Cushings confirmed

[carolemonika]

Good morning - For the last year I have been reading up on Cushings as our boxer/staffordshire terrier was showing symptoms. In that time, he gained 20 lbs and was losing his hair in large patches. Finally, two weeks ago, our vet took a urine sample and proceeded with an all day test ending in an ultrasound this week. He advised he is putting our boy on VETORYL at 60mg. Looking for more information as we start this journey.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby boy!

I'm glad you have been reading and trying to learn! YAY for your! In your reading did you happen to come across some new information about dosing? Studies are now showing that larger dogs usually need a much smaller starting dose than recommended so 60mg may be a bit too high for your boy. The starting dose prior to these studies was 1mg/lb but not it is usually better to start a dog weighing 66lbs and up with a dose ranging from .3 to .5 mg/lb (.66 to 1.1mg/kg). So keep a close eye on your baby for the following signs:

loss of appetite
loose stool/diarrhea
nausea/vomiting
lethargy

If you see any of these do not give the next dose and contact the vet. His vet may not be aware of these studies so I am posting a link for you about them -

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2012.00956.x

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22708554

Could you tell us what signs you have been seeing or what the vet saw that prompted the testing for Cushing's in the first place? Also if you could get the actual test results and post them here for us that would be great!

I'm glad you found us and look forward to seeing those tests results soon. Don't hesitate to ask questions any time and we will do our best to help you.
Hugs,
Leslie

[Squirt's Mom]

I also want to add this link from our Helpful Resource section in case you haven't seen it -

https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?8925-GENERAL-GUIDELINES-for-Dosing-and-Monitoring-Treatment-with-Vetoryl-(trilostane)

[carolemonika]

Hello - thanks for your reply and all the links to information! Our boy Bandit has been exhibiting the signs for over a year. He went from 64-68 lbs to 86lbs in that time. about 3 months ago, the vet did a thyroid test and he determined he was thyroid deficient and placed him on meds for that - which seems to have regulated (according to the 3 blood tests). I had been pushing the vet to look into Cushings as I had discovered that the hair loss, the weight gain, the "hot dog neck", pot belly and black skin were symptoms along with excessive thirst and hunger. We started his dose on Monday of this week at 70 mg of the Vetoryl, no side effects yet. Through all this he is still a happy, loving boy. We have had several "accidents" in the house, but he is using the puppy pads.

[Squirt's Mom]

I'm glad to hear he is doing well! Let us know how things progress and how he is feeling!

[carolemonika]

Bandit is doing very well. He has had his first 10-14 day blood work and the vet says the dosage is "spot on". We are going for his second bloodwork 11/30 - hoping we are still no target!

[Harley PoMMom]

So glad to hear that Bandit is doing well!! Could you do us a favor and post those ACTH stimulation results? We have seen so many times when a vet states that the dosage and/or results are ideal that this just isn't the case so we tend to worry!

Lori