Took my (nearly 14 year old) Bichon to the vets this morning, as she had wet herself two days ago and then passed blood in her urine last night. She had all the cystitis symptoms too - squatting frequently and only passing a few drops. So, he gave me anti biotics ( Noroclav) which are, so far, not causing any side effects.

Anyway he said he thinks she more than likely has Cushing's disease because of her age, breed and symptoms. She's booked in for an 8 hour on/off test on Tuesday to see if she has it. I will be taking her backwards and forwards every 4 hours as don't want to just leave her.

Does anyone have any experience of Cushing's? Maybe possible side effects of drugs? Have your dogs done ok on medication? I'm just a bit neurotic (a lot, in fact) as lost my other dog four months ago due to another vet at this place, piling on the medication - and my dog having a very bad reaction to it and having to be euthanised because his organs failed. This was all just in a day and was such a shock - so I'm terrified of anything being giving to my girl. Even the injection they are going to give her on Tuesday, to test for Cushing's, is scaring me.

Sorry for rambling; am still grieving like crazy for my dog I lost and not coping too well. Any info on Cushing's would be so appreciated. Thank you.

My dog has been on Vetoryl for Cushings for the last couple of years. He has just had to increase his medication slightly but within weeks of starting on the Vetoryl he was like a new dog - took years off him. The peeing & drinking went back to normal, his pot belly went, his fur improved, his muscle mass increased.

There are issues - his liver has been slightly affected so he has to have Tramadol as a painkiller rather than Metacam BUT his liver results have been the same for the past two years so the vetoryl hasn't made them worse. The Cushings make his cruciate ligaments weak so we have had a couple of issues there as he trys to jump onto furniture. We just have to remember to put a box on the chairs & sofa to keep him off when we are out.

The Vetoryl does add up. It was nearly £60 a month, but now is closer to £90 as I have to buy 60mg and 10mg. Plus the 6 monthly tests! Apparently the chemical used in the usual test is in short supply so as he is well managed we had a base line test last time which was cheaper. We always get a FBC , U&E & LFT as well just to make sure as well as the cortisol being OK we aren't doing any harm with the Vetoryl.

On the whole, Cushings is very manageable and the Vetoryl gives a good quality of life with minimal side effects.

Fingers crossed for your girl - if it is Cushings then if you have any questions feel free to PM - I don't always check the pet section very often these days.

Thank you for your reply. It's calmed me down a bit.

She hasn't had any of the drinking or weeing, apart from the past two days with her UTI and doesn't have any other Cushing's symptoms (so don't know really why vet is suspecting it) - so am hopeful it won't test positive. But, if it does, I'll just take it as it comes. You've made me realise it isn't as bad as I was imagining.
Thanks again.

You're welcome. I'm surprised they are testing for Cushings if she doesn't have the classic symptoms (excess drinking & peeing, pot belly & fur loss/loss of quality) but at least your mind will be set at rest if/when it comes back negative.

Shop around on line for prices.
Even though the vet will charge for a written prescription the likelihood it you'll still save