Florinef, Prednisone and Percorten side effects
Posted: July 31, 2009 Filed under: Treatment 35 Comments »Our Addison’s dog, Shakti had been on her Addison’s meds for about six months when her hair started falling out. We since found out that it was most probably due to too much prednisone. This article lists Percorten side effects, Florinef side effects and prednisone side effects. If your pet is experiencing any of these side effects, the dosage or interval of the drugs may need to be reduced.
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How to Get Cheaper Treatment for Canine Addison’s Disease
Posted: July 29, 2009 Filed under: Treatment 44 Comments »If your dog has canine Addison’s disease, you might experience sticker shock at the veterinary office. A month’s supply of replacement hormones for our Addison’s dog, Shakti, cost $80 per month. In this article, I’ll discuss how to reduce the costs of treatment, or even get it for free!
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Do Vaccinations Cause Addison’s Disease in Dogs?
Posted: July 25, 2009 Filed under: Causes 8 Comments »Most of us visit the veterinarian once a year for vaccinations. I never gave this annual event a second thought until my border collie, Shakti, developed Addison’s disease. I have since discovered that additives to vaccines (adjuvants) are thought to cause immune disorders in dogs (including Addison’s disease in dogs), so I’ll be foregoing her usual annual shots.
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Causes of Canine Addison’s Disease
Posted: July 25, 2009 Filed under: Causes 11 Comments »Canine Addison’s disease causes aren’t exactly known but there are several suspects, including a faulty immune system, vaccinations, and tumors:
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Canine Addison’s Disease Treatment Options
Posted: July 24, 2009 Filed under: Treatment 2 Comments »Canine Addison’s disease treatment in dogs consist of two stages. If your dog is in Addisonian Crisis, your vet will want to, at a minimum, start your pet in IV fluids to get the electrolyte levels back to normal. You can read about Addisonian crisis and therapy in this article. The second step of treatment is maintenance therapy, which involves supplementing the missing hormones for the rest of your pet’s life. There is no one universal “fix” for Addison’s disease: dogs will need to be closely monitored to reach optimal health levels.
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Addison Dogs: What is an ACTH test?
Posted: July 22, 2009 Filed under: Tests 3 Comments »
There is only one way to give a firm diagnosis of Addison’s disease in Addison dogs, and that is to perform an adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation (ACTH) test.
The ACTH test for Addison dogs involves several steps:
- A blood test is taken to determine the cortisol levels
- An injection of ACTH is given.
- An hour or two later, another blood test is taken and cortisol levels are measured.
When an ACTH injection is given, a normal animal will produce cortisol in response to the ACTH injection. Addison dogs will not produce cortisol.
The ACTH stimulation test is the gold standard to diagnose Addison’s disease—without the test, your pet will not have a confirmed diagnosis.
What is an Addisonian Crisis in Addison dogs?
Posted: July 22, 2009 Filed under: Symptoms 4 Comments »An Addisonian crisis in Addison dogs is a medical emergency. Symptoms can be vague and mimic gastrointestinal disorders, acute renal failure, liver disease, insulinoma, hypothyroidism or hypoglycemia. Here are the symptoms that generally indicate Addison’s crisis in most cases:
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Canine Addison’s Disease Symptoms
Posted: July 22, 2009 Filed under: Symptoms 23 Comments »Canine Addison’s disease symptoms can be so nonspecific that they are commonly misdiagnosed (even by veterinarians!) for other diseases. That’s why it’s so important to take your dog to the vet when they are ill–something as simple as an upset stomach could be something much more serious.
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What is Canine Addison’s Disease?
Posted: July 21, 2009 Filed under: General 4 Comments »In 1849, Thomas Addison wrote about a then-untreatable adrenal gland dysfunction in humans that had no name. A century later, in 1953, the first case of canine Addison’s disease in dogs was recorded. Also known as hypoadrenocorticism, adrenal insufficiency, or hypocortisolism. Addison’s disease is fatal if left untreated.
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Our Addisons Dog, Shakti
Posted: July 16, 2009 Filed under: General 3 Comments »We welcomed our wonderful dog, Shakti into our family in January 2007. She was very young–about a year old–and had been left for dead at a veterinarian by her previous owners. One day, a year and a half after she came to live with us, Shakti started acting lethargic. One day later, she was in shock, with multiple organs failing.
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