My senior dog on Vetoryl: weight loss, loose stools, tired. Help!

That is very concerning that she is not eating, vomiting, and losing weight. If blood work is normal than your vet could do x-rays and/or an abdominal ultrasound to look for abnormalities. Your vet could also do an ACTH stim test to make sure she is on the correct dose of vetoryl. Your vet could also treat with an anti-nausea medication called Cerenia and an antibiotic called Metronidazole to see if that helps with the vomiting and diarrha. Hope she feels better soon.

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.

While vetoryl can cause anorexia, this should be differentiated from an early hypoadrenocortical crisis by measurement of serum electrolyte concentrations and performance of an ACTH stimulation test. I would have Rissa seen by a vet right away to have this done.

A single dose of this size of Vetoryl will likely pose no serious risk of toxicity. Monitor for lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite. See your veterinarian if any of these symptoms develop.

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!

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.

The most common adverse reactions of Vetoryl reported are poor/reduced appetite, vomiting, lethargy/dullness, diarrhea, and weakness. Occasionally, more serious reactions, including severe depression, hemorrhagic diarrhea, collapse, hypoadrenocortical crisis or adrenal necrosis/rupture may occur, and may result in death. Weakness of the hind limbs, yes but paralysis I would say, no. If he has paralysis he needs to see the vet right away. There is no treatment for those side effects other than adjusting the Vetoryl dosage but I cannot advise you on that. You need to work with your vet regarding this issue. He may need to be switched to a different medication all together (like Lysodren). There is no natural treatment to treat Cushing's disease in dogs but there are a couple products to help support dogs with Cushing's disease. This does not take the place of the actual treatment: Cushex drops: http://petalive.nativeremedies.com/search?w=cushex Energy Tonic: http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/energy-tonic-supports-vitality-dogs-cats.html Hope this helps. Best wishes!