Viva was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.
Cushing’s disease is caused by excessive levels of the hormone cortisol. Most of the time, the underlying cause is a tumor on the pitutiary or adrenal glands. It can, however, also develop in dogs who are on a long-term treatment with steroids.
Treatment is aimed at normalizing cortisol levels. Thank you, Kenzo, for sharing Viva’s story.
Viva’s story
And all that time she thrived on the prescribed daily medication – 120mg of Vetoryl, or Trilostane. Every quarter Viva was tested and the results were excellent. Such a test consists of an ACTH stimulation test and full blood-work. Viva’s liver, battered by her Cushing’s disease before we started treatment, was recovering slowly but surely.
For a dog like Viva with several chronic diseases, every vet visit can be turned into a puzzle.
Tracking Viva’s condition
Has any of her known conditions worsened, like spondylosis, allergies or Cushing’s? Or are we looking for something else this time? To be prepared we keep a diary of Viva’s general state of health to note the changes as they come slow and only when compared over time you can really notice a difference. We write down things like:
- Meals: how fast did she eat her meal?
- Walks: after how long did she tire?
- Play: did she play with Kenzo? And who initiated?
- Cuddle: did she exchanged her infamous ear-nibbles with Kenzo?
- Greets: did she wagged her tail so her back moved?
- And so on
The list is specific to Viva.
For example, when she wags her tail a little less and the walks get shorter, we know we are up for an acupuncture session for the spondylosis in her back.
So when the diary started to show a little less play and cuddles, we advanced her quarterly Cushing’s test.
And although Viva’s cortisol levels related to her Cushing’s were still perfect, the rest of her body and organs clearly were feeling unhappy as the blood work showed.
This meant we were either looking at something new or the Cushing’s medicine – which is very aggressive and can be compared to chemotherapy – was producing side-effects.
Based on what we knew from the diary, and the lack of other symptoms, together with her vet, we decided to lower the doses of Viva’s Cushing’s medication. The most reasonable assumption was the dose was affecting her health adversely, despite keeping her cortisol levels under control.
Viva’s improvement
It took only a week for the diary to show us the first positive changes.
When we re-ran the Cushing’s test at the end of that month, her cortisol levels were still within the limits, while her blood-work showed a lot of improvement on all area’s. Would the diary not have shown any improvement, we, of course, would have been right back at the vet’s again, discussing other options.
Having a dog with chronic diseases requires a chronic attitude.
At first, having to watch everything she does through symptom-glasses, was stressing me out. But now, that I accepted what a chronic disease requires, I can see the benefit of doing that. I became more connected with Viva than ever, and know she is living her life to the fullest despite the odds. That’s just a terrific bonus, being able to give that to Viva.
Related articles:
Viva has Cushing’s
Further reading:
Cushing’s Disease in Dogs