Prescription vs homeopathic

[ladykm]

So glad to find this site. My little ShiTzu, Brewster, has just been diagnosed with Cushings with a low dose Dex test. We rescued Brewster when he was about 5 years old. He is now about 10 and a big part of our family. My vet wants to start him on Vetoryl. The medication and required periodic ACTH tests, as you know,
are very expensive.
I have been reading about Adrenal Harmony Gold and wonder if anyone has had experience with this. I'm wondering if I should try this for a few months to see if it helps before starting him on Vetoryl. Any thoughts?

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and Brewster! :)

I know it can be scary to think about the meds required to control the cortisol...but that is just what they are - required. Adrenal Gold, Cushex, and other such products may help with some of the signs (and they may well make some worse ;) ) but they can do nothing for the enemy of Cushing's - cortisol. As long as the cortisol is allowed to run rampant in high levels, internal damage is occurring. Trust me - if these products worked, we would ALL be using them and this forum would not exist, there would be no need if Cushing's were so easily managed.

These companies have one goal - to make money on our fear. They do not care that their false words give false hope that can easily lead to the early death of our babies. All they care about is the money they make from the sale of these products. I am a firm believer in "natural" medicine - I harvest and make my own herbal meds. But I cannot support Adrenal Gold, Cushex, etc. They change the formulas often so you never really know what you are giving your dog. They use herbs like Dandelion that will increase urination, something our babies do not need help with. Their understanding of this disease is very minimal. They claim, or used to anyway (that may have changed, too), that their products will work for both Cushing's and Addison's - polar opposite diseases. :rolleyes:

If you wish to try a Holistic approach (which included Western herbalism, TCM, nutritional, and other approaches as well as homeopathic) then get with a Holistic vet and do NOT try to wing it on your own. Herbs are drugs in their own right and should be respected as such. They can cause as much harm as pharmaceutical when misused. Fair warning - a Holistic approach is no less expensive and can be much more expensive to use. In addition, the same concept applies here - if there were a sure-fire Holistic treatment, we would not be using Vetoryl or Lysodren. ;) The Holistic approach CAN work but not as reliably as traditional treatment. The key to continue having the ACTHs to check the cortisol level even with a Holistic approach. Basing efficacy on just what is observed with the eye does not tell the full story of what is happening inside the body where the cortisol is working nor does that tell you if the chosen approach is working - only the ACTH can do that. ;)

Can you tell us more about Brewsters health history? We LOVE details so don't worry about a long post. Also can you get the actual results of the LDDS and any other labs that he has had done recently showing things like BUN, CHOL, ALP, etc. and post the abnormal results here, too high or too low, along with the little letters and normal ranges for each. That will help us give you more meaningful feedback.

I'm glad you found us and look forward to learning more.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[molly muffin]

Welcome to the forum.
So sorry your Brewster has been diagnosed with this.

I am guessing your vet is talking about starting vetroyl as the medication?
If so remember that you want to start at no more than 1mg/1lb. So as not to risk overdose.
Next as long as you don't get the dosage that name brand vetroyl comes in, you can get the ingredient trilostane, from a compounding pharmacy at a much cheaper price. (Call Diamondback for a quote as many of our members use that for the exact same reason, pricing) Also, once you are over the initial testing, you don't have to get tested as often, once that stable dose is found.