Newly diagnosed beagle

[Mom2Beagles]

Hello everyone. I am mom to 3 rescue beagles. One of my kids was diagnosed with Cushings and she started on the meds (Vetoryl) 3 days ago. Her name is Vazzle and she is 9. It started with us thinking she had an infection but after vet visits and blood tests she has Cushings. Her main symptoms were constant panting, water drinking, need to urinate more often and hunger/begging.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi! Welcome to you and Vazzle! What an unique name your sweet girl has.

If you could get copies of all tests that were done on Vazzle and post anything that is marked abnormal that would help us to give you more meaningful feedback. Also, please include the normal reference ranges and units of measurement...i.e. ALT 150 U/L 5-50. Could you tell us what tests were done to diagnose her Cushing's and would you post those results? Does Vazzle have any other health issues and is she on supplements/herbs/medications? How much does she weigh? Is she getting her Vetoryl with a meal so that it can be properly absorbed?

I'm sorry for all these questions but the more we know about your sweet girl the better our feedback will be. ;)

Hugs, Lori

[Mom2Beagles]

Thank you for the warm welcome. We rescued her with that name and it just fit her.

I appreciate all the help I can get. I asked the vet's office to mail me her results so I should have them any day. She does take the medication with a meal. The only other med she takes is a TDC Joint Supplement which she takes because of a torn ACL about 2 years ago (which we resolved without surgery).

She isn't overweight, I think she weighs about 25 pounds.

She spent the day at the vet and they did in-house Cortisol levels, Cortosyn injection and Dexamethsaone injection and they called the next day to say she has Cushings. Prior to that day she had 2 urine tests and a blood test. I thought she had a urinary infection so had made an appointment and brought her in. From that exam and test they suggested I bring her in for the day for the Cushings test.

I will post her results when I get them in the mail.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

What dose of vetroyl is she on? The current recommended starting dose is 1mg/1lb so around 25 mg for Vazzle.

Give it to her with a full meal in the morning if giving once a day. You will want a follow up acth test around day 10 - 14 to see how she is doing. Unless she isn't responding at all, don't increase dose at this point as the same dose will continue to lower cortisol for around 30 days.

If you see signs of vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, wobbly can't stand, won't eat, etc, then stop the medication, take her to a vet and have an acth done to check that cortisol hasn't gone too low.

That is pretty much the getting started on meds handbook. :)

[PennysDad]

Welcome to the right place! There are many people here who are experts, and I am not one of them. Just another dog lover who is 18 months into the adventure that is Cushings disease. Just wanted to pop in to let you know that you are not alone!

[Mom2Beagles]

Thank you for the info and welcome! I just checked, she is on 30 mg, 1 x a day. I think she weighs more than I said earlier, like 28-29 pounds. I have 3 beagles and she is my "medium sized" one. Molly is tiny and Oliver is large. Still waiting for her test results from the vet, I know that will have her weight on them also.

So far no bad reactions to the meds, she is on her 5th day.

[Bluester]

Hello and welcome from me too. I also have 3 beagles!

Blue, my 13yr old girl was diagnosed last summer and has reacted well to 30mg in the morning. We tried upping the dose a few months but it was too much and she ia back on 30mg.

Best of luck you are definitely looking for answers in the right place. I have been given great advice here and comfort from people who understand what I'm going through.

Laura

[molly muffin]

Hi, okay so very close to the 1mg/1lb ratio. That is good to hear. Just keep an eye on her for any adverse signs that I mentioned above.

[Mom2Beagles]

Hi, okay so very close to the 1mg/1lb ratio. That is good to hear. Just keep an eye on her for any adverse signs that I mentioned above.

I have to get her current weight. I know she put some on with the Cushings and all the eating and less activity.

[judymaggie]

Hi and welcome to a fellow beagle Mom! As others have said, Vazzle is a great name!! With regard to Vazzle's weight in relation to the Vetoryl dose, it is better to be under the 1 mg/1 lb. suggested dose than over so don't worry if he has put on some weight. I am looking forward to taking a look at the diagnostic tests done. The first monitoring test should be done at the 10-14 day after Vazzle started on Vetoryl so be sure to schedule that with your vet.

Ar-o-o-o from my beagle, Abbie!

[Mom2Beagles]

Hi and welcome to a fellow beagle Mom! As others have said, Vazzle is a great name!! With regard to Vazzle's weight in relation to the Vetoryl dose, it is better to be under the 1 mg/1 lb. suggested dose than over so don't worry if he has put on some weight. I am looking forward to taking a look at the diagnostic tests done. The first monitoring test should be done at the 10-14 day after Vazzle started on Vetoryl so be sure to schedule that with your vet.

Ar-o-o-o from my beagle, Abbie!

Another beagle Mom! I shouldn't be surprised because I think Cushings is common for beagles. It's odd, the vet office mentioned nothing about re-testing. I have to call them because tomorrow she will be on for 7 days already.

[Mom2Beagles]

I got her results in the mail but am not sure how to read them. This is what they say:

CORT acth stim (cush selected) 26.4 ug/dL

CORT 8 hour post low dose Dex 1.1 ug/dL

CORT 4 hour post low dose Dex 1.5 ug/dL

CORT baseline cortisol 5.9 ug/dL

(I don't think that character is a "u" but it's the closest thing I could find that looked like it)

[Harley PoMMom]

Thanks for posting those low-dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test results. I'm gonna be a pain here, sorry :( could you see if there was a cut-off range for that test, usually it's 1.4 ug/dl (yep that "u" unit of measurement is actually supposed to be a "μ"; μg/dl = micrograms per deciliter ;) but using an "u" is much easier to use.) :)

[Mom2Beagles]

Unfortunately that is all that was printed on each sheet. I think they did some kind of a screen print or something and mailed it to me.

[Mom2Beagles]

I have a question regarding my beagle with Cushings. I noticed recently she is getting more and more small lumps like warts or skin tags. They don't bother her and the vet has seen a few of them. Is this a common thing with Cushings? She is about 10 years old and takes Vetoryl. She has bumps by her toes, on her neck, top of her head and now one on her leg.

[Harley PoMMom]

As you can see I've merged your new post into your original thread about Vazzle. This way, we will be able to keep track of her entire health and treatment history all in one place. ;)

Is there a way you could get a picture of them and upload them into an album? We just want to make sure they don't look like calcinosis cutis. Did the vet mention about doing a scraping or biopsy?

[Mom2Beagles]

I will try and get a picture, they are pretty small and she doesn't sit still. The vet saw the one on her head and paw and wasn't concerned. I just noticed them cropping up more often. My first beagle had a few of them when he got to be around 10. The one on her head is darker colored and the others are skin colored.