New to the group

[MaggieMae]

Thanks for accepting me into the group. I was recently told that my mini schnauzer Maggie Mae who is 7 has Cushing disease.
She had Low Does Dex sup test it show
Pre Dex 12.4 (1.0-6.0)
Post 4 HR 0.7
Post 8 HR 2.8
She has excessive drinking, panting,appetite and decrease in activity.
The vet recommended Vetoryl I pick it up today, but don't plan on starting it until Monday.
The information on this site is very helpful and much appreciated, thanks again Debbie & Maggie Mae

[DoxieMama]

Welcome to you and Maggie Mae! I'm curious how much she weighs, as the initial dose of Vetoryl should be 1mg per pound. Hopefully that matches the prescription you picked up.

[MaggieMae]

She weighs 22 pound that is one of my concerns since the RX 30mg. Not sure if I should ask for a lower dose.
Debbie & Maggie Mae

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Debbie,

Welcome to you and Maggie Mae! We are sorry for the circumstances that brought you here but so glad you found us!

Maggie Mae's low-dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test is positive for the pituitary form of Cushing's. Did she have a CBC/chemistry blood panel done? Sometimes these are called a CBC (complete blood count) and chemistry profile or senior/geriatric wellness blood panel and most contain results for the electrolytes, liver, kidneys, etc. If she did could you post those values that are abnormal, also was an urine sample taken for an urinalysis?

The symptoms you mentioned that she is displaying are commonly found in dogs with Cushing's and will lessen with treatment. The Vetoryl dose the vet prescribed is a bit high for her weight, like Shana posted, Dechra, the makers of Vetoryl, recommend a starting dose of 1mg per pound of the dog's weight. So for Maggie Mae the ideal dosage would be 22mg but since Dechra does not manufacture that dose one could start at 20 mg, which is a strength Dechra does market. Now having said that, most times the dosage needs tweaking so down the road Maggie Mae may need a dosage increase and it just could be that the 30 mg is the dose that will stabilize her cortisol level. If you are concerned about her starting dose I would talk this over with the vet. ;) I am including a link to an article which has the revised starting dose that Dechra recommends and than you could print it out and have the vet look at it. https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/new-lower-starting-dose-for-vetoryl/

Please know we are here for you and Maggie Mae and will help in any way we can, if you have questions do not hesitate to ask them.

Hugs, Lori

[dsbailey]

Lori is right and 20 mg would be safer and something that should be discussed with your vet. All dogs are different and there's no danger in under-dosing Maggie Mae, it may just take a bit longer to find the perfect dosage. My girl was 57 lbs and started on 60, then 30, 25, and now 15 mg at 52 lbs. (She's being difficult per usual). Dechra makes 10 mg capsules and you could speak with the vet about two capsules in the morning or one with breakfast and another at dinner.

A couple of important things to know before you start:

Always give meds with a full meal even on ACTH test day.


Schedule the ACTH test to start 2 - 4 hours after the morning dosage (This has changed recently down from 4 - 6 hours) be consistent in timing every time you test.


Schedule your first ACTH test 10 - 14 days after starting Vetoryl.


Don't make any dosage increases until the second ACTH test which needs to be scheduled at day 30.


If your girl won't eat, gets diarrhea, overly lethargic, starts vomiting (not just I ate something in the yard vomiting), gets wobbly, or something just seems off then stop the meds and call the vet.


Those are some of the key points. Here's a link to some Dechra literature with some valuable information especially step 2 (Dosage) and step 3 (Monitoring). http://www.dechrace.com/pdfs/vetoryl/VETORYLTechnicalBrochure.pdf

Darrell and Lolita

[molly muffin]

The others have gotten you off to a great start here, so I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum. :) You'll find we are family here and support each other on this journey.

[MaggieMae]

Thank you all so much for your support and knowledge we truly appreciate your time and in put.
Maggie Mae has had several CBC and just recently had a CHEM 25 W/SDMA. She hasn't done urinalysis yet, the vet mention it but hasn't done it.
I started noticing back in January 2016 Maggie Mae was acting differently so when I mentioned to my former Vet he did her first CBC and her blood showed multiple problems started her on RX low-fat diet and restricted her treats. Retested 3 months later something improved ALT was better but ALK phosphatase was 522 than jumped 4029. Vet said continue with lowfat RX and add Canine Omega benefits to her diet will retest in other 3 months. So CBC panel Alt increased 143 and ALK phosphatase 2,289 and her cholesterol increased 401mg/dl and triglycerides jump 1,092.
At this point I asked if milk thistle would help with liver enzymes, the Vet said it wouldn't hurt so she started on Denamarin and come back in 3 to 4 months.
I was now getting more concern to so I decided to get second opinion. When I showed him all her CBC test he felt it could be Cushing and wanted to do low dex and blood Test.
ALP 3,859 (5-160) U/L
Chlorine 106 (108-119)mmol/L
Sorry for my long expansion not sure if it helps you get a better inside to what going on with Maggie Mae
Thanks Debbie

[Harley PoMMom]

Miniature schnauzers are notorious for hypertriglyceridemia and usually when elevated triglycerides are seen that ALP will be elevated too. Has her triglyceride level decreased? And will she be started on the 30 mg of Vetoryl?

Hugs, Lori