14 year old Chorkie with Cushing's, Diabetes, Bloat...

[greens758]

I have a tricky case on my hands. My 14 year old Chorkie has had Atypical Cushing's for 5 years and Cushing's disease for about 2. She was resistant to trilostane and we now administer lysodren in pill form. She has been a hard case to regulate since the beginning and we've done several loading and maintaining phases. She has severe food allergies, and can only eat one kind of food. If she gets into anything else she bloats and has almost died 3 times from it. Eating just one kind of food, in small doses has really helped prevent anymore bloating issues. She now won't touch her food if there is any scent of lysodren in the food and I'm thinking about going to liquid form. Has anyone tried liquid lysodren with good results? Having to force the pills down her throat is traumatizing for both of us and I don't want to do that to her anymore.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your furbaby,

Has an ACTH stimulation test been performed recently? If not than I would have this done first just to make sure her cortisol hasn't dropped too low.

How much does your girl weigh and what is the maintenance dose of Lysodren she is taking? What was her loading dose? Does your girl have the adrenal or pituitary type of Cushing's? The reason I ask is because adrenal tumors are extremely resistant to Lysodren and normally require doses greater that the usual 50mg/kg loading dose to be effective.

Lysodren is a fat-soluble drug and has to be given with some fat to be properly absorbed.

Sorry for all these questions but the more we know about your girl the better our feedback can be, ok ;)

Hugs, Lori

[greens758]

The internist believes the tumor on the gland is large, requiring radiation to shrink it for optimum results. We cannot afford the MRI or the radiation treatment. She believes this is the reason we cannot get her under control using just the Lysodren. Her last stim in December showed her number post at 13...we decided to leave her here because when we get her under 5 she will not eat at all and generally does better when numbers a bit elevated. She weighs 11 pounds. She is currently on Lysodren 4 days week. Sunday PM, Thursday PM, Saturday morning 1/4 pill and Tuesday PM she gets 1/2 pill. She is a complicated case for sure, keeping us on our toes.

[judymaggie]

Welcome! I am the Mom of an almost 12 year old beagle, Abbie, whom I am treating with Lysodren. The in-house experts (Lori and others) will do much better than I in helping you navigate your pup's treatment. I did have one thought as I was reading your first post -- you mentioned that your girl
won't touch her food if there is any scent of lysodren in the food. I am wondering why this would happen since the Lysodren needs to be given after a meal.

Hang in there and let us know what your girl's name is!

[Harley PoMMom]

The internist believes the tumor on the gland is large, requiring radiation to shrink it for optimum results.

When you say "gland" are you referring to the adrenal or pituitary?

[greens758]

Her name is Kay Leigh and we've always given her pills with her meals and have never had a problem.

[Squirt's Mom]

If the tumor involved in pituitary-based Cushing's becomes large, you will see signs like circling, odd movements, and so on. There is a thread in the Everything Else section on Macros, these tumors that grow large, and people who have dealt with them have posted what they saw and how they treated. If you think this is a true possibility for your baby, it would be a good thing for you to read.