My dog with Cushing's on Vetoryl is so thirsty. Is the dose right?

Poor Nemesis. Sometimes pets will need the medication adjusted. I recommend to call your veterinarian and ask if another test is needed to evaluate the blood levels in his body. The test is called an ACTH stimulation test. It has been found that 50% of dogs with Cushing’s disease will also have a urinary tract infection that can only be detected with a urine culture. I recommend to have this test done as well as this will cause constant drinking and urination. Other conditions such as thyroid disease, diabetes or kidney disease can also cause these signs. You must start ruling them out. Best of luck.

If Holly is not improving clinically, she might need to be tested again (ACTH stimulation test) to make sure the dose of Vetoryl is the correct one for her. Usually the blood test has to be done 10-14 days after the treatment has started, 4 to 6 hrs after Vetoryl administration. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.

Hello. For the most part, Vetoryl is used to control the symptoms of Cushing's by controlling the production of glucocorticoids. Overproduction of glucocorticoids is responsible for the symptoms of excessive drinking & urination but does nothing for the actual tumor growing on his pituitary gland. If Izzy's symptoms are manageable & tolerable then medication is not necessary. This would be your choice. But if his symptoms do get worse, at least consider once a day dosing. Most dogs do very well on twice daily dosing, but once a day can help in many pets. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there! You are correct that Cushing's disease would be a common cause of the symptoms you are describing in an older dog (excessive panting, weight gain, and drinking/urinating more than normal) - however, there are also other illnesses that could cause this, so diagnostic testing would be needed as a first step to find out if Cushing's disease is even the problem or not. It would be EXTREMELY unsafe to start Vetoryl or any other medication for this condition without even knowing for sure if Tily has it, since these meds would be very dangerous for a dog to take if they weren't needed, and close monitoring of cortisol levels is needed for dogs who are on medication for Cushing's disease because if the dosing isn't right they can get very sick or even die. So this would be a problem that you would need to work closely with your veterinarian to diagnose and treat safely - it's not something you can do yourself at home, just based on guessing. If taking Tily to the vet is difficult for you, I would suggest calling around to some local clinics to see if there is anyone in your area who does house call visits. A mobile veterinarian could examine Tily and take the required lab samples (usually blood and urine testing, as a starting point), and then go from there depending on what is found.

Vetoryl (trilostane) is the best medication for managing Cushing's disease, but I'm sorry to hear that Lacy has not been tolerating it well. I have anecdotally heard of some vets using a variety of supplements for managing Cushing's disease signs, but these supplements will not ultimately decrease the cortisol production by the adrenal glands and generally seem ineffective. I don't know how long Lacy was receiving Vetoryl, but some dogs can initially become lethargic, vomit, have diarrhea, or a decreased appetite. Fortunately, these signs typically resolve after a few days to a few weeks on the medication. It may be worth discussing a temporary dose adjustment with Lacy's vet to see if she tolerates a lower dose better before gradually increasing to her 30mg dose. Some dogs also benefit from supportive measures (anti nausea medications, bland diets, etc.) in the first few days to weeks of treatment. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

I would not expect the signs you are describing to be secondary to the Vetoryl and I would not recommend stopping the medication without talking to your veterinarian first. Unfortunately there are not many safe alternative treatments for Cushing’s disease. I would be concerned that Boots might be showing signs of pain or potentially neurologic disease. It would be a good idea to have your vet examine him and to discuss these concerns.

It's never a good idea to stop or make any dosing changes in a prescription medication without your vet's input, so I would definitely recommend giving him/her a call to discuss your concerns before you change anything. In general, I can tell you that if your dog has symptoms like lethargy, vomiting or diarrhea, or not wanting to eat, this may be a sign that the trilostane dose needs to be reduced. So this is definitely cause for concern - I would call your vet today to let them know. They may recommend having Max come in for blood work to check his cortisol levels - this will help determine what needs to be done regarding his medication.