Addison's Disease

[Dee-O-Gee]

Addison's Disease in Dogs. Has anyone every experienced this or currently has a dog diagnosed with Addison's?

My daughter's Great Pyrenees (Layla) became abruptly ill on Thursday while visiting us in Canada (she lives in the U.S). Couldn't walk or stand, very lethargic and was vomiting all night. While she took her to an emergency vet that evening, the speculation was that she had an obstruction in her intestines. The after hours clinic gave her a sedative but all-in-all, it was a rough night.

The next morning, we took her to our regular vet (in Canada) who immediately put her on IV due to dehydration and she wasn't able to stand or walk.

Our vet ordered a CBC with the result coming in today. Her Lipase reading was somewhat high at 1128 while a normal reading should be between 138-755. This lead him (the Vet) to believe she has some sort of inflammation of the Pancreas but because she responded very quickly to the IV and bounced back to feeling better, he doesn't think the problem is with the Pancreas however; other readings from the results has lead him to Addison's, (high Potassium, low Na/K Ratio, Low Sodium, etc.).

After researching information about Addison's, Layla fits all the symptoms. In any event, my daughter will be taking her to her normal vet after their visit here but we're just sitting at the kitchen table researching about this disease and so far, getting information overload!

What better place than to reach out to PETS.CA for help and guidance.

[CsqU4r3d]

One of the cock-a-chons I adopted last year has addisons. She has had it for about 5 years now. I was a bit apprehensive at first but it has really been a non-issue. I think consistency and routine contribute greatly to her good health. When I got her she was taking !mg of prednisone daily and 1.0 ml of Percortin-V injected once a month. I have been able to reduce the pred to 1mg every 3rd day and will begin reducing the Percortin to .80 a month starting in Sept. I want to get her down to the minimum amount of meds required to maintain her health. Before I got her she had no real schedule for meals exercise and her meds were not administered on a consistant schedule. Before coming here she had had 4 additional crisis's besides the initial one when she was diagnosed. Since she came to live with the old retired person who is pretty much here 24/7 and has her on a routine, she has been the picture of health. Once you get the diagnosis and get the meds all fine tuned , it's pretty much life as normal.

[Dee-O-Gee]

Thank you so much CsqU4r3d!

Researching information has been a little overwhelming. Did you also have to switch her food? The Vet advised my daughter to put Layla on a Gastrointestinal diet but haven't had any luck finding out if the food contributes to the disease.

This information is really helpful and thank you for responding to my post CsqU4r3d.

[MaxaLisa]

I've never had an Addison's dog, but have read about it.

I would feed the diet that the dog does best on. The GI diets are often script diets and often, IMO, have compromised ingredients. What's important is finding out if your dog has Addison's, and, then, as mentioned above, getting the meds right.

There is a yahoo list out there somewhere for Addison's dogs, I think.

Good luck!

[CsqU4r3d]

I have found that as long as you have her on a good high quality food (I have a rotation of Petcurean's GO line of food alternating between the chicken, duck, and their turkey-chicken-trout formulations) that will suffice. I do watch the treats making sure none of then have high potassium or sodium. Diet does not seem to play a large part with Addisons. As for meds they will most likely get you to try the florinef as the mineralocorticoid . It comes in tablet form....but in Miikkas case it did not seem to work satisfactorily. The percorten-v is more expensive and has to be injected intramuscularly. Lots of blood test will be required when you first start treatment, but once you get the meds fine tuned only a yearly test is needed. When I start lowering Miikkas percorten-v next month a monthly blood test will be reqiured to monitor her various levels. Glad I could be of some help.

[Dee-O-Gee]

Originally Posted by MaxaLisa

What's important is finding out if your dog has Addison's, and, then, as mentioned above, getting the meds right.

Good luck!

Thank you MaxaLisa and your absolutely correct. My daughter is venturing back to the States on Tuesday and has already scheduled an appointment with their regular vet. Fortunately both Vets communicated wonderfully with each other and have exchanged files with each other. One less thing for my daughter to worry about.

Originally Posted by CsqU4r3d

I have found that as long as you have her on a good high quality food (I have a rotation of Petcurean's GO line of food alternating between the chicken, duck, and their turkey-chicken-trout formulations) that will suffice. I do watch the treats making sure none of then have high potassium or sodium. Diet does not seem to play a large part with Addisons. As for meds they will most likely get you to try the florinef as the mineralocorticoid . It comes in tablet form....but in Miikkas case it did not seem to work satisfactorily. The percorten-v is more expensive and has to be injected intramuscularly. Lots of blood test will be required when you first start treatment, but once you get the meds fine tuned only a yearly test is needed. When I start lowering Miikkas percorten-v next month a monthly blood test will be reqiured to monitor her various levels. Glad I could be of some help.

I cannot thank you enough CsqU4r3d for sharing this information. Your experience with Addison's will assist in better understanding the disease should the results come back positive.

[CsqU4r3d]

No problem.....Miss Miikka just got her monthly injection, she is so good about it...doesn't even yelp or squirm, it's like she knows it is for her own good! Good luck to Layla and your daughter. If I can help with any further question just let me know.

[Dee-O-Gee]

Layla had another bout with vomiting and being extremely lethargic today.

Our Vet (in Canada) took her in late this afternoon and gave her another IV treatment and a dose of Dexamethasone to get her through to her trip home. Our Vet believes that what they did on Friday (and today) was only a temporary fix and would be available to discuss her conditions with our Daughter's Resident Vet tomorrow.

He also drew a blood sample before administering the Dexamethasone so our daughter's regular vet could see before and after readings tomorrow. She's going in at 8:45 am sharp.

I just feel so bad for both my daughter and her Layla.

[hazelrunpack]

Hope they get some answers tomorrow, DOG, and some relief for Layla!

[Dee-O-Gee]

Layla went to her regular vet today. They ran a couple more blood tests and one that was specific for Addison's. The results should be in tomorrow.

My daughter said she was doing a bit better today being back in her normal surroundings.

Thank you again CsqU4r3d for sharing your experience and to everyone for sending good vibes.

[hazelrunpack]

Keep us posted, pls!

[Dee-O-Gee]

Well, the blood tests came back positive for Addison's. While it's kinda sad to hear she has this, it's also a relief knowing what is wrong with her and that there is a treatment.

Layla had her first shot of Percorten-V today and her vet prescribed a supply of Prednisolone. He was very helpful with my daughter in that he offered to write a script for her to take to her local pharmacy when she needs to get more and is also going to show her how to administer the Percorten-V. Not sure if they'll switch over to the Florinef at a later date but are steering her in the right direction at this time.

I feel Layla is in goods hands not only with the vets that have assisted in the diagnosis and treatment of Addison's but also with my daughter and her ability to give Layla a comfortable life that she so deserves.

Anyway, thought I'd share a picture of the little (ah-hum...big) girl...

[hazelrunpack]

Ah, the beautiful Layla!

I'm glad your daughter got the answer she needed, but sorry to hear that Layla has Addison's. But, as you say, it's treatable! Thank Dawg!

So I take it that the Percorten-V is an injection? The first time I had to give an injection was very traumatic for me. Not for the dog--the dog didn't even notice there was a needle! I'm hoping your daughter has the same experience--not that she's traumatized, but that she discovers Layla makes nothing of it!

I'm also hoping and praying that the treatment works quickly and is successful for many years to come!

[CsqU4r3d]

Glad to hear the beautiful Layla is on the road to recovery. Good to hear they are starting her off on Percorten-v .... it seems to be the more effective of the two. Now it will just be a matter of fine tuning things and she will be good as new. It should help alot being back in her home environment, less stress and stress is the main thing you have to keep a handle on.

[Dee-O-Gee]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

So I take it that the Percorten-V is an injection? The first time I had to give an injection was very traumatic for me. Not for the dog--the dog didn't even notice there was a needle! I'm hoping your daughter has the same experience--not that she's traumatized, but that she discovers Layla makes nothing of it!

I'm also hoping and praying that the treatment works quickly and is successful for many years to come!

Correct Hazel, The Percorten-V is a monthly needle. Between my daughter & Son-In-Law, I suspect she will have to be the bearer of the monthly injection as my SIL is totally afraid of needles!

Originally Posted by CsqU4r3d

Glad to hear the beautiful Layla is on the road to recovery. Good to hear they are starting her off on Percorten-v .... it seems to be the more effective of the two. Now it will just be a matter of fine tuning things and she will be good as new. It should help alot being back in her home environment, less stress and stress is the main thing you have to keep a handle on.

One of the things that we've noticed is her losing her fur! O-M-G!! We can't believe how much her fur is falling out! Hopefully with the new medications, it will help balance her out