The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Darby was dx with Cushings in 2010 and was started on Trilostane. All of her periodic labs to check cortisol levels were fine for about a year. During this time she was gaining about 1/2 lb. a month no matter what food or how much exercise she got. She is also hypothyroid and is supplemented for that. I was struggling with the weight gain and everything I read said that once cortisol levels are under control, the weight should normalize. I convinced her vet to contact Dr.Dodds in Ca. and see if she had any ideas. Darby's blood was sent to Dr.Dodds lab with a copy of every test that she has had done. After a consult about lab results and a tweak in the thyroid supplement Dr. Dodds suggested our vet get in touch with two other endocrine specialists. One at the Endocrine Clinic and one at Univ. of Tenn., both have done extensive research in canine cushings. Long story short, there was a 3-way phone consult with all the vets and Darby's cushings is now being treated with 3mg. of Melatonin and 30grams of Lignans( a special type of flax seed) supplement. She started in Nov. 2011 and is doing great! She has lost 5.5 lbs, her cortisol levels are in normal range and I don't have to worry about side effects. The last regular cortisol level, that she had on the Trilostane, was so low that she was close to crashing even though her previous ones had been in normal range.

I'm not saying Trilostane or other Cushings meds are not effective, just that there are other treatments available for consideration. My vet wasn't aware of the research with the melatonin and Lignans, maybe there are lots of other vets who aren't aware. That's what's so great about this forum and being able to share new ideas that work!

How awesome that you have made such steps in her treatments Such great news They have made such improvements in treating cushings Univ of Tenn is doing great work

Keep us posted

That is awesome!

Wonderful! That is excellent news. Thanks for posting... never know when this kind of information will help someone else!

Thanks Ginnym and Julie, I'm very pleased with the results to date. I am amazed at how much varied research is being done on melatonin. I know that you can't always believe what's on the internet : , but this research is being done by very well respected doctors and universities. Dr.Dodds has studied canine thyroid disease for over 40 years and makes herself available for questions by email. I read all the research that Darby's consulting vets had published and it's pretty impressive. Still, I have monthly labs done to make sure her cortisol levels are controlled.

I'm a retired RN and I have some knowledge of how complex the endocrine system is and how important it is to be balanced. When that obiviously didn't happen with the Trilostane I started looking for a reason why. I gave the research to our vet and set up the consults with the experts. I love our vet and was happy to do the research, after all I'm a lot more vested in finding help for Darby. She's my baby girl!

Interesting as I give Ollie about a tablespoon of milled flax seed with his daily sunny side up cooked egg and cod liver oil pill, with a chaser of dry dog food. No fleas, and if we miss a tick it looks really sick. The last one dropped off before I made it home.

Will never use any name brand drops anymore, you can smell it on his breath. YUK!

That is terrific. And the fact that you got your vet to work with you on this is fantastic.

I'm very blessed to have a wonderful vet who has no problem putting her ego aside. It took me hours to research this and I'm sure she can't spend that amount of time on one patient. She is a 2009 graduate and is brilliant but doesn't have a lot of practical experience. Unfortunately, both my dogs have been great learning experiences for her. I lost my Bailey in January and in her final months we were at the vet 3-4 times a week and many phone calls. There was a lot of teamwork in trying to save her. I think our vet saw then just how important my dogs are and that I need answers that pass the "common sense" test. Isn't that what we all want and what our precious babies deserve?