Help!

[Kacers]

My 7 year old mixed breed has been diagnosed with Cushing's over a year now and we cannot find any relief. She tried anipryl and that didn't work, then was put on Trilostane and that dose keeps getting higher. She has had her blood checked constantly and her levels just continue to rise. Last we checked they went from 4 to 11 in 6 weeks, not sure what the measurement was but I know 4 to 11 in a short time is not good! She eats a lot and drinks a lot but the real problem is her constant skin issues, she is ALWAYS itching but there is no infection. Any guidance would be greatly appreciate!! I want my lil girl to be comfortable!

[Squirt's Mom]

MODERATOR NOTE: Your post has been manually approved so that members can start responding to you. Please check your email, possibly your spam / junk folder, for a message from k9cushings. You will need to reply to that email so that your post go directly to the board and are not delayed waiting for approval. If you have already received and responded to the confirmatory email, please be patient. Your registration will be finalized shortly. Thanks and welcome!

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your girl,

I have manually approved your membership so now all your posts will be seen right away. Also, please just disregard the validation email that was sent to you from k9cushings.

I am sorry your sweet girl is not having a good response with her treatment, and hopefully once we get some more information about your girl we all can put our heads together and figure out just what is going on, ok?

So, some of the information we need to help us provide better feedback will be your answers to these questions: Does your girl have pituitary or the adrenal form of Cushing's? Is she taking any other herbs/supplements/medications? How much does she weigh? Has she had a CBC/ Chemistry blood panel done recently, and if so, could you post any abnormalities that are listed with the reference ranges and units of measurement? What symptoms was she displaying that led you or your vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? What test/s for Cushing's were performed and could you post those results too? We are especially interested in seeing the monitoring test (ACTH) results along with their timelines and the doses she was taking at that time for the ACTH test.. Is she still getting the Vetoryl now and what dose is she on? Is/was she getting her Vetoryl with food? And are her monitoring ACTH stimulation tests being performed 4-6 hours after her dose of Vetoryl? Is her trilostane compounded or is she taking brand-name Vetoryl?

Cushing's is very difficult to diagnose, and unfortunately it is often misdiagnosed as there is not a test that can accurately identify it. Also, many other conditions can have blood abnormalities and symptoms that overlap with Cushing's such as a thyroid issue or diabetes, have these two issues been ruled out?

The key to successful treatment is an experienced vet and an educated pet owner. Adverse side effects are usually only seen when the proper protocols are not being followed. Both Vetoryl (Trilostane) or Lysodren (Mitotane) are very effective in the treatment of Cushing's. Both are serious drugs so it would benefit you to learn everything you can about using the Vetoryl/Trilostane treatment plan and the protocols that need to be followed. There's scads of information regarding Cushing's in our Helpful Resource section. I've included a link below to a great thread for members who are new to the disease.

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180 and for info regarding Vetoryl/Trilostane: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185

We are here to help in any way we can, and please do ask all the questions you want.

Hugs, Lori

[Kacers]

They did not tell me which form of Cushing's they think. She has only had the blood tests done. She is only taking an antihistamine because they think she has allergies as well. I am not sure about that, she has ALWAYS been itchy but now I wonder if she just wasn't diagnosed yet. She has had every blood test imaginable it seems and nothing was abnormal. I have been taking her to the vet due to her itching, sometimes she'll get little puss bumps on her belly but since I am now aware I wipe her down all the time and give her medicated baths, she hasn't had those bumps in over a year. Then she started waking me to eat and drink so I wanted her tested for diabetes, that came back negative so we did the initial cushing's test. (I am sorry I don't know all the names of the tests) that came back positive but the vet wanted to do a blood test where she was tested throughout the day after injections. That confirmed she had cushings and so began this terrible journey. She is on 40mg of Vetoryl in the morning and 30mg in the evening. She usually eats with medications, she is our only pet and the bowel of food is just out for her, she prefers to graze over one sitting. ACTH stimulation tests have been preformed about 6 hours after giving her the morning dose. they have made sure to let me know that it needed to be done 5-6 hours after. I think she must be on a compound, and I have wondered about that. they are chewable brown pills with a C looking on the back and a score line on the other side.
thank you!