Attila-Calcinosis cutis, starting treatment w/ Lysodren..(Attila has passed on)

Hi and welcome. I guess I'm a Lysodren mom. My boy wasn't treated too long on it but I can tell you that the guidelines provided to you earlier were very helpful. It does seem really scary but after being on this forum for several months now I feel like I would choose Lysodren for my pup again if I had to. As for when you start treating him again, trust me you will know when he is loaded. You know your dog best and you will notice that slight change in water or eating that will signal you that the induction phase is over and it's time for an ACTH test. I had trouble keeping my dog in maintenance phase but when he was in control the change in him was amazing. It was so great to see all of the Cushing's symptoms subside. I'm not on here much anymore especially since I'm back to work after a nice summer break. If you ever have any questions feel free to intact me via private message. I can help with what I can. That being said, the support and knowledge on here is amazing. I couldn't have one though all I have without the support found here. Good luck.

Thanks Kaibos Mom- I am stopped for now and giving him Flagyl to help with the diarrhea. The vet on duty said to give him 5mg. of Prednisolone too, but I dont see how 1 pill of Lysodren could lower his Cortisol that much, and my husband is hesitant to give him more drugs. Waiting for our Cushings vet to call back and direct me. Ohhh these sensitive Frenchies!

Poor guy! Hope he feels better soon.

It doesn't matter if the cortisol got too low after one pill or not - rule #1 is to never ever give lysodren to a sick dog. Vomit and diarrhea are signs of overloading so you have to get over both of those before you even think of restarting it. Otherwise you will not know for sure if it is the lysodren or not - not worth having an acth test (expensive) done after a single dose.

I don't know what supplements you were giving but it could also be that 2 days wasn't enough to cleanse them out of the system. Are there any other drugs you are giving? Just checking to be safe.

Tremendous job of keeping a close eye out. The other thing you have to make sure doesn't happen is pancreatitis. Cush dogs are prone to it. So you want the tummy to be able to digest food and for eating patterns to be normal.

Great job. Not impressed by whoever it was that told you to give the next dose - they obviously have never had to live thru the stress of loading. Glad you stopped and checked in. Keep up the good work. Kim

Thank you Kim for the info. to look out for pancreatitis. Attila's not on any other meds, but I dont think his system got stabilized enough before we started Lyso. We have stopped it - I didnt listen to the doctor who told us to stay with it, I also only gave 1/2 5 mg. pill of prednisolone - I did not feel comfortable with it. Our treating vet has not called me back yet, so unless she's on vacation, it makes me lose faith since I think I should be able to contact her during the loading phase since she's the expert. We are giving Attila Flagyl right now for his diarrhea. Feeding bland food of oatmeal, sweet potato and a little white fish. He is eating and drinking up a storm with no vomiting and has good energy. My husband has reintroduced the holistics in the meantime. I will wait until his system is sound until we do anything.

You are right to be upset that your vet has not contacted you yet. When a dog is loading access to a vet 24 x 7 is important. Especially when the back up or office tells you to give lysodren anyway... not good.

Glad things seem better today. I'd be cautious about adding a bunch of new things to the mix (holistic treatment) because any change in meds, food, treats etc will make you wonder what is causing the diarrhea, vomiting etc. I'd try to stick to as little change as possible so when you do start the lysodren again you have a very clean slate.

Keep us posted and you are doing the right thing by holding off. Kim

I agree with Kim. Too many changes right now to add the Lyso to the mix until you see how the changes are going to work. Let him adjust to his regular feed and the Holistic meds before restarting the Lyso - then do not change one single thing during the load. ;)

Hi - The vets office FINALLY called to check in - turns out the prescribing vet was never called by the office. They called her right away today and she wants Attila to get another ACTC stim test just for precaution and meet with us at the end of the week when she's back in the office. 1 pill of Lysodren doesn't seem to be enough to give an Addison's reaction and he's been showing no signs since early Saturday morning. His diarrhea is clearing up with Flagyl, and everything else is normal. I feel like this is a waste of money, and I am starting to look for other vets that have experience and can also be available more during the loading and maintenance phase of Lysodren. Anyway, the vet said they's be negligent if they didn't recommend an ACTH stim test.

If you only gave one pill and you haven't since and its been several days then the cortisol would have risen and the test wouldn't be valid anyway.... seriously don't do an acth test - too expensive to waste your money like that.

Get the tummy healed up and you can try again and if it repeats then you might have to try trilostane or start questioning the diagnosis.

Since you gave the pill has the water intake been the same? Is appetite back to normal? Kim

That's what Im thinking about the ACTH test -but the vet has me a bit worried. I dont intend to start any meds until his tummy is regular. His water intake is the same (we are keeping track) and he's been eating voraciously like the piglet he is. Thanks Kim