Cushing's disease

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by pawever Yorkie

I've spoke to the Vet,and I asked him if it would be ok to start the treatment with Anipryl, since it has less side effects. He doesn't think it works for even 30% of dogs… He wants to start with Lysodren right away. I understand that he's an expert, but i really want to give Anipryl chance before we try stronger med. What should I do?

You could either take the vet's advice and just give Lysodren a try (this is what my Wylie is on, btw) -or- tell him you want to see if your dog is one of those 30% for whom anipryl works.

[pawever Yorkie]

I've been trying to persuade vet to prescribe aniprly for cheeky, but he's so sure that it won't work for her…
I'm seeing the vet this coming thursday and I have no choice, but to start the treatment with lysodren. I'm praying that it'll be easy on her body & work for her…

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by pawever Yorkie

I've been trying to persuade vet to prescribe aniprly for cheeky, but he's so sure that it won't work for her…
I'm seeing the vet this coming thursday and I have no choice, but to start the treatment with lysodren. I'm praying that it'll be easy on her body & work for her…

No, you DO have a choice. This is YOUR dog, not his. You can either tell him you want to try it, period, or you can go to another vet who is not a control freak. Your vet should NOT be this adamant about anipryl when it does have a chance of working - it's rather bizarre!

[lillymae]

I agree with Ann, you have a choice & a say in your babies treatment . There is NO way your vet can say if a med is rite for any animal without trying it. If the Anipryl is what you want to try 1st then you need to tell him that & don't take no for an answer. Anipryl was 1st used for cushings treatment so I don't understand how any vet can say they know it will not work when every case is diff & it does work best for some, as in the case of my LillyMae.

[pawever Yorkie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

No, you DO have a choice. This is YOUR dog, not his. You can either tell him you want to try it, period, or you can go to another vet who is not a control freak. Your vet should NOT be this adamant about anipryl when it does have a chance of working - it's rather bizarre!

Originally Posted by lillymae

I agree with Ann, you have a choice & a say in your babies treatment . There is NO way your vet can say if a med is rite for any animal without trying it. If the Anipryl is what you want to try 1st then you need to tell him that & don't take no for an answer. Anipryl was 1st used for cushings treatment so I don't understand how any vet can say they know it will not work when every case is diff & it does work best for some, as in the case of my LillyMae.

Thank you for your comments, I needed that(to be firm with the vet)
I guess I annoyed him big time when I first met him.
I wrote down all homeopathic remedies cheeky's been taking and my observation of her prognosis(about 3month). I also wrote down all the tests I wanted her to take. as well as the treatment options. I also asked him bunch of questions. I wasn't "just listen & follow" type… I didn't mean to annoy him, but rather I wanted what's best for my baby. when I asked him about anipryl, he said that it'll be waste of time and money. He's very knowledgeable with cushing's, and I just don't want to rub him wrong way… I'll see him on Thursday and I'll tell him that I'll give Anipryl chance and that's that. Hope he won't get too upset about me not following his advise.

[pawever Yorkie]

Finally spoke with the vet, and he was nice enough to talk to me for about an hour explaining everything regarding treatments.
According to the vet, Anipryl work for microscopic scale of central pituitary gland which very small number of dogs have issues with. He explained that about 70% of problems which occurs with lysodren are done by vet prescribing wrong amount of medication & period of time which can result addison's disease. He said that he had about 60% of success during initial phase(6 days) with lysodren, which is pretty good. Of course he explained about toxicity of lysodren, and prescribed prednisone in case of emergency. She's starting with 125mg of lysodren a day for a week, and then she'll have her ACTH stim test done. He asked me to monitor for clinical signs such as
reduction in appetite, thirst, urination, panting… Funny thing is that regardless of his disapproval of homeopathic treatments I've been giving her, most of her symptoms improved except appetite with homeopathic treatments.
PS: He told me that there's super medication which works like 99%, but its like million $$$ Also, there's animal brain surgeons in europe, but not in US

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by pawever Yorkie

Finally spoke with the vet, and he was nice enough to talk to me for about an hour explaining everything regarding treatments.
According to the vet, Anipryl work for microscopic scale of central pituitary gland which very small number of dogs have issues with. He explained that about 70% of problems which occurs with lysodren are done by vet prescribing wrong amount of medication & period of time which can result addison's disease. He said that he had about 60% of success during initial phase(6 days) with lysodren, which is pretty good. Of course he explained about toxicity of lysodren, and prescribed prednisone in case of emergency. She's starting with 125mg of lysodren a day for a week, and then she'll have her ACTH stim test done. He asked me to monitor for clinical signs such as
reduction in appetite, thirst, urination, panting… Funny thing is that regardless of his disapproval of homeopathic treatments I've been giving her, most of her symptoms improved except appetite with homeopathic treatments.
PS: He told me that there's super medication which works like 99%, but its like million $$$ Also, there's animal brain surgeons in europe, but not in US

Glad you seem to be feeling good about where you're heading with the treatment regimen. Like I mentioned before, my Wylie is on Lyso and has never had a single effect from it.

Oh also, he should've given you a prescription for steroid pills - for emergency as you're ramping up on the Lyso...did he give you that? This is bc of the risk of going too far w/ the cortisol-mitigating meds; if you go too far, you'll see symptoms of too LITTLE cortisol in the system - so then you emergently give the steroid pill. I think our doc sent us home w/ 10mg pills, which we never had to use btw.

[TxVicki]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Glad you seem to be feeling good about where you're heading with the treatment regimen. Like I mentioned before, my Wylie is on Lyso and has never had a single effect from it.

Oh also, he should've given you a prescription for steroid pills - for emergency as you're ramping up on the Lyso...did he give you that? This is bc of the risk of going too far w/ the cortisol-mitigating meds; if you go too far, you'll see symptoms of too LITTLE cortisol in the system - so then you emergently give the steroid pill. I think our doc sent us home w/ 10mg pills, which we never had to use btw.

Yes she did state that Vet gave her some her.

[pawever Yorkie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Glad you seem to be feeling good about where you're heading with the treatment regimen. Like I mentioned before, my Wylie is on Lyso and has never had a single effect from it.

Oh also, he should've given you a prescription for steroid pills - for emergency as you're ramping up on the Lyso...did he give you that? This is bc of the risk of going too far w/ the cortisol-mitigating meds; if you go too far, you'll see symptoms of too LITTLE cortisol in the system - so then you emergently give the steroid pill. I think our doc sent us home w/ 10mg pills, which we never had to use btw.

I decided to have faith that she'll be fine.
He perscribed prednisone(steroid) 3 x 5mg (give 1/4 pill).
I'll keep posting her progress.
thank you

[pawever Yorkie]

Cheeky had her ACTH stim test done last wednesday and her results were
Pre:14
Post:28.5
Doctor increased dose from 125mg once a day to twice a day.
So far, I don't see much improvements on her symptoms…
I'm just worried that her snoring got little worse and she's been having dry cough since she's been on Lysodren.
She's getting another ACTH stim test tomorrow.
We'll be getting test every week until her # are in norm range.
Hope she's on her way to recovery(managing the disease)…

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by pawever Yorkie

Cheeky had her ACTH stim test done last wednesday and her results were
Pre:14
Post:28.5
Doctor increased dose from 125mg once a day to twice a day.
So far, I don't see much improvements on her symptoms…
I'm just worried that her snoring got little worse and she's been having dry cough since she's been on Lysodren.
She's getting another ACTH stim test tomorrow.
We'll be getting test every week until her # are in norm range.
Hope she's on her way to recovery(managing the disease)…

EVERY week, holy cow!!!

Is your vet experienced w/ Cushings dogs? When changing a lysodren dose, the protocol is wait 6 weeks for the med to affect changes, then you test...then you change the med again if needed, and wait to test for another 6 weeks.

As far as not seeing changes yet, remember that Cortisol has been raging through the body for a good long time now, and that changes things in the body quite a lot. It will take some time to see changes as the body slowly adjusts and recovers. The effects of cortisol are systemic, so it takes quite a bit for the body to recover. Hang in there, it will happen .

[pawever Yorkie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

EVERY week, holy cow!!!

Is your vet experienced w/ Cushings dogs? When changing a lysodren dose, the protocol is wait 6 weeks for the med to affect changes, then you test...then you change the med again if needed, and wait to test for another 6 weeks.

As far as not seeing changes yet, remember that Cortisol has been raging through the body for a good long time now, and that changes things in the body quite a lot. It will take some time to see changes as the body slowly adjusts and recovers. The effects of cortisol are systemic, so it takes quite a bit for the body to recover. Hang in there, it will happen .

Funny you mentioned it.
I was thinking the same that meds should take some time for body to show any changes(meds works residually in body).
However, my doc(who's very well experienced with cushing's) said that week is enough to see changes and taking med for long period like 4~6week is one of main reason why many dongs tips over to addison… … He rather start with low dose with short interval. Cheeky took test today, so I'll find out her result tonight.
I met a fellow YT member in AMC on monday with her 7month old baby girl penny who needed heart surgery & I met her again today and penny's surgery went well and she's on her way to recovery! It was delightful surprise to meet fellow YT member in person.
I"m not on YT often, but it feels so good to have community of people who care for each other and that they are there for you when you needed help. Thank you YT & all the YT members!!!

[MauiGirl]

Sending some love to you and Cheeky.

I know how hard it is waiting for the treatment to take effect, but you are doing all you can for now, and even if the dose isn't perfect yet, it is helping some. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[pawever Yorkie]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

Sending some love to you and Cheeky.

I know how hard it is waiting for the treatment to take effect, but you are doing all you can for now, and even if the dose isn't perfect yet, it is helping some. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Thank you~

Ahhhh… ….
I just got test result back last night and her # are
pre: <0.2
post: <0.2

Now she has to be off meds for one week and another test…
It's like merry go round
I just don't want her body to be stressed with all these constant changes...

[MauiGirl]

Wow, that's crazy. I don't understand the numbers in ACTH stim, but weird that pre and post are the same

I'm going through similar frustrations with glucose testing on Meika, trying to dial in the proper insulin dose. I guess it all takes time.