My Molly was diagnosed with Addison's Disease

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

Have not been on this site for over a year.  Lost my dad and my best friend of 44 years.   We have struggled with our little labradoodle Molly and only recently after 5 years of constant health issues discovered she has Addison's disease.   When we got her she didn't eat well (thought she was picky?), spit up or vomited occasionally, struggled with stomach issues, scratching and chewing all the time, diarrhea, sick a lot!, and we went in and out of the vet office almost monthly.  She has had all kinds of infections in her stomach and bladder...why... apparently immune issues from Addison's disease.  I spent a fortune on food, cooked my own for her, medicine, and she was IV'd for dehydration several times.   Lots and lots of blood work to no avail.   Emotional years coupled with the family loss and our own aging issues.   The cost has been extreme to say the least.  Finally,after a personal friend gave me information that it might be in her line and came from a parent.  I called the vet and he tested her for Addison's disease with the ACTH test.   Yes, we discovered that she has Addison's disease.  Five years of struggling and not knowing what to do.  When we have people over...she got sick, if we left....she got sicker....stress aggravates Addison's disease.  Now we understand so much more.  I tried to call the breeder and owner of the sire to no avail.   I felt that the breeders needed to be made aware of this.  No call back.  Hope her other sisters or brothers don't have this.    We love our Molly so much and it has really taken a toll on her and us emotionally and financially.  She got her first shot this week, and she is also on daily prednisone until she goes in for her monthly blood work and the vet determines the proper dosage of everything.    Glad we finally discovered the reason for Molly's problems.  I hope no one has to go through this.  Left untreated a dog this is a life threatening disease and shortens their life span.  Also, dog breeders need to be made aware and thus prevent future breeding of dogs that carry this negative gene.  

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

So sorry to hear of her diagnosis, but glad to know that you now know what is wrong and are able to treat it to hopefully make her feel better.  There are several folks here with Addison's Doodles that are doing very well so there is lots of hope that things should improve now.   You might want to check out the Health and Medical group to see if there is an Addison's group or I'm sure there must be at least some discussions on it.  Best Wishes in getting everything regulated and hopefully on to a easier life for you both.  Merry Christmas and here is hoping that 2014 is the beginning of a much better year for you both.

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

Thank you!!! Merry Christmas from your Tx friends.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

So sorry you lost your Dad and best friend and have had so many issues with Molly's bad health. But, I am happy that you have got a proper diagnosis of her disease and can now hopefully manage it ensuring a much better quality of life for her. I believe there are several doodle owners here whose doodles have Addisons and you will hopefully network with some of them whose experiences with this difficult diagnosis should be of help to you. I agree that Breeders ought to be more aware of diseases that their breeding dogs are carrying and am dealing with an issue with one on this subject right now.  Some breeders say all the right things but don't follow through. On the other hand there are some wonderful breeders out there, finding them takes a huge amount of diligent detective work. I urge anyone reading this to use the guidelines here on 'what to look for in a breeder' as a starting point, though I have to say that even with all due diligence sometimes something slips through the net. I wish you a very Happy Christmas and hope that 2014 brings happiness and good health to you and Molly.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Rae has a knowledge about Addison's.  She has volunteered as someone that can be reached out to on our Health Group as someone has special knowledge.  Hope that with this diagnosis and treatment Molly starts feeling better.

 

Rae's profile:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/Rae

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry you and Molly are going through this, Lizette. Addison's Disease is common in Standard Poodles, and I know of several doodles who have it. There is a terrific on-line resource and support group for owners of dogs with Addison's Disease that has been very helpful for several people I know; here's the link: http://www.addisondogs.com/

One of the best things about the support groups is that you often get information on less expensive sources for meds. I did with my IBD Dogs support group. 

I hope 2014 will be a much better year for you and Molly! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am so sorry to hear of all your losses and troubles. I am glad that Molly has been finally diagnosed, which should make life better for all of you. Too bad the breeder and owner of the sire have been so unresponsive. Maybe you need to remind them that a call back is easier than having to deal with negative reviews on the internet. Good luck with Molly.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

I'm glad you found the reason for Molly's troubles and constant illness, it is so hard when our babies are not feeling well and we don't know what to do for them. My condolences to you on the loss of your father.  I'm sure this has been a hard year for you and my prayers are with you!   Big hugs to you and Molly! 

[BG and Gavin]

I am sorry for Molly and your struggles these past years.  It must be a bit of a relief to have a treatment plan established.  You will get lots of support from us as you go through this and Karen has given you some great information about ways to source more economical medication.  I am glad you reached out.  Wishing you good fortune moving forward. 

[Rochelle Woods]

Lizette, I am so glad that another breeder emailed to let me know of your post here.  I don't frequent Doodle Kisses, so I never would have seen this otherwise.   I just checked all my email spam folders and don't have any emails from you about Molly since December 2011.  I was concerned that maybe I missed an email you'd tried to send about her and this situation.  I did email you through Doodle Kisses earlier today, so hopefully you get that.  Please let me know here, if you do not.

I'm very sad to hear about Molly's diagnosis.  It will be the first direct puppy from us that has ever been diagnosed with this.  When you purchased Molly, Addisons wasn't even a health issue on the radar for most doodle breeders, and even if it had been there is no genetic test to determine if a dog carries it.  The only way to determine if Addisons exists in a line is for a dog to be diagnosed with it, and now that it is definitively diagnosed for Molly we have that information.  Not a great way to find out though, but important information to know.  

I still have all the vet records on file that you sent me in 2011 when your vet diagnosed Molly with an inflammatory GI condition.  I would love to have the current vet report as well as Addisons is something that breeders are now following closely since it has become evident it is an issue in certain lines.  We've even had one of the main researchers on Addisons attend an annual conference to spend an entire day discussing Addisons with us.  Any information is helpful and much appreciated!

My email address is the same as you have emailed before.  If you do not still have that, please let me know.  I'm grateful that Molly has you to love her and care for her, and so grateful that an answer has been found so she can be taken care of and hopefully improve greatly now.  FYI, I had a dog come from another breeder myself that was just diagnosed with Addisons this last year, and she is doing wonderfully on meds now that we know the issue.  She is obviously no longer a breeding girl to say the least!  Also, the line that Molly is from is not one that I've had or bred with for several years now, and I'm thankful for that now that we know of Molly's issue.  It appears it was a blessing in disguise when we spayed her mother and decided to not continue working with goldendoodles any longer and only focus on labradoodles.  

Again, please email me at my normal email address as I do not frequent Doodle Kisses.  

[Rochelle Woods]

Also, just got off the phone with the owner of the sire to Molly's litter, and she said she spoke at length with you about Molly and her diagnosis.  When she tried to get the records from the vet per her conversation with you, she was told that the owner didn't want them released to anyone.  Just wanted to let you know so you could either get the records to both she and I directly, or make sure the clinic knows you were willing for us to have copies of her Addisons diagnosis results.  I'm assuming the clinic hadn't heard yet that you were going to send those.  : )  Thank you!  

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

As soon as my vet gets everything recorded....we will have information available for breeders.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great to ear your feedback!