Addisons Disease follow up

[Lee Seidman]

Well the vet called this morning and confirmed her thoughts. She said Lexi tested positive for Addisons. She will need daily pills and a monthly injection but she should be able to lead  a fairly normal long life...........thats the good news.............bad news is Percorten seems to be a pretty expensive drug. Not sure how long a vial lasts.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

I am sorry to hear that Lexi has Addisons. I am glad however that you have a diagnosis and way forward. One of my dogs has epilepsy - although not as serious Addisons,he is doing well with his medication. Dogs often do really well living with chronic illnesses, unlike us, they are not burdened by the emotional component of illness and don't worry about what it means for the future. They often also adjust really welll to the routine of their daily meds. When Bruno sees me getting out the pill bottle he comes over to the counter to get his dose.  Please keep us updated about how she is doing.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Good that the Vet caught it and good there is a treatment plan. Sorry she has to go through this and hopefully a vial lasts a long time.

[Christine & Camus]

I am so sorry to hear about Lexi's diagnosis.  I know the medication is expensive; if you have not already found this link here is a website that suggests using a pharmacy that sells the medication for a good price:  http://www.addisondogs.com/faqs/#2

 

[Carol Brand]

I know it is hard to get this diagnosis.  The thing to take away is that Addisons is treatable.  Yes, it can be expensive but as folks have pointed out, there are alternatives to buying the meds through your vet.  I don't know how old Lexi is, but you might talk to your breeder about getting a refund or partial refund of your purchase price to help cover her medical costs.  If nothing else, please do contact your breeder to tel her about Lexi's Addisons.  Addisons is a genetic problem and your breeder will need to know so that she can make informed decisions about her breeding program.

 

Ok... edited to add that I went to your page and noticed that Lexi is a rescue from a puppy mill.  Sigh.  Well the breeder will be no help there.  Do you happen to have a pedigree for Lexi?  I'd love to know who her Poodle dam was.  If we knew her registered name we could possibly ad her to the Poodle Health Registry as an Addisons producer.  That would be helpful to anyone (well anyone who really cared) who might be breeding that line.  PM me if you like.

[Lee Seidman]

No idea who Lexi's parents were. The people who ran the puppy mill were under attack from prior sales and the local authorities.  I doubt we could ever track them down at this point. She received her first injection this morning and is already responding to it.  I am confident that she is getting the best care possible and will do quite well in the future.

[Lee Seidman]

Many thanks to all the for the good wishes you sent.  It is really great to have  a site like this for support and advice. Lexi received her first injection this morning and is already responding to it.  I am confident that she is getting the best care possible and will do quite well in the future. We learned about what to expect, how to give her the injections and what to look for as she improves. The Dr. and staff at Coral Springs Animal Hospital are the kindest people I have ever met.

[Rae]

Hi- This will be long so be prepared.  Here is the some of what we've learned since Bella's Addison.  I'm so glad to see you have joined the AddisonDog Group.  They are nothing short of wonderful and can/will be there for you every step of the Addison Journey you and Lexi are now on.  First, you will need to get the blood results from your vet (Sodium, Potassium and the Na/K Ratio and the range for each - it's all on the report) and exactly how much of the Percorten and Prednisone (is that what she is taking?) she is getting.  She will need another blood test in two weeks to make sure she is getting the right amount of Percorten.  If she's on Pred she is probably on a higher dose which means lots of water intake and lots of output.  You will be able to reduce her Pred later and will need to do it slowly so she doesn't have withdrawal reaction.  You will also be able to reduce the amount of Percorten she gets (Bella started out on 1.5cc of Percorten every 28 days and 2.5mg Prednisone daily.  She weighed 35 pounds and was 14 months old.  She is now 4.5 years old and is on 1cc Percorten every 28 days and .5mg Prednisone daily and doing GREAT).  In the beginning you will need to get bloodwork done monthly to see how she is doing. 

Concerning the cost of Percorten-It's expensive!  Here is what we do.  We get ours on-line from 1-800-PetMeds BUT we have them price match VetMeds.com.  There is a about a $40-50 dollar difference.  You will need to get a Rx from your vet so check and make sure she'll do one.  PetMeds will call her office and get it faxed to them.  Always CALL 1-800-PetMeds rather than just order online - it makes the price match easier and they make sure they have all the info on you, Lexi and your vet.  Also, we have a vet tech give the shots and for us it's no cost.  If the vet gives the shot we get charged.  So people give the shots themselves for various reasons (one being that their vet charges no matter who gives the shot).  Each vial of Percorten is 4Ml (4cc) so it depends on how much Lexi is getting as to how long a bottle will last.

We also keep very detailed records on Bella.  I'm attaching a copy of our Excel worksheet so you can get an idea of her journey.  Hope it helps.  It's really important that you keep track of everything.

Another important thing is that Addison dogs cannot have Rimadyl for pain because it interacts with the meds.  If Lexi needs something for pain at any point make sure she gets something like Tramadol.

Please feel free to contact me directly at anytime.  I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have.  Lexi will do great with you as her parents.  As our vet tells us - Special Needs Pets and Special Parents are so luck to find each other.