Maggie

[lmb]

Hello, my 8-9 yr old female beagle was diagnosed with Pituitary Gland Cushings. Our vet has recommended Vetoryl. I read on the internet about Flaxseed Lignans, and Melatonen along with a high protein diet is an alternative treatment. Has anyone tried this treatment, and how well does it work?

[labblab]

Welcome to you and your Maggie! If she has been diagnosed with high cortisol associated with pituitary-based Cushing's, then the treatment regimen of lignans/melatonin would not be the treatment of choice. Dogs can exhibit Cushing's symptoms as the result of elevations in cortisol, or instead as a result of elevations in other intermediate ("sex") hormones. Dogs with normal cortisol but elevated intermediate hormones are diagnosed with a condition referred to as "Atypical Cushing's." Those are the dogs for whom lignans/melatonin is often recommended. But if Maggie has "true" Cushing's with elevated cortisol, then either Vetoryl (trilostane) or Lysodren would be needed to effectively control the disease.

Here are a couple of links that may be helpful to you. The first is to a thread on our "Resources" forum that contains a lot of helpful info about Vetoryl (trilostane):

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185

The second link is to a Resource thread that discusses "Atypical Cushing's" in far greater detail:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198

It would be great if you could tell us more about Maggie's overall health history, her Cushing's symptoms, and the testing that was done to diagnose her condition. Actual diagnostic test results are very helpful to us. Also, how much does she weigh and has your vet told you what dose of Vetoryl he/she will prescribe? Sorry for all these questions, but your answers will help us with our feedback and suggestions.

Once again, welcome!
Marianne

[apollo6]

Welcome
Before you even start Vetroyl, please let us know the test that were done. How much does Maggie weigh?
My Apollo is on Vetroyl, but not without a lot of researching and getting the right specialist did I start the Vetroyl and actual find what the correct dosage was for my little guy.
Just a quick explanation of what cushing is , etc.

http://www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html
Welcome Sonja

[maggiebeagle]

Welcome to you from a fellow beagle lover. We lost our Maggie last year at the age of 14 (or so). We had her with us for 3 years after her diagnosis with Cushing's and treated her successfully with trilostane for two years.
You have come to the right place to gather a wealth of information.
I wish you luck on you journey!

[labblab]

Just bumping up this thread in hopes that Maggie's person will be checking back in with us again soon.

Marianne

[labblab]

Here is a message received from Maggie's person, giving us an update and also Maggie's diagnostic LDDS results:

Hello, I was able to get the test results this weekend and here are the results. Cortisol Sample 1 (5.3)(High); Cortisol Sample 2 Dex (0.9); Cortisol Sample 3 Dex (3.5)(High). Before I found your website I had already started using the Flaxseed w/Lignans along with Melatonin, also removing commercial dog food and using a high protein diet, Maggie has been on this for about 2 1/2 weeks and she is not drinking as much or doing the panting. I have also starting walker her around the block everyday when weather permits, she seems to enjoy this. I have a question about continuing to use the Sentinal, don't know if this could be harmful for her. I haven't started the Vetoryl yet and probably won't until after Christmas due to the cost of the drug, but really she doesn't seem to be sick or uncomfortable. She still gives me that big smile every morning when we first get up and is ready to go outside.