My baby girl Gabby just saw Dr. Bruyette - Adrenal tumor malignant

[Heatherdo]

Gabby is a chow-terrier mix. She will be 16 February 1st and weighs 40lbs. She had an ultrasound this week that revealed town enlarged adrenal glands, one quite a bit larger than the other. Her liver levels have been slightly high for about two years but nothing that alarmed her vet. She was put on a liver protectant about 2 months ago to keep the rimadyl she is from harming her liver.
Her vet suspected she had cushings based on the ultrasound (no other real signs other than beggings incessantly for treats, this is a new behavior, only does it with me, not my partner). He then performed the Dex-test which he said pretty much solidifies that she has cushings, based on the cortisol levels.

Since confirming this I have found a cushings specialist to take her to in the Los Angeles area to find out if there are any tumors on her glands or is this is over active gland cushings. I have already ordered cushex drops and the vet wAnts her to start taking trilostane but not sure if I should put her on the trilostane until she sees the specialist and they determine what is causing the cushings.

Should I be doing anything else at this point. I want her to be as happy, healthy and comfortable as possible. She is currently on a balanced raw food diet, eats wells but doesn't overeat, has always been a good water drinker, does not have accidents in the house, and sleeps well.

Thank you for any help. Sorry for the long post, my head is just swimming at this point and I can't stop researching the subject.

[frijole]

I would go to the specialist and take the test results and ultrasound findings with me. The low dose dex suppression test (LDDS) that your vet did is a very good test except it can have false positives when another illness is present so you may want to confirm the dx by doing another test which is the acth test.

I would return the cushex drops for a refund if you haven't opened them. Sorry but we have tried multiple times to get scientific evidence that they work and they do not. To treat cushings you must lower cortisol and those drops don't do that. Save your money for the testing as it is expensive enough.

I wouldn't start dosing until after seeing the specialist. Did you vet say what dose he wanted to start your 40 lb dog on? You want to start LOW and tweek upwards if need be. Starting high can cause problems.

Kim

[Heatherdo]

Thank you Kim, for your response. I have not received the cushex drops yet so I will be sure to return them. I will definitely bring all the results to the specialist and make sure they do any test that can solidify the diagnosis. I want to make suremImam treating the correct illness. My vet did not discuss the dosage for Gabby, he actually didn't seem confident about the dose amount. Assuming she does have cushings and I can get the specialist to prescribe the correct dosage, have you heard positive things about this drug?

[labblab]

Welcome from me, too! I agree with Kim -- I would not start the trilostane before seeing the specialist because the drug can skew the results of certain additional diagnostic tests that the specialist may want to perform. If you do end up using the trilostane, though, you will be in good company since we have many, many dogs here who are being treated successfully with the drug.

Marianne

[Heatherdo]

Thank you Marianne. The trilostane does sound quite a bit better than other drugs I have been reading about, glad to know you guys are seeing success with it. I will wait to proceed with anything until I meet with the specialist. Thanks again!
Heather

[goldengirl88]

You can use trilostane from an online pharmacy like DiamondBack or Vetoryl from an online source as it is usually cheaper than the vet. Blessings
Patti

[Heatherdo]

Thank you Patti! I will make note and make sure I go to an online pharmacy. I imagine once I have the MRi done, I will need some cost cutting.

Heather

[lulusmom]

I'm a shopper when it comes to my pet meds because there can be great disparity in pricing, whether you are buying name brand or getting your meds compounded. For name brands, the best prices I've found on most of my meds is at California Pet Pharmacy. Nobody could touch their price for Metacam. My vet was astounded when I showed her the page. I did some comparisons for Vetoryl and they are also the cheapest I could find for 30 count 30mg capsules. A very close second, or possibly cheaper if shipping is less, is Valley Vet. I've provided a url to the Vetoryl page for both sites below.

http://search.californiapetpharmacy....23671804106035

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.h...FYdgfgodnTgA1w

[Renee]

Popping in to say I am getting my Vetoryl from California Pet Pharmacy too!

[Heatherdo]

Thank you Lulusmom and Renee! I really appreciate the links!

Heather