Can Carmex lip balm with xylitol cause Cushing's symptoms in my dog?

Typical signs of Cushing's disease in dogs are as follows: increased thirst and urination, increased appetite, less activity, thin skin, hair loss, excessive panting, possible recurrent skin infections, new pigmentation on the abdomen or comedones (blackheads). If you suspect your dog may have Cushing's disease, you need to make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam and some blood tests.

It does sound like Cushing's disease indeed, which was probably caused by the long use of steroids. The steroids needs to be tapered off over 1-2 months and then you should switch her to a medication called Apoquel for the skin allergy, this medication does not have the side effects that the steroids have.

Hi there! You are correct that Cushing's disease would be a common cause of the symptoms you are describing in an older dog (excessive panting, weight gain, and drinking/urinating more than normal) - however, there are also other illnesses that could cause this, so diagnostic testing would be needed as a first step to find out if Cushing's disease is even the problem or not. It would be EXTREMELY unsafe to start Vetoryl or any other medication for this condition without even knowing for sure if Tily has it, since these meds would be very dangerous for a dog to take if they weren't needed, and close monitoring of cortisol levels is needed for dogs who are on medication for Cushing's disease because if the dosing isn't right they can get very sick or even die. So this would be a problem that you would need to work closely with your veterinarian to diagnose and treat safely - it's not something you can do yourself at home, just based on guessing. If taking Tily to the vet is difficult for you, I would suggest calling around to some local clinics to see if there is anyone in your area who does house call visits. A mobile veterinarian could examine Tily and take the required lab samples (usually blood and urine testing, as a starting point), and then go from there depending on what is found.

Ketoconazole is not known to cause excessive panting directly, but panting can be seen in general in dogs with Cushing's. Unless you are seeing other signs of significant illness, I would continue to monitor her for the time being. Look for any sort of vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellowing), bleeding, or generalized increased lethargy. If any of these begin to occur, consider taking her to a hospital for treatment and diagnostics. Hope this is helpful.

The random yelping isn't really typical for Cushing's Disease. These symptoms are usually weight gain or pot-bellied appearance, thinning hair, increased hunger, increased thirst, increased urination, and occasionally increased respiratory rate/panting and restlessness. I would recommend that you have Miley examined by a vet. The symptoms you describe sound like pain, which could be coming from multiple places, such as joints, the back, inside the abdomen, or chest, or could be caused by neurologic or other musculoskeletal issues. If the vet is also concerned about Cushing's Disease, then bloodwork can be obtained and tests scheduled to look into this possibility.

Some common symptoms of Cushings's are panting, increased thirst/urination, but these are also common symptoms of many diseases. Bloodwork and endocrine testing can help to ferret that out. Neurologic symptoms can sometimes be present with Cushing's if there is a larger tumor in the pituitary gland but seizures can also be caused by other things as well so an MRI is typically required. CT can sometimes be used if a pituitary mass is strongly suspected. Itchy feet is typically caused by allergies which may also be associated with secondary infection. Next steps are to see your vet for an exam, bloodwork, and endocrine testing. Abdominal ultrasound and blood pressure measurement are also typical next steps. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My biggest concern is that your vet is talking about hyperadrenocorticism also known as Cushing's disease. This is what I think of when you discuss those symptoms, liver enzyme elevations and adrenal issues. Cushings is where they produce too much cortisol in their system. You can do a test to rule this in or out. You can have your vet do a low dose dexamethasone test OR a ACTH stimulation test. If it comes up positive then you can treat with the disease with a daily medicine called trilostane to help the symptoms. But you cannot cure cushings. I hope this helps and will help guide you in a conversation with your vet if this is actually what your vet thinks is going on.