Adrenal Tumor Cushings

[LaurieLee]

Thanks for the inquiry!

And computer viruses aside, we're still trudging.

At any rate, the ultrasound revealed that her adrenal glands did not have tumors. So given her age, I guess I can be thankful that we do not need to consider putting her through surgery.

I discontinued Vetoryl due to the cost... Berry weighs 37 lbs and 8 days worth is $58. The Lysodren is much more affordable; about 1/3 of the cost.

We are on Day 3 of loading lysodren withou any problems. Any thoughts on Lysodren, folks? Is the general consensus that the drug helps for a better quality of life, more than it damages?

If anyone is interested I posted a posting on my blog with alot of pictures of Berry and "her story".
http://merrilyaswego.blogspot.com/20...berry-pie.html

And she seems to be enjoying her life right now, aside from having a potbelly and being ravenous! lol.

[Cushpup]

Thanks for the inquiry!

And computer viruses aside, we're still trudging.

At any rate, the ultrasound revealed that her adrenal glands did not have tumors. So given her age, I guess I can be thankful that we do not need to consider putting her through surgery.

I discontinued Vetoryl due to the cost... Berry weighs 37 lbs and 8 days worth is $58. The Lysodren is much more affordable; about 1/3 of the cost.

We are on Day 3 of loading lysodren withou any problems. Any thoughts on Lysodren, folks? Is the general consensus that the drug helps for a better quality of life, more than it damages?

If anyone is interested I posted a posting on my blog with alot of pictures of Berry and "her story".
http://merrilyaswego.blogspot.com/20...berry-pie.html

And she seems to be enjoying her life right now, aside from having a potbelly and being ravenous! lol.

Um, where do you get your Vetoryl/Trilostane?
I had mine compounded in 100mgs/ml in a 30ml bottle for $84.00, Beef flavor. I was giving mine 30mg a day which lasted me 90 days! As you can do the math it was 94 cents per day, not $7.24/per day like you paid.

Roadrunner Pharmacy
711 E. Carefree Hwy Ste140
Pheonix AZ 85085
1-877-518-4589

Having the liquid was so easy to use and adjust. A third of a cc syringe was a piece of cake to administer

I know that many pharmacies rip people off. You gotta shop around.
M

[LaurieLee]

I got the Vetoryl directly from our vet's (here in PA). Thanks for the lead on how to find it more reasonable priced...
On Friday, she'll be tested after her first week of Lysodren so I guess we'll have to see what that brings.
I should have posted sooner about the vetoryl (and the high price)m lol. ANyway, thanks!

[LaurieLee]

To anyone considering how to go through with treatment for their cushings dog:

After putting Blackberry on Lysodren...the results are incredible. I have my dog back; she is enjoying her life immensely. Her potbelly has improved, her ravenouse appetite has normalized,a mong many other things.

And the financial burden..the money for the Lysodren prescription is much less than the situation of us going in to the vet's frequently for the bladder infection diagnosis and the resulting prescription prior to her being diagnosed with Cushings.

Sure, the negative possibilities of the medicine are always there..but for us, even for the short time of these past few months and how Blackberry's quality of life has improved..it's worth it! The "wag" is back!

I'd just like to encourage others out there to consider the medication. :-)

And thank you to everyone who cared about our plight and read my posts. :-)

Best wishes, Laurie

[littleone1]

Hi Laurie,


I'm so glad to hear that Blackberry is doing so well. Even though Corky is taking Trilostane, his treatment has also been successful.

Thank you for posting these positive results.

[Altira]

Wow, cool! So nice to hear of your success. I have no experience with this medication but Cushing's can be a scary thing. It's nice to know it can work so well.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Laurie,

What a great report! It is so nice to hear how well Blackberry is doing with treatment. We always love good news!

My Squirt is also on Lyso and, like you, I have seen a renewal in her. It sure does the heart good to see, huh?

Thanks so much for coming and letting us know how she is doing.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[LaurieLee]

Hello everyone!
Berry is still doing well on her medication. Experiencing symptons from simply being old. So it goes.

At any rate, since many of us on here have a senior dog, you may have had troubles with doggy incontinence.

I finally posted instructions on my blog of how to make your own, inexpensive dog diaper as a solution for fecal incontinence (could be experimented with for urinary incontinence).

Here is the link:
http://merrilyaswego.blogspot.com/20...-tutorial.html

I use the dog diaper that I've made for one of our dogs everyday; it has been a real life-saver. I encourage you to give it a try, if you have the same problem.

Best wishes to all and caring for our furry friends.

[terreh1]

Hi there,
I saw that you had an adrenalectomy done on your dog and was wondering if there were any complications? Which adrenal gland was it? My dog has a mass on his left adrenal gland and they're recommending surgery. He has Atypical Cushings (tumor is producing too much progesterone). He is around 13 1/2 and I was feeling a bit scared to have this surgery done at his advanced age. I would love to hear about your dog.

Thanks!
Terre Harrison

Hello and welcome,

My dog had a very successful adrenalectomy about 4 1/2 years ago after a lengthy diagostic process. She had just turned 12.

The results of your low dose dex. test indicate that Blackberry may have an adrenal tumor. The way to find out with certainty is to have a top quality ultrasound performed. If there's an adrenal tumor, you need to know which gland it is in, its size and its involvement with area blood vessels.

There is no reason to jump to any conclusions now. An abdominal ultrasound with a high resolution machine will give you your answer. Surgery is the treatment of choice for an adrenal tumor. I hope you will get Blackberry an ultrasound performed by an excellent ultrasonographer pretty soon. Then, you can take it from there and we will be right with you every step of the way.

Ken

[Buffaloe]

Hi Terre,

I am sorry your dog has an adrenal tumor. You are doing the right thing to gather all of the information you can before making your decision.

Shiloh had her adrenalectomy in October, 2006 at the age of 12. It was a very large tumor (5.5 cm. in diameter) and was in her left gland. She was doing poorly before the surgery, just hanging on. A highly skilled and experienced board certified surgeon performed her adrenalectomy and he was assisted by another wonderful bcs. As soon as I got her home I could tell she was feeling much, much better. She lived with an excellent quality of life for another 3.5 years. Although she was 12, all of my veterinary professionals thought she was a very good surgical candidate. Shi was a healthy dog; just that nasty adrenal tumor was doing a number on her.

If you and your surgeon feel Max is a good surgical candidate and you have the money, surgery should probably be considered. He is not a young boy and it is a very serious surgery. My surgeon told me all he cares about when doing an adrenalectomy is the size of the tumor and its involvement with area blood vessels. He said they have an 85% long term success rate with these surgeries. I know there are plenty of dogs he will not operate on because they are too old, sickly, etc. Tumors in the left gland are easier to remove than in the right.

Your other option is to treat the tumor with Lysodren or Trilostane. It is a tough decision. I'll tell you this...the day of Shi's adrenalectomy was the toughest day I've gone through for many years. If you decide to proceed with the adrenalectomy, you can't look back. You have to know you can handle it, no matter what the outcome. All the best to you and Max.

Ken