Dogs reaction to Vetoryl

[layla]

Hi, My dog was diagnosed with Cushings several months ago. He is 15 lbs and vet started him on 15 mg of Vetoryl. He was doing fine until a few days ago. Lost appetite, vomiting,etc. Did not give med for a few days and appetite came back. Vet dropped him to 10 mg. Good for a couple of daysunti he lost appetite and vomited. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you

[labblab]

Hello, and welcome! Whenever a dog that has been taking Vetoryl exhibits the symptoms you’ve described, our top worry is that either cortisol levels have dropped too low and/or certain blood chemistries have become unbalanced (most notably potassium and sodium levels). These problems can appear at any time, even when dogs had previously been stable for lengthy periods. Your vet must have indeed suspected overdosing, and that’s why he/she lowered the dose of Vetoryl. However, before starting back at any dose, it would be important to first perform blood testing to identify the genuine cause of the problem. Even when cortisol levels are OK, Vetoryl also carries the danger of affecting the production of aldosterone. This is the adrenal hormone that regulates certain blood chemistries. If your dog’s adrenal hormone production has been oversuppressed, it may take more than a few days for the adrenal glands to recover to the point that restarting the Vetoryl is necessary and safe. Some dogs who are overdosed may take weeks and even months before hormone levels rebound. Another, non-Vetoryl possibility might be pancreatitis which can also cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs.

Especially since the problem has recurred, it remains important for blood testing to be done now if it was not already done a few days ago. Also, it will help us to find out whether monitoring testing of cortisol levels have been done previously. Actual dates and test results will be greatly appreciated. In that vein, more information about your dog’s entire health history will help guide us, including the symptoms and testing that led to the Cushing’s diagnosis in the first place.

As to what to do right now, I would again immediately stop the Vetoryl. Then, as soon as possible, I would want to get the blood testing performed in order to better judge the true nature of the problem.

Marianne