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
Louie our 15 year old Staffiie has been diagnosed with Cushing’s. An ultrasound showed a large mass around the adrenal glands. We’ve started him on 60mg Vetoryl today, but I’m interested in the effects of milk thistle on tumours, especially as vet suspects there might be a pituitary tumour too. He’s 18.5 kg what sort of dosage would we be looking at and would it even be suitable/advisable to add the supplement. We’re monitoring and taking him back in 2 weeks. He’s on Royal Canin GI low fat wet and dry food and has been for the past 12 months since he was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. He takes Yumove and Yucalm, but may not need the latter if the Vetoryl treatment helps calm him. Grateful for any advice.
I have a 10 1/2 year old black lab that may or may not have Cushings disease. Her most recent blood panels showed signs of elevated liver enzymes among other things. She had an abdominal ultrasound last week that showed nodules on her adrenal glands as well as a mass on her spleen. I am considering testing her for Cushings, but would not want to subject her to the more harsh conventional medicines. I would definitely try the natural holistic route. My concern is that her spleen and or liver could be compromised by cancer. They want to remove the spleen if they can control the Cushings but I won’t put her through a harsh surgery.
She really hasn’t presented any major symptoms at this point. She has always gobbled down her food and drinks a good amount of water. Her urination habits do not seem out of the ordinary. Does it make sense to pass on the expensive testing and try and talk to the vet about holistic methods instead. I just lost our other dog last week from other issues so dealing with that grief and this now is overwhelming…
My dog just got diagnosed with Cushing’s a month ago. He is on milk thistle, lignans and melatonin with other herbal supplements. However, I got really worried with his liver enzymes, They’re so high. And the pot belly seems disturbing too. Please help recommend other ways to protect the liver. He’s also on a grain-free diet already.
Is there a cause for Cushine’s and how long can a dog live with it? My dog is a 70 lb, 11 year old male lab mix.
I currently have my Shih-Tzu on K9 Choice Melatonin 3mg 2x daily and HMR Lignans 20mg 1x daily. If I added Milk Thistle and SAMe, what would the dosage be for a dog that weighs 14 lbs.? While I’ve seen quite a positive change in my 8 year old, such as energy, alertness, no excessive panting or snoring and weight loss, he still acts famished and downs his food in a matter of seconds. His water consumption is still somewhat more than pre-Cushings but less than it has been post-Cushings. I had started him out on Vetoryl but after just 6 months there wasn’t any notable difference had he started having negative effects so I switched him to the Melatonin and Lignans about 3 months ago. He goes in to see the vet in a week to have his Cortisol levels checked. It will be interesting to see how improved they may be. I also stopped grains and dry kibble and plan on putting him on a raw diet once we have cortisol levels checked.
Surgical techniques to remove pituitary tumors in dogs are being studied, but surgery is not a widely available option.
My dog uses Vetryol from vet. 1 and half years ago i found a chriopractor that does frequency specific microcurrent(fsm) . He has shown great improvement and vet says he is symptom free. He gets raw diet and some nutrional supplements
My dog is on medication for Cushings. He still does a lot heavy panting. Will that ever subside?
I just lost my Border Terrier to Cushings. We tried traditional as well as Holistic Medicine, but in the end I couldn’t help her.
I wish I had found this website sooner.
Can you apply the same holistic treatments to either adrenal or pituitary cushings disease?