Comments on: Cushing’s Disease in Dog’s

By: Boz

Boz — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:31:31 +0000

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

By: jo

jo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:05:30 +0000

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

By: pam

pam — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:28:02 +0000

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

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:18:55 +0000

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…

By: Kathy Nadin

Kathy Nadin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:29:54 +0000

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.

By: marie thomas

marie thomas — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:44:08 +0000

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.

By: R. Ashworth

R. Ashworth — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:09:58 +0000

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.

By: Hazel Major

Hazel Major — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:51:29 +0000

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!

By: Pat Evans

Pat Evans — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:09:32 +0000

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 ?Ç¬£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 ?Ç¬£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.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:51:49 +0000

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.