New Diagnosis and 7 day update

[Joan2517]

Wonderful update! Looking forward to the next one.

[my2sons]

Quick update: about 60 days since last test. Still on 20 mg Vetoryl 1X daily. Last STIM test done this week - results were great (pre 3.5, post 3.8). Vet is very pleased but Macie is having some hair loss again exactly like what we first experienced when Cushing's symptoms first developed. Vet said maybe thyroid and we are having her annual senior care including full blood panel tested now. Will have results in a couple of weeks and I will provide update then.

All in all she is doing great still taking long walks and is playful for an 11 yr old!

Any thoughts on Honest Kitchen dehydrated food? She has been on this for about three months and loves it but the vet is not a fan.

Thanks for reading.

[labblab]

Thanks so much for the update! It’s great that, overall, Macie is doing so well :-). It’ll be good to check her general bloodwork, though, just to make sure there’s nothing amiss.

I’m afraid I can’t offer an opinion about Honest Kitchen. I think a couple of our members have used it through the years, but I really don’t know much about it.

Thanks again for returning to us, and please give Macie a big hug for us. And definitely do let us know if anything interesting shows up on her lab panels.

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

What a great update! Those numbers are perfect and I am so glad she is feeling good. The hair loss could easily be the thyroid...mine falls out at an alarming rate when my meds need an increase and for an old broad that ain't good!

As for Honest Kitchen....I've used it off and on for several years now and love it as do the dogs who've eaten it. If not for the expense, all of mine would be on it daily. As for what the vet said....unless things have changed dramatically over the last decade vets get little to no education on nutrition or brands of dog food. When my Squirt was first diagnosed in 2007 I asked her vet about the diet she needed to be on because the web has SO MUCH info and most of it contradictory. She showed me a text from her vet school that had one paragraph on nutrition - the message was basically "good nutrition is important". And that was it. She told me they got a one hour lecture from Hill's Science Diet and that was all the education they got on diet. All but one vet that we have used sells Science Diet and most have pushed it...but I refuse to feed it. The one vet that did not have SD had Royal Canin - just as bad in my book. Every vet who has been willing to talk to me about diets for dogs has told me basically the same thing - little to no education on the subject/they rely on what the sales reps for SD have to say/all dog foods are about the same. Dog Food Advisor is a pretty good place to look into the various brands of food and see what they are made of and how they rate on a scale of 1-5 stars. https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/

Hugs,
Leslie

[my2sons]

We got her bloodwork results back and her thyroid was fine. Overall blood results were all in line with maybe one or two values being borderline. The vet has no explanation for the hair loss and suggested we put her on 3mg of melatonin twice daily. Except for the hair loss she is doing just great. Appreciate any thoughts or advice on the hair loss issue.

[Harley PoMMom]

It can take a long while to see improvement in their hair. The melatonin may help, I believe the type on melatonin you want is the regular kind not the fast acting or rapid releasing.

[Squirt's Mom]

So I'm confused...nothing unusual unfortunately! You say the vet recommended 3mg of Vetoryl twice a day....is that in addition to the 20 mg once a day you posted earlier (5/19) or has that 20 mg been stopped and she's not been on any Vetoryl for a bit? OR is the 3mg a typo and supposed to be 30mg twice a day?

[my2sons]

So I'm confused...nothing unusual unfortunately! You say the vet recommended 3mg of Vetoryl twice a day....is that in addition to the 20 mg once a day you posted earlier (5/19) or has that 20 mg been stopped and she's not been on any Vetoryl for a bit? OR is the 3mg a typo and supposed to be 30mg twice a day?

Thanks for the replies. The 3mg is for melatonin. She is still taking 20mg of Vetoryl daily.

[my2sons]

I'm back with another encouraging update. Macie had her Stim test done yesterday. Pre was 2.7, post was 2.3. Weight down to 11 lbs and except for the hair loss, she is doing great. Doctor is suspecting allergies so she is on Apoquel for 14 days at which time we will make a decision if the allergies are a contributing factor to hair loss and scratching. All in all, the vet is extremely pleased with her health, appearance and overall management of Cushing's. We march onward!

[Squirt's Mom]

We always love to hear great updates so thanks for letting us know Macie is doing so well. Keep up the good work!