Dachshund with Cushing's just diagnosed

[LittleCherry]

Hello everyone!
I have my amazing Dachshund Cherry who was just diagnosed with Cushing's. She probably has had it for 2 years now. Her first symptoms was the hair loss in patches on her back and the belly. At first we didn't see her belly as a sign that something was wrong as we have an avocado tree and she used to eat them (we know they are not good but it is really hard to pick them all up).
Right now she has barely any hair on her back, no hair on her belly which is a very large belly. Her spleen is 400% larger of what is supposed to be normal. Her liver and kidneys both have some problem, not major but still.
My mom and I both cried a lot when the vet confirmed what it was after several tests, especially when she told us that it is highly probable that she won't be able to walk eventually.

I NEED HELP WITH THE FOLLOWING: I live in Mexico and the Vetoryl tablets are twice as expensive here. As you might imagine it's even harder for us to buy them for her along with her special food and other medicines for her other problems.
I've found several websites online where the medicine has a very good price but I do not have an Rx from an American Vet. My veterinarian here told me that hers won't be valid and I already confirmed it.
Does anyone know if there is a way to get the medicine from the USA?
We have been struggling a lot with money and we will definitely do our best (and will) buy them one way or the other, but it would help so much if we could buy them from the USA because of the price. Here in Mexico I cannot find it for less than $150 USD for 30 tablets of 60 mg.

I appreciate the time for everyone reading this post. I will keep you updated. It's such a hard situation. I hope everyone's doggies are doing well, they're angels.

[Joan2517]

Hello and welcome to you and Cherry! Members more knowledgeable than I am will be along to answer your question about medication. They will also like to see the results of any blood work and the actual numbers from the test for Cushings. Highs and lows with the reference ranges is what they will need. Also, how much does Cherry weigh? I'm assuming an ultrasound was done?

My Lena absolutely loved avocados. I didn't find out for years after she was eating them that they were supposed to be bad, but she enjoyed them so much, and I loved watching her relish them! And I'm sure if we had a tree, she would've learned to climb it!

[labblab]

Hello and welcome from me, too! I'm afraid I have only a moment to post right now, but I did want to address your medication question. By any chance, do you have any friends or relatives in the U.S.? The reason why I ask is that one option for you to consider might be a "compounded" version of trilostane instead of brand name Vetoryl. Trilostane is the active ingredient in Vetoryl, and there are compounding pharmacies here in the U.S. that can prepare custom doses of trilostane at a price that is typically much less expensive than the cost of Vetoryl. There have been some studies that have indicated that some compounded versions of trilostane are not as consistent in dosage or as effectively metabolized as is Vetoryl. However, many of our members here have used compounded products with success, and if I did not feel as though I could afford the cost of brand name Vetoryl, I personally would opt for a compounded trilostane rather than not treating at all.

I just now checked with a compounding pharmacy located in Arizona that has an extremely good reputation with our members: Diamondback Drugs. The pharmacist there told me that they could, in fact, honor a prescription faxed from a Mexican veterinarian. However, they cannot send the medication across the border themselves. They could, however, send the medication to a designated recipient in the U.S. It would then be up to you to work out the arrangements for receiving the medication yourself. I don't know whether this helps, but I just wanted to offer this option as a possibility. Here is Diamondback's website if you want more information: http://www.diamondbackdrugs.com/

Once again, welcome, and we look forward to learning more about little Cherry. One thing I'm especially wondering about is her enlarged spleen. That is actually not typical of Cushing's, and I'm wondering what your vet thinks may be the cause of this enlargement, and whether it needs to be investigated further, separate from the Cushing's.

Marianne

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome from me too.

One thing I noticed is that you are looking into 60mg pills. The current recommendation is to start out the dosage based on 1mg/1lb or 2mg/2Kg. So I think 60 is too high to start out with. Please don't start cherry on that high of a dose as we see all sorts of problems associated with overdosing.

Hopefully this will help you out, especially with Diamondback being willing to ship to you. The cost will be less for the lower dose than for 60mg also.

[LittleCherry]

Hello and welcome to you and Cherry! Members more knowledgeable than I am will be along to answer your question about medication. They will also like to see the results of any blood work and the actual numbers from the test for Cushings. Highs and lows with the reference ranges is what they will need. Also, how much does Cherry weigh? I'm assuming an ultrasound was done?

My Lena absolutely loved avocados. I didn't find out for years after she was eating them that they were supposed to be bad, but she enjoyed them so much, and I loved watching her relish them! And I'm sure if we had a tree, she would've learned to climb it!

Hi Joan,

Than you for your reply. Cherry weighs 30 lb. The vet said only her spleen is 2.2 lb itself. She had an ultrasound which they showed me but I do not remember everything they said. I know she has calcifications (I believe in her spleen as well), she as some problems in liver and kidneys.

I uploaded in an album all her blood test results. They are in Spanish but I believe it is easy to understand. She also has problems with the thyroids which the vet thinks was probably caused because for 1.5 years she was being treated as if it was her only problem. The past vets mistakenly didn't even ask for more studies they just assumed with the thyroid tests that she had that problem but not Cushing's.

At first they gave her a normal dose of Levotiroxin according to her weight. As they kept on testing her blood and her thryroid levels came out wrong, they started to give her larger dosis. This last vet confirmed that what they were giving her was TOO MUCH for her (0.6mg/day) so probably that could've caused other problems.

I will get the other test for Cushing's and upload the results. I'll speak to the vet.

Meanwhile I can say that they will try to reduce the size of her spleen and today she began getting 2 injections of Ornipural and Catosal. She will get this daily for one week and see changes. Not sure if it's written the same in English.

I will keep you posted.

[LittleCherry]

Hello and welcome from me, too! I'm afraid I have only a moment to post right now, but I did want to address your medication question. By any chance, do you have any friends or relatives in the U.S.? The reason why I ask is that one option for you to consider might be a "compounded" version of trilostane instead of brand name Vetoryl. Trilostane is the active ingredient in Vetoryl, and there are compounding pharmacies here in the U.S. that can prepare custom doses of trilostane at a price that is typically much less expensive than the cost of Vetoryl. There have been some studies that have indicated that some compounded versions of trilostane are not as consistent in dosage or as effectively metabolized as is Vetoryl. However, many of our members here have used compounded products with success, and if I did not feel as though I could afford the cost of brand name Vetoryl, I personally would opt for a compounded trilostane rather than not treating at all.

I just now checked with a compounding pharmacy located in Arizona that has an extremely good reputation with our members: Diamondback Drugs. The pharmacist there told me that they could, in fact, honor a prescription faxed from a Mexican veterinarian. However, they cannot send the medication across the border themselves. They could, however, send the medication to a designated recipient in the U.S. It would then be up to you to work out the arrangements for receiving the medication yourself. I don't know whether this helps, but I just wanted to offer this option as a possibility. Here is Diamondback's website if you want more information: http://www.diamondbackdrugs.com/

Once again, welcome, and we look forward to learning more about little Cherry. One thing I'm especially wondering about is her enlarged spleen. That is actually not typical of Cushing's, and I'm wondering what your vet thinks may be the cause of this enlargement, and whether it needs to be investigated further, separate from the Cushing's.

Marianne

Hi! Thank you for your post! I do have friends in the USA and they are always willing to help. I will look more into the Diamondback's website. It could really be a lot of help. I am not quite sure the cause of her sleep enlargement but she started her treatment today as I wrote on my previous post. If we don't see anyou change then she will have to get it removed along with her ovaries and everything to cause less "noise" with everything she has. Bless her. I will keep everyone posted.

[molly muffin]

How is cherry doing? She has been getting the injections for over a week now right? Any change in size of spleen?

[LittleCherry]

How is cherry doing? She has been getting the injections for over a week now right? Any change in size of spleen?

Hi Sharlene. Thank you for the followup and all your comments.
Cherry finished her injections, her belly seems the same, but now they are treating her for another 60 days with:

- RENAL K+. It is Potassium Gluconate. 1ml each 12 hours (until she finishes the bottle)
- Siliprotect Natural - 1 tablet each 24 hours for 60 days (to protect her liver)

They haven't weighed her again but the vet had said first she wanted to 'stabilize' or try to fix her liver and kidneys as much as possible (as well as her spleen) before looking at the final results and evaluate if she will need a spleen surgery or not. She would be removing it if she doesn't get better. Personally I see her almost the same speaking about the size of her belly but my mom says she has noticed Cherry has been a little more bouncy or jumping around. She thinks is the medicated food which helps her muscles and so.

GOOD NEWS: I contacted the Diamondback Drug laboratory and they quoted 30 tablets of 63mg of Trilostane for $43.00 USD + $8 Shipping. This is like a third of the normal cost.

My vet gave me the Rx and I'm ready to place the order tomorrow. I understand the concern about the dose. My vet still says she needs 60mg/day and I read a little and I think she does need them mg. By any chance do you have the reference to know a little more about the right dose? I'm a little worried.

[labblab]

Hello again! I am giving you a link to a post that will explain why we are recommending a starting dose of trilostane that is closer to 30 mg. Please read through it, and you may even want to print it out for your vet. I really hope your vet will reconsider and write a prescription for a smaller dose. If you get a smaller dose, you can always combine two capsules if Cherry does end up needing a bigger dose. But if the 63 mg. capsule turns out to be too much for her, all the capsules will end up being wasted because they cannot be safely opened nor the powder inside divided. So please do read through this post before placing your order!

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/show...=1251#post1251

Marianne