Cushings Disease which is also called hyperadrenocorticism is rather spread among older dogs. Dogs’ organisms with Cushings Disease produce excessive amount of a natural hormone called cortisol, resulting in such symptoms such as excessive drinking and urinating, a swollen, swaying belly, hair loss and a poor hair coat, sometimes an increased appetite, and frequent breathing. Usually, when dogs haven’t yet been diagnosed as those having Cushings Disease may have been tested for other reasons of frequent drinking, like diabetes, kidney and liver disease. When all tests come back negative it’s probably Cushings Disease.
As it was already mentioned the disease is caused by overproduction of hormone cortisol which results in excessive drinking and urinating. These symptoms are often caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland which is located at the base of the brain. Few cases are caused by a tumor on the adrenal gland in the kidneys. Sometimes, dogs may have such symptoms because of the usage steroids including prednisone. Just stop giving your dog the drug.
It’s extremely important to have the dog correctly diagnosed. It has to be examined by a qualified veterinary. If the dog does have excessive drinking and urination it’s necessary to exclude other diseases. The veterinary will check your dog for kidney disease, diabetes, and liver disease. A general blood screen may show Cushings Disease. At this stage further screening tests are recommended and treatment has to be discussed. Usually, treatments may include drug therapy with trilostane or mitotane. Other conventional treatment might include radiation therapy and sometimes, adrenalectomy. However, some natural alternatives are possible which may be combined with the conventional options.
A rather effective natural solution concerns antioxidants. In Cushings Disease, the cells are more prone to damaging from the high amount of cortisol. The most effective antioxidants include Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium. They have much higher effectiveness if given in combination: give 100IU of Vitamin E, 100mg of Vitamin C and 20 ug if Selenium per 10 lbs of dog’s body weight every day. One more natural solution is the herb Ginkgo Biloba which reduces cortisol production, similar to anipryl.
Big amount of cortisol causes the dog feel anxious. In order to reduce anxiety it’s good to give Valerian. The dose for dogs is 1 drop per lb of body weight twice a day.
One of the conventional solutions concerns Anipryl rather safe for treating the disease. You may buy it from your Veterinarian. This medication should also be taken daily and it directly influences the pituitary gland helping to reduce cortisol production.
Hopeful, that those remedies will turn out to be useful, if not more serious medication treatment will be required. It’s extremely recommended to use the remedies in combination. In this way they will be more effective. Besides, natural solutions are always cheaper than medical ones. May your pet be always strong, healthy and joyful!
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