Hello and a few questions

[Mother to Piper]

I'm so glad I found this site. My approximately 15-year-old mixed breed, Piper, was just diagnosed with Cushing's by a low dose dex test on Friday. She was all set to have the test two weeks ago when she developed pancreatitis and was hospitalized for two and a half days. That has resolved and now she's back to obsessing about water and peeing everywhere. She was never the kind of dog who would pee anywhere but outside and now we are struggling with her peeing. (Any ideas how to get rid of the smell in carpet? :eek:) She's a smart cookie and knocked over the watering can and started going for the toilet bowls. I have been giving her water frequently in small amounts and taking her out as much as I can. I'm a bit confused as to how much water I should give her, but she'd drink a bathtub full if I let her.
I just picked up the Vetoryl today and got it started. She is about 46-48 lbs and was prescribed 60 mg. I will go back in 10-14 days for blood work. I'm wondering how quickly I can expect to see an improvement in the obsession with water/peeing everywhere situation. She had a urinalysis and basic blood work done a month ago. Her liver enzymes were a bit elevated and her kidney function was just slightly above normal. The urinalysis was normal. I actually was the one who suggested that we test for Cushing's disease. I'm a nurse and I just sort of guessed that it could be the reason for her increased water consumption and accidents. I don't have a ton of experience with Cushing's in humans (I work on a cardio-pulmonary floor) and I have a lot to learn about in dogs!
Knowing Piper's age and other medical conditions (arthritis and food and environmental allergies), I know she's not going to be with me forever, but I want to do the best for her. As for other meds, she takes Cosequin tablet daily, 50 mg tramadol twice a day for pain, 100 mg gabapentin twice a day for pain, and hydroxyzine 50 mg twice a day for allergies.
Any advice would be welcome!
-Juliet (aka Mother to Piper)

[mytil]

Hi Juliet,
Welcome to our site. I am sorry you and your girl are dealing with this. Firstly never withhold water -

I do have a few questions (sorry for so many questions, but this will help us in better understanding).
- was the LDDS the only test performed? (post the numbers here)
Cushing's can be a difficult condition to confirm with just one test. Typically an ACTH and specifically an ultrasound is performed to see the condition of the adrenal glands and surrounding organs.
- Were there any other major elevations in the blood panel (you mentioned liver values were only slightly elevated and kidney numbers indicate slightly above normal).
- Has diabetes been ruled out? Has a thyroid panel been performed?
- Any additional symptoms present? (excessive hunger for example).
- any allergy medication contain any prednisone?

Oh, regarding the smell in the carpets, there are some commercial products (Simple Green, baking soda, club soda etc) but I would certainly invest in some pee pads for the floors too. :)\

The manufacturer of Vetoryl has revised their dosing to 1 mg per pound as a starting dose so I would certainly discuss this with my vet as the 60 mgs may be too high of a starting dose. Here is a link that is very informative on Vetoryl ---- http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185

Keep us posted
Terry

[molly muffin]

Welcome to the forum.

Terry is right they now advise starting at 1mg/1lb for trilostane, so might want to discuss that with your vet.

Normally I'd say the average we see on here is about 10 days if the dose is right but you know every dog is different too so that can go up or down and some do seem to take longer.

I use the little green bissel machine with the bissel deodorizer and that seems to work for us, but my dog is much smaller too.