mklitt
03-17-2018, 08:17 PM
My Norwich Terrier Guinness will be 16 in two weeks. She was diagnosed with Cushings in September 2017. I had had her tested about 6 months earlier because she was drinking so much water and peeing (of course) so much more. However, she was borderline negative.
She weighs 10.5 pounds and was started on 10mg Vetoryl (not compounded) in the AM. I took her for a retest one month ago because she was drinking more, pacing more, and sometimes circling.
My vet said her numbers were wonderful, but he thought we should up her meds because of her symptoms. I was to give her 10 mg PM, 3 days each week. In other words, 3 evenings out of 7. After 2 weeks I did not see much improvement. She had a circling episode, where she just went in circles for an hour. Guinness is an old dog who sleeps most of the day, but she would get excited at dinnertime. Now I was not seeing that.
I talked with my vet and he said to up the medication in the PM to every other day. Guinness seemed about the same. Tuesday evening she had another bad circling episode, where she could not stop to eat. Her rear end seems weaker and her gait is ataxic. I have a call into my vet.
What options do I have?
Sixteen is often the last year for Norwich Terriers. They just seem to wear out at 16, but if she has some good months left where she dances at dinnertime and works treat puzzles, like she did a month ago, I want that for her.
Suggestions?
Her only other impairments are age related, loss of hearing, and sight. She gets the oral melanoma vaccine every 6 months, even after her diagnosis I got her the shot because she has been so lively. It is a very expensive shot, over $1,000 and a 6 hour round trip, but I won’t hesitate if she is her old self. It is to prevent a recurrence of her cancer. Now, I do not know if I should keep that up.
Thank you!
Marilyn Knapp Litt & Guinness
She weighs 10.5 pounds and was started on 10mg Vetoryl (not compounded) in the AM. I took her for a retest one month ago because she was drinking more, pacing more, and sometimes circling.
My vet said her numbers were wonderful, but he thought we should up her meds because of her symptoms. I was to give her 10 mg PM, 3 days each week. In other words, 3 evenings out of 7. After 2 weeks I did not see much improvement. She had a circling episode, where she just went in circles for an hour. Guinness is an old dog who sleeps most of the day, but she would get excited at dinnertime. Now I was not seeing that.
I talked with my vet and he said to up the medication in the PM to every other day. Guinness seemed about the same. Tuesday evening she had another bad circling episode, where she could not stop to eat. Her rear end seems weaker and her gait is ataxic. I have a call into my vet.
What options do I have?
Sixteen is often the last year for Norwich Terriers. They just seem to wear out at 16, but if she has some good months left where she dances at dinnertime and works treat puzzles, like she did a month ago, I want that for her.
Suggestions?
Her only other impairments are age related, loss of hearing, and sight. She gets the oral melanoma vaccine every 6 months, even after her diagnosis I got her the shot because she has been so lively. It is a very expensive shot, over $1,000 and a 6 hour round trip, but I won’t hesitate if she is her old self. It is to prevent a recurrence of her cancer. Now, I do not know if I should keep that up.
Thank you!
Marilyn Knapp Litt & Guinness