New here - 9 yo F boxer lab mix. meds are killing me

[RedinChicago]

Chloe is our F 9yo boxer/lab (and may be something else). She was diagnosed with Cushings last summer. I can drag out the lab number but I don't think it really matters. Her ACTH stim test was negative, but she had the excessive thirst, weight gain, lethargy, potbelly, elevated ALP and Cholesterol). She is on vetoryl and has good symptom control and her labs are almost normal. We're still dealing with gallbladder "sludge" for both her and her littermate.

The vetoryl is $165 a month for 30 120 mg from our vet. She's 65 pounds. It's actually more expensive at 1-800 pet meds and only $5 less at Costco. Bloodwork and office visits are relatively inexpensive although the quarterly ACTH stim tests are not. We ended up needing to upgrade to a more expensive food because they got picky. More $$

It sounds so awful for money to be a concern, but this is just killing me. Anyone found a more economical way to treat this?

[Wrighton]

Others will be along who know more, but I wonder if your dog has had an ultrasound. I ask because my dog had the sludge problem.

Gail and Icy

[RedinChicago]

Both dogs have had several ultrasounds. I forget what they gave both of them- there's a liver supplement that goes on their food and they both did a course of medicine. There's much less sludge now.

Our other dog has elevated ALP but no other symptoms or labs so we've opted to repeat bloodwork every 4 months or so.

[Wrighton]

Great. Mine had sludge and a mucusele. She just had her gallbladder removed and is doing very well so far. For the sludge, our vet put her on ursidiol. Denamarin and marin. But the sludge did not improve.

Good luck with your babies. Sorry but I don't use Veteroyl.

Have a great day.

Gail

[Squirt's Mom]

Check Diamondback Drugs and Lambert Vet Supply.

[labblab]

Hello and welcome from me, too! Just to elaborate a bit more re: Leslie's pharmacy suggestions, you can check with Lambert about the cost of brandname Vetoryl. We have been told that their pricing is pretty good.

However, a different alternative altogether is to discuss with your vet the possibility of buying compounded trilostane instead of brandname Vetoryl. Trilostane is the active ingredient in Vetoryl, and for dogs who need doses or forms of trilostane that are not available in Vetoryl, there are veterinary compounding pharmacies that will custom-make individual prescriptions. Compounded trilostane is generally much less expense than Vetoryl which is a definite "plus." There are also some "minuses" as well, in that a recent research study has shown that the products obtained from some (unnamed) compounding pharmacies are more variable in both actual dose and efficiency than brandname Vetoryl. For this reason, some vets do not feel comfortable prescribing compounded versions of the drug unless a dog truly does not have another option due to the size of the dose needed. However, we realize that for dogs needing big doses like Chloe, the expense of Vetoryl can be overwhelming, and compounded trilostane may offer the only affordable option for continuing with treatment.

In Chloe's case, if you were to go the route of compounded trilostane, you would have to opt for a dose other than the 120 mg. that is available in Vetoryl because it is not legal for the identical dose to be prepared in "mimic" form. I am not sure how closely you can duplicate Vetoryl (like is 115 mg. alright), but a compounding pharmacy can tell you. Diamondback Drugs, who Leslie has mentioned, is an internet compounding pharmacy located in Arizona. They do not sell Vetoryl, but they do provided compounded trilostane to several of our members who have been very satisfied with the product and with the pharmacy's customer service. So you can either visit their website or give them a call if you'd like to get further info about their pricing and their medications.

Marianne

[molly muffin]

I'd call diamondback and some of the others mentioned and get quotes for both vetroyl and trilostane. I'm sure you can do better.

[labblab]

Yes, if you want to stick with brandname Vetoryl, I just Googled 120 mg. Vetoryl capsules and came up with several pharmacies who are retailing the med at a cost of $113-120. You can definitely do better than $165.

Marianne