Cushing’s Disease in Dog’s
We have decided to write our first client information sheet on Cushing’s due to the overwhelming amount of questions we have had from owners about the disease. I would strongly encourage owners of dogs who are suffering from Cushing’s to follow the link below and write in with their comments, suggestions and experience as I’m sure this will be a great help to people who have recently had their dog diagnosed with hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s Disease). Thank you.
Cushing’s disease is one of the most commonly diagnosed endocrinopathies in dogs but is very rare in cats. 85-90% of Cushing’s occurs from excessive ACTH (a hormone) released from the pituitary gland in the brain that stimulates the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroid. The other 10-15% of cases are from a tumour (which may be benign or malignant) of the adrenal gland. Cushing’s disease results from the side effects of too much corticosteroid circulating within your dog’s body.
The possible side effects are many and listed below:
Increased drinking and urinating (may be peeing in the house), enlarging/pot bellied abdomen, hair loss, tiredness/lethargy, increased appetite, muscle weakness, skin changes, neurological signs.
The diagnosis is based on clinical signs, and a range of other possible tests including urinalysis, Xrays or ultrasound that can check for a number of organ changes, blood tests for haematology and biochemistry, and then more specific blood tests called an ACTH stimulation +/or a low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test, High Dose Dex. Suppression Test.
Treatment: Medical management of Cushing’s can be very successful. Trilostane is currently the only licenced UK drug for the treatment of Cushing’s Disease. Trilostane interferes with the production of steroid by the adrenal gland, it is not toxic to cells and it’s effects are reversible on stopping treatment. The treatment must be continued for life and from personal experience the author has seen good long term control of Cushing’s Disease.
There is a surgical option for Adrenal dependant Cushing’s HOWEVER this should not be undertaken lightly as the post-operative complications can be very severe, and as a result this proceedure is very rarely done. Please speak with your vet to get more information about this proceedure if you have any questions.
October 9th, 2006 at 8:36 am
We’ve had a labrador bitch on treatment for cushings using 120mg vetoryl now for nearly 2 months. today she has her 3rd blood tests at Churchfields Vets in Barnsley, Sth Yourkshire.
Since being on vetoryl she has improved greatly. Expensive in terms of blodd tests & pill prices, but we feel it’s worth it for the significant improvement in her lifestyle.
November 6th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
Our 11.5 year old male Akita is currently in the clinical study in teh US for this drug. It has done wonders for him, he is acting like he is 5 years old again. I strongly suggest this medicine for any dog who needs it. It has been a blessing for our boy.
November 22nd, 2006 at 10:50 am
I have two 12 year old Welsh Corgi’s with Cushing’s. They have been on Vetoryl for over two year’s.
They are both on one 60mg a day and have done well on Vetoryl since day one :o)
This drug is a wonder drug in my eye’s……. I would highly recommend it to any dog owner with a Cushings dog.
This drug is expensive but it has got cheaper over the year’s ( oh how I wish I had pet insurance ! ) Worth every penny !!!
March 25th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
We have an 8yr old Cairn Terrier called Leia. She was diagnosed with Cushings disease in June 2006. Her diet consists of Hills l/d complete food. Are there any alternative foods that can be suggested as we have great diffculty in getting her to eat it.
April 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
sadly on tuesday the 10th of april 2007 my puppy dog king who was 12 years old and was a staffrott had to be put to sleep as he had cushings disease. he hadnt showed any symptoms of being ill but i had noticed that he was drinking more water than usual and he had also started peeing in the house i was also having to let him out alot more at night but it wasnt until i noticed that his muscles were wasting away and he had blood coming from his back passage that i decided to take him to the vet where they done a blood test that came back saying that he had severe liver damage caused by to much corticosteriods in his body. as i am unemployed and did not have pet insurance i couldnt afford the treatment but even if i had he would only have survived a few months and i would only have been prolonging the inevitable maybe if he had showed the symptoms earlier i would have found the money from somewhere because i have read other peoples comments on this disease and the results are very positive sadly for my pup it wasnt to be but maybe someone will read this and recognise something and it will help their pooch i truly hope it will. thank you for reading this. king i love u very much and i miss u xxxx
May 16th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
my jack russel maisie has had cushings for almost 3 years, she is now 13 years old. she has been on 120mg of vetoryl daily and had been perfectly healthy! the only thing i have noticed is that her hair seems to grow thickly and she moults alot. she has the acth test twice a year, and the vet has said her health is like that of a healthy dog, and she should live out a normal life-span. i realise the treatment is very expensive and prohibitive to many, the cost to us is around a ?Ǭ£1,000 per year, including the acth tests. i agree with helen. it is a wonder drug!
May 16th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
i accidentally typed had instead of has been perfectly healthy. she is still healthy!
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:10 pm
my boxer dog brin has had cushings for 6 years now! he has been on vetoryl tabs that was at first covered by insurance, since reaching the ?Ǭ£2500 limit we have had to pay for the treament ourselves.we have a very good relationship with our vet and he has suggested that we obtain our medication over the internet as it is cheaper as our ins.premium for this next year has gone up to ?Ǭ£612!!! As our old boy is now 15 years old realistically it would be cheaper for us not to have the insurance and bank the monthly premium for any future problems.Knowing how well brin has done and for how long he has gone on i hope this gives some comfort to anyone with a recently diagnosed pet.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
At the end of April my 12 year old toy poodle lady Flo was diagnosed the cushing’s syndrome. During the past months, Flo’s hair and skin got worst and furthermore, she seemed to have problems with her muscles. In the beginning I thought that the muscle problems were because of an operation she had when she was 3 years old. Furthermore she had a furious appetite and a lot of thirst and in the last months she wasn’t that active anymore.
I met a women who told me about her dog who died from cushing and when she told me the symptoms, I was shocked, because Flo had them all! Before calling the vet, I made some research in internet and in fact, it seemed unbelievable for me… I contacted my vet, who told me that he never ever had dog’s owner coming and saying “my dog has the cushing’s syndrome”. So first we did all the necessary exams, in order to exclude other pathologies and finally the blood test with the ACTH stimulation. Fortunately she didn’t have problems with her liver and neither diabetes etc., so we started with the Lysodren therapy. Only 5 days of treatment we had to interrupt, because she had heavy collapses (Addison Crisis). Now passed over one month after the Lysodren therapy, we wanted to start with the vetoryl, but unfortunately, Flo who now has an increased weight of 2.5 kg can’t take it, because the 30 mg (actually the lightest product available) is too much for her and furthermore the producer advices not to give the drug to dogs with less then 3 kgs weight. It is not possible to open the capsules, because in opening them and filling them into smaller capsules, there is the risk that there might remain some powder outside and this might be a danger while taking it for the dog. I’m really desperated at the moment, because on the one hand I’m fortunate that it seems that we’ve discovered the illness right at time, but on the other hand I’m afraid that without any treatment, she gets worst (liver, diabetes etc.) and that at the end we can’t treat her anymore because of these damages. I’ll be greatful for some advice and help! Daniela from Italy
June 30th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I have a 13 year old irish setter called Sassie. She has had Cushings since she was 10. I was mistakenly advised by the breeder that I would be lucky if she survived 6 months and should not put her through any unnecessary discomfort - illconceived advice, as I have since found out. Sassie is happy and healthy, albiet a bit stiff these days with athritic hips. Vetmedsplus was my financial saviour when I was made redundant saving me a fortune in prescription costs. My advise - Don’t listen to breeders, take out insurance but if you haven’t got it give your pet the best you can to the limit of what you can afford. Most important, shop around for ALL your medication even if you do have insurance, it will make the cover go further.
July 2nd, 2007 at 4:51 pm
my 15 year old german shorthair pointer has been on vetoryl for over two years. when i finally got a diagnosis of cushings, he was over 12 and i thought near the end of his life (he had already beat cancer). after researching cushings, i thought vetoryl could buy him a year or so of quality life. It appeared to me to be the safest treatment available. my vet supported the effort and she wrote the letter and got the fda waiver with no problem at all. you really just need to say its for an individual pet with cushings and not a food animal. I remember how quickly he improved after he started the drug. no more accidents in the house, no more panting and no more drinking. The dog was himself again, full of energy. We have adjusted his dose a few times and continue to do so. if you are close to your dog and know him, you can tell if he is getting too much or too little. It is a delicate balance. I dont know how long the old guy will continue. I have always said to myself, when he no longer enjoys his walks in the woods i will know its time. he still gallops along on the trails, slower he used to but outruns our 10 year old black lab. vetoryl is a fabulous drug.
August 31st, 2007 at 11:09 am
Last year my 9 year old Lhasa Apso, Max began drinking considerable amounts of water and peeing uncontrollably. His normally dense coat was going quite thin. I researched the symptoms and thought he had Cushings. The vet did a blood test and said he had a liver problem but it wasn’t Cushings.
The drinking and peeing continued, his hair got thinner and he was much less active and agile. Easter 2007, I went to the vet again and saw a junior partner who agreed it could be Cushings so Max would have another blood test. The two senior partners were still adamant it wasn’t Cushings. The blood test came back negative again but there was a different one they could do and yes the result positive. Max was put on 60mg of Vetoryl. The improvement in his health has been amazing. He is his old puppy like self again with normal eating, drinking and peeing. His coat is thick -but now has copper coloued streaks when it was silver and white. It can however cause him to scratch quite a lot in spite of being Frontlined so next week we are going to the vet to see if the 60 mg can be reduced to 30mg.
The vet charges me ?Ǭ£7 for the prescription - they say it isn’t a prescription charge but is to cover administration. Whatever it is called, I can’t have the prescription without paying. so I’m not too happy about that.
Vetmeds save me about ?Ǭ£20 a month on the medication and their service is excellent so a big thank you to them.
So don’t give up if you think your dog has Cushings and the vet disagrees. Apparantly it is quite hard to diagnose. Vetoryl might be a bit expensive but does make a huge difference to the quality of your dogs life (and of yours too - no more night time pees.) I have been told Max might not live as long as my previous Lhasa so some of your previous have really cheered me up.
September 7th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I cancelled the pet insurance for Lucky, my 10 year old German Shepherd at the end of last year as the preimiums and excess made it “not worth it”… However in February she started to slow down and limp from time to time, she had a few “accidents” in the house and was drinking loads of water. Then on a walk with me and my husband she decided she didn’t want to go more than 1/2 a mile and she loves her walks! I put it down to old age and took her to vet to get her heart checked out. They checked her over and suggested blood tests which indicated Cushings, a second lot of tests confirmed it. She was put on Vetoryl 120mg and my vets said it was fine to get it from the internet and give me a 3-month prescription for no charge. She had monthly blood tests for 3 months and then a bigger batch at the end of August which indicated she should now be on 60mg as they had worked so well. Her next blood test won’t be until December now (thank goodness, given the cost!) The non-clinical signs which my vet also takes notice of are that she acts like a 5 year old, she walks faster than I want to, runs up the stairs, is fully continent again and wants to play all the time. She does have itchy skin though - now I’m wondering if its a side effect? She’s 11 this month and just full of bounce! Great service from Vetmedsplus which took a lot of the worry away at the start!
October 6th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Our Yorkshire Terrier has been on Vetoryl for 5 or 6 years. When she was first diagnosed we feared she would not live much longer as her condition had been misdiagnosed at first and she was in a bad state.. She has an adrenal tumour which theoretically should not respond to the Vetoryl. She changed dramatically once she started on the drug and was keen to go walks again and lead an active life. She is now over 15 years old. In the last few weeks she has started to decline despite her Cushings being well controlled. The tests done by the vet have detected liver damage which he thinks is because of the fact she has been taking the Vetoryl for so long. We are about to put her on a special diet to attempt to give her liver a rest. But thanks to Vetoryl she has had many extra years of active life.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
My Yorkshire Terrier Jessie was a realy healthy girl then about two years ago when she was 6years old she started to put on wheight around her belly,she was always around 5kg,and then went up to 8kg without eating any different things her main diet was chicken and mixer biscuits,lambs liver and rice,so i knew it was not what i was feeding her,.one day i saw another vet at the practice and he did some blood tests which confirmed she had cushings,well I did know a bit about it as my daughter had rescued a staffi with cushings from the R.S.P.C.A he was about 8years and died a couple of months later so I had looked into the disease but it still came as a shock.Her belly was like a huge solid ball with her hair on it nearly gone the skin was like tissue paper and very dry,her trunk hair was getting thinner and very silver in colour(it was black before) but her facial and leg hair still thick and growing,her tail hair disapearing,she was very thisty panting and urinating a lot,so she was put on Vetoryl 30mg a day,.Last tuesday 26th February 2008 I took her to get some more tablets but explained to my vet that she seemed to be getting worse,he agreed that it could be the cushings but needed to rule out diabetes so we got a urine sample from her and when tested she also had full blown diabetes and her pancreas want making any insulin sadley I had to make the most awful decision of my life to let her go to sleep as she would not have had much longer to live and her quality of life would have got worse,the vets were marvelous and my old vet even rang to offer his condolenses,I miss her so much and pray she will be at The Rainbows Bridge waiting for me. Jessie was 8 years old and loved by all who knew her.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Our Stafforshire bull terrier has had Cushings for two years, she is doing very well on the Vetoryl caps. Before she was diagnosed she got a bald patch on her tail, but the hair grew back with the treatment. She is 14 now and has lost a lot of hair this time she has moulted,her skin is ok, she also drinks a lot,despite 120mgs of Vetoryl daily, but does not wet in the house. We have only needed to have the diagnostic blood tests done, our vet says its not necessary to do any more, unless she becomes unwell. Thank goodness VetMeds are a bit cheaper than other providers.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:18 am
I have a Jack russell who is about 16 -17yrs old.She was diagnosed with cushings about 2yrs ago although it was nearly confused with liver failure but thanks to the internet I managed to get information about the symptoms of what my dog was getting thus suggesting it was cushings.She was put on 60mg of vetoryl but then the dosage had to be increased after about 11months.It has been tough going because her eating was suppressed to the point of anorexia.The vet decreased the dose to 30mg a few months ago after relapses and having to give her steroid injections to give her a boost but I have now decided to stop the vetoryl because I feel that she was getting the warned side effects.After now 3weeks of no vetoryl she has perked up no end.She is eating normally and keen to go out for walks and even runs occassionally.This is owing to the fact she is now getting her own steroids boost.The drinking had started to increase on the vetoryl but now it she isnt on it anymore the drinking has decreased although she does have the occassional accident in the house but who cares shes old and intitled to a few of them.I could see she was getting the side effects of the drug and she looked just miserable.Maybe if I see signs of the cushings returning ie.excessive drinking,eating,coat change,panting etc I will reintroduce the vetoryl.But at the moment with my fingers crossed she is alert,keen and interested in life .She sleeps alot but thats her age.When she wakes up she stretches and wags her tail and she looks contented…
July 13th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
thankyou for leaving your feedback, my adorable toy poodle has been diagnosed with cushings and i have been so depressed about it as she is only two and everything i have read so far gives a life expectancy of two years!!.the comments you have left have given me hope. We have 10mg vetoryl tablets but need to get some weight on her as she currently weighs 2.5 kg . I hopefully will be able to leave some positive feedback about vetoryl soon
October 1st, 2009 at 7:05 pm
i have just come home from my vets with my 10 year old dog Charlie, the vet say she is fairly certain it is cushings due to the symtoms, bloating, hair loss, thin skin, blisters, weeing, excessive drinking and not wanting to be walked. I just thought it was old age!!!! i am devestated the vet has advised to leave it and given a life expectancy of 6 months to a year but after reading this i think i will be on the phone tommorow i want 5 years not 1
April 15th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
We do not know how old our woofter is but she has been diagnosed with Cushings and has been prescribed Vetoryl which she has to take with food. Problem is that she has absolutely no appetite - despite trying her on all her favourites. She also has congestive cardiac failure and a damaged heart. However, has anyone else who has given their four legged friend Vetoryl found that the dog had yellow diarrhoea? Our vet says this is not connected to Vetoryl, but I have put off giving our little girl Vetoryl because of this first reaction and am waiting for 2 or 3 days of normal stool - not happening because she is not eating. Also, I am at work all day and our little girl is with my elderly mother who is not quite clear about what is going on with our dog - due to my mother’s age. Can anyway confirm that their dog has had yellow diarrhoea with Vetoryl? (Our previous old boy also had Cushings but I do not recall any yellow diarrhoea). Also, any suggestions for how I should give her the Vetoryl? Any suggestions will be welcome.
Boz