Vicki - I'm so sorry to hear of your Luci's diagnosis - I know how scary it can be...been there. But you will manage this wonderfully, and you'll get her to the place she needs to be in terms of her medical management. She's in wonderful hands, after all
. She will do just great.
My Wylie was diagnosed w/ Atypical Cushings when he was only about 4.5yrs old, which is *really* young for Cushings. He is now 10, but if you met him you'd think he was 1/2 that age. So, let that be a little assurance that Cushings dogs can lead full/long/rich lives.
You're in the tougher stages of it right now - where the learning curve can be high (although you're already probably versed in it, due to Molly). Also, it can be frustrating in the initial stages bc they require a LOT of patience as you go through the stages of medicine titration...be patient, my friend...it can take up to a year to get the meds right, but hopefully you'll nail it sooner than that. The reason it takes so long is the meds are quite strong, so you def start as low as possible - and you try that for about 6 weeks, then you do another ACTH test to see where the cortisol levels are at. Depending on those results, you may need to titrate further - then try THAT level for 6 weeks and test again....and so on and so on and so on. And then if you have to actually abandon one med and start over w/ a new one...it all starts over. So, that's why it can truly take a good while...so hang in there.
While the meds are known to be quite toxic meds - they're given at lower doses. I can tell you that my Wylie has never, ever had a single side effect from any of the meds he's been on. For years now, he takes Lysodren (aka mitotane) on MWF...and that may be a drug that you try as well. It may also be suggested to you at first that you try Melatonin (BID, 3mg) and Flax Lignans (a certain brand)...as that *may* work for some dogs.
Some links for ya:
Yahoo Cushings group that is FULL of exhaustive information (can be overwhelming). Has good list of Vets all over US who are familiar w/ Cushings dogs:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...mmuneCare/info
My favorite Cushings Overview:
Cushings (Hyperadrenocorticism)
U of Tennessee vet endocrine lab....if needed for further testing for Atypical Cushings etc:
https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/vmc/dls...s/default.aspx
A great, supportive forum where you can read others' experiences, share your own, and ask anything:
Canine Cushing's Information and Support Forums - Powered by vBulletin
Another no-reply forum that has a plethora of info in a nicely organized format:
Important Information and Resources - Canine Cushing's Forums
If you need anything, I'm here for you
. You and Luci will be in my thoughts as you go through all of this.