8 year old dog losing appetite

[urick6]

My 8 year old Chorkie kilo has recently been diagnosed with cushing and has been on vetoryl 10 mg and weighs around 5.5 pounds and after about a month ive noticed hes been somewhat reluctant to eat and usually would love to beg but hasnt been doing that recently which has scared me as we've had to hand feed.It also quite puzzling cause hes still active and after long walks still wont eat.should i be worried or is that him adjusting to the dosage and him being a smaller dog?
Dex supression test
pre 8.4 ug/dl
4hr:1.1 ug/dl
8hr:2.3 ug/dl
1 month later Snapshot Dx
5.9 ug/dl 10:04am
3.6 ug/dl 2:23 pm

[labblab]

Hello and welcome to you and Kilo! The goal of Vetoryl treatment is to curb symptoms such as excessive thirst, urination, and hunger. So after a month of treatment, we’d hope that a dog would no longer be ravenously hungry. However, we do worry if the balance tips too far in the other direction and appetite drops to being less than normal. It is indeed possible that it’s just a matter of a dog’s system adjusting to a sudden drop in cortisol. However, it can also be a sign that cortisol is dropping too much, or that other chemical imbalances can be resulting from the treatment.

I see you’ve posted a LDDS result that is consistent with the pituitary form of Cushing’s. I also see what looks to be a monitoring ACTH stimulation test performed just now at the one month mark. One concern that I would have had initially is starting a 5.5 pound dog with a 10 mg. dose of Vetoryl. Initial dosing recommendations used to be higher, but the most widely accepted protocol now is not to exceed 1 mg. per pound when first starting off. However, that is now water under the bridge for Kilo, and technically his 30-day cortisol level has not fallen too low, even on that higher dose. One big oddity, though, is that his cortisol level prior to the injection of the stimulation agent is double the level afterwards. That is the opposite of what you’d expect, and I’m not sure what to make of that. We have seen that on occasion with other dogs, but remains somewhat puzzling.

Was any other bloodwork done at the same time as the ACTH monitoring test? As mentioned above, Vetoryl can sometimes throw off blood chemistry balances even when the cortisol level remains within a safe range. So if a dog is acting unwell, checking basic blood chemistries can be important.

Can you tell us a bit more about Kilo’s overall health history, as well as the symptoms and testing that originally led to the Cushing’s diagnosis? That’ll give us a better idea of his overall situation. Also, aside from the loss of appetite, does he otherwise seem to feel well? Any diarrhea or GI upset?

Thanks in advance for any additional info. And once again, welcome to you both!
Marianne

[urick6]

we first thought it was stress as that was when we got our second dog who kilo just doesn't tolerate so we tried medication but the hair loss got gradually worse and cyst were beginning to develop and several months later we went to vet who diagnosed him with cushing. Hes otherwise an active dog and makes me take him at least several kilometers a day when the weather allows it as it can get quite hot in Orlando.I also saw his hair looks alot worse but ive been told that normal and can take a few months to regrow.He hasn't been constipated yet and seems quite normal otherwise just an loss of interest in food as he would usually gp crazy over some leftover turkey but now they can remain virtually untouched if hes not prompted to eat.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Kilo from me as well!

If this were me, I'd skip a dose or two of the Vetoryl and see if his appetite picks up (skipping a couple of doses won't hurt him). If his appetite perks up than more than likely his cortisol has dropped lower than what his system needs to make him feel more like himself, some dogs do better when their cortisol is allowed to run a bit higher.

Lori

[urick6]

Surprisingly his appetite seemed to have picked up last night when we offered him some deli from publix and the next day was back to begging for some fish which he gobbled up but ill most likely watch him closely tomorrow and see if he just being a picky eater and if it doesn't pick up like it did today well skip his next dosage and see how he responds to that.

[Squirt's Mom]

Welcome to you and Kilo!

How is he doing today? Did he get the Vetoryl?

[urick6]

We did end up giving him vetroyl today just to see as his appetite looking was quite good but im thinking we might skip it tomorrow as he appears to be constipated now and so far hasn't defecated today regardless the length of his walk and now isn't interested in chicken so ill keep watch and see if his appetite picks up at night because thats the time he seems to be craving food.Hes surprisingly not weak or fatigued during our walks but refuses to eat even a little after a lengthy duration.

[labblab]

If you do decide to hold the Vetoryl, it’ll be interesting to see if that perks up his appetite.

Just so you’ll know, though, it’s not constipation that’s the particular worry with Vetoryl. It’s the opposite — diarrhea. Diarrhea and/or vomiting can be signs that cortisol levels have dropped too low. I’m not aware of any similar issue with constipation. If Kilo hasn’t been eating as much, he may just not be producing as much stool right now.

Marianne

[urick6]

he didnt eat yesterday and after his walk look extreemly fatigued and it hard to tell if he peed or throwed up a puddle of liquid whith white foam and still refuses to eat im so confused

[urick6]

Im scared that this could indicate kidney failure and has only been recently diagnosed with cushing so its really stressing me out and im pretty sure his water intake is still good despite the no hunger is this something that is out of the norm as so far hes only had that problem once or should i be scheduling a vet