit. ;)

[goldengirl88]

Please listen to Leslie and stop the Vetoryl immediately. This can be life threatening especially in such a small dog. What mg of Vetoryl were you giving, and how much does the dog weigh? Please get this dog to an emergency place and have his electrolytes checked, and cortisol checked. Pleasedo not give any more Vetoryl. Also could you get the copies of the testing done and post the abnormal numbers for us? We can then see what is going on and help you to in turn get this dog some much needed help. These are powerful drugs that need to be vigilantly monitored. Shame on this vet, for not helping you. I would never use him again. If you have prednisone please give it to the dog. I have a feeling the way this vet is operating he gave you none, and did not explain to you what to watch for. Please let us know after the dog has been seen, what is going on. Blessings
Patti

[Shakes]

We did stop the Vetoryl after the third day. I sadly wasn't around when the tests were being done, so I don't know the details of the tests at all, except that she was diagnosed with cushings. I'll try to get hold of the results and any other details I can.

After posting last night Shakes has perked up considerably. Her appetite isn't all there, but she has more energy and the muscle tremors have stopped.

Our vet came 'round early this morning, by which time she was much, much better. We are keeping an eye on her until she's improved a bit more, we'll take her for more tests and after being absolutely sure it's cushings we'll come up with a better thought out treatment plan.

I'm very grateful to have found this forum, obviously you're all very experienced and knowledgeable on this topic. You all seem very supportive and when a sweet little family member is in trouble, support and comfort are priceless.

Thank you very much, I'll post updates when I have them.

[Shakes]

Just posting a quick update.... Shakes is eating! I'm so glad. I can't wait until she's her usual self

[Iraklis]

support and comfort are priceless.


and 50% of the fight! ;) (:()


Just posting a quick update.... Shakes is eating! I'm so glad. I can't wait until she's her usual self

:)

[Squirt's Mom]

Oh good news! :cool:

[lulusmom]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm so glad to hear that Shakes has perked up and is doing much better. It would be very helpful if you could get copies of all tests that were done by Shakes' vet to confirm the cushing's diagnosis. With respect to the blood tests, we need only see the high and low values and please include the normal reference ranges. How much does Shakes weigh and what dose of Vetoryl was your sister giving him. Was it once a day or twice a day? The more information you can give us, the better understanding of Shakes' medical profile and therefore, the more meaningful feedback we can provide.

Dogs are very sensitive to Vetoryl in the first few days of treatment and cortisol can drop like a rock. Many vets without a lot of experience, will simply follow the manufacturer's recommended dosing which is not currently reflective of safe practices. Most specialists start dosing at 2mg per kg of body weight which converts to 1mg per pound. If Shakes' dose was too high, an overdose is completely possible; however, some dogs do experience cortisol withdrawal in the first few days but in my experience, a dog in cortisol withdrawal usually doesn't quit eating for three days. We have little information to go on right now but based on the information you provided, I personally would only restart treatment at a lower dose.

I do agree with others that vet was very remiss in not checking on Shakes immediately, given Shakes' symptoms which were absolutely associated with Addison's. While very rare, there are recorded cases of complete adrenal necrosis and without immediate intervention, these dogs die. Your vet dodged a big bullet with Shakes' recovery and you have every right to remind him/her of that.

Looking forward to hearing a lot more about Shakes. By the way I have an incredible affinity for the Maltese breed. I think they are the absolute best toy breed. They do have a way of melting the hearts of even the most macho man who don't consider them to be real dogs. I've seen it happen time and time again. I therefore have a very good idea that your love for Shakes is only surpassed by your sister's. :D

Glynda

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the fourm. I can't add much to what Leslie and Glynda have already said, since they have covered the basics very well. Of course they have years and years of experience with cushings and the medications.
I would definitely suggest that if the dosage was anything over the 1mg/1lb ratio, then over dose is VERY possible and life threatening.
The other thing is that if there was anything else going on with Shakes, when the cushing testing was done, then the results might not be accurate, which is why we need to see the abnormal tests results to see what is going on.
Typical symptoms that you can ask your sister about, is whas she over eating, over drinking and urinating, unable to jump up on couch, etc. These are typical cushing symptoms.

Welcome again

Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

Just checking in to see how shakes is doing today? Did he get his name from shaking? You do know there is a syndrome associated with dogs that have white coats and they shake??? Hoping all is well and Shakes is improving. Blessings
Patti