Walliered Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Lady is on 5mg of Pred. everyday for "maybe" Addison's. I see no change in her behavior. She is still a very slow (like a crawl) walker. For the last 2 weeks she has had very loose stools, goes from starving to not eating very much. For two days she has been panting on and off. I know all of this is vague, but think I should take her back to the vet for blood work. Could someone please tell me what to ask for? I have already told vet I wanted to take her off the Pred and she said fine. I have not yet. Have been putting pumpkin in her food and tried a couple of turkey necks. This did not help. She is 7 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boondog Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 The test for Addison's is called the ACTH stim test. What other blood work has she had? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Along with the ACTH stim test the electrolytes should be checked very carefully specifically the sodium and potassium values. Depending on what type of Addison's disease other medications may be needed such as the oral Florinef or the injectable Percorten. I would re-run a full chemistry, urinalysis and CBC--you may want to run a full tick panel too. Panting could be from the pred but, it could also mean she's anemic etc... Long short because hypothyroidism is rare in hounds but, perhaps check her thyroid--not just a T4 but, a TSH too. Very important that you run the TSH--her T4 may be suppressed (euthyroid sick) because she's not well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 The Addison's test came back "grey". Vet did not know if she had it or not, but decided on treating her with Pred. just in case. I agreed, but since there has not been any improvement in her sluggishness, I think we need to come off of it. Don't know what other blood tests she has had, but vet always says there are "just fine". That is why I want to go in with a name of a blood test. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 If her electrolytes were normal I would get her off the pred too especially because you saw no improvement using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Don't know what other blood tests she has had, but vet always says there are "just fine". That is why I want to go in with a name of a blood test. Would agree with taking her off the pred. You should then wait a while before rerunning the ACTH stim test. Can't remember how long though so you'll need to research that. Get copies of her lab work, all of it for as far back as you can. At the very least get everything from the past year. Please post at least the latest CBC, blood chem & ACTH results. Without that info it is difficult for others to make educated comments. More importantly, it is difficult for you to know what is going on. I too rely on my vet to help interpret lab work, make recommendation for further testing, make possible diagnosis & treatment. However, I am the one who knows my dogs best & I have only my own dogs to keep up with. So sometimes I can catch something or my questions to the vet can spark a conversation that leads the vet to a more accurate diagnosis. Since my written communication doesn't always come out the way I intend I want to say that none of the above is meant to be bossy or critical. It is a suggestion based on my own past experience. You would be amazed at how useful it is to plug your dog's numbers into a spreadsheet & compare current to past lab work. Good luck. I hope you can find out what's really going on. Addison's is not always easy to diagnose or rule out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 gray area for addisons? i've heard this before on greytalk. if it is addison's your dog will really respond to the treatment. my scottie came back from the dead with in one hr. of his first test treatment. i think it was a steroid then we put him on pred/salt/flornieff for the next 9.5 years. my scottie was diagnosed in the early 90s, so i really can't remember the exact test name(most likely acth) and exactly which test drug- sorry. but if it is addison's i'll tell you the florineff is far more effective than the precorten shots- and the check out the canadian prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 I will know about the names and numbers in the blood tests tomorrow. She has to go back today and give more blood. I am beginning to think it could be heart worms, however the only symptom she has is the extreme energy loss. She does not cough. But, when I got her off Craig's list she was not on any heart worm meds. She was skinny as she could be and eaten up with fleas. I do not know how long she was not taking heart worm meds. I am not a vet so this is only my thoughts. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 The vet never ran a hwt test or a 4dx test (checks for hwt & tbd)? Also, if your hound had a bad flea infestation I would have to wonder if she's carrying a tapeworm burden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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