14 1/2 y/o Tibetan Terrier - Treatment options?

[jrenee]

I am also new to the site. My rescue Tibetan Terrier was diagnosed with Cushings soon after we got her 1 1/2 years ago. We did not test for which type as she was already 13 years old and thought we could control the symptoms. Well, the symptoms are much worse now and she is driving us nuts with her anxiety re water and food and she gets us up all hours of the night to drink, eat or pee. She has all the classic symptoms. She was treated for constant ear infections and skin allergies by her previous owners, and we found out she had been diagnosed with a wheat allergy but the owners kept feeding her wheat. So she's on a wheat-free diet and she has never had a skin allergy or ear infection since. She is now getting horrible sebaceous cysts about an inch wide & tall. Her tail is disappearing. We have not put her on medication as our vet friends discuss how difficult it is and how bad the potential side effects are. I have heard about Cushex, a natural treatment. Do you have any recommendations for specific foods and or natural treatments?

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and your girl! I have only a moment to post right now, but I wanted to explain that I have moved your reply so as to create a new thread that is your very own. This way, it will be much easier for our members to reply to you directly.

I will try to stop back by before long in order to write more, but I didn't want to waste any time in getting you set up with your own thread. ;)

I'm really glad you found us, and many thanks to you for opening your home to this senior girl! We will do our very best to help you sort things out.

Marianne

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Cushex I am afraid is more of a scam than a resource. If it was only so easy. In some dogs it can help symptoms for a little bit but everyone we've had try it ends up on medication as it doesn't actually lower the cortisol.

It sounds like the cysts/ sores might be calicinosis cutis which is caused vp by uncontrolled high cortisol. The only way to clear it up is to get the cortisol lowered.

We have many dogs on medication and it has been a huge help. There are certain protocols that have to be followed and if they are there are seldom problems. Two things cause problems. Over dose off medication and giving Cushing meds to a dog that is not actually Cushing's. Those are generally where you see problems with the treatments. Those are the two most likely to cause problems anyhow.

There is no known diet that lowers cortisol. There is in fact not really anything other than the medications. Lower fat as Cushing dogs are prone to pancreatis. Moderate protein. Those are the general guidelines for diet.

High cortisol causes a lot of problems with the internal organs so you have to be aware of that. Kidney, liver, heart, skin, hair are all affected.

I didn't start my dog on medication right away and I rather wish I had. I do think that as they are older it is more of a balancing act to get it all right but it does sound like there are some definite signs that she is being adversely affected by the high cortisol now.