Re: New member Quincy's mom--testing questions
Melatonin and lignans are the combination used to treat a form of Cushing's called Atypical in which the cortisol is NORMAL but two or more of the intermediate hormones are elevated. Since you had a sample sent to UTK you should have gotten a report listing all the hormones tested - like estradiol, progesterone, and aldosterone to name a few. Could you share those results as well? If the cortisol is elevated then the melatonin and lignans will do little to nothing for it - that combo only works on those intermediate hormones. However if the cortisol is elevated that can cause the other hormones to elevate as well. Most conventional cush pups (with elevated cortisol) do have elevations in many if not all of the hormones. My Squirt started out as Atypical and was on the melatonin/lignans combo for quite a while before her cortisol started rising. The combo did help until the cortisol started rising and then her appetite kicked in BIG time. She has always been a Miss Piggy but her appetite was unbelievable when the coritsol kicked in! At that point we added Lysodren to her lignans and melatonin and she did very well for the rest of her life.
How is his appetite? Any increase or decrease in that area? Any pot belly, panting for no reason, changes in skin as is darker and thinner, is he heat intolerant? Has the hair loss worsened since your first post? Without more signs I would be very hesitant to start any treatment. The lignans and melatonin won't hurt anything but don't expect them to lower the cortisol. Does Quincy get stressed at the vet in general or riding in a car? A dog that is stressed for other reasons can return an elevated cortisol reading that is completely unrelated to Cushing's.
And then there's Molly, Sharlene's dog (Molly Muffin) - negative LDDS several times yet did have Cushing's. Here is a link to Molly's journey; you can read it and see if anything seems familiar to Quincy's journey so far. https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...lly-has-passed
But if I were in your shoes I would hold off on starting Lysodren or Trilostane either one until the signs were stronger and other labs showed more of an indication of Cushing's like changes in neutrophils and monocytes, increases in glucose, cholesterol as well as the liver enzymes (we typically see ALP in the 1000's). Others may come along and say they would start treatment. But don't rush....based on what you have shared so far I still say he is in the early stages IF this indeed really is Cushing's.
Last edited by Squirt's Mom; 05-03-2019 at 04:49 PM.
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