Cushing's disease frustration

[lolanjoe]

Hi guys! Let me reintroduce myself: I'm the mama to three furkids: Scout 6 y/o boy beagle, Jenny 6 y/o girl lab mix, Cassie 4 y/o girl lab.

Long version: over the summer, Scout started urinating frequently and being really thirsty. After tons of tests on his kidneys etc over a few months, he was finally diagnosed with Cushing's disease caused by a pituitary tumor. He was started on a miniscule dose of Vetoryl which they have been steadily increasing every 3 weeks or so because it hasn't started helping yet. He gets bloodwork each time. The Cushing's disease makes it so he can't concentrate his urine, so he has a lot of accidents in the house. Once his meds get to a therapeutic dose, the constant thirst, lethargy, and beig unable to hold his bladder will stop. He had started getting better for a couple days once he'd been on 45mg for a couple weeks, but yesterday had a huge backslide of drinking huge amounts of water, guarding his water bowl (resource guarding is nothing new to him but had been a well-managed issue in the past), and more accidents.

It's been so frustrating seeing him go through this and not having the medication work. I don't feel like he's suffering, he doesn't seem like he's in pain. He's epileptic also, but no recent seizures. The vet can't do big increases in his medication because it can cause him to have his adrenal glands completely shut down and he'd go into a coma.

Does anyone around have experience dealing with Cushing's? Is there anything else I can do besides meds and the vet to make it more comfortable for him?

[mmp]

You may want to get in touch with Sabine at www.betterdogcare.com. She deals with diet and supplements, but she truly saved my dog's life through diet.

[nomad100]

We aren't dealing with Cushings but instead our Willow has Addisons. Addison's is another disease of the adrenal gland. It is pretty much the opposite of Cushings since she doesn't produce any cortisol. She was 3 when she was diagnosed.

She had a similar situation where it took some time (several months actually) to get the medication levels correct and required regular blood tests to check her levels. She had accidents and was tired all the time. He thirst was out of control too. I felt so bad for her. Especially since she also is hypothyroid and already taking daily pills for that.

But about 18 months later, she is doing fabulous. Her energy is back, her coat is soft and her weight is down over 10 lbs. You would never even know she has something wrong with her.

[redheadbaker]

Do a Google search for thenest.com + dog + Cushings. There was a poster on the old board who had a dog with Cushings, and she posted a lot of great info about getting the diagnosis and getting stable.