Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Razzie's bloodwork showed elevated Potassium and decreased Sodium. Vet thinks he may have Addison's. He wants me to bring him in for a steroid shot tomorrow and on Monday we are having the ACTH Stimulation test. The vet is surprised that Raz is not showing lethargy, excessive thirst or urination, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geostar Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Oh dear..I hope not! Prayers and good thoughts are coming your way.. -star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamngrey Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Prayers Quote Cassie: Pikes Clara Bell Swoop: My Man Swoop BRIDGE ANGELS Psi:WD'S Aleford 3/17/00-4/25/10 Snowman: Gable Snowman 1/9/96-2/14/08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 when my late scottie had addison's the first signs were lethuragy. we had gone camping for over a week and he just seemed tired after and wasn't springing back. then he stopped eating! what a scottie not eat? then followed by not drinking. he responeded to the chemical test as if someone turned on a switch and he came alive. lived for another 10 years! we tried the precorten shots but found that pred/florineff/salt combo worked much better and i could regulate it according to his needs. the meds(if you use flornieff) are much cheaper if you can get them from canada. just watch out for extremes in weather, and it took a bit of time for me to get used to his needs(extra water, extra trips outside to pee)and a climate controlled environment- no more camping- ac at the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 JJNG suggested ruling out whipworms so I am taking a stool sample with me today. Does anyone know if the ACTH stimulation is absolutely definitive? I mean if Raz shows no production of cortical steroids that would seem to mean he does have Addison's, right? In reverse, if he does produce the steroids does it totally rule Addison's out? I am glad that this disease seems to be controllable with meds, but I keep going back to the lack of symptoms. And the fact that Raz keeps eating dirt makes me wonder now about parasites. Maybe I am grasping at straws!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geostar Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I'm sorry your Scottie had that disease! I know a greyhound owner whose grey does have it. Her grey has had side effects to the monthly injections and the poor dog has been close to death twice. It's been hard on my friend. Prayers are still coming for Razzie and you.. -star Oh no..you are not grasping for straws...just hoping that it isn't Addisons! All of us would wonder. But, eating dirt? That is strange. According to what I've learned about Addisons is that it is very hard to diagnose. Why? I don't know. So many diseases do mimic each other. You are in our thoughts.. -star Oh no..you are not grasping for straws...just hoping that it isn't Addisons! All of us would wonder. But, eating dirt? That is strange. According to what I've learned about Addisons is that it is very hard to diagnose. Why? I don't know. So many diseases do mimic each other. You are in our thoughts.. -star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker914 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 The ACTH stim test will be definitive. And it definitely wouldn't be a bad idea to run the fecal first to check for whipworms before the ACTH stim. Good luck, hoping for the best for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Lab called and said fecal test is negative. I scheduled the ACTH stim test for Monday. He is just so completely normal today. Not freezing/head lowering. Hasn't been near the water bowl. Normal yellow urine (easy to see as it snowed overnight)! Regular good appetite. Normal bowels. No more lazy lying around than a regular grey, lol! I'm not sure what to wish for at this point. If the test is positive: no cure and serious disease. If test is negative: we will probably have to go on to neurological tests and could be even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mychip1 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Continued good thoughts...... Quote Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the BridgeThe WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker914 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Did he get the steroid shot already? If so, he could be feeling better from that if he does in fact have Addisons. It wouldn't be the greatest diagnosis, but it can be managed and dogs can have a wonderful quality of life once on medications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Have they ruled out anything neurological like focal seizures? That was the first thing I thought of because his recovery is quick and he seems normal other wise. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I'm sorry your Scottie had that disease! I know a greyhound owner whose grey does have it. Her grey has had side effects to the monthly injections and the poor dog has been close to death twice. It's been hard on my friend. Prayers are still coming for Razzie and you.. -star -star please to mention to your friend that controlling it w/ tablets- florineff/preds is much easier. i thought i would going to loose velcro the 2nd month i tried the precorten(shots) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Have they ruled out anything neurological like focal seizures? That was the first thing I thought of because his recovery is quick and he seems normal other wise. The vet didn't find anything obvious on first exam. He said he was going to run blood panels etc just in case but he wasn't expecting anything. He had already mentioned PVSEC, a specialist's clinic closer to Pittsburgh, to us for Raz to see a neuro-vet. Then he got the whacked out bloodwork results: high Potassium/low Sodium, and we are going to have the ACTH stim test Mon. So I guess we just will go from there, depending on whsat that test shows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geostar Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Cleptogrey..thank you for your recommendation of those pills vis the injection. I'll let her know.. -star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Vet's office does not have enough of the hormone stimulting drug for his weight (90#). Rescheduled ACTH stim for Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Argh! Though the problem isn't uncommon & is understandable. It happened to me with a dog of comparable size. It isn't a cheap product & some vets rarely have need for it. As a result I think most vets only have it in minimal supply. Hang in there till then. It's hard not to know. Waiting for answers is absolutely not something I am good at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Vet's office does not have enough of the hormone stimulting drug for his weight (90#). Rescheduled ACTH stim for Friday. It's not uncommon for your vet to have to order the cortrosyn ahead of time-- it's crazy expensive to sit on the shelf until needed. The receptionist that booked your appointment should have checked availability before scheduling you. Friday will come soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geostar Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Cleptogrey.. I told me friend about the alternative.. What is the cost? Is it higher than the injection? Lower? Please let me know.. yours, -star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 When I was scheduling for today, the receptionist called a tech in the back and asked if they had cortrosyn and the tech said they did. The problem was that the amount they had wasn't sufficient. I guess it was a breakdown in communication: the receptionist should have said/ or the tech should have asked, the size of the dog. I took the day off work and wanted to be mad but what good would that do? Friday I am scheduled off so that's when we go back. I did get a chance to chat with the vet for a moment. He said if it is Addison's they would treat by injections. Please feel free to sound in if you have info on this. Cleptogrey has suggested that pills are a better way to go. I would like to have some info before I go back on Friday, especially if the shots are not the best modality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geostar Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Oh no, not your grey, too! Keep us posted.. Prayers coming your way.. -star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 as to the cost of flornieff vs precortin(shots) ....mmmm...check out florineff online in canada,that's where i ended up getting it. the flornief-salt-predinsone combination were really easy to regulate even though you need to dose your dog 2xs a day. i tried the precortin shots for 2 months, each month he lasted max around 25 days max before he showed any sypmtoms,(and he looked like he wouldn't make it to the next injection). with the oral drugs he was consistant, led a normal life and just ate salty pretzles as treats and when stressed if we were camping- salt and a sip of gatoraid did the trick. once i started getting the drugs from canada the cost was significantly lower. btw- the combo of drugs is the "old fashioned way" but sometimes it works. my dog was 25#- i beleive he took a tad more in the morning,but it was a total of 1/2 pred , 2.5 florineff daily or something close to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9fun Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I had a non-greyhound that was dx with Addisons when he was 5 and he lived to 12. He was was near death when a very wise vet decided to do the ACTH stimulation test. It was miraculous how he bounced back with just one injection of Percorten-v. Just prior to that we were told he had kidney failure and would be gone within days. Needless to say we were so thankful that the dx was Addisons and manageable with monthly injections thereafter. I know of many people that have done Florinef or Percorten both are successful. Did you know that JFK had Addisons? Percorten was developed for him but Florinef was a better match for him. Years later when they were going to discontinue it there was a huge outcry from the veterinary community, turns out they had no idea the extent to which it was being used to treat dogs. One thing we found so helpful was this discussion board on Yahoo http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/k9Addisons/files/ all kinds of people and dogs dealing with the disease and lots of opportunity to share and learn from others who have common experiences. UC Davis uses the list for research. When my guy was dx with Addisons it was not widely known and Percorten had not yet been approved for veterinary use. We were part of the trials. Good luck with your tests, I hope that you get the answers you seek and if it turns out to be Addisons understand that there is indeed hope for a full and happy life. Quote The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. Living a GREYT life at the Hound Hacienda - Clarkdale, Arizona Always missing our angel hounds; Parker, Lacey, Bella, Figgy, Macho, Aspen, Kingman and Tillie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeForHounds Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We are waiting right now for Peanut's results of her ACTH test done last night. She's home with us, but in really bad shape as we desperately try to figure out what's going on. Dr Couto said her bloodwork is consistent weith Addison's. In Peanut's case we also have the complication of whole blood loss possibly from her GI tract which can again be seen in Addison's. Waiting sucks! Quote Casual Bling & Hope for HoundsJanet & the hounds Maggie and Allen Missing my baby girl Peanut, old soul Jake, quirky Jet, Mama Grandy and my old Diva Miz Foxy; my angel, my inspiration. You all brought so much into my light, and taught me so much about the power of love, you are with me always.If you get the chance to sit it out or dance.......... I hope you dance! Missing our littlest girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzgreytfun Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 foxysmom: I was just reading your posts about Peanut! It is scary how quickly some of this stuff seems to come about! I am following along and will be interested to see what the results of her ACTH-stim test are. We are having to delay Raz's testing until next Friday. You are so right. Waiting sucks!!! k9fun: Thanks for the link. I think that will be of great value if the test shows it definitely is Addison's! The vet is advocating the percorten shots but we really havent sat down and discussed treatment (esp since we really don't have the dx yet!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeForHounds Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We are hoping to have Peanut's test back this evening. I'm dropping off some samples and picking up some pred in the meantime. I'll come back and fill you in. Quote Casual Bling & Hope for HoundsJanet & the hounds Maggie and Allen Missing my baby girl Peanut, old soul Jake, quirky Jet, Mama Grandy and my old Diva Miz Foxy; my angel, my inspiration. You all brought so much into my light, and taught me so much about the power of love, you are with me always.If you get the chance to sit it out or dance.......... I hope you dance! Missing our littlest girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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