Jack Has Addison's Disease

[JETTATHEROTTY]

Hi, My 1.7yr old female Rotty was diagnosed with Addisons Disease on 17/2/09. Jetta hit crisis and thanks to Vets at Newcastle Animal Hospital and Lakes Vetinary who nursed her back to health. She crashed quite quickly which was very upsetting for all involved as she has always seemed healthy and active, and young. Her past 2 blood tests have shown her electrolytes to be at normal levels again, which is a relief, she is currently taking 3 Cortate and 3 Florinex morning and night and takes the medication with no problems. What I am concerned about is her pooh seems to be a bit sloppy. Could this be her still adjusting to meds, her diet is routinely Science Diet dry food - her next blood test will be in 3 months time... any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Jettas Mum woofAddisons Disease

[Mooper]

Hi Jettas Mum. I'm sorry to hear that your young rotty has been struck by this disease. Those Newy vets sound great

Best to give the vet a call and ask about bowel movements. Jack's haven't been sloppy, but he's been on a raw diet for ages. The only time he does sloppy poos is when he gets into the bag of blood 'n' bone that I have for the garden ... :shakehead:

Jack went back for his 1-month checkup yesterday and got the all-clear :p All levels are looking good, so he's down to a single Cortate each day, still with 3 Florinex morning and night until next month's urinalysis. They said a blood test shouldn't be necessary next time unless we notice any change in him.

I hope you get some answers for Jetta soon and that her levels stay good.

[BittyMooPeeb]

Oh Moops I didn't see this thread first time around. Sorry to hear about Jack, but fantastic news that he is responding to medication :p .

Give him a big hug for me, and tell him that he can wee on me and my Maltese any time :wink:

[Loraine]

Great news Mooper that Jack's in the pink again and his disease is under control. Takes your worry monitor down a notch when the meds do show an improvement in the condition

[kellysapwell]

Hi there

My poodle Kelly (9 years old)has just today been diaganosed with Addisons (underactive adrenal glands). She has not been well for approx 12 months, and in that time we have had her on drips and all sorts a number of times, and this time we even thought we were going to have to put her down. Finally after another set of blood tests the vet did the ACTH test and we finally know that Kelly has addisons. Kelly has been put on 0.5mg florinef and 0.5mg delta cortef tabs both of these taken twice daily. I can already see a change in her. Jack seems to be on a very high dosage?. Kelly is already a lot happier. She was depressed, off her food and water, and did not even want to walk to the end of the street with me.

Please keep in touch and let me know how Jack is doing. I'm sure we will see our old dogs back again very soon.

Deb S

My 9yo ACD x has just been diagnosed with primary Addison's disease (underactive adrenal glands).

Please don't feel silly if your dog seems 'depressed' -- go to the vet, as we did. The vet said Jack may have had heart failure by now if we hadn't acted so quickly.

His symptoms were pretty tough to pinpoint, but the first thing I noticed was that he tired quickly on even the shortest walks. Then he got hotspots for the first time ever. Followed by extreme thirst, then lethargy, then fussiness with food. Jack is not a dog who has ever been a fussy eater :D When he wouldn't even touch his morning bones or his evening BARF, hubby took him to the vet.

Apparently a dog's sodium:potassium ratio should not fall below 25 -- Jack's was at 17. Nearly crisis point.

He perked up last night at the vet's, and ate some tinned food that they offered him. He was on a saline drip overnight and was pretty much back to his usual self this morning, charming all of the staff

He's certainly much happier tonight, and just came running as I got his BARF from the freezer. I've been told to avoid the morning bones for a while and just give him BARF twice a day. His kidneys aren't processing protein properly, which the vet believes is linked with the Addison's symptoms.

Jack's blood tests came back with no signs of his mast-cell tumour from October 2007 having returned Cancer was our first thought when we found it yesterday that the vet suspected Addison's, which was confirmed this afternoon. But, so far, it seems the cancer hasn't returned (phew!).

Jack is on 6 Florinef pills a day (3 in the morning, 3 at night) and two Cortate (one each, morning and night) until his next blood test in mid-March. At that time, the vet expects we can re-introduce bones but we'll see. He also expect the Cortate dosage to drop to 1 tablet every second day. Again, we'll wait and see how Jack responds to this medication regime before looking too far ahead.

I've read some other threads here of people with dogs who have lived a full life on medication after diagnosis, so we're feeling positive. So thank you to those who have shared their dog's stories

[Mooper]

Hi Deb, and welcome to Dogzonline.

I'm sorry to hear that Kelly has Addison's, but pleased that you finally have a diagnosis and you're seeing positive changes already.

I think Jack's florinef tablets are 0.1mg each, so he's on 0.6mg per day (three tabs in the morning and three in the evening). The cortate tabs are 5mg each, I believe, and he's down to one per day.

The vet said this is pretty normal for a 30kg dog Whatever the case, he's doing really well on it and that's what matters to us.

Even better, he's getting used to taking the pills. He used to fight if I tried to drop them down the back of his throat and hold his muzzle until he swallowed, so I was giving him the tablets in low-fat cheese and such. Now he takes the pills without complaint!

Hi there

My poodle Kelly (9 years old)has just today been diaganosed with Addisons (underactive adrenal glands). She has not been well for approx 12 months, and in that time we have had her on drips and all sorts a number of times, and this time we even thought we were going to have to put her down. Finally after another set of blood tests the vet did the ACTH test and we finally know that Kelly has addisons. Kelly has been put on 0.5mg florinef and 0.5mg delta cortef tabs both of these taken twice daily. I can already see a change in her. Jack seems to be on a very high dosage?. Kelly is already a lot happier. She was depressed, off her food and water, and did not even want to walk to the end of the street with me.

Please keep in touch and let me know how Jack is doing. I'm sure we will see our old dogs back again very soon.

Deb S

[kellysapwell]

Hi Mooper

Thanks for your message.

Sorry I did not notice the 30kg weight of Jack !. Kelly is only 10.7kg, so she is on a lower dose of course . Yes Kelly takes the pills no problem in cheese now which is great. She can be very stubborn when she wants to be and has been known to eat the food and hold the pill in her mouth until she thinks I'm not looking then spitting it out !.

Take care

Deb & Kelly

Hi Deb, and welcome to Dogzonline.

I'm sorry to hear that Kelly has Addison's, but pleased that you finally have a diagnosis and you're seeing positive changes already.

I think Jack's florinef tablets are 0.1mg each, so he's on 0.6mg per day (three tabs in the morning and three in the evening). The cortate tabs are 5mg each, I believe, and he's down to one per day.

The vet said this is pretty normal for a 30kg dog Whatever the case, he's doing really well on it and that's what matters to us.

Even better, he's getting used to taking the pills. He used to fight if I tried to drop them down the back of his throat and hold his muzzle until he swallowed, so I was giving him the tablets in low-fat cheese and such. Now he takes the pills without complaint!

Hi there

My poodle Kelly (9 years old)has just today been diaganosed with Addisons (underactive adrenal glands). She has not been well for approx 12 months, and in that time we have had her on drips and all sorts a number of times, and this time we even thought we were going to have to put her down. Finally after another set of blood tests the vet did the ACTH test and we finally know that Kelly has addisons. Kelly has been put on 0.5mg florinef and 0.5mg delta cortef tabs both of these taken twice daily. I can already see a change in her. Jack seems to be on a very high dosage?. Kelly is already a lot happier. She was depressed, off her food and water, and did not even want to walk to the end of the street with me.

Please keep in touch and let me know how Jack is doing. I'm sure we will see our old dogs back again very soon.

Deb S :p

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Mel, I've only just spotted this thread...sending hugs your way!

Jack, stop scaring your mum and dad...keep on keeping on.

Ruby has to go back to the vet as her allergies keep spiking despite the medication. We suspect something else is going on, but no idea what. She's suffering hair loss again in the pattern which occurred when she had mange all those years ago.

They worry us...don't they?