Cairo, 8 year old staffordshire bull terrier just diagnosed

Alison:
Welcome to the group. Sorry your baby is having troubles. I know you had an LDDS test right? There are other tests that are done also, ACTH, Urine, and Ultra Sound are all used to get a confirmation of the Cushings and what type you are dealing with. Since these are powerful drugs used on Cushings I personally would want more confirmation that my dog has it, and what type.I use Vetoryl, and I can tell you the single most important thing with using it is to start on a low dose. It gives your dogs body time to adjust to the drug. Some vets start these dogs on a high dose and they have problems. If you want to minimize the risk to your dog start low. Just be vigilant about watching him and you will do fine. As far as diet goes I was told by a nutritionist that they need a low density, medium protein diet. Keep a daily doggie diary on your dog . You will need it to refer back to. Make sure your vet has experience treating Cushings as it will save you time, money and heartache. Hope all goes well. Blessings
Patti

Alison, DO NOT START ON THAT DOSE. It is way too high, and you are just asking for trouble. The 2 different recommendations are much lower than that. Either 1mg/kg, which would be 28mg for your dog, or 1mg/lb, which would be 60mg. You are much better starting with the lower one. It may take more dose adjustments, starting low and working your way up, but it is much better for your dog. Don't worry about arguing with your vet, you are the only one who can speak for your pet.

Oh heck. We're just back from the vet. She says she's starting him on a dose that's in the middle of the Dechra recommendations - 3mg per kg. She's booked him for an ACTH stim test on 17th September.

I've got his lab results - just away to scan them and work out how to post them up.

You only need to post the abnormal high/low results and the full LDDS or ACTH result which is a couple numbers with the ranges for each. Easier to just type those out. We see better results with starting on the low end of the scale and working up usually. So 60mg for starting.

Sharlene and Molly muffin

Those are OLD recommendations from Dechra. Unfortunately a lot of vets do not keep up with new studies, and many of the products inserts still seem to be old. Dechra recommends 1-3mg per pound now. UC Davis, 1mg/kg. Tell your vet NO.
My dog has been on vetoryl for about 5 weeks now. He weighs 50lbs (22.68kg). I started him on 20mg, twice a day. I believe the twice a day makes more sense. He has done very well, no problems at all. After his first acth test, which MUST be done 10-14 days after starting, and every time there is a dosage change, I increased his dose to 25mg twice a day, as his cortisol levels were still to high.
Don't worry, you will be fine as long as you follow protocol. If your vet won't listen, then find a new one. There is no rush to treat.

I've got his lab results now

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...b-results1.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...b-results2.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...b-results3.jpg

Alison, I'll tell you how I look at it, and I'm sure the many on here with much more knowledge than me, will correct me if I'm wrong.
Your dogs cortisol levels didn't go to the levels they are now overnight, they built up over time. Many systems are dependant on cortisol. The body has been trying to adjust all along to the levels increasing. A large dose will cause a big drop in the cortisol quickly. So not only is there the sudden shock to the system due to the change, but they could get too low, causing an addisons crisis.
Like with many other things we take, weaning them slowly off the cortisol levels their body has been used to, is much easier on the system, and a much safer way to go.

Dechra protocol ..

Quote:

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Ideally, the starting dose to aim for is 1.0 to 3.0 mg/lb (2.2 to 6.7 mg/kg) once a day based on body weight and capsule size. When calculating dosage, it is suggested to round down. Start at the low end of this range.

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It seems to many of us here that the larger dogs seem to need less trilo per kg than the smaller dogs do.

Please be sure your vet gives you some rescue predisone to keep on hand for any emergency.

Within a week or so, you may notice less thirst and ravenous appetite, but of he refuses to drink or eat and seems lethargic... stop the trilo and call the vet immediately.

I am sure you will do just fine :) but in any case you have lots of friends here that will be around to help and just listen if need be. :)

I've had a good read of Dechra's leaflet for Vetoryl and it certainly says that for his weight, the starting dose should be 120mg.

Read the adverse reactions though and that's scared the pants off me.

Is there really any serious risk to this medication? Or are they just covering all basis for every possibility? I don't want to kill him with medication. My mum's scared to give him it and I'll admit that I'm a bit scared too.

As with any medication human or canine, their is always possible side effects. In most cases of concern is when a pup goes too low on the cortisol. Resulting in lethargy, loss of appetite, not willing to drink water and diarrhea. Many times this results in a trip to the ER for testing and fluids.

This is why many of us recommend starting on the lower dosage and working up if necessary. It may take a bit longer to get control, but we feel it is a better and safer method.

Like I mentioned before, it does seem the larger dogs need less trilo per Kg than the smaller dogs.

I am trying to read the test below and am having trouble seeing the numbers. Did the vet do an ACTH test to baseline Cairo?