Hi, my name is Sydney and I have Cushings

[Twilk2019]

My 12yr old standard poodle has been diagnosed with Cushings. I want to put her on a low fat freeze dried diet. Does anyone have recommendations?
I would also like to know if anyone is trying a holistic approach to this disease.
Thank you
Terrie

[labblab]

Hi Terrie, and welcome to you and Sydney! Unfortunately, I’m headed out the door for the evening so can’t post more to you now. But I do want to greet you both, and let you know that we’re so glad you’ve joined us :-).

More to follow tomorrow...
Marianne

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Terrie,

Welcome to you and Sydney from me as well! I was hoping you would share additional information about your sweet girl so that we may be able to provide you with more meaningful feedback, so if you don't mind, can you answer these questions that I'll be posting, please. Could you get the results from all tests that were done on Sydney and post those values that are abnormal along with the reference ranges and units of measurement? Was she diagnosed with the adrenal or pituitary form of Cushing's? Does she have any other health issues? Is she taking any herbs/supplements/medications? How much does she weigh? What symptoms is she displaying?

Regarding the holistic approach for Cushing's, unfortunately I don't know of any truly effective holistic/alternate substitutes to the Rx medication when one wants to lower cortisol levels significantly. Having said that, if clinical symptoms are not that bothersome to the dog or owner, some members have told us that Cushex and Adrenal Harmony Gold worked very well in controlling symptoms but only for a short time period. Now, Cushex and Adrenal Harmony Gold have no controlled clinical testing whatsoever to back up their claims (we know this because we have contacted the manufacturers and we have been told that no testing has been done).

I am so glad you found your way here and we will help in any way we can. Please don't hesitate to ask any and all questions you have.

Lori

[labblab]

Hi again, Terrie. I’m so glad that Lori has had the chance to write to you already, and I “second” her hope that you’ll share some more info about Sydney’s Cushing’s journey. Also, I agree with her comments about holistic treatment alternatives.

As far as food suggestions, I’m afraid I’m at a loss to help you with that. People sometimes come here and tell us that they’ve read elsewhere about specific Cushing’s feeding recommendations. In honesty, during my many years on the forum, I’ve seen dogs do both great and not-so-great on the entire range of available feeding options: commercial, homecooked, processed, raw, canned, dry. Aside from generally recommending moderate levels of good quality protein and lower levels of fat, I cannot say that any one option or brand of food stands out as being particularly helpful across the board for Cushpups. So I encourage folks to take a look at websites that are devoted to evaluating the quality of dog foods, in general, and go from there in terms of finding a choice that best meets the specific needs of their own dog.

Marianne