Cushings & my dogs treatment..Trilostane..& my Gift to YOU

[Sandra_G]

Hi...My 9 yr old poodle also has Cushings. If any of you have time, please read all my postings. I'd like to hear what you think after you read all of my Julie's symptoms & her story. All of her symptoms are just like your dogs.

I must add the following to Julie's symptoms...that I forgot to mention in past postings.
Please note that I read many of you saying your dog is "disoriented" etc, yet that is a common symptom....the dogs get Lethargic, but not all the time.  Julie seem to stare in space... just call your dog..he/she will snap out of it.
I also saw my dog do "head pressing" (a medical term). Thats normal in Cushings dogs & my baby is not doing it half as much as before. What happens is that I see her pressing her head (not hard at all) against a cabinet or wall, if she happens to be lying there. I also notice that Julie doesn't want to sleep on our bed all night anymore. She likes the floor, on the carpeting, near her water bowl.  She also sleeps differently. On her stomach with her little front paws on each side of her face.

I left her alone the other day for 4 hours. When I got home, she was way too excited & her heart was pumping too fast. I finally calmed her down after 15 minutes. I decided that she either comes with me when I go out from now on or if she cannot come with me, I will get a "dog sitter" while I am out. I usually do that anyway if I am gone for a long time. Now I will get one if even for an hour. She can't get that excited/upset like that again when I am gone.
She never did that before Cushings, it's got to be anxiety due to her illness.

I answered some of you personally yet I notice there are many dogs in here that are Cushinoid dogs. I feel this posting is better to do it this way,  than to keep answering individually.

I am treating my 14 lb Julie with Trilostane..for a month now. I did so much research on this new drug and it seems to be the best out there. It is not overpriced...I get it from a Pharmacy in New Jersey. They compound it. Julie takes 15mg once a day for now, until I get her another ACTH test next week, to see if her numbers went down a bit. If not, my Vet will up the Trilostane dose...a little at a time..to get Julie regulated & not to OD her on it.  I pray this works.

Cushings is NOT a death sentence.  Many dogs do recover & live for years longer. Some dogs must stay on meds for life but thats okay.  If there is more than Cushings going on, you will eventually know by the tests & symptoms.

I have 4- Ebooks on Cushings..foods to cook, etc, .that I purchased online & I am willing to share them with any of you at no charge, if you want to read them. My Vet said most of the info is good & to take what I choose from the books, but check with him first if I add anything to her diet & treatment.   He liked the food recipes & the Treat recipes.
I do need your email address though. The books won't post in this site...for some strange reason.

Alot of people have helped me in this Forum & I want to give back.  I hope it helps you & your Cushings dog. Please keep the faith & don't give up on treating your dog...no matter what others say. It takes time to see results.  No two dogs are the same. Be optimistic..it helps alot.
Take care
Sandy

[LongBeachMom]

Hello, I have a question. My dog just started Trilostane and has diarrhea. Did your dog get sick too and did it subside when they got used to the medication?
Any help would be so appreciated. Thank you

[Keri0229]

@Sandra_G I'd like to get an email of the e-books - ***@****

[AMcCullagh]

Would love a copy of your e-books for my mother's maltese with cushing's disease! Thank you so much! ***@****

[JRTlover]

My 14 year old Jack Russell Terrier was diagnosed with cushings 6 months ago. My vet prescribed him 30mg of Trilostene per day. It reduced his thirst and hunger immediately. But by the third day he became zombie like, started to have difficulty standing, would stand in the corner and stare at walls,then the seizures started. My vet told me to stop treatment for a while and when he got back to normal I could start again on half the dose per day. I decided to keep him off the Trilostene and researched herbal alternatives. I started giving him burdock root and dandelion root daily as they have been known to help reduce symptoms of cushings syndrome. The herbs helped for a while but recently the cushings symptoms got worse and my 7kg dog was drinking 2litres of water per day. So a week ago I started him on 15mg of Trilostene per day. Once again, the symptoms reduced immediately. However after 5 days, he woke up unable to walk and zombie like again. I took my dog to my mother's vet who was furious that my vet had prescribed Trilostene to treat cushings. He said Trilostene is like chemotherapy and my dog is being poisoned which is why he is so unwell. The vet also said that a dog his size should only be taking one tablet a week to treat cushings symptoms. I'm waiting for the drug to get out of his system before we can look at other treatment options. My poor dog is so sick right now. He has barely eaten the last two days, he's so weak that I have to carry him outside to urinate and he's completely dazed. Earlier today I found him standing halfway out the door staring into space. I think he wanted to go outside but he forgot what he was doing. It breaks my heart to think I poisoned him by giving him Trilostene. I feel terrible.

[lindapalm]

Nobody can give you any idea how long she has, but I can say that she sounds like shes doing very well on the meds, which is a good sign. Take her back to the vet often for retests, feed her quality food, and enjoy her and spoil her every day, that's about the best you can do to keep her going longer.  From the way it sounds, I'm sure you don't  have to be told to spoil her, I bet she's treated like a princess.  Try not to cry or be upset in front of her, it will only make her anxious and scared, and that's not good for her.  Good Luck, keep us up to date on how she is doing.

[lonesomedove51]

My Little Shi Tzu Was diagnosed with Chusings, but it was caught very early. The Vet has put her on the trilostane. She acts just like she always has except for the thrist. Not every night, but some, I will wake up and discover she is panting, and I get up and take her to get water. After that she is fine and sleeps the rest of the night. She only has the panting symptoms at night and never during the day. I live alone and she is all I have in this world. I hope she has several more years with me as when she goes, I will most likely go not far behind her as I can't even imagine not having her. I have had her since she was a puppy of ten years old. The Vet said since we had caught it so early she may live a normal life with this trilostane. Is she right or just trying to comfort me. She is still as stout as she always was. Please give me some awnsers as she is all I have left.

I have already been crying just thinking about it and the Vet says she may have a number of years left yet.  I don't think I could live without my little girl. She is all I have left. Can anyone give me any hope here?

[TrickyWebber]

My Maltese X Shih Tzu Lokey has been diagnosed with Cushings.  He is 12 years old in December. Initially when they suspected he had the disease over a 1 year ago, the results came back inconclusive. Now after re-testing last week, it has been confirmed as pituartry cushings disease. :(

Despite my apprehension and nevousness about giving this drug to my dog (i went crazy researching EVERYTHING) four days ago he started on 15mg of trilostane, and I'm now glad I have.  In this short time I can see very tiny differences in him already.  A little spark in his eye. His mobility is still terrible but at least he has been waking up in the mornings now where before he just wouldn't bother.  He attempts to walk upstairs, he can make it up one step - though I still carry him because I know he won't make the 10 others ahead of him.

In general he seems almost a little happier. I don't know if thats just me hoping for the best or not.

I have seen no side effects at all so  far and I have high hopes that this is the beginning on a new lease on life for my poor boy.  I miss running around with him, playing hide and seek, and strolling through the park - now this treatment has began I only wished I pushed harder for a quicker diagnosis sooner.

There has been nothing worse than seeing my boy get older, more lethargic and less mobile over the years and not knowing there was something more i could have been doing about it all this time. Previously, I had put it down to old age coz of his greying hair.  

Sandra, it's been a while since you posted this.  Can I ask, did trilostane work for your dog in the long run and can you tell me realistically what I should expect here on in? I am still worried, and I wonder if he will have full mobility in his hind legs again.

Thank you for reading, Tricky Webber.

[tobyladd]

My dog has the same symptoms. Now I know the problem. I feel the same way you do. It hurts to see him go down hill. I guess it's just another one of lifes test. God Bless

[lindapalm]

It is amazing that your dog is 20 years old, is she feeling any better now?  Has she been rechecked to see if the Trilostane your giving her is working at the proper level?  Ours was being overdosed and had to go on steriods.  Her legs would go out sometimes, and we had to carry her, and other times she was okay.

[CERROCREST]

HI, MY NAME IS JOANN AND WE HAVE A DOG WITH CUSING, HER NAME IS pENNY AND SHE IS 20 YEARS OLD,lAST NIGHT SHE WOKE US AND COULD NOT STAND UP,AND LOST CONTROLL OF HER HEAD,WE STAYED WITH HER ALL NIGHT FOR SHE SLEEPS WITH US, THIS MORNING SHE WAS ABLE TO STAND BUT NOT REAL GOOD SHE TAKES 25 MILL. OF TRILOSTANE TWISE A DAY WITH CLARITIN 10MILL,AND PROINN 50MILL, WE CHANGED HER C-TRILOSTANE FROM TWICE A DAY TO ONCE A DAY, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ALL THE MED,WE LOVE HER SO MUCH JOANN FRATES

[lindapalm]

Max sounds like he is doing pretty good for a dog thats 83 with Cushings, you are doing a great job.  I wouldn't be surprised if stress accelerates the disease because every time our dog went in for testing, she came back so bad I didn't think she would make it through the night.  Please try not to show any of your stress in front of Max (I know, its hard) I feel that will only make him feel more confused and worse.  Yes, your heart is going to be broken, big time, enjoy each extra day you have with him.  Please find some peace in knowing you have done everything possible, and gave him a great life full of love.  Theres not much more a dog could ask for.

[max97]

My baby Max, a cocker spaniel is 15 years old this year.  We have had him since he was six weeks old.  We were told that he had cushings, but that if the constant panting did not bother us we should not do anything at the moment.  Two months ago we we decided to repeat the test for cushings and as suggersted by our vet he was put on trilostane, 30 mg per day, because the urination was becoming more frequent and his water consumption had increased.  He took it for 9 days, On the 10th day I was taking him to the vet for his test.  He would not move.  I had to force him down the stairs.  He was very lethargic  I left him at the vet for the day, where they had to put him on the drip.  When I picked him up that evening he was very lively.  When the test results came back they said he was in the normal range.  I did not want to give him the 30 mg per day again as I thought it was too high a dosage.  My vet suggested 10 mg twice per day.  I was still not happy with that dosage so I asked her if I could try him on 10 mg once per day.  She agreed and he has been on that for 20 days now.  His water consumption is decreasing, he is not peeing in the house anymore, which he did do occasionally before with the cushingsHis backend is still weak, but he still comes upstairs to bed with us  every night as he has been doing for the past 15 years.   I have cried reading all these posts, as I know my heart is going to be broken.  I almost wish I could go before him so that I could avoid the pain I know is in store for me.  Does stress really accelerate the disease?

[Ghilly]

Sandy posted that over 2 1/5 years ago, so I don't know whether or not she is still participating in the forum.  She may or may not respond to your request for the recipes as I have not seen her weigh in on any of the other recent posts about Cushings.   In order to give it a better chance of being seen and answered, though, why not start a new thread and repost your question?  Many people will not even bother to read the replies to very old posts.

Ghilly

[DonnaLWR]

I know nothing about cushings, but want to say you are an awesome pet owner and julie is very lucky to have you.

[leelee1978]

Sandy, thank you for sharing your story! My standard schnauzer, Hogan, has also been diagnosed with Cushings. I would greatly appreciate the recipes you mentioned in your post. Thank you and all my best to you and Julie.

[Dan52]

Dear Sandra

I am very interested in trying out your recipes, I think that our little Bichon has steroid induced cushings. She is on Temiril-P for allergiies. I would love to take her off pills.

Thanks

Daniel

[Kit_Sunny]

My 14 year old Sunny (terrier mix) was almost 20 pounds and was hungry all the time.  Since starting Trilostane 2 months ago still has healthy appetite but is way less frantic but is now 16.5 pounds (seems drastic) has developed congestive heart disease in same period.  Vet says heart disease isn't a side effect but is possibly a result of body/organ changes as result of Cushings.  In October I ordered Michael Doyle's book but haven't received it and can't track him down.  Interested in any comments.  Kit

[Laura_Sam]

I just posted a comment and read it.  I meant to say Sam is NOT showing any symptoms of Cushing's at this point.  Sam is 10 years old and is such a good friend and family member.
Thanks again.
Laura

[Laura_Sam]

Thanks for sharing your story on Cushing's.  Earlier this month, my dog, Sam, had a routine blood test and Cushing's was found.  Another blood test is scheduled for January to confirm the diagnosis and try to find a course of treatment.  At present, Sam is now showing any symptoms.  I ordered an online book by Michael Doyle, "Amazing Secrets to Increase Your Dog's Lifespan."  I am very interested in providing a diet recommended for Cushing's and this book provides a number of recipes, however, I have reservations about them and adding the Vitamins, herbs and fatty acids since I'm not clear on the amounts and the ratio to the food.  I would very much appreciate it if you have diets that include this information.  
I hope Julie is doing well.
Thank you,
Laura

[Joy322]

Our dog Tessa who is 9 1/2 years old has been diagnosed with Cushings Disease.  She will start on  Trilostane 5 mg this Friday.  I am very interested in your EBooks.  Please contact me as soon as possible.

Thank You Joy

[Janet53]

Can you provide the ebook names? I would be interested.
Thank you! Janet

[Sandra_G]

Hi Ginger..thanks so much. I try hard with Julie & try to stay Optimistic although there were days that I did not feel that way. Once I got more info on Cushings & started making my own "big girl" decisions, after much research, I felt better. I realized that my Vet is a great help but he's not God. I had to do for Julie what I find suits her needs in foods that I give her, with great caution.   She is always starving with this Cushings & just Hills KD alone,  doesn't kick it for her. We are both happier now:)
Sandy

[ginger899]

Thanks Sandy, for this post. I am sure it will offer hope to many who have dogs with Cushing's. (I am learning a lot about this here.)

You are giving your dog such devotion, and good care and attention. Blessings to you, and Julie.