Vetoryl night dosing?

[acarmen]

My beloved beagle, Chloe was recently diagnosed with cushings. We are on week 3 of Vetoryl. She also lost her sight and her eyes a few years ago to early onset glaucoma (she was 6 when it started-most likely hereditary cause). She is 11 years old now. I am noticing that the Vetoryl worked almost immediately in relieving her Cushings symptoms, however; it seems like she struggles with the panting from midnight to 5am and I am wondering if I should dose her in the evening rather than in the morning. I am wondering if her blindness has caused her body to recognize times of day/night differently. I know that humans can have that problem as well with blindness. Any thoughts?

[mytil]

Hi and welcome to our site. I am sorry you and your girl are having these troubles. I have just a sec but wanted to address a few things.

Firstly, what were the results of the last ACTH test? Post them here.

Also what is her dosage of Vetoryl and weight?

Many here have experienced better results by twice a day dosing to keep a constant level of Vetoryl in their system. They would take the dose and just split it - half in the morning and half in the evening. But check with your vet first.

Keep us posted
Terry

[DoxieMama]

Welcome to you and Chloe!

You mentioned perhaps dosing her in the evening rather than the morning. Because the ACTH test must be performed within a few hours of dosing, unless your vet is open 24 hours and you're willing to stay up late to take her in for that, I would suggest continuing to dose in the morning. As Terry suggested, check with your vet about splitting the dose so you're giving half in the morning and half at night. But do NOT open the capsules you have! Depending on the current dose, you may be able to get a smaller dosage of the Vetoryl, or you may need to look into compounding in order to get the proper size capsules for twice a day dosing.

Please let us know the answers to Terry's questions.

Hang in there!
Shana

[judymaggie]

Hi -- I wanted to welcome you and Chloe! My Cushpup is also a beagle, 13 year old Abbie. Abbie is my second beagle Cushpup, the first being Maggie. Abbie is on a twice a day dosing schedule of Vetoryl. We went to twice a day because she is also being treated for high blood pressure and it is thought that the twice a day dosing provides a more level pressure on a 24 hour basis. The only downside to the twice a day dosing that I have found is that I have to be home in the early evening to feed her and give her her meds. Abbie is very important to me so this restriction is worth it! I agree with Terry that Chloe's panting may be a result of increased cortisol.

In addition to providing us Chloe's ACTH test results, it would be helpful if you could also provide us with any highs and lows (along with the range and date of testing) on recent lab tests, i.e.:

ALKP 600 (range 1-131)(5/12/16)

If urine tests were done, please provide those results also. How much does Chloe weigh? What dose of Vetoryl is she currently getting?

Here is the technical brochure from Dechra, the manufacturer of Vetoryl. The treatment flow chart on page 11 is a great resource:

http://www.dechrace.com/pdfs/vetoryl/VETORYLTechnicalBrochure.pdf

Did your vet do an ACTH at the 10-14 day mark after Vetoryl was started? Do you have an ACTH scheduled for the 30 day mark? Were you given guidance that the Vetoryl needs to be given after a full meal and preferably given with a small amount of fatty food, i.e., cheese, peanut butter? As the technical brochure outlines, the ACTH should be conducted 4-6 hours after a full meal and a regular Vetoryl dose.

Sorry for all the questions but, with more information on hand, we will be better equipped to offer guidance.