Natural treatments: Natural remedies for Cushings in dogs/natural treatment options include melatonin, lignans, milk thistle, and SAMe. These dietary supplements have little to no side effects and are often used as a first treatment option for Cushing's disease. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is produced in excess in Cushingoid dogs, which is the cause of most of the symptoms. Controlling the amount of cortisol means controlling the symptoms. Flaxseed lignans and melatonin both inhibit different enzymes needed in the production of cortisol. In restoring hormone levels back to normal, flaxseed lignans and melatonin can help manage the symptoms. Studies have found that the combination of lignans and melatonin not only reduce cortisol, but act directly upon adrenal tumor cells, effectively treating both typical and atypical cushings disease. Milk thistle and SAMe are dietary supplements that help support the liver. Liver support is beneficial for dogs with Cushing's because the disease puts a great deal of stress on the liver, causing it to become overworked. Click here to read testimonials on natural Cushing's treatment options. You can read about real life experiences treating Canine Cushings Disease with lignans, melatonin, and more. Conventional treatments: These include Lysodren, Ketoconozole, and Trilostane. Although they can be effective, it is important to remember that they are chemotherapy drugs. They can be expensive and much care is needed in monitoring the results. These drugs are used to deliberately damage the outer adrenal cortex to reduce cortisol production. If the dosage is too high or if the medication is administered for an extended period of time, the adrenal gland can be damaged to the point where it stops producing cortisol all together. This causes Addison’s disease, the opposite of Cushing's disease, and monthly monitoring and steroid injections would be needed to make up for the cortisol deficit if this occurs. To ensure these chemotherapy drugs only reduce cortisol rather than eliminating it, and to confirm that they do not cause excessive damage to the adrenal gland, frequent monitoring and testing is required. Surgery: Cushings in dogs is caused by either a tumor in the adrenal gland or a tumor in the pituitary gland. Because of the pituitary gland's location, the removal of the tumor would require brain surgery, which is not performed on dogs. This procedure would be extremely risky and the cost would be astronomical. While surgery on the pituitary gland is not done, adrenal gland tumor surgery can be performed; however, it is rare because of the aforementioned risk and cost.
Cushings in Dogs: Treatment Options Overview
There are numerous treatment options to consider for dogs that have been diagnosed with Cushings disease, also known as canine cushings disease and hyperadrenocorticism. These options are conventional medicinal treatments, natural and herbal treatments, and/or surgery (but only in extremely rare cases). Due to the fact that Cushings in dogs can be difficult to diagnose, oftentimes a natural treatment is recommended by veterinarians. Natural, holistic treatment options for Cushings in dogs are gentle on aging dogs and can be used if Cushing's is only suspected. Natural treatment options are also less expensive and they have a high success rate. Exploring homeopathic options for Cushing's in dogs is usually the first route as these options possess the added benefit of little to no side effects. 
Natural treatments: Natural remedies for Cushings in dogs/natural treatment options include melatonin, lignans, milk thistle, and SAMe. These dietary supplements have little to no side effects and are often used as a first treatment option for Cushing's disease. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is produced in excess in Cushingoid dogs, which is the cause of most of the symptoms. Controlling the amount of cortisol means controlling the symptoms. Flaxseed lignans and melatonin both inhibit different enzymes needed in the production of cortisol. In restoring hormone levels back to normal, flaxseed lignans and melatonin can help manage the symptoms. Studies have found that the combination of lignans and melatonin not only reduce cortisol, but act directly upon adrenal tumor cells, effectively treating both typical and atypical cushings disease. Milk thistle and SAMe are dietary supplements that help support the liver. Liver support is beneficial for dogs with Cushing's because the disease puts a great deal of stress on the liver, causing it to become overworked. Click here to read testimonials on natural Cushing's treatment options. You can read about real life experiences treating Canine Cushings Disease with lignans, melatonin, and more. Conventional treatments: These include Lysodren, Ketoconozole, and Trilostane. Although they can be effective, it is important to remember that they are chemotherapy drugs. They can be expensive and much care is needed in monitoring the results. These drugs are used to deliberately damage the outer adrenal cortex to reduce cortisol production. If the dosage is too high or if the medication is administered for an extended period of time, the adrenal gland can be damaged to the point where it stops producing cortisol all together. This causes Addison’s disease, the opposite of Cushing's disease, and monthly monitoring and steroid injections would be needed to make up for the cortisol deficit if this occurs. To ensure these chemotherapy drugs only reduce cortisol rather than eliminating it, and to confirm that they do not cause excessive damage to the adrenal gland, frequent monitoring and testing is required. Surgery: Cushings in dogs is caused by either a tumor in the adrenal gland or a tumor in the pituitary gland. Because of the pituitary gland's location, the removal of the tumor would require brain surgery, which is not performed on dogs. This procedure would be extremely risky and the cost would be astronomical. While surgery on the pituitary gland is not done, adrenal gland tumor surgery can be performed; however, it is rare because of the aforementioned risk and cost.
Natural treatments: Natural remedies for Cushings in dogs/natural treatment options include melatonin, lignans, milk thistle, and SAMe. These dietary supplements have little to no side effects and are often used as a first treatment option for Cushing's disease. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is produced in excess in Cushingoid dogs, which is the cause of most of the symptoms. Controlling the amount of cortisol means controlling the symptoms. Flaxseed lignans and melatonin both inhibit different enzymes needed in the production of cortisol. In restoring hormone levels back to normal, flaxseed lignans and melatonin can help manage the symptoms. Studies have found that the combination of lignans and melatonin not only reduce cortisol, but act directly upon adrenal tumor cells, effectively treating both typical and atypical cushings disease. Milk thistle and SAMe are dietary supplements that help support the liver. Liver support is beneficial for dogs with Cushing's because the disease puts a great deal of stress on the liver, causing it to become overworked. Click here to read testimonials on natural Cushing's treatment options. You can read about real life experiences treating Canine Cushings Disease with lignans, melatonin, and more. Conventional treatments: These include Lysodren, Ketoconozole, and Trilostane. Although they can be effective, it is important to remember that they are chemotherapy drugs. They can be expensive and much care is needed in monitoring the results. These drugs are used to deliberately damage the outer adrenal cortex to reduce cortisol production. If the dosage is too high or if the medication is administered for an extended period of time, the adrenal gland can be damaged to the point where it stops producing cortisol all together. This causes Addison’s disease, the opposite of Cushing's disease, and monthly monitoring and steroid injections would be needed to make up for the cortisol deficit if this occurs. To ensure these chemotherapy drugs only reduce cortisol rather than eliminating it, and to confirm that they do not cause excessive damage to the adrenal gland, frequent monitoring and testing is required. Surgery: Cushings in dogs is caused by either a tumor in the adrenal gland or a tumor in the pituitary gland. Because of the pituitary gland's location, the removal of the tumor would require brain surgery, which is not performed on dogs. This procedure would be extremely risky and the cost would be astronomical. While surgery on the pituitary gland is not done, adrenal gland tumor surgery can be performed; however, it is rare because of the aforementioned risk and cost.
42 comments
My vet believes my 13 year old golden/lab mix has cushings. Since he is a senior, i do not want to put him through the side effects of the traditional medicine. I have started him on a raw food diet and have been giving him Si Miao San herbs. Do you think it would be safe to introduce lignans/melatonin with the herbs or would that be too much? Thank you so much for any information you have.
My 12 y/o Cavapoo was diagnosed with diabetes and Cushings. He weights approximately 12 lbs. He lost so much hair, pants all the time, drinks and urinates excessively. We switched him to Origen Refuonal Red dog food. He gets 5units of insulin twice daily. The vet wants to start on medication for the Cushings. What dose of melatonin, lignans and flaxseed would I give him? I’d rather try the wholistic approach first. Thanks in advance.
I have a 13 year old wire haired Fox Terrier called TOBY
He has been diagnosed with Cushings 6 weeks ago. His symptoms are excess drinking and always hungry, he needs to pee on the hour sometimes and is up 3 times every night, he sleeps a lot and his hair has got very thin and he has lost a lot of muscle and strength in his legs which shake a lot.
I have read all the information that I can find on Cushings and feel that both chemotherapy drugs or a holistic approach carry some nasty side effects, hence I have not started him on any treatment. Is this an unkind decision as although he has problems they are all things we can manage.
He seems happy in his self and still enjoys walks, food, the occasional game of fetch and a good cuddle.
Is there anything you can recommend to give him just to make him feel more like his old self.
My 7 yr old golden doodle was recently diagnosed with pituitary cushings. She has no outward symptoms. Her alk phos has been increasing over the past cpl years which was my cause for concern and more testing and ultrasound. So many questions! If my vet puts her on meds what reactions do I look for? What is life expectancy? Is Cushing painful? Thank you
Our 20 kg, 7 yr English Cocker is to be tested for cushing’s disease, but he has has Prednisolone (for skin dermatitis) on and off for a few years. last was 1×20mg 10 days ago, and 1×10mg 20 days ago. Our vet now wants to perform the test, but she says he must wait 6 weeks from the last Prednisolone, before he can have the test. He drinks 3 times as much water as he should. Would taking natural remedies affect the tests? Would you recommend to wait for the tests before trying any remedy. We are concerned about the amount he drinks and it’s a long time to wait for the test. He just had bladder and ear infection as well and eats more than usual. Liver tested OK.
Hiya
My 8yo Frenchie Larry has been recently diagnosed with Cushing’s. I wanted to try the holistic approach but I wasn’t confident enough. He started on 30mg Vetoryl just this morning. So my questions are-
Can I still supplement safely with Milk Thistle, SAME and Lignans whilst he’s on the prescription?
Can I take him off of the Vetoryl (with vets permission), and switch to a holistic approach if we don’t see any improvements or he suffers side effects after a few weeks, without causing any damage?
I know that medication is life long once diagnosed, but I wasn’t sure if this was also a case of it being dangerous to stop with the prescription meds once started?!
Thanks :)
My 10 year old 11 pound yorkie has been diagnosed with cushings after the 8 hour atch test. I’ve just received his vetroyl in the mail. Dose is 5 mg 2 x a day.
His only symptoms are pot belly and ravenous appetite. He does urinate about every 4 hours when awake. He is not hyper.
His liver is enlarged but oncologist cannot positively diagnose as cancer just states the liver is diffused and abnormal.
Is enlarged liver common with cushings?
He is also on pepcid ac because of gastriris.
He bloated belly has gone down a bit after the 2 weeks on pepcid.
Normally, how soon does the bloated belly show improvement after treatment starts?
I am going to try the vetroyl and would appreciate prayers for my little one as I attempt to help him.
My 12-yr old shepherd mix began to walk away from his food bowl before it was empty, and then finally refused food early this year. I immediately took him to the vet, and they checked his blood glucose – which was found to be very elevated – like 220-250. Vet diagnosed diabetes, and we began a course of insulin.
After a couple of months of this, and checking weekly, his levels stubbornly failed to drop. The vet switched to Vetsulin, thinking a different form might help. No go. Blood glucose maintained at a high level – usually around 320 – but occasionally dropping back to the original 220. (Still high, I know.) Finally about 2 weeks ago, the vet decided to check him for Cushing’s disease. I did some research, and although I personally felt he wasn’t really presenting with any of the symptoms, I agreed to the testing.
He still has the high glucose levels, but his belly is fine – no bloat. He’s still perky and interested in his surroundings. Still steps up to meet the other dogs at the dog park. No hunks of hair loss, no bald spots – but he has always shed a lot of hair and he pants a lot. He doesn’t snore – but breathes loudly with loud exhales at night like a human might do. Maybe like sleep panting? Still very active despite being 12 yrs old. He weighs about 48 lbs.
It’s becoming more difficult for him to get up quickly, and he’s tripped on his way Up the stairs a couple of times. Seems like he has a little arthritis. He’s learned to move more slowly on the stairs, but forgets and tries to run like in the old days of his youth… then he almost trips so he slows down. He sleeps a lot, but gets up immediately if we move to go to the kitchen or outside. He then immediately sits down rather than standing to watch us. His back legs sometimes tremble.
Ok, back to the vet: So since the blood glucose levels remained high, the vet decided to test him for Cushing’s. I left him there for 2 or 3 hours, they did the test, and when the results arrived a couple of days later – the results were Negative. Still, the vet feels like it’s Cushing’s anyway, saying the false negative is common with Cushing’s. We’re now discussing whether to start him on Trilostane. This scares me quite a bit – because if he doesn’t have Cushing’s – I’m thinking this could cause Addison’s, and now we have a whole other problem.
I’m just not sure he’s presenting with enough Cushing’s symptoms to make me feel comfortable starting him on such a harsh medication with such debilitating side effects as Trilostane. The high blood glucose levels and the panting is about it. Maybe the weakness in the back legs too? I’m thinking of going the holistic route – but not sure what to do. He’s pretty happy and comfortable – I’m afraid I’m going to send him spiraling into a world of pain when I’m not even sure it’s the right medicine.
I’m really confused. I love this dog – we all love him – my kids refer to him as their “brother dog”. Their friends have literally stopped by the house just to see him. We all want what’s best for him, but I’m just not confident that we’re going down the right path with Cushing’s/Addison’s. Sorry for the length of the note, but I wanted to describe his general health as well as possible. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
My 11 year old golden retriever has Cushings ,she is on the melatonin,HMR Lignans ,milk thistle and Same also the egg membrane joint formula and dandelion.. it’s been 5 weeks since I started her on this treatment. I do see some improvements but, just wondering how long all these herbs take to really make a big difference?? She is also on a raw diet…
thank you
Cathy
My dog angel has cushings. I tryed vetoryl 10mg twice a day. He had such severe direrrah the first evening the vet told me to try again the next day for s better result but no luck do I was told to stop it. Wait one week then try only once a day I did that but direrrah again. So I was told to take him off of it. I am trying a holistic treatment. It has been 3 weeks now but no improvement. Also he is on melatonin and denemarin. He stomach was more so distended last night snd psntedsll night drinks a lot of water and sleeps all day. I love him do much. Can you please help me I am starting to panic. I am so worry and I don’t know what else to do. Thank you