Cushing's disease
 

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on YT for a while…

I was in car accident 3years ago, and I was injured in multiple places.
worst of all, I got meniere's disease. I was under a lot of stress from not only losing hearing, but also having constant noise in my ear.
I think that's when cheeky started feeling stressed about me being sick. She started showing symptoms of cushing's around september of last year. it started with increased appetite, and drinking, followed by losing hair, panting, snoring, muscle weakness… I searched online and found the some homeopathic remedies which includes cushex, flax SDG lignans, melatonin, turmeric, cur cumin, sea kelp, and organic immune support accompanied by law diet. After a month, her symptoms improved such as no more snoring, panting, excessive drinking, and her muscle mass got better. I still wanted to take her to hospital to run some tests for cushing's. I took her to endocrinologist in animal medical center, and although he was very nice and knowledgeable, he completely dismissed her improvement with homeopathic treatments. He said that any improvement I thought she had was just placebo! He laughed and said "if natural remedies work, everyone would be using them." We decided to do blood work, urine culture, ultrasound, and LDDS. Her blood work and urine test showed high protein in her urine, and subnormal thyroid level. other than that everything else was normal. LDDS test came in today and her numbers are pre:18.9, 4hr:1.3, 8hr:2.9. with both LDDS & ultra sounds(showing enlarged liver and adrenal glen) he concluded that she has pituitary dependent cushings. Now, the doctor wants to try either lysodren or trilostane with her. From what I read they are both very toxic and have many side effects… If I had to give her medication, I though she can start with anipryl which seems much safer than the other two. Is there anyone who has tried anipryl with baby? any suggestions or advices would be much appreciated… I'm taking her to my acupuncturist next week to help her with her stress level… At this point, I'm willing to try anything as long as there's no crazy side effects. I feel so guilty for making her sick…
thank you for reading my post

I'm sorry to hear about all your troubles & hope you are doing better now. I had my Lillymae on the Lysodren & it didn't work so well for her so we switched her to the Anapryl & she did much better on it. FYI the Pituitary tumors can be shrunk with chemo & chemo is not much more as far as expense compared to other cushings meds. I'll be Praying for both of you.

Thank you for your kind words.
Did Lillymae get good result with chemo?

No she did not as she was too far progressed when I found out about chemo.

:(
I'm glad that anapryl worked for her.
supposedly anapryl is not as effective as other medication(but much less side effects!!!)

Need to correct myself here. LillyMae did not have Chemo.

It is my understanding that the Anapryl only works for about 40% of dogs BUT if it works, it works. Anapryl was originaly developed for treatment of Cushing & later used for senility.

My Wylie has Atypical Cushings and has been on Lysodren for about 4+ years now (he was 4 when diagnosed, is now 9). After the ramp up period, he then started to take it 3x a week - MWF, and that's all. He has never had a single side effect.

These meds are indeed toxic but remember, they're not taken at the same levels as chemo is, not at all. If they were taken at those levels, these dogs would be very sick. Ask your vet about anapryl, certainly, but also try not to worry to terribly much about the possibility of using lysodren or the others.

Please keep us posted on your kiddo, and I hope everything goes smoothly! I know Cushings is a scary and very complicated diagnosis so it can be really tough at first - but hang in there. Just fyi, medication titration can take a LOT of time / trial and error - so hang in there if it drags on for a while. :)

Thank you
I'm glad that Wylie is doing great with meds.
Have his pot belly & hair loss improved at all?
I'm just little frustrated that doctor didn't believe there's any chance that homeopathic treatment can be an option. I wish there's a natural way to fight this disease or at least combine both homeo & med…

I just had a dog undergo an MRI of the brain to rule out tumors. It is my understanding that pituitary tumors need radiation daily for a month, five days a week, to shrink. I don't recall my neurologist mentioning that chemo can shrink pituitary tumors.

OP - use the drugs the doc recommends. Good luck.

I think you are rite. It was almost 2 yrs ago & we were at WSU for my Sparky who has Lymphoma to have his Chemo when we talked with the Dr about it. Lots going on at that time.

thank you
I'll discuss with the doctor regarding which med will be best for cheeky on Monday. Even with 40% window, I'd like to try Anipryl first. Meanwhile, I'm giving her homeopathic treatments.

He didn't have a pot belly at all, but did have a lot of fur loss. With the help of the Melatonin, his fur has come back :)!

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?

I would take the vet's advice. He has experience and knowledge that should not be ignored.

I understand the side effects are temporary and some have none at all. Don't compromise her health by going with a less effective drug just because of temporary side effects.

Just my opinion... that's what I'd do with my pups. Good luck with whatever you decide, and do keep us update. I'll keep your pup in my prayers.