My little buddy has Cushing's Disease

[pomguy]

Hi,

 

My pomeranian (between 5 and 6kgs, 12yo) I adopted from my brother 3 years ago. Who found him very sick wandering around streets in melbourne. It was a matter of either I take him or off to the pound. He suddenly started drinking water like crazy months ago, and his  demeanor seemed low. I was very worried, however, my brother told me how much it costs for basic visits to the Vet and being on a Disability Support Pension I feared I couldn't afford it.

 

The excessive drinking suddenly stopped. So I just put it down to age. Almost a month ago the symptoms reappeared, this time, however, he had incontinence, his hair is falling out, and he is excessively hungry. So I took him straight to the Vet. He had urine, and blood tests. The blood tests showed that he has an infected liver and "enzymes are elevated" indicating cushing's disease. He's on Antibiotics, He has to have a ACTH stimulation test on Wednesday. After that I think medications plus more tests.

 

My question is this, I understand the medication  Trilostane (Vetoryl) is expensive. I'm just wondering how expensive it it is. I understand different doses are required but generally speaking what has it cost you?

[Loving my Oldies]

@pomguy I can’t help you with the costs, just wanted to send sympathies to you and your little fellow and I hope you have a knowledgeable and helpful vet.  My little Pomeranian and I are about to embark on the “is it Cushings” journey  .  My little Mezza is also elderly and adopted in January from a pound.   I can also understand the worries about the finances as I am an OAP .  

 

Wishing you and yours the best and hopefully medications will be affordable and easy to manage.   

 

 

 

 

 

[Two Best Dogs!]

Bring up your finance concerns with your Vet (phone calls are free!) and ask about affordable options and affordable care plans. They will understand and likely know the best deals for you. 

 

Hoping help comes your way  

Edited October 22, 2018 by Thistle the Best Dog

[luvmybulldog]

My girl has Cushings - expensive disease in the beginning. We had a full blood count done as she needed some teeth removed  and I suspected a UTI as she was peeing more often. This showed the elevated liver enzymes as well as a UTI which we started treating with antibiotics before she went in to have an ultrasound and ACTH test.  I had the ultrasound as it looked at all of her organs as well as her Adrenal glands which gives my vet something to compare to in the future in regards to her Gall Bladder / Liver & Kidneys. Test was positive for Cushings and they could see on the ultrasound that one of her adrenals was enlarged.

The medication is dosed on weight so you'll probably be started on 10mg of Trilostane per day ( 2mg per kg )  I'm not sure if you mean Liver disease  when you say ' infected Liver ' or just elevated liver enzymes, I don' think Trilostane is recommended for dogs with Kidney or Liver disease.

If you start the medication then the first test to monitor the cortisol is 10 days from the beginning and then another test is due 30 days from the start of the medication and all going well

( you have to monitor the dog closely ) it can be tested every 90 days.  My girl is 21kgs and was prescribed 25mg per day ( split into 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening ) they recommend dogs over 40 pounds start on half the dosage.  My advice is if you do start medication then start low as it is easy to increase but if the dosage is too high then the dog can go into an Addisonian crisis which will usually result in an emergency vet visit/stay - close monitoring and watching and knowing your dog is extremely important.   

My vet gets the capsules from BOVA the compounding chemist and they are $126 per month.  I'm not sure if your vet can write you a prescription so you can purchase them online yourself which would work out cheaper.  You could also speak with your vet about doing the ' Pre Pill Cortisol ' testing instead of an ACTH test for the monitoring which would work out a lot cheaper. They only need to draw blood and send it to the Lab rather than drawing blood and then injecting the stim. agent and drawing blood another hour after that. The difference between the cost at my vet is $120 for the Pre Pill and $230 for the ACTH.

Cushings is a slow progressing disease but the excess cortisol being produced can mask other problems such as arthritis - I have noticed that my girl is more wobbly on her legs and she can't jump up onto the bed or the couch anymore and sometimes I have to carry her down the stairs. You can look into supplements to help with arthritis.

I joined a Cushings facebook group ( for dogs ) and while I know every dog is different and some people on facebook can be just horrible there are a few people on there with some great knowledge, suggestions and information.  It's a lot to take in and as I said, expensive in the beginning but with the right dose and close monitoring it can relieve the symptoms which is fantastic for your dog and for you too.  If you are on facebook and you would like the details of the Support page let me know.  

Could I also ask if your Vet tested his Thyroid and what the antibiotics are for?