My little Bibi dog

[FrenchBibi]

My little dog Bibi was diagnosed with Cushing disease in September 2019. She was supposed to have her teeth cleaned under anesthesia. After they did a blood test the Veterinarian called to say she had elevated enzyme liver and probably a liver tumor. From there we went to a Veterinarian Oncologist, she did blood test and said she had Cushing disease. She had her take Vetoryl 10mg, 20mg and then 45mg a day. Instead of feeling better my dog looked worse and worse. She is still panting, drinks lots of water, goes to the bathroom almost every hour, started to loose hair. Her belly is swollen and also her lymph nodes. She also has trouble breathing. We saw another Vet who took some X-rays and says that she probably has a liver tumor, big lymph nodes and a collapse trachea. I have the feeling that we poisoned her with the Vetoryl. Anybody has a similar experience. She is 13 years old. May be she did not have Cushing disease to start with. Sorry if my story is too long. I love my little Bibi.

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and your sweet Bibi. What you’ve written is not too long at all — this is excellent background information for us to know about. I have to agree with you that I have questions about the accuracy of the Cushing’s diagnosis, especially since she’s gotten worse while taking the Vetoryl instead of better. Also, when dogs are treated with Vetoryl, it’s very important for blood tests to be regularly performed in order to make sure that the dose is not too high and the cortisol level has not dropped too low. Especially given Bibi’s dosage increases, I’m anxious to know whether this monitoring testing has been done on a regular basis. Ideally, the testing would be done around two weeks after each dosing increase, but no later than one month after. The results of any monitoring cortisol tests that have been done will help us to know whether the dose has been too low or too high.

Going back to the original diagnosis, in addition to the elevated liver values at the time of her dental procedure, was she having problems with her thirst, urination and appetite as well? Or have these problems only really developed since starting the Vetoryl? Has Bibi had any other health problems prior to these last few months?

Since Bibi is doing worse than ever, I would have thought that the new vet would have recommended stopping the medication altogether for now until things can be better sorted out. One of the most helpful tests would probably be an abdominal ultrasound. The images from an ultrasound can give you even better information about the status of the internal organs than you can get with x-rays. Especially if a liver tumor is suspected, an ultrasound would likely give you a much better idea as to whether or not that is truly the problem.

I’m so sorry that Bibi is doing so poorly! I can easily imagine how upset and worried you must be. I’ll be watching for any more information that you want to share with us, especially about any testing of her cortisol level while taking the Vetoryl. If Bibi does have a liver tumor, I don’t believe the Vetoryl would have caused that. But if the tumor is the main problem, then the Vetoryl is likely doing no good and probably should be stopped.

Please do tell us anything more that you think may be helpful. Again, I’m very sorry that Bibi is ill, but I’m really glad you’ve joined us.

Marianne