Another Newbie and terrified to start treatment .

[Marcy22]

Hi. My 11 1/2 year old Westie has Cushings and the vet wants to start Trilostane. I am terrified to begin the drug after reading the insert. I am worried about adrenal necrosis/rupture. Also, he has a sensitive digestive system and am worried about diarrhea, nausea etc. He doesn't have that many troubling symptoms right now and seems pretty happy, however, I fear that things will probably worsen in the future. Any advice between the Trilostane and Mitotane. It seems that Mitotane is a harsh drug too but not the adrenal rupture... Please help!

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby! :)

I know what you mean about being so scared. When my Squirt was first diagnosed I went a tad bit insane for a while. She was my world and I feared I was going to lose her - and there was nothing I could do. But the amazing people here calmed me down by sharing their knowledge and experiences, teaching me what I needed to know to help my Sweet Bebe.

Both of the drugs used to treat Cushing's are scary when you read about them...but if you have ever read a drug insert on Aspirin, that would scare you too - if you didn't already know the positives of that drug and how to correctly use it. ;) No question, Vetoryl (Trilostane) and Lysodren (Mitotane) are powerful drugs but when they are used according to protocol, they are life saving and have low risks. This is where being as sure as possible about the diagnosis and having a cush savvy vet come into play. BUT just as important is your own education on the disease and the drug you and your vet chose to use...and we can help you a great deal on this point. ;)

Thankfully, Cushing's is a slow progressing disease so you have time to wait and learn a bit before you take the step to decide to treat or not and if so, using which drug. We will bombard you with questions at first but that helps us get the bigger picture AND it helps you learn as we discuss things back and forth. So let's get started, ok? :)

What prompted the testing for Cushing's in the first place?

What test(s) were done to diagnose your baby?

Would you mind getting the actual results of those tests and posting them here? Not the invoice but the actual numbers from the tests. The tests we are interested in would be a health screen that shows things like BUN, CHOL, ALP, T4, etc. but we only need to see those results that were abnormal (too high or too low); a LDDS; an ACTH; and the comments from an abdominal ultrasound.

Does your baby have any current health issues?

Is she on any medications, supplements, or herbs? If so what?

The more details you can share with us the better - we LOVE details! :D So don't worry about writing a book. ;)

I'm glad you found us and look forward to seeing those tests results and getting to know more about you and your baby as time passes. Take a deep breath and relax a bit - you now have a new family who will walk every step of the way with you, one who knows what you are feeling, and will always be available.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[olliepops]

Hi Marcy,

Sorry to hear your news about your Westie. We just started Vetoryl on our Jack Russell last week. So we are in the same boat as you. All new to this and so much information and different stories.

I am hoping to hear/share with/from others in the same position as yourself and from others who have been there and can let me know about anything I should be looking out for this treatment.

Our Jack Russell has the pituitary gland type. Was diagnosed after side effects. So far she has not shown any changes. She has a voracious appetite, had lost a bit of fur on the one side, was drinking a lot of water, is bloated and seems uncomfortable with it and was panting a lot. All of these after 6 days of treatment remain the same. several blood tests and then a scan to identify what type of cushings she had. We were relieved that she has the kind that is apparently easier to treat?

I have heard good things about Vetoryl but also read about horrible We are looking forward to the vetoryl starting to work to make her more comfortable as soon as possible.

I would love to hear your day to story about how the meds are working on your Westie and what current symptoms your westie has.

Wishing you and your westie all the best with the treatment.
:)

[DoxieMama]

Welcome from me, too! As Leslie said, you don't have to rush into treatment unless and until you are comfortable doing so since Cushing's is slow progressing. Both drugs are harsh, that's for sure. Does your vet have experience with treating dogs with Cushing's, and did he tell you why he wants to use Trilostane as opposed to Mitotane?

What symptoms does your Westie have?

Take a deep breath and hang in there.

Shana

[randomguy]

I wanted to echo what other here have said. It can be scary starting treatment after you read the label. However, as another member said, all drugs have potential side effects and must list them. It also said on all the inserts for Vetoryl that I have seen, in one form or another, "this drug is tolerated well by most dogs". At the end of the day, your only real option is to treat if you want to manage symptoms.

I'm sure everyone here has been through the same thing! It's tough to deal with. But don't be scared, you're doing the right thing! :o I will admit to being incredibly nervous before I started as well and am glad to say that so far, after a month or two, things are going good. The members here are really great and helped comfort me a lot too. I wish you the best of luck! :)

[Lili0127]

I was in the same boat as you with being terrified with starting Trilostane about two weeks ago with Remington, who is 14-years old and recently diagnosed with Cushing's Disease. Everyone here on the forum has been very helpful and I have done a lot of research here on the forum too. It is a difficult decision and my intuition told me not to do it. However, I decided to try Trilostane at 30mg twice daily and by the second day, Remington's hind legs gave out to the point that he couldn't walk at all. I immediately called his Vet and talked to the good people here on the forum and all agreed to discontinue Trilostane immediately!

Remington just had a bad reaction to it and I feel it is mainly due to his age. He is doing better as of today and it has been a week now, but not 100% from where he began prior to the Trilostane, which was not my goal at all for treating his Cushing's disease. My goal was to treat Cushing's disease so that his hind legs would get stronger not worse.

However, Remingto has been slowly getting his strength back in his hind legs this week, and isn't falling down as much, or needing help going up and down the steps as much as he did on his second day after starting Trilostane when he couldn't get up the stairs at all. I had to use a towel and put it under his back legs to steady him to walk around and actually still do today at times.

I would say give it a try and watch your baby very closely! I work from home and am fortunate to be able to watch him 24/7 while he was on Trilostane or the two days that he was one it. I would start your dog on it on the weekend or when you can be there with them a lot to observe them.

Lisa