02/08 Whiskers AMPS 407 TREATING CUSHINGS WITH TRILOSTANE?

[Cheryl & Whiskers (GA)]

previous posts viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36182

spoke to the IM Vet this afternoon, he said the results from the cortisone test has come back, and as expected she is producing to much cortisone. The IM vet recommends a medication called Trilostane 10mg w/food BID, to better manage cushings disease, this may lower her insulins needs. It should help with other signs of cushings disease as well, thin skin, bald patches (she had a benign cyst removed from one of her rear hocks this fall, and fur hasn't grown back), rounded pot bellylike appearance (I just thought her tummy was a little chubby), excessive thirst (maybe help with IE). In 7-10 days we will have to do an ACTH stimulation blood test to see if the cortisone production has been reduced. It is similar to the test done on Friday, but it only take an hour as opposed to all day on Friday.
After one month if her immune system has improved, we could consider surgical removal of the malignant adrenal tumor, this is risky as diabetic/cushings cats are fragile, prone to shock, bleeding.
The IM vet also said she has two somewhat enlarged lymph nodes, it could be caused by her conditions or not. (my mom is a retired RN, she pointed out it could be due to infection, we are continuing treatment w/mometomax of her ear infection).
I spoke to our regular vet as well, he said 10% of animals can die from the treatment with trilostane.....he said he didn't want me to become upset if something happened. I told him I was already upset, so my state of mind in my opinion is not relevant. He suggested we treat the cushings on Friday, so it was a little unnerving today. That said he told me if she can take pills....pilling has not be a problem with Whiskers. He would go ahead and recommend treatment.
I think that is most everything. I'm supposed to pick up the medication tomorrow. Does anyone have experiance with Trilostane?
Thank you for all your support, and have a good night.

 

[Robert and Echo]

Re: 02/08 Whiskers AMPS 407 TREATING CUSHINGS WITH TRILOSTAN

Hi Cheryl,
My diabetic Cairn terrier (Toto dog) was diagnosed with Cushing's two years ago and has been taking 10 mg of Trilostane twice a day for almost that whole time. After one month, she had another dex suppression test to see if it was working and if the dose needed to be adjusted. The dose was fine, her Cushing's has been well-controlled ever since, and her diabetes has been stable. (She went into DKA twice in 2 weeks when she was first diagnosed.) We haven't had to alter her insulin dose in over a year and only periodically test her with the glucometer, do ketone spot checks, and get a yearly fructosamine. Of course, diabetic dogs are generally much easier to treat for diabetes. We have not repeated the dex suppression test although the Internal Medicine vet in Denver wanted us to do it every 6 months, at almost $500/test. We live in a small town now with only general country vets and as Miss Parker appears to be doing very well (other than going blind), we haven't felt the need to retest her. She is also 13 or 14 years old (can't remember), so pretty elderly. I'll have to see what the vet here charges for the test and probably get it done again soon.

Two years ago, there wasn't much veterinary experience in the US with Trilostane as it had to be imported but that has changed.

Trilostane is released commercially in pill form or you can have a compounding pharmacy make it for you in liquid form, any flavor you want. Miss Parker loves the bacon flavor and we just put the liquid on her food twice a day. Very simple. We initially got our Trilostane from a NJ compounding pharmacy recommended by the Denver vet and paid about $110/month for the Trilostane. Our local vet recommended RoadRunner Pharmacy in Phoenix and pay $46.85/month plus shipping now. Quite a difference in cost! We've been very pleased with RoadRunner's service.

Here is a nice summary of drugs for treatment of pituitary problems in animals: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_pituitary_treatment.html

Good luck and keep positive!

_Rebecca

 

[Cheryl & Whiskers (GA)]

Re: 02/08 Whiskers AMPS 407 TREATING CUSHINGS WITH TRILOSTAN

Hi Rebecca,

Thank you so much for the information. :razz: . I bought 30 capsules from the U of M for $61.00 to be given with food BID,so it will only last us 2 weeks. The IM Vet doesn't have a problem w/me getting it elsewhere, He understands the need for cost control. I'm not sure how Whiskers will do with a capsule, but we'll find out. It is so great you can get it compounded and with flavors. I'll check out the pharmacies you mention. do you know if Roadrunner ships thru-out the US?
We are giving it to Whiskers for better QOL, and to make her stronger so we can consider surgical removal of her malignent adrenal tumor.

Thank you again so much, info and experiance with this med has been slim. cat_pet_icon

 

[Lisa n' Cole]

Re: 02/08 Whiskers AMPS 407 TREATING CUSHINGS WITH TRILOSTAN

Hi Cheryl,

I had a question about your cat and her diagnosis of Cushings. My vet and I are thinking that is what my boy Cole has, he has diabetes, thin and bruised skin, constant hunger and the pot belly. Since your whiskers has been on the meds for a few weeks, how has that been? Is the skin getting better? What do you do for the skin?

I apologize for bombarding you with so many questions, but I have only found info on dogs and Cushings and not much for cats. We can't test for Cushings until Mid-march as Cole is on prednasone for his pancreatitus, so I am not certain if his skin lesions are because of the disease or the steroids. But I appreciate any advice that you have on helping Whiskers feel more comfortable when her skin flares up or any advice you can give me as someone who experiences this on a daily basis.

Thanks so much!