fieldsy63

Hi Lily123, Milo currently is on 10mg Trilostane, once a day and has had his ACTH test, which shows him in normal dog range. We have noticed a slight change in amount of water he drinks, he isn't always ravenous, and he has a bit more energy. As he has only been on the meds for 2 weeks, the vet told us it should improve over time. We have opted to wait a month then re ACTH test him and see what the results are then. He definitely has pituitary Cushings, as an Ultrasound of his Adrenal Glands showed them both enlarged. Whilst looking around, the vet noticed Milo's Gallbladder has a thickened wall, plus some kind of 'sludge' in it that moved around when he moved Milo. The vet told us it could be Gallbladder Disease, or just an infection.....we are now treating him for both, for now. My poor darling now is on medications for Heart Murmur, Dry Eye, Cushings, Gallbladder Disease & infection, plus 2 antacids. We know our boy isn't going to be with us for a long time, now he has been diagnosed with Cushings, but I want him to have the best, most comfortable life that I can possibly give him. My gorgeous boy, I just love him to bits and I wish I could take some of this away from him its just not fair.

Hi there, My 10yo Chihuahua Milo has Cushings and has just started treatment on Trilostane. The first thing we noticed was that he drank alot of water and swallowed his food without chewing it (plus begged for food all the time). I would say from the beginning of this year we noticed Milo's coat was very very thin along his back, plus we were starting to feel and see his spine and hip bones. He also has had a potty belly for quiet some time now, doesn't tolerate the heat or little exercise very well, and pants all the time. His weight was around 5kg so we thought all was ok, but the vet told us all his symptoms point to Cushings, so did a basic blood test which proved this. She also told us we needed a specialized blood test to verify Cushings, and when we asked about treating vs not treating, she told us the animal doesn't suffer, their life is shortened, and its very expensive to treat. Taking all this info into consideration, we opted to leave things be until we saw the vet recently. He told us that the increased production of Cortisol in Milo's body was breaking down his muscles, thus leaving him with muscle wastage along his back, and left un treated was only going to get worst. He told us that this muscle breakdown was leaving the fat behind and putting pressure on internal organs. There is also the risk of Diabetes, Liver & Kidney disease. We were never told any of this info in April, and if we had we would have started this process earlier. He currently is on 10mg Trilostane, once a day and has had his ACTH test, which shows him in normal dog range. We have noticed a slight change in amount of water he drinks, he isn't always ravenous, and he has a bit more energy. As he has only been on the meds for 2 weeks, the vet told us it should improve over time. We have opted to wait a month then re ACTH test him and see what the results are then. He definitely has pituitary Cushings, as an Ultrasound of his Adrenal Glands showed them both enlarged. Whilst looking around, the vet noticed Milo's Gallbladder has a thickened wall, plus some kind of 'sludge' in it that moved around when he moved Milo. The vet told us it could be Gallbladder Disease, or just an infection.....we are now treating him for both, for now. My poor darling now is on medications for Heart Murmur, Dry Eye, Cushings, Gallbladder Disease & infection, plus 2 antacids. We know our boy isn't going to be with us for a long time, now he has been diagnosed with Cushings, but I want him to have the best, most comfortable life that I can possibly give him. My gorgeous boy, I just love him to bits and I wish I could take some of this away from him its just not fair.

We went to the vet today to discuss what we will do re Milo's Cushings. The vet wants us to monitor Milo's water intake over the next 48 hours, as he said he needs to know that. He also told us about the drug L-Deprenyl (Anipryl). Has anyone used this drug or know any info of its affectivness? The vet also told us he is not sure how easy it is to get. Milo's LDDS test points to him having Pituitary Cushings Syndrome, so while they are doing the Ultrasound on Milo's heart, I asked them to check out his Adrenals just to make sure it is Pituitary.

Milo's LDDST has confirmed he has Cushings so we are seeing the vet tomorrow to work out a time plan and get his treatment started. We are currently travelling around Australia in our caravan, so we will need to stop here in Adelaide for a while to get him started on the Trilostane and get to the maintenance stage. We are hoping it will be a stress free time for Milo, and hopefully all goes well for him :)

Does the Trilostane get administered going on the weight of the dog? If so, how heavy was Lily and how much did she have? Also, is it a tablet form? Thank you for all the information, and if there is anything else I should know, please let me know :)

Thanks all for your replies.... Milo is at the vets today for his LDDST blood works. We will know in a day or two whether he has Cushings or not. I'm just waiting on the call to go and pick him up as he has been at the vets since 8.30 this morning. He will be soooo glad to see me and I hope he isn't too sore from the blood tests. I will let you all know the outcome.

Hi.....I am new on this forum, and would like to say hi My precious little man Milo may have Cushings and I'm not sure how I will cope. He has just turned 10 (Feb) and we can feel all the bones of his spine when we stroke his back, well we don't do that any more because of that. His coat along his back is all wirey, and his skin is starting to go black there too. He has a pot belly and drinks alot of water. The vet has taken blood to see how his system is, and if it points to Cushings, says Milo will need more investigative blood test called a LDDST (cost $300 roughly). Also, because Milo has a heart murmur, the vet wants to do a Cardiac Ultrasound, to check whats going on with Milo's heart, which will include sedation $104, Dexason Injection $26, catheter $29 & Ultrasound $248. The vet went through the costs of treating the Cushings, if Milo has it, but I didnt take much of it in. He did say that he prefers to use Trylostane. My point is, I want to know if anyone thinks that this vet is a little too expensive, going on the charges above. I have read about the treatments, but cant find much about the costs. Can anyone please help me out.