Re: New to Forum
Hi!
Welcome to you and Jake!
I cannot stress strongly enough how important the information Marianne gave you about the dosing is. This drug is VERY powerful and a dose that is too high can result in permanent adrenal gland damage, even death....and it can happen very quickly. If you have not stopped the 30mg you MUST do so today. Do not give Eli one more dose at 30mg, please, for his sake as well as yours. Call his vet and tell them to give you 10mg capsules and start him on that dose. Remember, they work for you not the other way around. This drug has gone thru many changes since its release in the mid-2000's and sadly some vets are still referring to text books that have the old dosing guidelines, resulting in very sick dogs if they are lucky, in broken-hearted parents if they are not. Dechra, the manufacturer, says it is best to start as low as possible and gradually increase if needed based on signs and ACTHs. If this vet will not listen and do as Eli requires, find a new vet. Waiting a while to start treatment won't cause nearly as much harm as giving this drug at too high a dose, which 30 mg is.
You mention a tumor on the liver or pancreas? Am I understanding that right? If that is the case, then any positive results on any testing for Cushing's is highly suspect making it even more important that you stop giving the 30mg Vetoryl. My first cush pup tested positive on the LDDS, HDDS, ACTH, and UTK panel but when the ultrasound was done a tumor was found on her spleen. Once that tumor was removed her cortisol returned to normal. The tumor had caused the cortisol to rise in a natural response to the stress the tumor was causing. My second dog who tested positive had a host of other health issues. Her cortisol was so high it couldn't be measured. Her necropsy (animal autopsy) proved she never had Cushing's at all. Her cortisol was extremely elevated due to all the other things going on in her little body. Cortisol is a fight or flight hormone and will rise in response to any stressor, internal or external. So IF Eli does have a tumor then I am not at all convinced he actually has Cushing's. However if this is CC on his skin then I feel a little better about the diagnosis. CC is almost always caused by Cushing's, or steroid use, but can be caused by other things. A derm vet could make that determination if needed.
Your most important take-away from my post is to STOP the 30mg Vetoryl and get the 10mg from either this vet or a new vet plus get clarification on the tumor. Eli is counting on you since he can't speak for himself.
I'm glad you found us and look forward to learning more as time passes about you as well as your sweet baby boy.
Hugs,
Leslie
"May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"
Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.