Adrenal Harmony Gold

[Lily J]

My 12 year old poodle has been diagnosed with Cushing's. Her doc wants to start her on Trilostane. She's already on thyroid meds, allergy meds, and a cough suppressant. I'm worried about giving her more meds. Have been trying to seek alternative therapies such as essential oils, herbs, etc. I spoke to a pharmacist today at a compounding pharmacy. He just happened to have done clinicals on women's health and hormones, etc. He was very knowledgeable about Cushing's. When I talked about my concerns on putting her on the Cushing's meds, he said the Trilostane would block the adrenals from making too much cortisol, but not from making what's needed. He knew I wanted to go natural if possible, so he gave me info on the Adrenal Harmony Gold Natural Herbal Remedy for canines. He suggested trying it for a month, then having her ACTH retested. Have you heard anything about this product? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl!

The Adrenal Harmony Gold may help with the symptoms but will not address the root cause of Cushing's which is elevated cortisol. I'm including a post from one of Administrators who actually talked to a Dr. Elaine on their site:


I saw a post on facebook that prompted me to contact the manufacturer of Adrenal Harmony Gold to ask them about their claims....claims which I was pretty sure were bogus. Luckily I was able to chat with a Dr. Elaine on their site and pose my questions there. The only nice thing I can say about our exchange is that she was honest in her responses. I copied our exchange below:

[Glynda] Manufacturer claims that Adrenal Harmony Gold's "Adaptogens" are a classification of herbs considered to support the adrenals, helping the body adapt naturally to stressors and produce normal, healthy levels of cortisol. Unlike drugs, adaptogens will not stimulate or depress adrenal function but, rather, help the adrenals normalize their hormone production. This is a rather startling revelation and I'd like to know if the manufacturer has done sanctioned clinical trials, using the usual acth stimulation tests, UC:CR, LDDST, etc to support the claim that this product normalizes adrenal function.

[Elaine] Hello, thank you for contacting Customer Support. My name is Elaine. Please give me a moment to review your question.

[Elaine] No there have been no clinical trials done on this product as of yet

[Glynda] Then how can you possibly make claims that are unsupported by credible evidence?

[Elaine] Our products are used for support and have proved very successful, we have an overall return rate of less than 10%

Elaine then quickly ended our session before I could tell her that a return rate of only 10% is woefully inadequate proof of safety and efficacy. I also wanted to tell her that I must have missed the part where the manufacturer got a conscience and told their audience that Adrenal Harmony Gold doesn't really normalize adrenal function but because they have absolutely no idea what their product does, nor whether it is safe, they recommend it as an adjunct treatment with conventional drugs that actually have been proven effective in reducing cortisol levels. This is the same outrageous response I got when I called this same company out for their false advertising of Cushex Drops. This is probably the same crap in a bottle with a different name and Dr. Elaine can't possibly be a doctor of anything. This company is shameless and I remain dumbfounded as to why there are so many great reviews for this product.

After having said all that, I admit that I know nothing about Chinese herbs so perhaps there may be something in this formula that does make a dog feel better in some way but this company is apparently unable to explain why that is. Argh!

I highly recommend that members do their own research and ask questions about any product being touted as an effective treatment for cushing's. The common claim among most of these online companies is that they all claim that their product normalizes adrenal function. Some are even bold enough to claim it is effective for cushings and addison's. I can only assume that they are either the most ignorant bunch of people on the planet or they are the most devious and assume that most people are completely ignorant and desperate enough to believe their outrageous claims. Unfortunately, that is the most likely scenario. I was once completely ignorant and desperate after having received the cushing's diagnosis so I get it. We pet owners with precious cushdogs are the perfect target market.

Glynda

The two medications that are generally prescribed for Cushing's, Lysodren/Mitotane and Trilostane/Vetoryl, are serious drugs that need to be respected and most certainly, understood. The best advice I can give you is to do your research on Cushing's, the treatment protocols, and how it is diagnosed. We have an abundant of information in our Resource forum, which does include articles written by some of the most renown veterinarians that specialize in endocrinology such as David Bruyette, Mark Peterson, and Edward Feldman. Here's a link to our Resource thread: Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10) If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them.

Now, in order for us to provide better feedback could you tell us more about your sweet girl? What symptoms was she displaying that led you or your vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? How much does your girl weigh? Is she taking any other herbs/supplements/medications? Does she have any other health issues? Was an urinalysis done, and if so, could you post those findings too? Could you get your hands on copies of all tests that were done on your girl and post any abnormalities that are listed...e.g....ALT 150U/L (5-50) Also we are especially interested in the results from any tests that were used to diagnose the Cushing's in your girl.

Cushing's is probably the most difficult canine disease to diagnose. Physical symptoms associated with Cushing's are shared by many other diseases, blood and urine abnormalities are shared with other other diseases and the diagnostic tests to measure circulating cortisol are flawed and can yield false positive results in the face of non adrenal illness or even stress. All of these things make it very challenging to correctly diagnose Cushing's which makes it one of the most misdiagnosed canine diseases. It takes an experienced vet and an educated pet owner to facilitate safe and effective treatment. It is when one or both is missing that dogs get into trouble.

We are here to help in any way we can, and remember you are not alone on this journey we are right there by your side. ;)

Hugs, Lori