Help for Roxy

[Ginetz Farms]

We just had a diagnosis of Cushings with our dog "Roxy". She is a 9 and half year old GSP. I am looking for some guidance in optimal feeding as well as advice for some holistic options. I have been researching several items. Melatonin with HMR Lignans, Gingo Biloaba, Cushex, and Si Miao San. Anyone have any experience with any of these things.
We are considering Trilostane although the cost may be to much for our family.
We would however like to make her comfortable.

[Squirt's Mom]

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[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Roxy!

I have manually approved your membership so now all your posts will be seen right away. Also, please just disregard the validation email that was sent to you from k9cushings. ;)

If you could share some specifics about Roxy's overall health history, her symptoms, and her actual test results, that would be great. With our new members we ask a lot of questions, this is not because we are nosy, instead, it allows us to provide you with our best possible feedback. So here are some questions that I have:

Could you get copies of all tests that were done on your girl and post any abnormalities that are listed? With respect to the blood chemistry and complete blood count (CBC), you need only post the highs and lows and please include the normal reference ranges. We are very interested in all the tests that were performed that diagnosed her Cushing's, could you post those results for us? What symptoms is Roxy displaying that led you or the vet to test for Cushing's in the first place? Does Roxy have any underlying illness that she is taking medication for? And if so, what is it and what is the medication? Is she taking any supplements or herbs? Is her urine diluted? Was she diagnosed with the adrenal or pituitary type of Cushing's?

As far as holistic medications, unfortunately I don't know of any truly effective alternatives to Rx medication when one wants to lower cortisol levels significantly. Having said that, if clinical symptoms are not that bothersome to the dog or owner, some members have told us that Cushex and Adrenal Harmony Gold worked very well in controlling symptoms but only for a short time period. Now, Cushex and Adrenal Harmony Gold have no controlled clinical testing whatsoever to back up their claims (we know this because we have contacted the manufacturers and we have been told that no testing has been done).

We surely do understand and sympathize with you regarding the cost. The initial expense is during the diagnostic phase and when a dog becomes stabilized on treatment the cost does go down considerably. However those ACTH stimulation tests, which are needed to monitor a dog on treatment, are quite expensive but the medications used to treat Cushing's can be compounded and this does help with keeping the cost down.

We have a wealth of information regarding Cushing's; the medications used and the treatment protocols, which can be found in our Helpful Resource thread and it also includes articles written by some of the most renown veterinarians that specialize in endocrinology such as David Bruyette, Mark Peterson, and Edward Feldman. So please utilize it to educate yourself and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask them. We all eventually figured out that safe and effective treatment is much easier facilitated if the vet is experienced and the pet owner is educated. Here's a link to our Helpful Resource thread: Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10)

Please know you are not alone of this journey as we are walking right beside you and will help in any way we can. ;)

Hugs, Lori

[judymaggie]

Hi and welcome to you and Roxy! In addition to the information about medications and treatment protocols on our Resources forum, there is a list of financial assistance possibilities. Here is the link to that section:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212

In addition to the possibility of using compounded trilostane, another money-saving alternative is to purchase Vetoryl from a pet pharmacy. I use a combination of both, using California Pet Pharmacy for Vetoryl and Diamondback Drugs for compounded trilostane. My vet is very willing to help me save money so he has no problems calling in prescriptions to these pharmacies.

Whatever route you decide to take with Roxy, we will support you as much as we can.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum. The others got you off to a good start with questions.

In regards to feeding, a good quality food, not alot of filler, etc lower in fat and moderate protein is a pretty good diet for any dog and cushings dog can be prone to pancreatis so keeping fat content down can be beneficial.