Addison's !!

[WendyW]

My puppy given some blood tests to try to explain her extreme drinking and urinating (thought it might be diabetes) and when they came back the vet said her electrolytes were messed up specifically sodium and potassium and said it was possible that she might have Addison's. The other possibility was whipworms. I do not believe she has whipworms as I have in the (long) past had dogs with whipworms and I do not see the same symptoms with her. However, they are going to deworm her first to rule that out. I asked if there was any other possible diagnosis and the vet said no. Has anyone had any experience with this? If the deworming does not help I plan to seek a second opinion.

[Denise Wall]

How old is your puppy?

[WendyW]

only six months...

[Denise Wall]

There's a condition called diabetes insipidus where this can occur also. And sometimes it merely becomes a habit a dog gets into. Excessive water drinking can influence electrolyte values.

 

Other common symptoms of Addison's would be weakness, poor appetite, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhea, fainting, and confusion.

 

Your dog is a little young for it but it's not impossible that she has it. If more evidence of Addison's occurs in this dog, a test called the ACTH stimulation test can be performed to help rule out this disease. It's not very involved but may be pricey. A blood sample is drawn to check baseline cortisol levels. Then a shot of ACTH (which stimulates the adrenal gland to produce more cortisol) is given. An hour later, another blood sample is drawn to measure the cortisol increase from the stimulation of the adrenal gland by the ACTH. If the adrenal gland does not respond well enough, the diagnosis is made for Addison's.

[WendyW]

Yes we thought she had the diabetes insipidus. We are still going to be testing for that as well. Her blood sugar levels were normal as were all liver functions and kidney functions. The only abnormal was the electrolytes. She does not have any of those symptoms that you mention though when I was reading about it they saw those symptoms occur during an "episode." I read it is possible to have Addison's for a bit before there is an actual episode.

 

I hope she does not have Addison's. Also, I truly hope she does not have diabetes insipidus either!! But I think its probably likely that she does have one of these conditions, just based on her electrolyte readings and the extreme thirst/frequent urination thing.

[aljones]

Hi, Wendy. I feel for you, on this path of testing and wondering and worrying. I went through it a couple of years back with my dog, Johnson. Eventually, he was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, although he is far from a textbook case, with lots of contradictory and confusing stuff going on. But we can manage his symptoms and he has a good quality of life now, so we're grateful.

 

Yes we thought she had the diabetes insipidus. We are still going to be testing for that as well.

What testing are you planning for DI? I ask because there's a lot of controversy surrounding the water deprivation test. If you're interested in another DI resource, I can look up the Yahoo! group address so you can join a bunch of us with DI dogs there.

[WendyW]

The doctor did suggest the water deprivation test and I did not like the sound of it. I do not wish to dehydrate my dog to the point of losing body weight. As a compromise the vet suggested that we take a urine sample as soon as we get home from work after she's been in her crate. (we crate her on days she doesn't go to doggy daycare). That way she will have been deprived of water for approximately eight hours and we can see if there is any concentration. Hopefully that will give some answer. I would definitely like to hear any alternatives for the water deprivation test should this plan be inconclusive. Plus, I would very much like to talk about her symptoms and see what other people with DI dogs think. you can pm me the yahoo group if you'd rather not post it or email me at:

 

wendy_w1107@yahoo.com

 

I really appreciate this!!

[SecretBC]

Luke has Addison's disease. He was diagnosed this past October. We'd just been down to TN for NADAC Championships two weeks prior, where he ran great for five days. He was acting depressed that weekend (two weeks after Champs...), but I attributed it to being on leash restriction for an old lameness that had popped up (probably related to the Addison's, come to find out).

 

He didn't want dinner Sunday night, or breakfast Monday morning. He was shaking and having problems walking & getting onto the bed & into the car -- so he went into the vet that morning.

 

Long story short, he went in just in time -- Had I even waited until the afternoon, he would have gone into full Addisonian crash.

 

Initial results were high calcium and renal failure. Not good. Not good at all.... Those levels returned to normal after 24 hours of fluid therapy -- that's when we saw the high potassium/low sodium. Thankfully my vet is experience with Addison's Disease -- many aren't. He ran the ACTH stim test and we had the results Thursday morning -- Positive. Luke got the Percorten V shot and was feeling better by that evening. He came home on Friday.

 

Long story short, there are many things that are worse than an Addison's diagnosis. A-dogs can lead full and productive lives. Luke returned to agility less than a month after he was diagnosed -- He started running full trials within two months. It's a very easily managed disease, and you will form a great relationship with your vet from all the time you spend there.

 

If Addison's is suspected, you MUST do the ACTH test. There is no other way to be sure. Once you do the stim test, you will know your answer. If it's not Addison's, it's time to move on to other ideas. If it is Addison's, you simply start treatment and your dog will be fine.

 

I belong to a great group on Yahoo -- http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AddisonDogs_/ -- I invite you to join if you have any questions. They were a huge help to me in the beginning. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have as well.

 

We have someone on the list who's 3 month old puppy was diagnosed with Addison's. It's not common in puppies, but it is possible.

[aljones]

It sounds like you've got a good plan in place. I remember doing the ACTH stim test for Johnson as we were trying to figure out what was happening with him. Since we eliminated Addison's as a diagnosis, though, I think all the information I learned about it fled my brain immediately. I'm glad to hear of others' positive experiences treating it, though.

 

Most people I know who are considering a DI diagnosis skip the water dep test and do a trial of DDAVP instead. If you want more info about DDAVP, I'd be happy to share our experiences treating Johnson with the pill version. Many people in the DI dogs group use injections instead, for several reasons.

 

Here is the link to that Yahoo! group: I cannot remember if you can read the archives before joining or not (and membership requires approval from the admin). But if you rule out Addison's and DI is still on the table, I think this group would be a good next stop. It's been kind of slow lately, but a core of people are usually pretty good about responding to questions.

 

DI Dogs Group

 

And, of course, feel free to contact me anytime--I'm certainly no DI expert, but I've had opportunities to learn quite a bit over the last few years.

[Sue R]

Wendy - I sure hope you are able to get a correct diagnosis and deal with this worrisome issue.

 

Very best wishes for both of you!

[WendyW]

Thank you for all the help everyone!! I appreciate the support group information. I got a copy of the blood work. Her potassium was really high and sodium was high too. So was Anion Gap and Bicarbonate was low. I am not sure now that Addison's is the correct diagnosis because I read that usually potassium is high and sodium is LOW. I'm going to take her to a different vet to get a second opinion of the blood work and then probably also check blood again to make sure there were no mistakes. I'm turning in a urine and fecal sample when I go to the vet. We'll see what the other vet has to say. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for all the support. It is greatly appreciated.

[SecretBC]

You are correct -- Our Addison dogs typically present with high potassium and low sodium -- Sometimes the sodium does funky things, but usually the issue is that it is difficult to bring it up, even when medicated. Those dogs, like mine, get salt added to their meals.

 

Hope you find out the issue quickly and get it resolved!