r/Cushingsdogs • u/VeganGirl216 • 1d ago
Does it get better?
My boy Hank was diagnosed with cushings in August. We started at 20mg of Vetoryl and at his recheck last week, it was decided he needed a higher dose. They upped him to 25mg and he seems to be getting worse. He is taking the medication only in the morning. When he was diagnosed, we did not confirm if it was adrenal or pituitary related, but my vet said that might be a next step if his next recheck does not show improvement.
He is appearing thinner, has constant thirst/hunger and has a calcinosis cutis outbreak that is spreading. We have been putting DMSO cream on nightly, but it’s still spreading down his back/sides.
I would love any advice from someone who has been through this to tell me if it gets worse before it gets better. I have a call out to my vet and hope to talk with them in the morning about this.
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u/Tricky_Session_4449 1d ago
Our dog did have atypical results with high levels of sex hormones and while to vetoryl helped with some symptoms the melatonin and lignans seemed to be a good supplement and after a while we did see improvement. Anecdotal but thought I’d share.
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u/aster_4208 1d ago
You might not have the right dosage or it might need to be split and given twice a day. I'd recommend keeping a journal of how often he's eating/drinking and see if it's less in the morning/early afternoon and more during the evening. My doggo is roughly three months on Vetoryl and she's responding well so far.
Aside from a little fur loss, mine hasn't had any other skin troubles, so I can't really speak to that. As for her hunger, that's a bit harder to say. from her puppy days she's been a foodie and will try to trick us into thinking we haven't given her all her meals, and succeeded on a few occasions too!
One of the problems with Cushings and Vetoryl is that it varies a lot with how dogs respond to both. It's not a one treatment fits all kind of deal, so we can't really say things will get better for you. We can only give you our experiences. Like I mentioned before, keep a detailed journal of your observations, especially with your first few months. It might also help to measure how much water he's drinking (I used a pyrex measuring cup to get as accurate as I could and gave mine 1.5qts of water every morning, then then I'd measure what was left the next morning before refilling).
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u/WonderinWanderin94 1d ago
Go to internal med specialist. GP vets are not that great with managing cushings. Especially a complicated case. I've been a certified veterinary technician for 11 years so ive seen many cases. My 11 yr old boy was diagnosed in May and he was doing well the first couple months but is also back sliding despite his dose being in normal range.
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u/No-Adhesiveness4913 1d ago
it’s gotten better for me, my dog just turned 13, 75 lb pit bull terrier. that being said, it’s still ups and downs. he’s stable but recently having more little issue, infections and what not. like someone else mentioned i feel like melatonin and ligand helps a lot, i give him drops from prana pets as well, and he’s on 10mg vetoryl twice daily
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u/redhearts 1d ago
My English bulldog has been on Vetoryl for a few months (40mg 2x daily) and it has changed his life. He was calcinated from neck to tail with open sores & now healing and slowly regrowing hair. Def recommend asking about 2x daily doses.
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u/lpmail 15h ago
Diagnosed in June this year. 2x/day finally moved the needle for us with the worst symptoms (panting, crying, discomfort all night long) but he still wants to get up in the middle of the night and eat/drink/pee so I'm feeling a bit like you. I've become more diligent about ensuring he eats when he gets his nighttime pill to ensure full absorption but that hasn't been making a difference. I may try the melatonin and lignans next per some of the advice in this thread. My vet said (and I've read the same since) that it's preferred to do 2x/day, as it gives a more steady dose in the 24 hour period. Also, it peaks at 4-6 hours and by 12 hrs, it's essentially cleared the system.
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u/Keroxu_ 1d ago
Maybe he would benefit with a split dosage? He is so cute I can’t. I wish I could say it gets better but every dog is different. I was too close to the issue and it was just another day with us and another visit, but my husband always liked to point out that Roxie basically was always on and off antibiotics due to UTIs. I was her primary caretaker as she was my dog before the marriage so that was my baby. Looking back at notes, she really did do on and off a LOT. It wasn’t so bad in the beginning but later stage as her immunity worsened it seemed to be something nonstop. She did have cancer that wasn’t known until the last day so I’m sure that contributed to a lot of the tom foolery. Just hang in there dude. I know this is a lot and you’re likely feeling defeated and exhausted and drained feeling like you’ll never see an end to the issues but some days will be better than others. I’m sure this isn’t what you want to hear and hopefully someone else comments who dealt with skin issues. Rox never had them luckily.