Milly just diagnosed with Cushings

[Milly]

Milly is a 7yr old Bichon Frise and it was definitely confirmed last week that she had Cushings. It is Pituitary related.
She started to have 10mg of Vetoryl daily and she is now on her fourth day. I haven't noticed much difference as yet although her panting has decreased. I'm a little worried today as she is a little unsettled. She didn't want to go 'walkies' and she keeps wanting to just lie on the kitchen floor.This is a change from yesterday when she appeared brighter.All she seems to want to do is sleep all day. The reason we took her to the vet was because we noticed she was panting a lot.
As we are due to go away on Saturday,taking Milly with us,she is having a blood test on Friday.
Am I expecting too much too soon?

[mytil]

Hi and welcome to you and Milly.

When you get the chance, list all the tests (and their results) performed to come to the diagnosis of Cushing's. What other symptoms does she have that prompted the vet to test for Cushing's?

Regarding your question about expecting too much too soon......I wanted to mention that as the cortisol levels drop within the first weekish it can make the dog feel "punky." It is the system adjusting to the lowering cortisol and will level off. BUT I would keep an eye on her just in case and also mention this to your vet when you see them on Friday or sooner should it get worse. The test should be an ACTH test which will show the cortisol levels.

Here is a link that provides further information about Vetoryl/Trilostane - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185 (good reading).

Keep us posted,
Terry

[molly muffin]

Welcome to the forum. How much does Milly weigh? 10 mg seems like it should be about right or at least not too much for her breed. How is her eating and drinking? As terry mentioned if you could post test results that would help us give better feed back.

[Milly]

Milly weighs 6.5 kg. The vet is only young but he is very good. He picked up that it might be Cushings straight away.She has also has had a scan.
The symptoms of Cushings she had were: very pale urine which when tested showed an abnormality.Something to do with her liver. She was lethargic, increased weight and panting a lot and drinking a lot of water.575 ml in 24 hrs.
I don't really want to ask for her blood results as he may think I doubt his diagnosis. He keeps me informed every step of the way what he is doing and rings me up as soon as he has the test results.
Thank you for this very helpful forum. It is good to know and read about other dogs with Cushings.
I do so hope when the medication levels out she will be back to her normal bouncy self.Luckily she is insured and they will cover her for life.
She is still eating everything she can but I give her a bowl of mixed raw vegetables/fruit now and again. She likes carrots, runner beans, stalks of broccoli, melon, blueberries,banana and apple.

[addy]

I just wanted to stop by and say welcome. Milly sure is cute and I could not help but smile at her bowl of fruit and veggies.

I too hope she gets back to her bouncy self once her Cushings is controlled.

Welcome!

[molly muffin]

Okay so 14 lb. 10mg should be fine. Did you have an ACTH prior to starting by any chance? Some do some some don't if the Ldds was used to diagnose the Cushing's.
You will want to have an ACTH at around day 12 to verify her levels nd how she is reacting to the medication.
Of she vomits or starts having diarrhea or becomes wobbly can't stand then stop medication and check levels.
She should be okay on this dose but any dog can react more or less to the meds. To any meds.

[Milly]

Milly has been on Vetoryl 10mg for 14 days.She had a test after 7 days as we were going on holiday with Milly for a week. The vet was happy with the results and said the Vetoryl was doing its job. Her panting has only just got better but tonight( here in the UK) She has started staggering about. Otherwise she appears OK. She still has an appetite but doesn't enjoy going for a walk. As we are still on holiday,going home tomorrow, I am stopping the Vetoryl and ringing the vet if I can but it's weekend so he may not be available. Am I doing the right thing? Is this staggering a common side effect of Vetoryl?

[Beaglelover]

Welcome, you will find a lot of valuable resources here. The members are very knowledgable, they will give you sound advice and great listeners. Us, other junior members are in similar situations like you with Cush dogs.

Tammy (Jenna's mommy)

[Squirt's Mom]

Are you seeing any other signs that indicate the cortisol may be going too low - loose stools/diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite?

Some pups on Vetoryl experience a sort of withdrawal period in the beginning. Vetoryl can lower the cortisol very rapidly, causing this reaction in some pups. They never really show signs of an overdose but are really off for a little bit then rally back to themselves.

You have absolutely done the right thing in stopping the med and calling the vet. That is the right reaction anytime you are concerned. This is the good thing about Vetoryl - it can be stopped and restarted easily without losing ground. ;)

Let us know how Milly is doing, ok?
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Milly]

Thank you. A locum vet rang me back this morning and she advised stopping the Vetoryl until I see the regular vet on Tuesday(day off Mon)or maybe just give her one 10mg on Monday.
She has no other signs just the staggering. She is not as bad today but she is not happy walking.

[My sweet Ginger]

If she's better today than yesterday but still staggering then I'd hold Vetoryl and watch her if she continues to get better without Vetoryl. If that happens that might indicate her cortisol was going too low.
Can you get the results of her latest ACTH numbers and post them for us? That will be very helpful. Thank you in advance.

[Milly]

Milly has not had her Vetoryl today. Tonight she is a different dog to yesterday. For the first time in weeks she was actually very excited when'walkies' was mentioned. She really enjoyed her walk tonight. She is also no longer panting. If only she could stay like this without Vetoryl but I know that is not possible. When do I give her another Vetoryl tablet? Tomorrow or Monday, that is the question?

[labblab]

Since Milly seems to be doing so much better now that the trilostane has been discontinued, if it were me, I would not give her any more until you can talk to the regular vet on Tuesday. I think the locum vet's recommendation was good in that regard. Missing a couple days of trilo won't do her any real harm, and if her cortisol had been dropping too low, it may continue to help her.

Just for your info, Dechra now makes a 5 mg. Vetoryl capsule. It may not yet be widely available in the U.K., but we've been told that vets can obtain it directly from Dechra if the need for a smaller dose is warranted.

Marianne

[Milly]

Thank you, I will mention the 5mg to our vet. Before Milly was diagnosed the main symptom she had was excessive panting and reluctance to walk far.She had put on weight but did not have a pot belly.She also had no hair loss. We were so shocked when we got the diagnosis as she is only seven and was a very fit and active dog.

[molly muffin]

I agree with Marianne and Song, it sure seems like 10mg might have been too much for her.

[Milly]

Milly saw the vet yesterday and he is going to order some 5mg tablets of Vetoryl. For the moment she appears normal without her Dally 10mg Vetoryl.
Something else appears to have arisen today though. She shakes her head and then falls over. Oh! Dear! I hope it's not something sinister. She has never been like this before.

[molly muffin]

oh dear, no that doesn't sound right at all.
Has she had an ACTH since she wasn't doing good on the 10mg?

Is there a neurological specialist that milly can see? I had a neuro specialist check molly's back when she hurt it. She couldn't get up and move for very far at that time, so definitely worth having Milly checked out. (oh it was confirmed she had a inflammed spine on an xray prior to seeing the specialist)

Definitely something the vet needs to know about ASAP and before starting any other dose of trilostane, even the 5mg, as she could have also gone low.

Electrolytes also need to be checked.

[Milly]

Thank you.
We have just seen the vet. Her left ear seemed tender although he couldn't see anything amiss. He gave her a good check over and she doesn't have a vestibular problem as far as he can see. He has given her a one off injection of an anti inflammatory and we will see how she is tomorrow.As today as gone on she has stopped falling over but shakes her head now and again.
She is not having anymore Vetoryl until she has another blood test in a weeks time.
If the shaking head and falling over continues then the next step will be an MRI scan to see what is happening in the head.

[Milly]

Milly has been off the Vetoryl for a week now and she has started panting quite a lot again and her appetite is over the top. She is always wanting food.
It is so difficult trying to decide what to do for the best. She has another blood test on Wednesday and then will probably start on the 5mg Vetoryl daily after that.
I really find it hard to accept that my little Milly who is only 7years old has Cushings. My two previous Bichons lived to 17 yrs old and 18 yrs old with no problems.I realise now I was so lucky.
I try to think what I have done differently with Milly. The one main difference is that Milly has been spayed the other two were not.
She is also fed on dried food(Burns) the other two thrived on Pedigree Chum wet food.
Her pedigree line is also much different.There appears to be a lot of interbreeding. Her father is also her mother's father.She is a beautiful Bichon from Champion stock, English and American champion Bichons but can it cause more health problems I wonder?

Well Cushings is here and we will fight it along with the help of you good people on here. It's just a struggle at times.

[Squirt's Mom]

Ok darlin', you stop that right now. You did NOTHING to cause the Cushing's, nothing. For as long as I have been around folk have been trying to find out what causes Cushing's....and other than the Iatrogenic form that is caused by steroid usage, the studies can find no specific cause, none. It is one of those things that just happens.

And barring a few rare complications, there is no reason to think Milly won't live just as long as your other babies. My Squirt lived to be 16 and a few months, one member on the Facebook group just lost his 18+ yr old....neither passed from the disease but from simple old age. So you just plan on many more years with your sweet girl, dolling out meds and taking trips to the vet of course, but together for some time to come.

[Milly]

Thank you Squirt's Mum you are so kind and caring. It's just that I am new to all this never having had a sick little dog before. I have been so lucky. We will get through these early stages and I am looking forward to seeing Milly being more like her usual self.
Today we went in the park for a walk. She really didn't want to walk, she kept stopping and looking back. We decided to take her back home and go for a walk without her.It seemed so strange not having her with us.

[Milly]

She appears to be struggling with her back legs. Is this a usual problem with Cushings?

[Harley PoMMom]

Rear leg weakness is a commonplace side effect of Cushing's because of the muscle wasting caused by the catabolic effect of very high levels of cortisol. Once that elevated cortisol is under control improvement in that area can happen although this does take some time.

Hugs, Lori

[molly muffin]

My dog has the rear leg weakness too. I bought little doggie steps for my molly to use to get up to her favorite window seat, as she can't do the big jump ups any longer.

[Milly]

Milly is still off Vetoryl and is awaiting blood test results from last Wednesday.
Cushings is so complicated. I watch her get up off her mat after dozing and then she just collapses down again on the floor. It seems as if her joints are aching and hurting all over. She is also panting quite a lot.At other times she gets so excited when she sees my granddaughter and runs around as if nothing is wrong.I wish, how I wish,she could talk. We'll,she can't and we mums have to keep looking for every little sign to give us a clue to which way this horrible disease is going.
We can only hope that the correct dosage of Vetoryl over time will help to make her happy again.

[molly muffin]

I am seriously wondering if her cortisol went low or if just her cortisol being lowered brought out arthritic problems that a higher cortisol might have covered up. This is common.

Has she ever had an xray to check joints for arthritis or any other joint issues?

That when she is excited, a natural reaction to excitement is to produce cortisol, then she is able to run around and feel good until that wears off. This is just a thought for now.

Please when they call to give you the results, ask for the pre and the post of the ACTH and write them down. This is very important for you to know and can help to guide you in your next steps.

[Milly]

Thank you so much Molly Muffin. You are all so helpful on here.
I am going to see the vet, yet again,tonight. I have just spoken to him and further blood tests have now shown she now has pancreatitis.Her levels of whatever was measured in her blood are very high.Are Cushings and Pancreatitis related I wonder.

She has not started on Vetoryl again yet as the vet wants to make sure she has the correct dosage. She still pants, but not all the time.She is being ravenous again and drinking more water.

Pancreatitis as well as Cushings!!! Poor little dog.It doesn't just rain, it pours.

[Harley PoMMom]

Oh geez, I am sorry to hear that Milly has pancreatitis :( Unfortunately dog's with Cushing's can be prone to pancreatitis :( Did the vet diagnose the pancreatitis using the spec cPL test or is this based on either/both the amylase and lipase being elevated on the chemistry blood panel?

Pancreatitis can be a bugger to get control of, and there is the acute or chronic type of pancreatitis. Is this something that the vet feels that came on all of a sudden or has been festering for a while?

Pancreatitis is painful and generally pain meds are prescribed. A very low fat diet is required for this type of disease and these meals (3-4) should be small and given throughout the day. Making sure the dog is staying hydrated helps with the healing of the pancreas.

There are a couple of us that are dealing or have had dealt with pancreatitis with success so it is a doable disease to treat. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Hugs, Lori

[Milly]

Thank you Lori. He asked for a test from a blood sample. Apparently it was 800 or something and should be much lower.
She has had a steroid injection, antibiotics and anti inflammatory medicine.
She is also starting on Low fat food.

What is puzzling is she hadn't been sick or had unusual motions.

[Harley PoMMom]

My Harley's pancreatitis was found with his first ultrasound and he never showed any symptoms either. His pancreatitis was confirmed with the PLI (previous version of the spec cPL) test. When the PLI was first performed I believe his number came back in the 500's and we could never get that number lower than the 300's, Harley had chronic pancreatitis. With the result of 800 it sure sounds like Milly has had the spec cPL test, and I am glad to hear that she is not showing any signs of pancreatitis.

Hugs, Lori

[Squirt's Mom]

How is Milly this morning? I hope she is feeling much better!

[Milly]

Milly is one day into her treatment for pancreatitis. She is taking an antibiotic and has Meloxicam daily.
As she has shown no signs of pancreatitis apart from the blood test I'm not sure what I am looking for.
She still has Cushings signs especially panting.
As she was overdosed with Vetoryl she is still not taking those.

The vet says we have one very complicated little dog.

I'm trawling the internet to try to find out how pancreatitis and cushings can be treated together.

As she starts on Vetoryl next week(5mg) she cannot be given the full treatment for pancreatitis.

It's all so very confusing.

[Harley PoMMom]

As she starts on Vetoryl next week(5mg) she cannot be given the full treatment for pancreatitis.

It's all so very confusing.

I am confused by your statement here :confused::) A cushdog with pancreatitis can have the proper treatment for pancreatitis.

Hugs, Lori

[Milly]

Glad to hear that Harley's mum. I must have misunderstood the vet. Perhaps he was saying that he wants to treat the pancreatitis first before he starts Vetoryl again as Milly's dosage has not yet been regulated.

[molly muffin]

It is likely that your vet just wants to treat the pancreatis right now and then can go back and revisit the cushings, once symptoms come back and test show her cortisol is going up.
It wouldn't do any good to do that test right now with the pancreatis going on as her cortisol would be raised due to that.

Hope she starting to feel a bit better.

[Milly]

Milly seems much happier now her pancreatitis has been treated. Just worried though as quite often when she gets up after resting she will limp and hold up one of her paws as though it hurts. It is so sad to see as I don't know what is wrong. I just rub it better for her and she seems all right for a little while. It's as though her joints hurt.
Please has anyone any idea what this might be?

[molly muffin]

My dog was doing that too, with one of her front paws. I never did figure it out but think it might have been an initial sprain from jumping off the couch. It every once in awhile still comes back, but doesn't last very long and if I keep her off it for a bit, even 10 minutes, that helps and she walks normal again.

How is Milly's pancreatis doing? Hope she is feeling better

[Milly]

We hope to go to Europe in the spring and Milly, with Cushings and on Vetoryl will require Rabies injections. Will she be all right to have the injections? Has anyone any experience of this? Thank you.

[Budsters Mom]

First of all, someone will be along shortly to merge your threads. It is so much easier for us to follow along (on a specific history) when everything is in one place. Since you're specifically asking about Milly, that would be a better place for this post to be.;)

There are varied and strong opinions regarding rabies inoculations. Some are absolutely for doing it, EVERY time. Others, not so much. Personally, I have wrestled with this myself more than once. Once with my Cushing dog who already had allergies and was dying from a probable enlarging pituitary macro tumor. Then again, with my little allergy dog now. It wasn't the initial needed inoculations that bothers me the most. It was the fact that I needed to continue to have them done at regular intervals throughout their life. I discovered that it was really hard to get an exemption. At least it was for me and I never was able to get one for my Cushing dog. In the end, I ended up ignoring the notifications and not doing it. He eventually died and they left it well enough alone. It was a big hassle and I did not feel good about it!:eek:

So, to answer your question....
I personally feel that a Cushing's diagnosis alone shouldn't keep a dog from getting a rabies booster. It should depend on their other health issues, whether rabies is prevalent in their area and a trusted vet's opinion, of course.;)

Kathy

[molly muffin]

My dog has not had any problems with rabies vaccine since being treated for cushings. If there have been no problems previously then it is doubtful that any would be experienced due to cushing treatment, at least in my experience it hasn't made any different to my dog.

[Milly]

Milly is much better thank you and her pancreatitis seems to have gone.
Im still very worried about her front leg/paw as it is going worse. Once she had walked about for a while she seemed OK but today she limped all the time on her walk.I have also found a lump on her neck.
I'm off to the the vets again asap.

She will have to have her Rabies vaccinations as we are going caravanning to France in May. She will not be allowed back in the UK if she doesn't have them.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.

[Milly]

These are Milly's latest rest results 18.12.2015

Pre test ACHT 73.9
Post test ACHT 213

She is having more tests on the 7.1.2016

These tests were done two weeks after starting 5mg of Vetoryl daily.The vet was pleased with them,

[Milly]

tried to post image

[molly muffin]

Hi to create an album and add photos, try this.

Top left corner is a button that says User CP, click that
on the left side is a panel, one of the items is Pictures & Albums, click that
You will see a button that says "add album" click that
Title the Album and mark the "make public" button (this allows others on the forum to see your pictures) if you don't want others to see the pictures, then keep private
Now you have an album, so you can Upload Pictures.
click on that, browse on your computer to the photo (s) you want to add to your album, choose them and upload.

Let me know if you have any issues with creating and adding pictures.

How is Milly's leg doing now?

[Milly]

Thank you for your help.
Milly is not too bad at the moment and she has another blood test on Friday.
Her back legs seem to be weaker as she cannot jump on the chair like she used to. She is also having trouble with her front leg/paw, she often limps for a while after she has been resting.
She also has a lump growing on the back of her neck. It is a dark pinky colour, under the skin and appears to be filled with liquid or pus. I have bathed it and it didn't seem to hurt her.
In the past month she has been on 5mg of Vetoryl daily. She is also on a liver tablet as her liver is not good. She has had Pancreatitis and an infected ear. This has all been in the past few weeks.
Prior to being diagnosed with Cushings she was a fit and healthy little dog.She is only seven.
I am really worried as it looks like her immune system is weak.

[molly muffin]

What does her vet say about the bruised lump? Sometimes they get these in areas where the blood has been drawn. Molly had one once, but then never again. I errr advised them to be more careful when drawing blood. :) Not sure if it was a bad draw or what, but like I said, never again.

My molly's legs are weak and she now has stairs to her favorite window seat and due to leg and eyesight we carry her up and down stairs.
She periodically has exhibited a front leg weakness. I think she sprained it on a jump once and since then it has been that she can redo it. It seems to go away after she has been on it for a bit, but still scares the bejeebes out of me.

At 7 she is still a youngster in my eyes.

[Milly]

Our little Bichon Milly has Cushings. It was diagnosed ten months ago and she has been managing very well on 5mg Vetoryl per day. She is eight years old. These past few days her panting has got worse. She is drinking more and eating more. We rang our vet and he just wants to see if she settles down. She has been so bad today that we are so worried and upset.She is panting all the time even when lying down.We feel helpless and don't know how to help her.
I'm very tempted to give her an extra Vetoryl, but should I?
How can I help her panting?

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and little Milly! Can you tell us if/when her cortisol level has been checked through blood testing? The ACTH stimulation test is what is needed to do this, and if Millie has been taking her Vetoryl for ten months, I'm hoping that she has had some of this testing done along the way. It may easily be the case that she simply needs a bigger dose of the drug, but you cannot know that for certain without checking her cortisol. To be safe, a basic test of her blood chemistries should performed, as well. The balance of potassium and sodium can be thrown off in dogs taking Vetoryl, and so those levels along with basic kidney and liver values should be checked periodically.

I know it's tempting to give her an additional capsule, but it really is not safe to do so until you have those test results in hand. I would really press your vet to perform that testing unless it has been completed recently.

Can you tell us a bit more about Millie's overall health history, as well as the symptoms and testing that led you to diagnose her Cushing's in the first place?

Thanks so much!
Marianne

Edited to add: I see you already had a thread about Millie in place on the forum, so many of the questions I've asked are probably already answered. I'll go back and recheck. However, any recent test results will still be very helpful.

[judymaggie]

Hi! I have merged your newest post with your original thread about Milly. This allows our members to see all of Milly's history on the forum as well as keep things together for you.

I am sorry you are seeing some worrisome symptoms with Milly. When was the last time you had an ACTH done? If it has been some time then I would definitely recommend that you have that completed along with a check of her electrolytes. A full chem panel would be helpful so as to check on her liver and kidney factors.

Please don't give her any extra Vetoryl without having an ACTH done first. It may well be that she needs her dose adjusted but there is no way to know without the test results. It is possible that her cortisol has dropped too low and giving her extra Vetoryl could have serious results.

P.S. Marianne and I were posting at the same time -- sorry for any duplication.

[labblab]

Thanks, Judy, for completing the merge!

Marianne

[Milly]

I have May's test results which constitute about two/three pages PDF. Can I email them to you?

[labblab]

As for blood/urine tests other than the ACTH, all we really need to see are any results that are either abnormally high or low, along with the normal range for those specific values. For an ACTH, we need both of the listed test result numbers.

So if you can type those numbers in a reply, that will be great!

Marianne

[CalliesMom]

How is Milly doing?
Has your vet figured out what is causing the front leg limp? My dog Callie has been on Vetoryl for almost two weeks and developed a stiffness/limp on her front left leg. She doesn't like getting up bc of it. She has s vet appt on Wednesday.

[Milly]

Milly was only seven when she was diagnosed with Cushings last year. Prior to Cushings she was a happy, healthy and active little dog.
She is on 5mg of Vetoryl daily and tested every three months.
The Vetoryl is managing her Cushings but she has started with other problems.The first was a bout of pancreatitis which was treated successfully. Then she started with a liver problem for which she is on medication.She has arthritis which causes her to have painful joints and she often limps. The muscles in her back legs are weak.She has been on Gapepentin for this.She has put on 2Kg in weight even though she is on a specual diet.
This week she has had a cruciate ligament operation. She has been so ill. The vet rang prior to the op and said her liver enzymes were high (1400) and the anaestheic risk was high. Did we want to go ahead with the op? We said yes rather than her be in so much pain.
She survived the operation and picked her up the day afterwards.
We took her home but she was so traumatised and in pain. The first night was spent just trying to make her comfortable, eventually the painkiller, Tramadol,seemed to give her some respite.This was at three in the morning when we all managed to get a couple of hours sleep.
Poor little Milly Bichon!
Five days on and things are beginning to improve very slowly but.......
Her health at the moment is causing concern.
She is drinking water excessively, much more than before the op.In the last twentyfour hours she has drank nearly two litres of water.She weighs seven and a half Kg. The vet has told us her liver is causing concern and she is also showing early signs of diabetes.
The Gabapentin didn't appear to be helping much so we have weaned her off this as it may not be helping the liver.
We just hope that in the next few weeks she will begin to improve with the correct medication.
So...the Cushing's journey goes on.

PS The vet's fees, tests, surgery and medication over the past twelve months have been over £6000!!!

[DoxieMama]

Welcome to you and Milly. I join you in hoping that her health improves with the medications. Are you giving her anything for her liver (like denamarin)?

[labblab]

Welcome back to you and little Milly. You'll see that I've merged your newest update into your original thread; this way, all the info about Milly will be consolidated in one spot. I'm surely sorry she's having such a rough time right now. Can you possibly get us the actual numerical results for her most recent monitoring ACTH test? Her cortisol level may have nothing to do with this recent increase in her symptoms, but her monitoring test result will help give us a guidepost as far as the control of her Cushing's.

Thanks so much in advance!
Marianne

[Milly]

She had a test last week but something went wrong with her blood samples.They are going to do them again after she has had her stitches out next week. I'll post them then. Thank you.
She has Zentonil tablets for her liver,

[Milly]

Milly has now been diagnosed with Diabetes. We go this morning to find out how to administer insulin and discuss her diet.We are of course very upset and wonder how much more can this little dog of ours take,she also has pancreatitis and a liver problem.All this on top of her Cushings and her arthritis.Her cruciate ligament surgery last week really upset her and stressed her out so much.
She is only eight years old, we hate to see her suffering. Let us hope(again) that the insulin works well with the Vetoryl and that soon we will see an improvement.
Milly's journey in life at the moment is filled with one problem after another.All we ask for is that she is comfortable, pain free and happy no matter what it costs.If not...well we know what we have to do.(tears begin to flow....)

[DoxieMama]

I'm sorry she's been having so many issues. I understand how difficult that can be. There is another site that you may wish to join in addition to this one, called k9diabetes.com. They may be helpful to you with this new diagnosis. TGhough it may take a bit of time to find exactly the right dose of each medication, it is definitely possible to control both diabetes and Cushing's. Hang in there!!

[Milly]

Thank you.
The vet this morning said she was the most complicated dog he has amongst all his patients. Everything has to be monitored and she has to be watched closely.He also said how lucky she was to have us.
Tonight we start with the twice daily insulin injections. Let's hope it's onwards and upwards. Thinking positive thoughts, I have to.

[Harley PoMMom]

I'm so sorry to hear that diabetes has entered the picture along with Milly's other health issues. Shana mentioned in her post about out sister site, K9diabetes, and I strongly urge you to join there too, in this way you have the best of both groups to help and support you and Milly through this journey.

Here's a handy link to the K9diabetes forum: http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/

On the forum we have seen many of our members deal with both endocrine diseases in their dog and with success. When a cushdog does get diabetes it is important that they have their Cushing's medication twice a day to help the cortisol stay on an even course. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them.

Hugs, Lori

[molly muffin]

Oh my goodness, what a journey indeed your little Milly has been on. She certainly has a ton of things going on. That being said, it could very well be that once you get the diabetes under control and the cushings controlled that she will make an improvement.
As Lori mentioned, with diabetes and cushings, dosing twice a day is recommended so that the cortisol levels are level throughout the day. This could mean that since you are doing on 5mg vetroyl, that a 2.5 compounded dose morning and evening would be necessary, especially if you can't get the diabetes under control for some reason, although I do hope you can as this will help her.
Let us know how she is doing. Poor little girl. She is very lucky to have such great mum and dad.

[Milly]

Thank you for your helpful advice. I will tell the vet what you have said regarding the twice daily dosing of Vetoryl.
The diabetes forum is really helpful, I will definitely be looking through the discussions for helpful information.

[Milly]

Milly is very ill. At this moment she is at the vets on a drip. Her pancreatitis is very bad.Before her operation for a cruciate ligament repair Milly had her Cushing's under control and she was coping well.
When we picked her up from the veterinary hospital the day after her surgery she was very stressed. She was panting so much and she was in a lot of pain.She was drinking excessive amounts of water all the time. Before her op her drinking was normal.Since then she has been diagnosed with Diabetes for which she is on insulin and now has this severe pancreatitis. Her glucose levels are still very high so her insulin has increased to five units twice a day.She also has a liver problem.
Everything appears to be going wrong. All we can do us give her lots of love and care.We are trying to stay positive.

[labblab]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Milly! Thank you so much for updating us, and I am sending as many healing thoughts as I possibly can. I can only imagine how worried you must be. Please continue to let us know how things are going, OK?

Giant hugs being sent to you, as well.
Marianne

[Harley PoMMom]

I am so sorry to hear that Milly is doing poorly and hopefully soon she will be feeling much better.

Please do keep us updated and I will keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Hugs, Lori

[Squirt's Mom]

Sending prayers and healing energies Milly's way!

and ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))) to mom.

[Joan2517]

I hope the vet can do something to make her feel better...the poor, adorable, little girl. I'll be praying for her...

[Milly]

Thank you so much for your support. We have just returned from the emergency vets,it's nearly 1am in the morning.She was in so much pain tonight that we had to take her for more pain relief.
Hopefully it will help her through the night and we will see our vet in the morning. Just hoping this nasty Pancreatitis settles down.