Rosie has pituitary Cushing's — Rosie has crossed Rainbow Bridge

[FemaleK9]

Rosie (a beagle, will be 11 yrs old on 7/29/13) has just been diagnosed with pituitary Cushing's, after a low dose dex suppression test. I have just started her on Trilostane (Vetoryl) 10mg twice a day.

I was not told to give it with food, but I learned that from reading here on the forum while I waited for the meds to arrive. EDIT: Correction: The box has a neon orange sticker on it that says "GIVE WITH FOOD" that I managed to overlook. I aplogize to my vet!

Aside from the excessive drinking and urinating, Rosie is also experiencing incontinence, having "accidents" on the couch and in my bed while sleeping, and just a few minutes ago while lying on the kitchen floor.

I'm wondering if this is typical?

[Roxee's Dad]

Welcome to you and Rosie,

I have a Rosie too, just spelled differently (Rozee)

Can you tell us the story and what test were performed that led to the cushings diagnosis. I see the LDDS test, but was there a follow up ACTH stim test?

How much does your Rosie weigh? Does Rosie have a ravenous appetite, and excessive thirst? Losing any hair?

Sorry for all the questions, but the more we know and understand, the more we can help.

If Rosie does indeed have cushings, many of the symptoms will subside when her cortisol in under control.

I don't have any experience with the incontinence, but many more will be by to welcome you and may be able to give you their input.

[Roxee's Dad]

I also wanted to add, if you have copies of Rosie's test, could you post them here. Only the abnormal results along with the reference ranges.

If you don't have copies, your vet's office should be more than happy to provide them. Most of us keep a notebook or folder with all our pups test results

[mytil]

Hi and welcome to our site - I am sorry your Rosie is having these troubles.

Yes, incontinence can be associated with Cushing's, but more times than not it could be a urinary tract infection (UTI) as cushpups are prone to this. Has this been checked out?

John has started off with the usual questions we all ask. Yep, the more we know the better we can all help out.

When you get the chance post those results here.

Oh, and I just fell in love with your avatar - what a cutie pie!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep us posted
Terry

[goldengirl88]

Hi:
Welcome to you and Rosie. You came to the right place for help. Just a few tips for you. Get copies of all your dogs tests and post the numbers so we can help you. Keep a daily diary of what is going on with your dog, get a vet or IMS that has experience with Cushings. You will save a lot of time, money and heartache. Most vets do not even understand the disease. If you use the name brand Vetoryl, call them and start a file on your dog. They have vets on staff there to help you. The number is 866-933-2472. I hope things go well with your baby. You may want to get her a pair of waterproof panties for now until the Cushings gets under control, it will save clean up, and furniture and carpeting. Blessings
Patti

[FemaleK9]

Wow! I'm amazed at the fast responses!

I don't have her test results, but I plan to ask for them as per your advice.

Yes, she is drinking and peeing a lot. A lot. That was whet sent us to the vet. The urine tests ruled out diabetes and kidney failure right off the bat. While her urine was very dilute due to the massive water consumption, he bloodwork showed signs of dehydration, as well as "abnormal liver proteins."

The vet first tried her on a liver supplement, but there was no sign of improvement after more than two weeks of it. The LDDS was next and the vet made the diagnosis of pituitary Cushing's based on that.

She has not had an ACTH stim test yet, but the vet is planning to do them at intervals to verify she is getting the correct dosage, then farther apart later on to monitor her condition. I understand that Vetoryl can damage the adrenals and this has to be monitored.

Rosie weighs about 32 lbs. She did have a period of heavy shedding this past fall and winter, a time of year that it wouldn't normally be expected, plus her fur felt very dry and rough and looked dull, but she never got bare patches or even sparse, but this ended and has not recurred (so far).

The vet wants to check for a UTI, but even with all this pee, I haven't managed to get a sample yesterday or today and I hate to make Rosie go back to the vet so she can get the sample. She had a real hard time with the all-day LDDS test and when she got home she gave me these reproachful "Why you do me this way?" looks and then she deliberately peed right in front of me in the middle of the living room carpet just to let me know she wasn't happy with me.

She also has a terror of T-storms, and we've been having them every day for so long I've lost track. When we're not actually having a storm, she is anticipating the next one, and even dreams them and wakes up in a panic. So she doesn't want to go out, and I'm using the biggest doggy pee pads I can find by the carton.

Can someone give me a link/recommendation to the best waterproof panties? I didn't know there were such things for dogs, but a Google search brought up lots and I would appreciate the benefit of your experiences.

PS That is Rosie in my avatar, the day I got her at 6 weeks old, waiting for me to give her a boost up onto the patio.

PPS The furniture, rugs and hardwood floor are pretty much a write-off already.

PPPS She also has a raging appetite, panting and looking for cool floors to lie on. I didn't really notice these symptoms as much as the drinking/peeing, because she's always had a keen appetite and tries to convince me (and others) that she hasn't been fed for days, and the panting goes along with the T-storm terrors. And looking for cool floors to lie on isn't very surprising in this hot muggy weather. But once I knew what to look for, these things were clear to me.

[Roxee's Dad]

Hi again
Just a couple of things. A simplified explanation, Trilostane is a blocker, it blocks the signal from the pituitary telling the adrenals to excrete cortisol. Lysodren will dissolve layers of the adrenal, preventing them from excreting too much cortisol. This is all done in a very controlled way to prevent too much damage. Some dogs do better on one or the other.

I am sure many will chime in here, and although it does sound like Rosie has cushings, there is no one test that can confirm cushings. Usually the series of test should be a UC/CR which can not confirm cushings but can rule it out, then ACTH and a LDDS to confirm pit or Adrenal cushings. Many also have a high Def Ultrasound to confirm the Dx and have a look around at other important organs. We just have a fairly new member that is waiting for cushings testing because of a knee injury, but just had an ultrasound and found a serious gall bladder problem. Most here I think would agree, you get a bigger bang for your buck getting a High Def Ultrasound.

Usually, almost always there should be a ACTH before starting treatment so there is a baseline to work from. 10 to 14 days after treatment a 2nd ACTH to monitor treatment and make adjustments as needed.

Rosie is 32 pounds and is getting 10mg of trilo twice a day (BID) That is a low dosage but it is so much better to start of low that the other way around

Diapers for dogs LOL are a great invention. I know some that just use baby diapers as they are cheap and easy to get. They just cut a hole out where the tail goes. I used to use a belly band type diaper for a dog (Chuckie) that I used to baby sit... I mean dog sit

For the thunderstorms, have you tried a thundershirt, many here use them with good results.

[FemaleK9]

I thought I'd better make this a separate post: I maligned my vet; the Vetoryl package has a neon orange sticker put on it that says "GIVE WITH FOOD"

[FemaleK9]

Rosie has a Thundershirt (and a Thunder Leash, for pulling) and it helps in the daytime when storms aren't too close, but not at night or when bolts are right over head. She gets acepromezine at night and in loud daytime storms. I give her 5 mg to start and another 5 mg if the storms go on for many hours or recur.


She gets very stressed in these days of endless storms. It doesn't even have to be a full-fledged T-storm, heavy rain or wind will also panic her, because she associates these things with T-storms.

I have been wondering if all this stress could have something to do with her current condition.

It does seem like her symptoms have abated some from the extreme we experienced over Memorial Day weekend. Her water consumption/urine output is still abnormal, but not as extreme as it was then.

I'm sorry to present the info in such a haphazard fashion, but my thoughts are all over the place at this point.

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to you and Rosie. She is sure cute. I love her avatar.

Stress can cause some symptoms with the anxiety but it shouldn't affect the LDDS. I wouldn't think.
You're starting at 10/10 is a low point, but should be good. You might need to tweak the dosage to get it just right for her. Usually a reccommended start is 1mg/1lb. So, lets see where she is at with her ACTH test and go from there. Hopefully if it's just right for her (and every dog is different) then you'll see symptoms begin to subside (water, urination, hungry) in the first couple weeks.
You know the symptoms to watch for if going to low, lethargy, not eating, vomiting? I don't think that will happen though since you started on the low end.
Oh I know what it's like to deal with the anxiety of thunderstorms. My molly is terrified of them too. Alot of the pups on here are.

Again, welcome to the forum

Sharlene and Molly Muffin