Cushings and cataracts.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Sherry...so sorry to hear that Phideaux is not doing well.

It sounds like the medication that your vet wants to give is something called Lysodren. This is a medication that helps to shrink down the adrenal glands that are too big. It comes with a lot of listed side effects. However, if you work closely with your vet and follow all of the instructions most dogs do extremely well.

You can ask your vet about a medication called trilostane that is similar to lysodren but seems to be a little bit safer.

Although we call these pills "chemotherapy" they are really not at all like the drugs that people get for chemotherapy for cancer.

There are some dogs that can have an adrenal tumor removed. However, often the tumor is not actually in the adrenal gland but is in the pituitary gland in the brain (where we can't do surgery). The tumor is benign so it simply causes the pituitary gland to produce extra hormone that tells the adrenal gland to grow.

I have treated lots of dogs for cushing's that have done really well. It can be a little pricey to do all of the tests and give the medicines, but if your vet is experienced in treating cushing's then Phideaux really should do ok!



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Dr. Marie replied:

Interesting. Trilostane is only newly available where I practice, but what I have read seems to indicate that it works well. However, if your vet is comfortable with the Lysodren I would definitely go for it.

Do not believe everything you read on the internet. Lysodren does have some side effects if your dog is not monitored well, but in experienced hands it is safe. The bigest concern is that if we give too much we can remove too much of the adrenal glands. But, if we are monitoring properly this won't happen.

I hope that helps...I will be offline for a few hours, but if you have more concerns I can reply later!
Dr. Marie.