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Vet doesn't know what is wrong!
Hi, my 11 year old cross breed has over the last two weeks gone from a very energetic happy dog to one at deaths door. He has stopped eating unless force fed (baby/blended food only via syringe), drinks very little and is lethargic....weight loss is terrible.
He has been to the vet who checked him for liver/kidneys, then a heart murmur, then electrolytes, and it appears he has a rare disease called Addisons Disease, and it is A Typical....low sodium, low potassium.
He is getting his daily dose 7.5mg of Medrol and for the first few days it helped and there was a remarkable change, but he has since nose-dived worse than he was before.
Has anyone had any experience or knowledge of additional remedies to at least tempt him to eat.
Going back to the vets tomorrow, but she has said that if he didn't respond well to the drugs, there was little else she could do.
Many Thanks
Doug
He has been to the vet who checked him for liver/kidneys, then a heart murmur, then electrolytes, and it appears he has a rare disease called Addisons Disease, and it is A Typical....low sodium, low potassium.
He is getting his daily dose 7.5mg of Medrol and for the first few days it helped and there was a remarkable change, but he has since nose-dived worse than he was before.
Has anyone had any experience or knowledge of additional remedies to at least tempt him to eat.
Going back to the vets tomorrow, but she has said that if he didn't respond well to the drugs, there was little else she could do.
Many Thanks
Doug
Hi Doug. I am so very sorry to hear about Jack. You did everything you possibly could and for all the right reasons. Jack has certainly help me learn more about Addisons, which I hope I can pass on to others over time. My sincere condolences. If you want or need support or just want to talk about Jack and the wonderful life he enjoyed with you, please come back here. There are always good people on here more than happy to talk about and listen to others wanting to talk about loved ones that have passed. Tony
Doug, I am SO sorry to hear about Jack! My most sincere condolences to you and your family.
Ghilly
Ghilly
Thanks Ghilly for your information, unfortunately it has come a little too late.
My beloved Jack passed away on Tuesday night after going into shock which I understand is a common cause of death in Addisons.
What I was not aware of, and what had not been communicated in any way from the vet was the element of stress being at the center of the disease.
Unfortunately I have been force feeding him due to his reluctance to eat, and as such, each feed was becoming more stress. I continued as I felt him getting food was the most important thing behind his meds.
Had I know stress would cause greater harm I would have insisted on intravenous fluids and nutrients rather than trying to force feed him.
No one to blame, but I would certainly have dealt with the situation different had I known.
Thanks anyway.
Doug
My beloved Jack passed away on Tuesday night after going into shock which I understand is a common cause of death in Addisons.
What I was not aware of, and what had not been communicated in any way from the vet was the element of stress being at the center of the disease.
Unfortunately I have been force feeding him due to his reluctance to eat, and as such, each feed was becoming more stress. I continued as I felt him getting food was the most important thing behind his meds.
Had I know stress would cause greater harm I would have insisted on intravenous fluids and nutrients rather than trying to force feed him.
No one to blame, but I would certainly have dealt with the situation different had I known.
Thanks anyway.
Doug
Addison's Disease is the opposite of Cushing's Disease. Cushing's Disease is also known as hyperadrenocorticism, or an overproduction of cortisol , while Addison's Disease is known as HYPOadrenocorticism, wherein the body doesn't produce enough cortisol.
The symptoms of Addison's Disease are stress mediated, meaning that stress causes a worsening of the symptoms. What is stressful to a dog depends on the individual dog. Some don't stress over much of anything while others stress over the slightest deviation in their daily routine.
You said that your vet has diagnosed this Addison's Disease as being atypical. Typically, Addison's Disease causes low blood sodium and high blood potassium. Your dog's case is atypical in that he has low blood sodium and LOW blood potassium. The high blood potassium that normally comes with Addison's disease can be extremely dangerous because it can result in a disruption of the heart's rhythm. Hopefully, with his blood potassium being low, that's one thing that won't be a worry in this case.
Normally there are two stages of treatment for Addison's. The first stage involves hospitalization of the dog while stabilizing IV drugs are given to bring down the potassium level so that it doesn't affect the heart. In your case, this stage probably wasn't necessary since the blood potassium is low. The second stage of treatment is long-term and involves either a pill that is given on a daily basis or a shot that is given about every 3 1/2 weeks. Stress should be minimized as much as possible since the body is not producing cortisol in response to stress levels. Hormones are given to help cope during periods of known stress.
The key is going to be to make your dog's life as routine and stress-free as possible. With medication and careful stress management he can live relatively normally but you are going to have to constantly be vigilant to make sure he doesn't get thrown into an Addisonian crisis by an unanticipated stressful situation.
Ghilly
The symptoms of Addison's Disease are stress mediated, meaning that stress causes a worsening of the symptoms. What is stressful to a dog depends on the individual dog. Some don't stress over much of anything while others stress over the slightest deviation in their daily routine.
You said that your vet has diagnosed this Addison's Disease as being atypical. Typically, Addison's Disease causes low blood sodium and high blood potassium. Your dog's case is atypical in that he has low blood sodium and LOW blood potassium. The high blood potassium that normally comes with Addison's disease can be extremely dangerous because it can result in a disruption of the heart's rhythm. Hopefully, with his blood potassium being low, that's one thing that won't be a worry in this case.
Normally there are two stages of treatment for Addison's. The first stage involves hospitalization of the dog while stabilizing IV drugs are given to bring down the potassium level so that it doesn't affect the heart. In your case, this stage probably wasn't necessary since the blood potassium is low. The second stage of treatment is long-term and involves either a pill that is given on a daily basis or a shot that is given about every 3 1/2 weeks. Stress should be minimized as much as possible since the body is not producing cortisol in response to stress levels. Hormones are given to help cope during periods of known stress.
The key is going to be to make your dog's life as routine and stress-free as possible. With medication and careful stress management he can live relatively normally but you are going to have to constantly be vigilant to make sure he doesn't get thrown into an Addisonian crisis by an unanticipated stressful situation.
Ghilly
Ok, this is a long-shot as I really know very little about Addisons. Have you tried Green Tripe to tempt your dog into eating? I have never met a dog that won't eat this, even though it stinks badly and humans probably wouldn't want to go anywhere near it. It is rich in nurtitional elements and minerals, so definitely worth giving a try. You can buy this at most good pet stores, either in tinned form or in frozen blocks (which you can cut into suitable sizes and cook in the microwave for 10mins at 30 per cent setting). Try this mixed with a little boiled white rice. Add a little of the juice from the frozen blocks, which will help hydrate your dog and make the rice a little tastier.
You probably already know that rehydrating your dog is very important with Addisons, so encourage him to drink water or flavoured watered down milk. The standard treatment in the UK is with fludrocortisone acetate, which may or may not be a reccommendation via your vet. Medrol is a prednisilone varient, which on its own may not be sufficient to treat the Addisons. Talk to your vet about this as a matter of some urgency. Assuming Addisons has been correctly diagnosed (it is extraordinarily difficult sometimes as many other potential illnesses can show with much the same symptoms), a dog can regain almost normal life with the right level of treatment - though as it tends to get worse as time goes on, a bit like Type 1 Diabetes, 6 monthly blood checks are required to assess - and usually resulting in an increase - in the medication dose. The balance between potassium and sodium needs to be right, and getting to that stage can take time and a little trial and error.
It could be that your dog is going into Addisonian Crisis and if this is the case your dog needs emergency treatment. I am actually quite surprised your vet allowed your dog home having diagnosed Addisons, as continuous observation while treatment begins is almost always necessary for the first few days.
Anyway, I am by no means an expert on this complex illness, but hope my comments above prove useful. Please come back tomorrow and let us know what your vet says about his condition and ongoing treatment. Tony
You probably already know that rehydrating your dog is very important with Addisons, so encourage him to drink water or flavoured watered down milk. The standard treatment in the UK is with fludrocortisone acetate, which may or may not be a reccommendation via your vet. Medrol is a prednisilone varient, which on its own may not be sufficient to treat the Addisons. Talk to your vet about this as a matter of some urgency. Assuming Addisons has been correctly diagnosed (it is extraordinarily difficult sometimes as many other potential illnesses can show with much the same symptoms), a dog can regain almost normal life with the right level of treatment - though as it tends to get worse as time goes on, a bit like Type 1 Diabetes, 6 monthly blood checks are required to assess - and usually resulting in an increase - in the medication dose. The balance between potassium and sodium needs to be right, and getting to that stage can take time and a little trial and error.
It could be that your dog is going into Addisonian Crisis and if this is the case your dog needs emergency treatment. I am actually quite surprised your vet allowed your dog home having diagnosed Addisons, as continuous observation while treatment begins is almost always necessary for the first few days.
Anyway, I am by no means an expert on this complex illness, but hope my comments above prove useful. Please come back tomorrow and let us know what your vet says about his condition and ongoing treatment. Tony
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