New member - Staffie starting Vetoryl

[Sue G]

Hello everyone. Our foster boy is newly diagnosed with Cushings. He is a staffie x Was putting weight on, then began drinking and weeing a lot. His tail has always been more or less bald and he now has the typical pot belly I understand comes with Cushings we are in the UK. He is on 60mg of Vetoryl daily. Previously in the last few months he has had teeth removed as they were fractured and the vet thought they were causing a problem with swelling on his face. Now it seems he had a foreign object in there at some point and that Cushings can make healing slow. Everytime he came off antibiotics the swelling returned after a few weeks. X rays done now show no problem with teeth, bloods taken twice and urine checked before the Cushings diagnosis. Watching him carefully as he is on his second day of treatment. How soon would I see a problem if there was one, so far he is well no upset tum etc. Thanks for any help. Sue

[labblab]

Hello Sue, and welcome to you and your boy! You’ll see that I’ve moved your post so as to create a new thread that’s your very own :-). I will come back by later on today or tomorrow to address your questions, but I didn’t want to waste any time in at least greeting you both — we’re really glad you’ve found us!

So until later, welcome once again.
Marianne

[labblab]

OK, it took me a while to get back again, but finally here I am! I first want to repeat my welcome and I also want to thank you for fostering your boy, especially in the midst of these medical issues that have arisen. We’ll surely be hoping that the Vetoryl treatment will help ease his Cushing’s symptoms and improve the quality of life for you all.

From what you’re describing, he does indeed have outward symptoms that are consistent with Cushing’s. Especially when dogs are first diagnosed, we also like to see the actual numbers from the test results that point to Cushing’s. We’ve learned from other members in the U.K. that vets there often don’t routinely provide test results to owners, so you may not have them on hand. If you feel comfortable requesting them, however, it definitely helps guide us in our feedback and suggestions.

Assuming that the diagnosis is accurate, though, let me point you to a thread on our “Resources” forum that may help answer a number of your treatment and monitoring questions.

https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...TH-Stimulation

Once you’ve had a chance to look that over, you can definitely return for further questioning or elaboration. In terms of ill effects from the Vetoryl, they can appear within the very first few days if the dose is too high and the dog’s cortisol is driven down too far too quickly. One word of caution I will offer you is that recent research has indicated that larger dogs may do better on smaller doses of Vetoryl than was previously thought. Historically, the general initial dosing formula has been 1 mg./lb. (2.2 mg./kg.). However, many experienced clinicians now recommend lowering the initial dose for larger dogs. This is discussed in greater detail in the link I gave you earlier. Depending on your boy’s weight, 60 mg. may be a larger dose for him. If so, you’ll especially want to watch him carefully for symptoms of overdose such as vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or excessive lethargy. Hopefully, though, he’ll have no problems at all.

I’ll go ahead and close for now. As I say, do look that thread over and also let us know how things are going for you.

Marianne

[Sue G]

Hi Marianne. Thank you so much for the welcome and the advice you have given me so far. I downloaded all the links last night and read through them. We will be seeing the vet next week for a general check up of the surgery they did on his face last week and I will see if they will give me the numbers for the Cushings tests and talk to them about the dose they have started him on. So far there is no sign of any problems since Hendrix started on the medication. He is already drinking less which is good, I wasnt expecting that to change so quickly but so far all is ok. I will look in every day to see what information I can gather as I learn how to look after this boy. Thanks again Sue

[Joan2517]

Hi and welcome to the forum. As Marianne mentioned, larger dogs sometimes need lower doses. My Gable was one of them. My avatar is my teacup Poodle, Lena, not Gabe (she was only 5lbs). Gable started at 40mg when he was at about 80lbs and we had to lower it a few times over the years. He ended up on 5mgs for a few years. Since Hendrix is already showing improvement, I would be on alert to any changes since the cortisol continues to drop for 30 days, which is why a cortisol check at 14 days would show if it has dropped too low. That might be the time to lower the dose, but not raise it until you see what the 30 day testing shows. Sometimes it takes some tweaking to get the right dosage and high cortisol is better than having it drop too low.

[Sue G]

Hi Joan, thanks for your advice regarding dosage. As this is my first cushings dog I am learning fast and any advice I can get from people who have been through this or are still going through it really helps. I am seeing the vet next week and will ask him about the dose he is on. For him to start on what appears to be a high dose is a bit much I think. His first review testing after 14 days will be the week after next. Hendrix weighs 31 kg at the moment and they have started him on 60mg a day. Some one else who has had a cushings dog suggested that it might be better to have started him on a smaller dose to prevent him being overdosed. She also suggested that whatever dose they finally settle him down on that it might be better for that to be split into two during the day? The dose does seem a little high to me though from all that I am reading on Cushings. Hendrix was 27 kgs when he came to us nearly 2 years ago. I believe the weight gain is down to Cushings influcence. As we go forward with the monitoring etc is he likely to lose some of the weight. The vet was also saying that his thyroid levels were indicating an underactive thyroid but that might be due in part to the influence of Cushings and that could resolve itself once his corisol levels are stable. So much to learn and quality of life is the most important thing to me and this beautiful boy. Thanks again for your help Sue

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Sue,

How is Hendrix doing today? It's been a few days since he started that high dose and I am hoping he is doing well. Just to be sure....are you seeing any signs that the cortisol might be too low - loose stools/diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, or lethargy? I hope you are seeing him start to feel better and everything is going great but I'm a worry wort so I get nosy at times.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Hugs,
Leslie

[Sue G]

Hi Leslie.

Thank you for worrying about Hendrix. So far all is going well with the meds. He is definitely peeing a little less and not drinking as much. No loss of appetite in fact he is just as ravenous as he was last week. He had a surgery on his face so was a little lazy after that. However he is back to his normal self again now, albeit a bit slower than he was last year. Part due to ageing but I think also the Cushings. He has his first blood check next week to see what is happening with the Cortisol levels. Keeping a very close eye on him as he is such a gentle soul and deserves the best
Take care Hugs from me and H

[Squirt's Mom]

That sounds really good, Sue! Glad to hear you are starting to see some positive changes. These changes will occur at differing times so don't lose patience. Annnnd if you and Hendrix is anything like me and my babies....he has you well trained when it comes to food. Something about those begging eyes...... And cush pups seem to learn how to train us in this field exceptionally well! Time comes when we KNOW their cortisol is in good range yet they STILL beg. LOL

A word of caution....the dose should never be increased until at least 30 days have passed since starting treatment. The cortisol typically continues to fall during those first 30 days on the same dose. Sometimes when the first monitoring test, ACTH or PVC test, is run and the results aren't as low as desired the vet will want to increase at that 2 week mark....and most of the time the results are not good. So don't let them talk you into increasing the dose just yet. In another 2 weeks if the cortisol is still too high THEN a small, 25% max, increase in is order.

Give that sweet boy a belly rub from me!
Hugs,
Leslie

[Sue G]

Hi Leslie

We have the results of Hendrix's bloods from last week. They are high at 176. The vet would like them sitting nearer to 138 as a baseline. He has had no reaction to the meds so far apart from drinking a little less. I know you advised against letting them increase the dose just yet but the rescue have the call on this. The vet has today increased the dose so he is now on 70mg a day. 1 tablet of 60 and 1 of 10 given at the same time bloods will be redone 2 weeks today. The vet is concerned that they feel that Hendrix has an underactive thyroid at the same time so they are going to run tests for that probably at the appt in 2 weeks. My poor boy's fur is thinning round his neck as well as his sides and tail. He is still his same sweet self that he always is just a little quieter in the last few months. I know its going to be a long journey with him but hopefully with a lot of TLC and help we will come out the other side more lively and feeling better than he seems to feel at the moment.

Best wishes and hugs
Sue