Our bearded collie (daughter of the Cruft's winner in '89!) has been diagnosed with Cushings. She is 12 years old and is generally in good health apart from taking Syloxin for the last couple of years for her hyperthyroid which is now under control.

The vet has prescribed Veteril for the Cushings. I have heard a lot of confusing advice about this disease and how to treat it and am not sure what to do. An earlier drug called Lysodren was obviously a pretty harsh drug with lots of bad side-effects.

What would you recommend - her Cushings is not advanced although she does do a wee in the middle of the night every night and is generally very hungry all the time. Should we try her on the Veteril, perhaps a low dose or is there something else on the market?

Many thanks for your help.

This query was dealt with above, under the heading 'Veteril'
WB

my dog has got cushings desease and is 11 and half years old how will this affest her quality of life and is there anything that can be done for her

Hi, Julie,
There is correspondence elsewhere on this site about Cushings Disease. under the thread VETORYL
I heard recently about a case sent to on of the UK veterinary schools for diagnosis and treatment costing several thousands of pounds.
W

The average lifespan for a dog post diagnosis of pituitary-dependent cushings is 4.5 years if they are treated and assuming they do not have other serious systemic disease. This is only an AVERAGE however so it does not always hold true.

It is definitely worth treating the disease. The only licensed treatment is Vetoryl. Some vets would claim that it is not as effective as Mitotane (Lysodren) but it still would be the first line drug in most cases. If it does not work, mitotane could be used, but it is a dangerous medication and there are risks with it.

There are other treatments for cushings but it really depends on what type your dog has (pituitary-dependent vs adrenal dependent) and the judgement of your vet as to what is best.

The treatment is reasonably expensive but generally works well. Some people have asked about Modrenal - this is the human version of Vetoryl. Even though it is one and the same drug it is not licensed for dogs and your vet would be breaking the law by prescribing it.

I hope this is of some help

I, and many other vets who use homoeopathy, have had excellent results in the treatment of Cushings disease with homoeopathy. Some cases can remain stable without the use of Vetoryl, some do well on a much lower than average dose of Vetoryl. The website of the British Association of Homoeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (bahvs.com) has a list of vets with qualifications and experience in vetrinary homoeopathy. If there isn't a qualified vet in your area, some vets will do postal consultations, with theagreement and cooperation of your own vet, although it's always far better for the patient to be seen.

Richard Allport BVetmed, VetMFHom, MRCVS