Liam

[Mdragani]

My daughter's Yorkie Poo was diagnosed with Cushimgs in March. She found him 4 years ago so we do not know his age but thinks he is 5 or 6.His levels were as high as 49. They are currently 3.1 after taking 20mg of Vetoryl for 2 weeks then 30mg the next two weeks. He is now on 30mg a day. He is still demonstrating symptoms because he drinks about 2-3 cuos if water a day and needs to pee every 3 hours-longest he can go is about 8.

A couple of weeks ago I met a lady who told me her dig was diagnosed too and the vet told her she didn't want to put her on medicine so apparently prescribed a specila food. Although I do not know her levels she was seeing all over the place and has now stopped. I plan on calling the vet she uses but wanted to know if anyone has heard about food that can control the cortisol levels. I would love for all of our dogs not to have to take medication.

[labblab]

Hello and welcome! I have only a moment to post right now, but just wanted to let you know that I've moved your thread here to our main "Questions and Discussion" forum so that as many folks as possible will have the chance to "see" you and reply to you. ;)

I am very glad you've found us and joined our family. :)

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome!

Well let's start at the beginning. How was the dog diagnosed - what tests were done? Could you get the actual results of those tests and post them here along with the little letters that follow and the normal ranges for each value that is either too low or too high? That would help us a great deal!

How much does Liam weigh? The starting dose of Vetoryl (Trilostane) is 1mg per lb so his starting dose was correct at 20mg. He should have stayed on that dose for at least 30 days and should have had at least one ACTH during that time. First red flag. You never ever raise the dose in the first 30 days with this drug. Second red flad. You mention no ACTH results since the diagnostic ACTH so if Liam has not had another one or two since starting treatment, that is red flad number 3. Those red flags tell me your vet isn't well versed in this disease nor its treatments.

HOWEVER the vet your friend told you about, if the info was passed on correctly, certainly has no better understanding than the one you are dealing with now. To go to your friends' vet would be moving backwards in quality care for a cush pup BASED ON the info we have. There is NO food that will treat Cushing's, none, zip, zilch, nada. Cushing's is caused by a tumor, either on the pituitary gland in the skull or on one or both adrenal glands in the abdomen. Food cannot effect the over-production of cortisol the tumor causes. It simply cannot.

We would all LOVE for our babies to never have to take these drugs or any other. If there were another effective way to control the cortisol and the internal damage it causes, trust me we would alllllll be going that way instead of using the drugs that have, btw, saved our babies lives. ;) There are MANY things (supplements, diet, etc) that will improve the signs, the outward observable behaviors/physical changes, but those things do not address the problem - the cortisol. They simply mask the signs of what the cortisol is doing internally and the damage continues unabated.

If you simply do not wish to use the traditional proven treatments, get with a Holistic vet who can work with you and do not try to wing it on your own. You are apt to cause as much harm as good with all loving intention. So get with a vet trained and practicing a Holistic approach.

So you are aware of what happens in an untreated cush pup in order to make an informed decision on behalf of Liam here is a link from our helpful resource section - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195
Whatever you decide we will be here to help if we can. We will always listen and support you and Liam - you are now family. ;)

Looking forward to seeing those test results and learning much more about Liam very soon!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[molly muffin]

No I can honestly say that there are no known food that actually lowers the cortisol, but perhaps food that helps with the symptoms.

At 3.1 you don't want him to keep dropping in cortisol, so I hope that you are doing a follow up ACTH, cortisol will continue to drop on the same dose for 30 days or more, which is why an increase is not recommended until after 30 days on any dose.

Welcome to the forum