j Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 yeah, I'm hoping that as he has been text book so far it will continue with no dramas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 brilliant news, how have you found it so far? scary?mase gone in today for the cushings test, but being as how he has all the symtoms expecting he worse Good luck with Mase. Hopefully he will be as textbook as Occy and you won't have any dramas. I haven't found it scary as such, more concerned that I might not have noticed the change in symptoms and caused him damage by continuing the medication when I shouldn't have. The change is pretty obvious when it happens though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 yeah, I'm hoping that as he has been text book so far it will continue with no dramas They may start out that way, but every Cushings experience is different unfortunately. The best we can all hope for is a relatively easy run with Cushings, and that other complications don't kick in. Thankfully, Chloe is otherwise healthy and everything else is normal... so that's a massive relief. Is there any news on the cruciate surgery (or any plans for further down the track at this stage)? I'm just wondering how that will go now he's on Lysodren. From what I've read, they need to come off Lysodren for a few months before surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 I'm not sure re his surgery at the moment. The vet wanted to make sure we had the cushings well and truly under control before attempting it. He is still confined and it actually seems to have made some difference the last few days. He has been putting it down and bearing weight on it so wait and see I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Let's hope some rest keeps his leg bearable until his cushings is sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loraine Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I'm not sure re his surgery at the moment. The vet wanted to make sure we had the cushings well and truly under control before attempting it. He is still confined and it actually seems to have made some difference the last few days. He has been putting it down and bearing weight on it so wait and see I guess My vet said to wait a couple of months before putting the dog under a general anaesthetic, just to make sure that the Cushing's meds are right. You may find that Occy starts to limp more as the cortisol in his body lessens (it acts as a pain killer). Juice please keep us up dated with your Mase. Perhaps start his own thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 waiting on results today feeling very anxious. j, do you mind me gatecrashing your thread, will start a new one if you prefer, but like all the moral support here when we weighed him at vet he had put on 5kg in 3 weeks changing food to lite! i was talking to my sis in the us, and she just sent me a link for meds over there, lysdron ( sp)was $582 for 100 tabs, but i told her i have to wait, he may not get put on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Be very careful with things like that, especially tablets - because the dosages can change, which means you can have an excess of useless tablets on your hands. It's best to get only what is prescribed at a time (between regular testing) so that you are not wasting money (unless Lysodren dosages can be manually adjusted I'm not sure). But Trilostane tablets are made per prescription - so if the dosage changes, new tablets need to be made. We've started on a new liquid form of Trilostane now - MUCH better and works out cheaper as the dosage can be changed just by how much you put into the syringe (taken orally), so there is no wastage which has been a lifesaver (financially) for us. Best of luck with the results today Juice - and don't feel too bad, like I said, it's not the end of the world by any means (although it might feel like it right now ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 thanks kelly, if its positive they said they will refer be to baulkham hills specialist. if so, i will see if he can go on the liquid too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 That's really good that they are referring you - I good vet knows when it's best to send them to a specialist No news yet Juice? I do remember the feeling. I also remember the feeling when Chloe went into remission from Cushings, and symptoms started recurring. I was heartbroken - however, it was either the return of Cushings - or an additional illness most likely Diabetes - so for us, to hear that it was 'just' the Cushings returning was actually a good result. Sometimes it's better the devil you know... The medication they put Mase on (if confirmed) will depend on a few things... but if it is the ARH at Baulkham Hills I'm fairly sure they are now using Trilostane. I guess it depends on what specialist you are referred to as well and what they prefer to use (I think there may be a few that specialise in medicine - however I think Chloe's specialist also does work at Baulkham Hills too). But if they do decide to go with Trilostane, perhaps talk to them about getting it in liquid form (if not at first, at least when the loading phase is over and an initial constant dosage is agreed). It's much easier and practical. Basically, a prescription is written and sent to a pharmacy (from recollection it's in the North Syd somewhere) - and they either send it to the vet for you to pick up - or we just get it sent directly to our house via courier (or express post). Juice do you have any photos? Also J, do we have some recent pics of Occy? Let's swap Cushinoid pics They are special! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) The first pic is me and Chloe during her first very bad allergic reaction - which led us to the Cushings diagnosis. What you can't see behind her smile is a very uncomfortable girl, her head and neck were swollen and she had little lumps all over her skull But still, her smile, God bless her. The next two are just after her diagnosis and ultrasound which 'confirmed' it was pituitary related. This was pre-meds, so as you can see she still has a very bloated belly - and as usual had her head stuck in a water bowl guzzling. And the last two were of her recuperating and wearing her ARH specialist bandanna that she had been given for being a good patient Edited January 12, 2010 by Kelly_Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 I don't mind at all Juice Occys lysodren is made up into a capsule by the vet, so I don't need to do any weighing or anything. She has only given me enough for the month until he has his next test. It was $42 or so for the month. I don't think I have any recent photos of Occy that will show his belly? I will take some more soon and then post them up. I have some older ones which might be good for comparison between then and now, but he has really long hair in some and really short hair in others, so it's a bit hard to really see his stomach when it's long and curly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 no news yet, been out by the pool, dogs in the salon with the air on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 $42 for the MONTH!! Oh goodness - stick with Lysodren!!! The liquid Trilostane is approx $160 (including delivery) for about 1.5 - 2 months. The tablets were $250 for approx 1.5 - 2 months But that's why they only give you a certain supply of tablets - they generally wait until re-testing and then decide if the dosage needs to be adjusted before ordering more tablets. Otherwise, very expensive tablets with no use We'd love to see some pics of Occy anyway Mase is just LUBBERLY! If he is diagnosed with Cushings - once on treatment you will find that any additional weight is a little easier to shift (although is still an uphill battle for us with Chloe ). He looks just like my sisters old bully who was pts many years ago - he was such a sweet thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 $42 for the MONTH!! Oh goodness - stick with Lysodren!!! The liquid Trilostane is approx $160 (including delivery) for about 1.5 - 2 months. The tablets were $250 for approx 1.5 - 2 months But that's why they only give you a certain supply of tablets - they generally wait until re-testing and then decide if the dosage needs to be adjusted before ordering more tablets. Otherwise, very expensive tablets with no use We'd love to see some pics of Occy anyway :D Mase is just LUBBERLY! If he is diagnosed with Cushings - once on treatment you will find that any additional weight is a little easier to shift (although is still an uphill battle for us with Chloe ). He looks just like my sisters old bully who was pts many years ago - he was such a sweet thing. You need to remember that Occy is only 5.6kg. There's not a lot of him well, there is a lot more of him than there used to be, but hopefully he will get back down to his pre surgery weight of 4.9kg I will take some photos and put them up, probably on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 vet has just rung, bloods have come back neg for cushings, however, the pathologist and vet think it maybe a false neg he had the stimulus test, so now he has to go back tommorrow for the suppression test. vet is worried something else is masking the cushings. he has all the symptoms, trying to think of anything else with these symptoms, panting, lots of water, starving, taught tummy, not wanting to exercise,skin problems? so in tommorrow, and bloods maybe back by friday, just so need to know what is going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 To be honest, they should have done the suppression test originally. It is what is commonly used to 'diagnose' Cushings as it is much more accurate. In my experience they use the Stim test more regularly for the regular checkups to make sure dosage is on track. A false negative does happen. After Chloe came out of remission, she had a false negative on a ACTH Stim test. We started to worry thinking it must be something else as well (ie diabetes)... however, she had a Suppression test and it returned positive for Cushings (within a week of each other). I believe that Loraine also experienced false negatives on her Cushings journey with her boy too. So don't worry too much at the moment and trying to think of what else it might be, false negatives happen frequently. And considering the symptoms you listed, I'd say that a false negative is highly likely in this case. The only problem is... now the waiting game again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 i agree, thought he was having the supression test monday cost me a fortune so far, this is the third set of bloods he has had sent away ;) but i have no choice, have come this far. just frustrating waiting again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Yeah it's a very frustrating disease... we went through the same thing with Chloe's normal vet... as soon as I was sure it was something fairly serious I pulled her out and took her straight to the specialist. They moved really quickly to get the diagnosis and start treatment. No messing around, thank goodness. Understand the waiting game... it's so frustrating. Hang in there cause you're right, you've come this far. Knowledge is your best bet, that way you can ask for things particularly or discuss different avenues if you are concerned, so that you don't waste money. You should hopefully get your results from the suppression test though... although it's tougher on the dogs. 8 hours is a long day for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 i know, have to drop him off at 9am, luckily its stormed here tonight, as is forcast to be colder tommorrow, or would worry about him being in a run at vets allday i am not that happy with my vet, i use her as she is one of our rescue vets, and try's to keep the price down, even though he is now mine. the first bloods were done only 2 days after i had stopped the cortisone, so they would have made the enzyme level be high,so a waste really, then monday was another waste too i reckon. but since i started with her i may aswell finish the last one tommorrow. if its positive, will get referal staright away, if its another neg, will go to other vet i sometimes use, wish i had gone there first now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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