Meet Pippin!

[babycow]

Hello all! I wanted to introduce myself and my 12 year old Aussie Shephard/Queensland Heeler mix Pippin. He was just diagnosed with Cushing's and so I've been doing mad research and came across this site.
My biggest question right now is whether it's worth starting him on the Trilostane. I have read about bad side effects from it, and right now he doesn't seem to be suffering...in fact the only reason I found out about the Cushing's was because I wanted to get him on Riamdyl for arthritis and the vet said she had to run blood tests to make sure his liver and kidneys could handle it. The blood tests showed crazy numbers so she noted his big belly and awkward back legs (he kind of shuffles instead of walking) decided to do the Cushing's test.
So, the weakness in the legs and pot belly are the only two visible symptoms right now. Although it's hard to tel if he's having frequent urination as he has a dog door and comes and goes as he pleases. So, no accidents in the house anyway.
What are your thoughts? Thanks!
Rachel

[PennysDad]

Welcome, you found the right place. I honestly am not experienced enough to answer your questions, however my 11 year old Pit is on trilostane. It is very expensive! Her panting and indoor urination made it an easy choice for us.

If you are not having symptoms affect your life...then I am not sure what the cost / benefit is for medication vs non.

I am sure some of the more experienced members will be getting to you very soon!

Welcome to the family! This place is the best. I just wanted to pop in and say hello while you wait for the experts!

Jeff

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Rachel,

Welcome to you and Pippin! 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 Pippin 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 his Cushing's, could you post those results for us? Does Pippin have any underlying illness that he is taking medication for, and if so, what is it and what is the medication? Is he taking any supplements or herbs? Does Pippin have a ravenous appetite? Is his urine diluted? Was he diagnosed with the adrenal or pituitary type of Cushing's?

Trilostane/Vetoryl is a strong drug and does have some pretty scary side effects, however, adverse effects are minimized when the proper treatment protocols are followed. With Trilostane/Vetoryl it is recommended that the starting dose be no higher than 1mg per pound of the dog's weight and on the forum we have seen that when dogs are started out at that recommendation that ill effects are minimal.We have many members that are treating their cushdog with Vetoryl/Trilostane and are experiencing success.

The goal of treatment is not to cure the disease but rather to help control those bothersome symptoms and get that superabundant supply of cortisol down within the therapeutic ranges, so when a dog does not have strong clinical Cushing's symptoms initiating treatment is usually not recommended.

Lori

[babycow]

Hi and thanks for the responses. I will talk to my vet about getting copies of all the tests. For the other stuff, he has some arthritis in his back legs but right now it's been hard to tell if the walking issues he's having are due to arthritis pain or muscle weakness from the Cushing's. Otherwise he seems pretty healthy.
I do give him Duralactin and 1500 mg of Glucosamine both for the arthritis.
As for appetite...he has always been VERY motivated by food...it's hard to tell if his appetite had changed, since I feed him a set amount every day so that's all he gets. He might want more but... I don't know? He's certainly interested in treats and food whenever I have some but, he always has been so I'm not sure.
It's also been a little hard to track his urination. I know one of the symptoms people talk about is accidents in the house but he has a dog door so that hasn't been a problem. It doesn't seem like he's been going out excessively though. He goes through phases of drinking a lot. He won't drink often per se, but he drinks a lot once he does go to his water bowl. It is also over 90 degress most days so again, some of that is hard to assign as a Cushing's thing or just, hey it's hot! lol
His diagnosis is pituitary.
I will get back to you when I have test results to show you. Thanks!