11 year old Doxie with tumor on Adrenal - Bondo has crossed the rainbow bridge

[Trese]

Hi.

I am brand new on this Forum but I like what I read so hopefully someone out there will help me with my tears and sadness.

We have a 11 year old Doxie named Bondo. Lots of drinking water and wanting to go outside, calcium deposits on his skin etc. Into the vet and we did all of the blood work and the High dex testing and the results (just yesterday) came back that he has a tumor on his adrenal gland (Cushings).....The doctor said a C Scan would help me know how big the tumor was...etc. He mentioned medicine that may help him but would take months. I have an appointment with my Vet tomorrow to ask questions. How do I make the decision whether to have surgery or take the meds. Bondo is in great shape heatlthwise other than the fact that he is 11 years old. He has had his anal glands removed about 3 years ago and last year he had a fatty tumor removed on his chest area but good kidneys, no blood sugar or heart problems.

With surgery (which I do not think I will choose)..how long is the recovery period?

Thank you for any helpful words or info you may send my way.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Bondo,

So sorry for the reasons that brought you here but glad you found us, as we will help in any way we can.

We have several members whose dogs went through an adrenalectomy and I will provide some links to their threads.

Also here is a post from a member that may answer some of your questions:

I'll try to answer your questions as far as Shiloh is concerned:

Shi stayed in the hospital with 24 hour veterinary care for 3.5 days. This is probably longer than most cases. As soon as I got her home I could tell she was feeling SO much better. Full recovery took over a month.
Cost will probably be somewhere around $4500 when it's all said and done.
I don't think the prognosis w/o surgery is very good although treatment with Trilostane or Lysodren will help with the symptoms.
Shiloh was just an extremely happy and healthy girl after her surgery.
Shiloh only took a baby aspirin, prednisone and vitamin A for two weeks after I got her home.

You definitely want to get a feel for how experienced the surgeon is with adrenalectomies. Ask what kind of long term success rate they have with similar adrenalectomies. You might want to ask their opinion of medical treatment rather than surgery. Try to make sure the surgeon has a copy of the ultrasound images and the written report prior to your consultation. Make sure s/he thinks Java is a pretty darn good surgical candidate and the tumor is definitely operable.

From my experience, these board certified surgeons are highly educated and impressive people. You are going to know so much more after your consultation.

Ken

Please know you are not alone on this journey as we are right here by your side.

The links: http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3930

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2742

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3676

One other thing, could you do us a favor and check your emailbox (or spam folder) for a communication from us. Once you respond to that email, your membership will be finalized, and anything that you post will become visible on the the forum immediately. Until that time, your replies must be manually "approved" by a staff member before they are visible to the public -- so there may be a bit of delay between the time that you write your replies and the time that you actually see them.

If you have already received and responded to the confirmatory email, please be patient. Your registration will be finalized shortly…Thanks!

Love and hugs,
Lori

[Steph n' Ella]

Trese and Bondo,
Poor little guy! Surgery does sound scary for an 11 y/o! Read as much as you can here. We are all here to help and support you two!

[Trese]

Thank you for your replies......Can anyone tell me the pros and cons and what you have expierenced with your "older" dog taking the Vetoryl (Trilostane)? These last few days have been so hard for both myself and my husband. So many decisions. I pray alot.

[molly muffin]

Hello and Welcome.
Some of the others will be by to tell you of their experiences. Some have had older dogs on the medicine.
I know it is hard to know what to do and worrying. Most dogs with adrenal tumors come out well after having them removed and go on to lead a normal life. I'm not sure about treatment, so can't really say about that.
We will be here though any time you get nervous or have questions while going through the process if that is what you elect to do.
You are looking at having ACTH tests done fairly regularly to monitor the cortisol levels and how treatment is controlling the cortisol. With an Adrenal tumor there will probably be more ultrasounds to keep an eye on that too. Keep in mind with the medicine what you are doing is basically treating the symptoms of having cushings.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Trese]

Hi Molly Muffin

[Trese]

Hi Molly. Not sure of what happened to last reply...I think I hit the wrong button. Anyway, just talked with Vet and he does not think Bondo would be good canidate for the surgery....age, etc. We have opted for an Ultra Sound to somewhat tell if they is a tumor, how big, etc. Then Bondo will start on Trilostane....Hopefully, that will go smoothly. My heart breaks to see him moping around but he will, still, go down and get the mail with my husband and carry up a letter for his treat. You know, the vet, also, told me that a dog can pick up on his owner's sadness so we are putting on our happy faces.

We leave for a 2 week trip in our motorhome next week and Bondo LOVES the motorhome so, hopefully, this trip will make us all feel better. I would love any advice anyone has on their dog taking the Trilostane. Thanks for your ear and have a wonderful weekend

[molly muffin]

Hi, I haven't had my dog on Trilostane but some things that I have learned is that you want to make sure that you have prednisone on hand and that there will be a test in approximately 12 - 14 days, ACTH, to see how is cortisol is being affected. The prednisone is in case he goes too low and needs an emergency dose. You would also want to take him to a vet asap. Things to watch for is trembling, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.
We've had many dogs on here who have been on Trilostane and led out normal lives, but there is the possibility of adjustments, up or down having to be made. Every dog is different. I would almost be tempted to say not to start the Trilostane until after you return from the trip, just so you can be near your vet in case you need to. That's just my thought of course.
Hopefully others who have been through this will be able to give you some hands on experience advice as the saying goes.

hugs,
Sharlene and molly muffin

[Trese]

Hi,
I saw your Molly was dignosed in June. What treatment did you do???

Yes, I agree with you on not doing anything until we get back home. We have to travel about 100 miles to get the ultra sound done...then wait for results and then start the meds. Thank you for telling me about the Prednisone being on hand as I have read that several other places. I had never even heard of Cushings and now every detail fills my head. You know, I have Bondo's test results from the High Dex. Should I post them? Thax

[molly muffin]

Hi, Molly was diagnosed based upon a high ACTH and her ALT and ALP's being higher than normal. The vet wanted and indeed I bought 30mg Trilostane. However, I did some reading and talked to people here and insisted on a referral to an IMS and an ultrasound. The IMS recommended an LDDS, which was done by vet and came back negative for cushings. So nothing at this time and we are still trying to figure out what is going on with her. The IMS wrote that she would start molly at 19lbs, on 5 - 10 mg of Trilostane.
Molly could be on her way to cushings or it could be something else, we really don't know at this point. Since she's been constantly tested since March, I opted to go with a break and retest in a few months. That just goes to show you how tricky this disease can be to diagnose

Sharlene

P.S. I should add I'm changing my signature to reflect more accurately her diagnosis