My journey with Henry

[CNack]

Hello....I'm Cecilia and my best friend is Henry, a 12 year old, 70lb, Rottweiler/Aussie/Gift from Heaven mix. He was just diagnosed with Cushings after undergoing 3 rounds of testing, (blood and urine). He is going to start on 70mg/day Trilostane tomorrow. He is also currently on a thryoid med and rimadyl. I'm kind of overwhelmed by this diagnosis and concerned about all these medicines he is now on. I don't want to take a happy dog and make him feel sick to treat a condition This boy is my life, a hospice therapy dog, a true gentle gentleman. It worries me to think that the treatment may be worse than the condition. His quality of life is so very important to me. He spends his life comforting others, I want to make sure he has every chance and opportunity to have that gift given to him in return. The cost of all his meds are now going to be upwards of $300/month. I trust my Vet completely but that doesn't stop the worrying. I'm hoping to find 1. Where I can purchase his meds cheaper than what the Vet has to charge and 2. If anyone else has a dog on multiple meds and what their experience has been like?

Thank you so much for any input, I'm so happy to have found this forum.

[labblab]

Hello Cecilia, and welcome to you and Henry! He sounds like a sweet and precious boy, and we surely understand why you love him so!

If you have read other threads here, you will see that we love to ask a lot of questions, especially to begin with. So if you are able to get copies of Henry's actual diagnostic test results, they will be of great interest to us. As far as regular labs, all we'd like to see are just any values that are outside of normal range. And then, we'd like to see the results of any Cushing's-specific tests such as the LDDS or ACTH stimulation test.

Also, can you tell us a bit more about the symptoms that led you to suspect Cushing's in the first place? I am suspecting that in addition, he must be suffering from some presumed arthritic pain since he is taking the Rimadyl?

As far as the trilostane, there are two options that may help lower costs for you. Brandname Vetoryl is sold by reputable internet veterinary pharmcies, generally at prices lower than those charged by vets. If you are buying directly from your vet, you may see if he/she is willing to price-match the internet. We can give you some suggested websites. An even less expensive alternative is to purchase compounded trilostane instead of brandname Vetoryl. We do have many members who have been quite satisfied with products obtained, again from reputable internet compounding pharmacies. There have been some studies, however, that have found deficiencies with some unnamed compounders. As a result, some vets prefer that their patients remain on the branded product. If you are interested, we can give you some specific pharmacy suggestions, however.

Turning to Henry's medication profile, the 70 mg. sounds like a very good starting place (1 mg. per pound). My one concern would be the Rimadyl. We are aware that that the combination of NSAIDS and steroids can heighten safety risks for dogs and humans alike. Even though Henry is not taking any supplemental steroids, the high level of circulating cortisol associated with uncontrolled Cushing's carries the same risk as if he were taking oral prednisone, for instance. So depending upon his orthopedic/pain issues, he may be better served by taking a non-NSAID such as Tramadol until his cortisol level can be lowered. Tramadol does not carry the same anti-inflammatory effect, but it is an effective painkiller and generally has a safer profile in relation to steroid use. Just a thought to discuss with your vet.

OK, I'll go ahead and close for now. But once again, we're very glad you've found us and we look forward to learning much more about Henry!

Marianne

[molly muffin]

I just want to welcome you and Henry to the forum.

Marianne, has gone through all the basics with you. I agree with her about the Rimadyl and I think I'd talk to your vet about trying one like tramadol like Marianne mentioned.

The compounded pharmacies can help a lot with price if you go with trilostane, you can call someone like Diamondback and find out with their price would be. They ship to you direct.

Many others use online pharmacies like Fosters or ValleyVet to get the vetroyl at a cheaper price.

What a sweet boy Henry sounds to be. Such gentle souls the hospice therapy dogs are.