Checking in for November 2014

[mytil]

"Checking in" is a topic that we start on the first of each month. We suspect that we have a good number of members who read the messages regularly but who don't post very often. Maybe that's because their dogs are doing well, or they don't have a Cushing's dog anymore, or they haven't got any questions to ask, or maybe they don't feel very comfortable about posting answers to other members' questions. It's perfectly understandable and acceptable for folks to only post once in a while, but when we don't hear from people, many of us find ourselves wondering what those folks have been up to recently and how their dogs are doing.

It's always preferable to post updates about your Cushing's dog in your own thread/topic (especially if you want feedback/replies from other members) but you can also post a quick reply here if you just want to say hi and let everyone know how you are doing in general.

We'd love to hear from you! :)

[BettyF]

Hi everyone, I'm Betty from the UK and although I joined this group quite a time ago, this is my first post.

My Border Terrier Vera was diagnosed with Cushings in March 2012 at the age of 14, she is now 17 and is doing quite well for her age.

However, I find the main problem is that my vet seems pretty clueless when it comes to treating Cushings.

When she was first diagnosed he wanted to start her on 30 mg Vetoryl once daily (she weighed 16 pounds at the time). I had already joined a Yahoo group and was aware that it was better to 'start low, go slow' so I politely told this to the vet and since then it has been left up to me to decide the dosage.

I started her on 10mg once daily, then guided by her regular ACTH results I increased it to 7.5mg twice daily, then 10mg twice daily and now to 15mg twice daily.

I don't know of a compounding pharmacy here in the UK, so I bought some mg scales and empty capsules and split the Vetoryl myself. I know it isn't 100% accurate but it is better than not doing it.

Her last ACTH a week ago was pre - 2.2 and post - 6.7.

For her age, Vera is good. She enjoys her walk in the park every morning, her appetite is reasonable and her weeing and drinking is more or less normal.

I hope that anyone who has a newly-diagnosed dog will be encouraged by Vera's story. Cushings is quite scary to begin with but it is possible to manage it and for the dog to have a good quality of life.

[mytil]

Welcome you two. I have copied your post to our Question and Discussion section - http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6781 so members can better see your thread.

Terry