I have a horse with Cushings, and now one of my dogs is being tested for it. From what I have gathered so far, if he does have it, treatment will cost more then my horse. I think they both will need to get jobs to pay for their medication lol
Just curious about peoples experience with it!
I’ve got a Pekingese with Cushings. He’s on Trilostane at $1/day and Apoquel at $1.59/day.
Been there, done that. Here is my post from several years ago. I have also linked two educational threads for your review. Keep in mind they are several years old and treatment recommendations may have changed and protocols may have evolved since I last reviewed this information. I still miss my old guy…
I have been down that road with my Boxer. He lived with Cushings for nearly 18 months and I would do it all over again. We had ACTH stim tests done regularly to make certain the meds were controlling it. We chose to go with Lysodren which is powerful but worked for him. We always knew when he was getting ready for an ACTH stim and an increase in his dosage because his peeing and drinking would ramp up. We got to the point where we were sweet talking him when he would trickle-pee in the house - we didn’t want him to feel naughty about something that was clearly out of his control. Best thing we did was keep him as active as he would tolerate. Cushings can cause muscles in the back end to waste away so maintaining fitness is crucial - within reason of course. He got pretty creaky at the end and we even did acupuncture and chiropractic work on him to keep him comfy. There is a lot I would give right now to be wiping up his pee from the kitchen floor one more time. I relish every day I have with my dogs because our time together is simply too short.
Two threads on Cushings you might find helpful.
https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/off-topic/the-menagerie/284240-cushings-in-dogs
Brothers dog had it diagnosed at 13 yrs of age (german shep/heeler mix) and was on something that sounded like Lysodren (Not sure if that was the name, but close.) I dont thing it was hugely expensive at the time.
Vet had me start it on a mon-wed, because if they screw up dose and give too much, you need to give prednisone to reverse it or you can kill them. Wanted to start it so we had a few days to adjust dose when vets were open, as opposed to starting on a friday, and vets being closed on weekend.
Dog did very well on it and lived 3 more years (died at 16, due to loss of control of hind end/unable to stand).
Thanks for the replies guys! Had some good reading.
Good news, after some tests/ultrasound the vets say no cushings! Leaning towards Diabetes Insipidus.
Neither one is great but good to have a diagnosis to work with. All dogs seem to end up with something - it is just a lottery to know what ailment we will have to study up on!
My old girl has it and is on Vetoryl. She has handled the meds well and is much improved from where she was pre-diagnosis.
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