Addison's Disease

[Mrs. K]

We've had quite a week. Indy began vomiting at 4:30 Tuesday morning and it kept happening every 45 minutes or so until 10:30. We thought he must have eaten something funny in the woods over the weekend and was just having a delayed reaction.

By Wednesday night, however, he refused to eat and was very lethargic. We brought him to the vet first thing Thursday morning for dehydration. Our vet ran a blood panel and an ACTH response test because he suspected Addison's given Indy's symptoms.

Indy stayed at the vet for 2.5 days receiving fluids and medications through an IV, and it was confirmed this morning that he does indeed have Addison's.

Apparently, it's very common in poodles. I don't really understand the whole disease, but it's a problem with the kidney's adrenal glands. Basically he can't produce enough cortisol, which is important for the body's response to stress. It also helps balance blood pressure and water and salt levels. Our first clue that he might have this was his constant drinking and urinating, to the point that other dog owners noticed it and thought it was odd how much he drank.

Indy went into what's called "Addisonian Crisis," where his levels were so off and his body was beginning to shut down. Luckily we brought him to the vet just in time, and he is fine now, home and resting.

There's no cure for Addison's, and Indy will have to take a small dose of the steroid prednisone everyday for the rest of his life, as well as receive an injection every 25-28 days for the rest of his life. As annoying and expensive as it is, it's not life threatening as long as you are diligent and responsible about treatment. This will ward off any future Addisonian crises.

I was wondering if there are any other doodle owners out there who have or have had dogs with Addison's and what your experience was like. Were there any harsh side effects to the medications? Was treatment successful? Is your dog living a normal life with treatment? Please share any advice you have. Thank you so much!

[Lucy's Mom from GA]

Our 2 year old Labradoodle Lucy just came home from doggie ICU today.  Last week our grandson went home and Lucy appeared to be worn out from entertaining him and we thought she was missing him.  She then had to go potty a lot more than usual and the third day she was really dragging.  Took her to the vet and took a blood test and had several issues.  He suspected Addison's and kept her to receive fluids and run more tests.  We were really missing her and after 2 nights went and brought her home, he felt like she was a little better and wanted us to bring her in on Monday for further test but said to avoid stress.  Well I misunderstood and thought he meant negative stress like we think of but my daughter was coming to visit with her dog over the weekend and by Monday she was lifeless, really dragging, and lost of diarrhea (some bloody)  Had to go back and get more fluids on Monday and just now coming home today and that ran tests for cortisol (was low)  is going to run ACTH on Friday (very expensive) but will show is coming from adrenal or pitutary(sp) gland.  She is a completely different dog, had to change diet also.  We were already on grain free foods and really watched what she ate but this is suppose to be easier for her digestion.  I just feel so badly for her.  We do take her a lot with us to go see family and she  just loves being around everyone.  I don't know what we are going to do.  She also gets groomed every few weeks had to cancel this week's appt because of everything she has been through.  I feel your pain with you and if you find out anything let me know.  This is all new to me.  I did let my breeder know today.  Take care.

 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Sorry to hear about Lucy too. Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Please take care!

[Carol Brand]

I am so sorry.  The good news as you know is that Addisons is treatable.  Karen is right that you want to try to minimize stressful situations for you dog.  Stress is different for every dog.   Some people who do performance events find that going to shows is now too much for their Addisonian dogs.   For your dog, a stresser might be a commercial boarding facility.   As Lucy's mom noted simply having a doggie house guest was too much.  You will have to play it by ear.

 

I think most dogs with Addisons respond well to meds.  Taking steroids long term is not without its issues.  You may see weight gain and change in coat.  Some dogs have to urinate more frequently.

 

You absolutely must tell your breeder.  Conventional wisdom says not repeat the breeding and as a breeder, I would probably pull the dam and sire individually from my program.  I would also be concerned about any siblings that were being bred.

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

Sorry to hear about you doodle coming down with Addison. Also, talk to your vet about how much to increase the meds if your dog gets an infection. Of you dontbadjust the dose a simple GI infection can set off a crisis.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I don't know anything about Addison's disease, but wanted to say I am very sorry you and Indy are going through this and my thoughts are with you!

[Harper]

I met a dog the other day who was recently diagnosed with Addison's.  Karina is the name of the owner and she is on DK if you want to try to contact her.

[Lucy's Mom from GA]

Hang in there, our Lucy was diagnosed a few months ago and has been on prednisone .5 daily and the percoten inj every 28 to 30 days.  She does have her slower days but we do cater to all her needs.  We were walking her twice a day (2miles am and pm) and her weight was 37 when diagnosed no it is 64.  We even have her on the weight managment dog food and cut way back on her feedings but the weight just keeps climbing due to the prednisone.  Another side affect from the meds is excessive drinking and going potty, but I am at home with her all day and she has a doggy door with fenced in backyard.  She has had a yeast infection consistently since starting the meds.  We love her so, just don't want her to suffer.  It took about 2 weekends in doggie icu (dehydrated) and a lot of testing, but were told caught it early.  Thinking about you and keep us posted.

 

[Mrs. K]

Hi there,

Sorry for not responding for so long! I haven't been on for almost a year--can't believe it. Well, I am happy to say that Indy is doing well. He gets 0.9 mL of Percorten every 25 days (but we just switched to 27 so we'll see how that goes) and 2.5 mg of pred everyday. I have to say that THE MOST important thing in this whole process has been finding a vet who knows what they are doing when it comes to this disease. Initially we were seeing a vet who bases the Percorten dosage strictly on the dog's weight. For the first dose, this is fine. But eventually you want to scale down the dose to be the lowest effective dose. This is because too much Percorten can cause incontinence, esp. in females. Our first vet refused to do this, and the shots were $130 a month! It got to be ridiculous. I did some research, and thanks to the phenomenal volunteers at AddisonDogs we found a new vet. He checks Indy's electrolytes twice a year, and was able to scale back the dosage significantly. Now Indy's shots are $45 per month and all his levels are perfect whenever he is tested. He's happy and full of more energy than ever! We even started doing Rally competitions. I can board him (cage free) whenever I need to (he loves it--it's play time!) and can even bring him to the groomer. We just give him extra pred when we anticipate a stressful situation. He does have some tummy troubles from time to time, but I think that is par for the course with any dog. It never lasts more than a day or two. In short, we are so blessed and happy with our Indy and can't imagine living without him. It takes a lot of research and leg work at first, but once you find the right vet, the disease is totally manageable.

Indy truly lives life to the fullest--almost like he gets more out of each day than he did before. Maybe it's our attitude about it too (he's very sensitive to our moods), but I just feel like this dog knows how lucky he is somehow, and he has such a zest for life.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is such wonderful news! I'm so glad Indy is doing so well! Thank you for updating us!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Yay!!! So happy to hear he is doing so well, You are right to fight for him and find a vet that understands the disease.... It is tricky to find the right  standard dose... It sounds like you have a great handle on it and I am so thrilled to hear it!!  Yay.

[Lucy's Mom from GA]

I have posted earlier about our Lucy with Addison's.  My vet has been pretty good but like your previous vet, he insist on the Percorten according to her weight which began at 37 and now is 67 in the last year.  That's with 3 good long walks a day and only two feedings a day, with very limited treats.  $130 plus her pred a month plus grooming.  It's about 220 total for us a month and this is just to maintain not for any medical issues.  I keep asking if there is a lower dosage and he says she is on the lowest of pred.  You said Indy was on 2.5.  They are so small to cut in half and I don't want to go against my vet. Are you receiving a 2.5 or cutting the 5 in half.  Tell you the truth we even thought about every other day but were reluctant to take a chance.   We live in a small town where access to a new vet might be impossible so am interest in finding out more about the Percorten dosage and share with my vet.  Like your Indy, Lucy truly has a great life but just not sure if we are over medicating or which direction we should go.  

[Mrs. K]

Yes, we cut the 5mg preds in half. That is way too much to be spending. I encourage you to join AddisonDogs; I couldn't have survived without them. Even if you have to drive a distance to find a vet that treats the disease properly, it's worth it. Over time they can become incontinent from too much Percorten.

Indy weighs 50 pounds. Our first vet was giving him 1.5mL of Percorten. Our new vet gradually got it down to 0.9mL and he's been perfect on that dose. There are helpful documents on AddisonDogs and Elizabeth, one of the volunteers, is SO helpful. She will email back and forth with you until you get everything figured out. I too felt bad going against our vet at first. We asked him about lowering the dosage numerous times and he tried to scare me by making me think that Indy could die if we lowered his dose. I listened for a few months, but Elizabeth from AD finally convinced me that our vet was NOT doing the right thing. It was very scary at first, and I felt bad because we had been very friendly with our vet up until that point. It's uncomfortable when we run into each other at the grocery store, but it's been more than worth it for Indy's health and our wallets. I cannot stress enough that finding the right vet is so important. If you look at the literature that comes with Percorten it even says that the first dose is based on weight, then they are supposed to get it down to the lowest effective dose after that!!! But most vets don't listen because it's a lot of work to figure that out and they get less money in the long run. Let me know if you join AddisonDogs--you will be so thankful in the end. They even have a list of vets around the country that members recommend. Perhaps that would help?