Hello from Melbourne, Australia

[Renee72]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I found this site by accident and hope you can offer some guidance and support. We have three fur kids, Ben - Cocker Spaniel 12 in November, Koko - Cocker Spaniel 10 in March and Jasper - Black Labrador, retired Guide dog 10 in January. After many tests and vet appointments Ben was diagnosed with adrenal Cushings. He has been on a white fish diet, with sweet potato, broccoli, and potato for about 6 months, with milk thistle extract and 60 mg of vetoryl daily. We have not had his blood work done since he went on vetoryl 3 months ago as we are waiting for a medication that has been out of stock and hopefully his bloods will be done in the next week or so. He is not showing any signs of ill health and it was pure accident we found via a routine blood test last September that there was a problem. The only thing we noticed was he had become aggressive off leash when we visited parks and beaches over the last few years and was unpredictable. He's absolutely fine with our dogs, our cat, us and anyone in our home. The other thing we noticed was that he appeared a little unsettled and kept waking up and moving his sleeping spots during the evening. Since he's been on vetoryl I've noticed a big improvement outdoors with other dogs, he doesn't seem as aggressive and he's much happier at night. Our dogs have always had frontline/revolution flea treatments etc.. I'm extremely reluctant to use such a harsh chemical on Ben at present and wondered if anyone could offer a natural alternative to fleas/ worming or at the very least a gentle alternative? Also, his blood work prior to going on vetoryl indicated that my rigorous diet regime of clean food did nothing to help his ALT/ ALP levels in fact while on this diet they increased and were extremely high. 1200 at one point. He does have a liver tumor that was found via an ultrasound and he was also given the standard antibiotics for a month in November to rule out infection. The vet is not too worried about the liver tumor at present and is more concerned at getting his liver enzymes down. We absolutely adore all our dogs but Ben is just my baby, I feel like I'm not sure what I'm doing and I'm confused by everything I read. If anyone can offer some sound advice of how/what I should be doing I would appreciate it immensely. I've never been in this situation and I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to make sure he's okay - thanks Renee

[jxeno13]

Hi Renee! Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you found us. It sounds like you have your hands full with 3 babies and one sick. I'm so sorry about your Ben. I'm also sorry that I can't answer most of your questions right now. 60mgs sounds like a lot of Vetoryl for a Cocker Spaniel, but since she's not sick or anything. I don't know what to add to that. Usually we would suggest only giving your baby 1 mg per pound of Vetoryl to start. Too bad they out of the compound used for the ACTH Stim, someone else on the board had the same problem.

Anyway, a more senior member may be of more help than I am. But I did want to welcome you. They'll have plenty of questions for you. :D

I use Frontline Plus on my baby as well. So, I can't help you there either. I usually switch only because at times I find it's not so effective.

I'm surprised no one is really posting so much today. It could be our cool weather suddenly got everyone out of the house for awhile..but they should be here soon. Welcome!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Renee,

Welcome to you and to all your furbabies!! Glad you found us and we will help in any way we can.

If you could get copies of all tests that were done on Ben and post any abnormalities that are listed with the references ranges and units of measurement that would be great. Was the adrenal Cushing's diagnosed via an ultrasound? Does Ben have any other health issues? Also, could you tell us what symptoms Ben was displaying that led you or the vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? How much does Ben weigh?

An ACTH stimulation test is performed to monitor a dog on treatment for Cushing's, and the stimulating agent used is generally Cortrosyn, is the Cortrosyn the drug the vet has had to order? With the ACTH stimulation test two blood draws are done, a pre and a post. It is with the post blood draw that the stimulating agent is used. Since the post draw can not be done at this time I would suggest that a pre blood draw be performed to make sure Ben's resting cortisol level is not too low.

Vetoryl has to be given with food to be properly absorbed, also the monitoring ACTH stimulation tests have to performed 4-6 hour after the Vetoryl dose is given, did the vet mention both of these protocols?

Dog's with Cushing's typically have high elevations in the ALP and sometimes we see the ALT moderately elevated, this is due to the excessive amounts of cortisol the dog's system is producing. These elevations may or may not return to normal levels with treatment for Cushing's.

Cushing's is a treatable disease but success in treatment does depend on keen owner observation along with a vet/IMS that is experienced with treating Cushing's and knowledgeable about the proper protocols for Cushing's.

Please know we are here for you, and if you have any questions at all do ask them, ok? ;) I'm providing a few links from our Resource thread that have a lot of info regarding Cushing's and Vetoryl/Trilostane:

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

Dechra's U.S. Product Insert. (http://www.dechra-us.com/files/dechraUSA/downloads/Product%20inserts/Vetoryl.pdf)


Links to Cushings Websites (especially helpful for new members!) (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180)

Hugs, Lori

[molly muffin]

You could add in something that has sam-e in it for the liver supplement. Sam-e with milk thistle is a good combination for a liver supplement. With the liver mass though, it might be tough to get those numbers done. It depends on if it is a malignant or benign mass, but those would help. I give my molly Revolution for flea/tick/heartworm.

Welcome to the forum
Sharlene and molly muffin