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

[Trese]

First of all................all of you are the very BEST. You are so caring and concerned and that means the world to me. I have printed out the Dechra paperwork and will take that with me to the vet tomorrow. I will (for sure) ask EXACTLY what blood test are being done and get copies of those.

Here is what the ultra sound report said:

Discussed pituitary dependent Cushings. Left adrenal gland is enlarged, no tumor seen. Right adrenal enlarged, no tumor seen. Liver enlarged-hyperechoic. Small chance for tumor cannot rule out 100%. Recheck with family vet for continued care.

Both kidneys are normal size and shape with normal renal pelvises. The spleen is normal. Both adrenal glands are enlarged. There is no evidence for invasion into surrounding tissues. The liver is enlarged and heterogeneous. The gallbladder is enlarged and has a small amount of sedimnet. The GI is normal and the bladder is normal. The prostate is normal. There are no enlarged lymph nodes or masses observed.

Night, everyone.

[Trese]

Hi everyone.

Home from the vet. It is so funny, Bondo shakes all the way there and when we get there, he can hardly wait to get of the car and he is crying so loud people look at us. Once he is out of the car,he is fine. When we start home, he is fine.

Anyway, the Vet did a regular blood panel and said everything looked good and he did not have to do a "resting cortisol" blood test like last week. He wanst to do another blood test in three weeks from today. I gave him the printouts from the Dechra website. Thanks for the suggestion.

My vet said Bondo was doing really well and he will make the decision about the ACTH test when we come in again.

[labblab]

My vet said Bondo was doing really well and he will make the decision about the ACTH test when we come in again.

When you go in again, it will have been five weeks since Bondo started on the trilo. I know of no researcher nor specialist who recommends waiting any longer than a month to perform the first full ACTH test. I know I am sounding pushy, but at this point, I believe you need to get proactive about this testing and make sure that an ACTH is going to be scheduled on time, in advance. Your vet needs to have the stimulating agent already on hand, and the test has to be scheduled within the time frame we've discussed after his morning dose. For Bondo's safety while taking this drug, you can't wait and just talk about it at your next visit.

By the way, here's a link to an article you can give your vet that may help save money on Bondo's ACTH testing:

http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/201...cortrosyn.html

Marianne

[lulusmom]

It is very odd that your vet is doing blood chemistry tests rather than the acth stimulation test. Does Bondo have another condition that requires so many blood chemistries? Do you know why he is not following monitoring protocol and conducting the required acth stimulation tests?

Glynda

[molly muffin]

I agree, really weird not to have tested ACTH by this point.

Molly is exactly like Bondo, well, sort of, she shakes all the way there, can't decide once she gets to the vet if she is happy to see them or wants to leave and then is happy with no shaking all the way home.

Sharlene

[molly muffin]

OMG, is that a Bondo Picture I see on your Avatar!!! Tooooooo cute!

Hugs, Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[molly muffin]

I bet you are super busy with Thanksgiving. Give Bondo a belly rub and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Simba's Mom]

Hi there, I have a 10 year old doxie named Simba with cushings, he is being treated with meds, his pot belly went away and his water in take, but I wonder sometimes about the side affects.

[Trese]

Good Evening
Yes, I posted Bondo's picture on his Avatar. Bondo is doing great with the Trilo. I called the vet today to ask (AGAIN) about giving the ACTH test and expect a call back tomorrow. You know, I have to agree with all of you about doing the ACTH test. The blood panel was about 124.00 and the resting cortisal test was another 100.00. Wouldn't the ACTH be a better test and I am sure not quite that costly. What does the ACTH test cost???? I spoke with my vet's tech and explained she had to order the stim agent in advance. She, also, told me my vet is only treating two other dogs with cushings. I think I will make a call down to the VCA hospital and I can talk with a vet that is "on call" there to see what their procedure is.

Regardless of the cost, I want to make sure Bondo is going in the right direction. I love him so much. AND yes...getting ready for the Turkey Day. Wishing all of you good times with friends and family.

Night and sweet dreams.

[lulusmom]

It appears that your vet is not very experienced with cushing's so I am concerned about Bondo as well as the other two dogs in his care. Marianne gave you a link to some great information on how to save money by splitting the vials of cortrosyn, the stimulating agent. It is cortrosyn that makes the acth stimulation test so darned expensive. I can tell you right now that the stim tests at VCA are expensive which is why I have a general practitioner do the acth stimulation test.

Why don't you print out Dr. Peterson's blog on "How to extend the supply of cortrosyn and lower the cost of an acth stimulation test" and take it to your vet. For Bondo's size, your vet can easily get five acth stimulation tests out of one vial of cortrosyn. This is a huge savings. One member was able to drop the cost of acth stim tests by $100. I pay $169 as opposed to the almost $300 at VCA. If you like your vet, it may be worth your while to educate him on proper treatment monitoring and how he can save himself and his clients a lot of money.

I just had a conversation with a vet here in Ontario who told me that he loves internal medicine but apparently he doesn't do much continuing education because he was not aware of how to save cortrosyn. He said he's good at following directions and uses the entire vial with each stim test. I told him that was fine with dogs over 40 pounds but he could save pet owners with small dogs a lot of money if he would split the vials. I already liked this guy for his approach to vaccines, his gregarious bedside manner and his amazing gentleness with the dogs.....and I liked him even more when he told me he would split the cortrosyn for my dog. That's huge because I'm about to restart treatment for Lulu again so multiple stim tests will be necessary until we get her stabilized. I'm hoping to beat the $169 I'm currently paying.