Addison's Disease

[Aurea]

My 10 month old gorgeous, loving, happy pup has suspected Addison's Disease.

He's spent the last three days in intensive care in the vets refusing to eat. He's lost over 10% of his body weight already.

He is having further blood tests today to determine his diagnosis with certainty.

Luckily we have Pet Plan insurance which I hope will mostly cover his condition (£7k life time cover).

I feel so sad for him and a little robbed that our future will now be punctuated with worry. He's been such an easy pup and sweetheart and I was looking forward to adventures and many happy, healthy years together.

Can anyone give any tips on how to navigate the first few weeks after diagnosis as I feel a little lost.

🙏

If he has Addisons disease most of them bounce back pretty quickly with treatment. With the newer drug regimes most of them normal lifespans and rarely have issues.
Hopefully you will have an answer soon.

My dog has atypical addisons so a little different: Atypical addisons is when the adrenal glands make one type of hormone but not the other, whereas addisons is where they don't make either. Atypical addisons needs oral steroids every day whereas addisons needs the oral steroids and a monthly injection.

My dog has had atypical addisons for a few years and is doing really well (he's now 12). I have to give him extra steroids if he's ill or its a stressful day (eg travelling or I'm away) and there have been a couple of times when I've had to go into the vets for a steroid injection when he's got low on steroids and I've not been able to get the tablets into him (my dog feels very sick when he's low on steroids and won't take his tablets). But day to day you wouldn't know he has it, he is just like any dog but extra hungry because of the steroids. I'm pretty sure my dog thinks addisons is great because he gets a little bit of peanut butter every morning with his tablets and is well known at the vets so gets treats and fusses everytime he's in!

It takes a little while to get the right dose for the steroids at the start, and you need bloods but I'm also have lifetime with petplan and they cover it. You get to know your dogs symptoms well and I can tell when my dog is getting a little low on steroids and pre-empt that. The only thing I've found a bit difficult is who I leave my dog with if I need to go away - kennels is out because he finds that very stressful, but I have to make sure any dog sitter is OK to give medicine and I leave a list of early warning signs that he needs extra steroids.

But the vets will help you and give you lots of advice. Don't be daunted, your dog will be their normal happy self again when the steroids kick in.

Though if they are on a higher loading dose at the start, watch your dinner / bin etc as they can be ravenous!

Thank you both

He's back at the vets today on an IV again. That's four days in total this week.

He's losing so much weight I'm so worried.

We're just waiting on the results of the AD test. The lab has received the sample so hopefully we'll know more today or tomorrow.

Addisons disease seems much easier to treat in dogs and they seem to do ok with it . I have the human version which is fine once you are on the right medication and recognise when you need extra etc . I have known a couple of dogs with it and they’ve been very well and leading good lives . There are a few FB groups for dogs with Addisons where you can ask any questions and see how other people manage .

My dog lost a lot of weight before he was diagnosed and also lost his appetite. When he's low on steroids now he also won't eat. Hopefully once they've had addisons confirmed they can start him on the steroids, my dog perked up really quickly.

Thanks all for your support and advice.

We have had a confirmed diagnosis today which is a relief as we now know what we’re dealing with. He is now on treatment and appears brighter already. x

Great news

Great news @Aurea

How is your dog getting on @Aurea ?

He's recovering well now thanks. ☺️

He's not putting on any weight yet but his appetite is coming back and he's started showing some interest in toys again.

He's not been outside except for toilet breaks as we have lots of snow. He's still sleeping a lot but I am starting to relax a little now.

Excellent , hope he continues to improve .

I'm a bit late to the thread but my late female dog was diagnosed with Addison's at 2 years old. She lived until she was nearly 13 (a good age for a Basset Hound). They bounce back quick, occasionally she'd get minor Addison's symptoms if stressed but it's very very manageable. Petplan also covered all her jabs & meds as we had lifetime cover although the premiums got steep when she got old. In our case it didn't affect anything except I wouldn't put her in kennels or do anything that caused her unnecessary stress.

Thank you @Bobthepotplant 😊.

This is very reassuring. My pup is acting totally normally now he's put back on weight and is taking his meds.

That's great news! x