Ny tantara dia ahitana ratram-po, fahasorenana, tahotra, alahelo, fanampiana, fahasambarana, fandresena, ary indrindra indrindra,, fitiavana. Maro amintsika no niady mafy hahazo ny aretina ho an'ny alika, na dia nahalala tao am-pontsika nisy zavatra tsy nety. Na dia matetika, dia efa niady mafy tamin'ny levitra izay tena mahery dosed ratsy ho an'ny pups. Amin'ny alalan'ny fitsapana sy ny fahoriana, dia samy nikaroka ny loharanon-karena ao an-toerana na ny fiaraha-monina an-tserasera sy ny ary farany nahita tandrify indrindra fitsaboana tsara indrindra ho an'ny namana. Eto ambany, hahita ny famoriam-bola ny tantara, tsirairay avy izy ireo ary samy hafa azy ireo tsirairay avy koa. Mba mankafy ny famoriam-bola ary raha tianao ny hanampy ny tantara, azafady mampiasa ny fifandraisana endrika mba hampahafantarana anay hoe.
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Ghosty Rider, Bull terrier, Adelaide, South Australia, Diagnosed June of 2018
Hi there, A-peeps. For Addison’s Awareness Week, I thought we would share a little bit about our Addison’s journey.
It all started sometime in June 2018. Ghost wouldn’t eat, and for a Bully not to eat, something is definitely up. At first, it was thought he had a bad back. Five days on and he still hadn’t eaten anything, so it was time for a blood test. The blood test was going to take about 20 minitra, so whilst we waited, we took Ghost for a walk down the street. When we got back into the vet’s, he pretty well took the lead out of my hand and said Ghost’s kidneys weren’t working. My world stopped there and then. I don’t have any 2-legged children, my 4-legged furry children have always been the centre of my world, so as you can imagine, this was devastating. Anyway, I will try and keep this as short as I can. I left him at the vets, got a phone call within the hour, and was told that it was likely he had Addison’s disease. I’m like WTF is Addison’s disease!!! Ghost’s breeder’s parents bred Bullies before her and she hadn’t heard of it, so this must be bad. So as is the way these days, straight onto Google. There was so much information to try and make sense of, it was pretty tough. Eventually, we were put onto the CARE Facebook group and as far as Addison’s goes, it was the best thing ever. We started on tablets, had another crisis, and eventually changed to the monthly injection and haven’t looked back. While I am still very vigilant about Ghost’s health, I am so much more comfortable with how Addison’s can be controlled with the right medication. I read everything I could get my hands on trying to understand how to make the most of my boy having this disease. CARE’s document page is THE place for all this information. Then, if I had any queries or questions, I would post it to the group, and what can I say about my Addison’s family, well words can’t describe how wonderful they all have been. This journey would have been so much harder and I am 100% sure we wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for them and the low dose protocol. Izany, the low dose protocol, well that’s a learning experience in itself but once you get your head around it, it is without a doubt the way to go in my opinion. Ghost started, according to his weight on 1.3 ml of Zycortal and is now on 0.45 ml. My vet has been awesome with coming to terms with this, and he says, “I know the manufacturer says that he should be on a higher dose, but I can see in his behavior and in his blood test that the results don’t lie.” If I had any advice for anyone new dealing with Addison’s, I would say go to this group with any questions you have, learn how to read the blood test results, and adjust the medication accordingly (if I can do it anyone can) and you’re A-dog will be back to normal in no time.
Speaking of back to normal, just before Ghost was diagnosed, he had just started to ride on the back of my Canam 3 wheeled motorcycle. Obviously, this stopped for a while during the first part of his diagnosis, but now there’s no stopping him. If it wasn’t for his medical tag and if you didn’t tell anyone, they would never know he has a disease. As well as our normal frequent rides, we have been on the Pink Ribbon ride, the Bikers against Bullies ride, and the latest was the fundraising ride for the Country Fire Service. As always, Ghost is a massive hit with everyone, takes everything in his stride, and laps up all the attention he gets. Late last year, we were also accredited with Therapy Dog Services as a Community Visiting Dog Team. At this stage, we have had half a dozen visits to a nursing home, but this year promises to be awesome and we can’t wait! We are anticipating on being used for some special visits, special events and appearances to places like Ronald McDonald house, The Cancer Council lodge, universities around exam times, the Youth Courts, and wherever else we can put smiles on faces. It’s a huge win for everyone involved from Ghost himself, the people who we come across, the Addison’s community, and the Bull Terrier breed (which is quite often and unnecessarily very misunderstood).
Ghost is very much a part of our family and participates in most things we get up to. We go up the river, which he absolutely loves, and he even gets invited to Christmas lunch with the rest of our extended family. He is such a sweet gentleman.
So on finishing up, I suppose my message is this, if you have a dog that’s been diagnosed with Addison’s, you will shit yourself at first, I know I did, but take a deep breath and with the right frame of mind, taking note of all the information available, trusting this wonderful group, asking loads and loads of questions, you WILL get through this and you and your dog can do anything and be anything that you want to be. Look at Ghost, a goggle wearing, community visiting Bull Terrier who rides on the back of a motorbike and puts smiles on the faces of everyone he meets. I reckon that’s a pretty good thing. A-dogs rock!!!
Anyways I hope this has put a bit of a smile on YOUR face and don’t worry, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.
Lots of love and big Bully hugs to you all.
Jarrod and Ghost
Piña, Search and Rescue Dog, Puembo, Pichincha, Ecuador, Diagnosed August of 2017
! Scroll down and you will also find her story auf Deutsch and en Español!
Tamin'ny Febroary 2016, I lived in Cholula, México, with my three Shepherds (German and Belgian, all rescued) when a friend called me that she had found a small puppy in a closed garbage bag, close to suffocation. Izany, I went, picked the tiny bundle up, and presented her to my vet.
Four weeks old, something about one kilo. We immediately found a family willing to adopt her, so she just would stay some days until this family would go for her.
Yes…just that it never happened.
She adapted quickly to the life in between the large Shepherds and grew rapidly. My students named her ‘Piña’ and she won the hearts of everyone, but nobody adopted her. She was a really brave, fearless, and intelligent puppy, so I started her training. She was brilliant in obedience, and as small as she was compared to the Shepherds, she was brave and ‘strong’ in protection work as well. Rehefa avy 6 months with me, I declared her mine officially and we started her search and rescue training, as we had noticed her very capable of nose work.
She was the only cross-breed in the training but after some negative experiences, we finally found a trainer from the Red Cross who saw her potential. She grew stronger and demanded her a lot of skills. She learned quickly and we saw impressive results. After a heavy training session, at night I noticed that she was leaking urine and she appeared more tired than usual, so the next day I went to my vet to check her for an infection. Negative. We gave her some days of rest and she was back to normal. A week later, she got back to training and the same happened: tired, leaking urine. There, my vet noticed her heart rate was very low, so she asked me to go to a large clinic for a heart check. They did an echo of her heart, abdomen, blood work, the complete program.
When I went back to pick her up, the cardiologist said that her heart was heavily ‘overworked’, as well as her kidneys, so this would be the reason of her leaking urine and fatigue. She told me she was suspecting Addison’s, as her electrolytes were a little bit off, but not as strong as it could be. Piña had a shot of Dexamethasone two weeks ago because she got stung by some bees, so the definitive test for Addison’s we couldn’t do until four weeks later. But she was very sick and we decided we would try to stabilize her with IV fluids as long as possible to do the test.
After some days with the fluids, her situation got worse and all the vets at the clinic, together with my vet, decided to start treatment for Addison’s as Piña was weaker each day. When we started with the Prednisone and the Fludrocortisone (Astonin), she was herself few days later, with all the side-effects of the Prednisone, but active, strong heart rate, and her happy self.
Over the weeks, we reduced the Prednisone and she went back to the search and rescue training, happy happy happy. She was one and a half year old at that time. She got stable, I got used to managing her medicine, and finally, we had our first search and rescue events, where she gained attention because of her incredible happy nature and strong will to work.
We specialized in high mountain rescue and collapsed houses, where her weight (18 kilos) is a huge advantage compared to Shepherds or Labradors and their usual weight. Izany, Piña and I learned rope work as well.
Last summer we moved from Mexico to Ecuador, where we kept training, but suddenly (and unexpectedly), I got the permission to work with my dogs at my college, with the students. Piña is a search and rescue dog, but not a therapy dog as two of my older ones, so she was just like a backup. But, due to a heat wave, one of the therapy dogs could not go to classes with me sometimes and we took Piña…and she adapted quickly. Ankehitriny, some months later, she is adored by the students and a huge part of the college and a favourite on school excursions and events.
In the 2 years since her diagnosis we had to adjust her medication just twice, I always carry around Prednisone everywhere I go but besides of that she is a normal search and rescue and soon-to-be-therapy dog. In our free time we go hiking in the mountains, go swimming in the river, or just go around by bike. She does absolutely everything a non-Addison’s dog would do, just with an excess of energy.
My Ecuadorian vets use her as an example for their vet students as they have never seen an Addison’s dog before.
Deutsche Übersetzung
Im Februar 2016 lebte ich in Cholula, Mexiko, mit meinen 3 adoptierten Schäferhunden (deutsch und belgisch), als eine Freundin mich anrief, dass sie einen winzigen Welpen in einer geschlossenen Mülltüte am Straßenrand gefunden hatte, kurz vor dem Ersticken. Ich fuhr hin, holte das kleine Bündel ab und stellte sie meiner Tierärztin vor. 4 Wochen alt, ungefähr ein Kilo. Wir fanden ziemlich sofort eine Familie, die sie adoptieren wollte, sich aber noch ein paar Tage organisieren musste bevor sie sie abholen. Nunja, das ist leider nie passiert.
Sie gewöhnte sich rasend schnell an das Leben mit den großen Schäferhunden und wuchs fröhlich vor sich hin. Meine Schüler gaben ihr den Namen PIÑA (also Ananas), weil wir da gerade die Früchte durchnahmen. Sie gewann alle Leute für sich, aber niemand adoptierte sie.
Sie war ein sehr mutiger, starker und extrem intelligenter Welpe/Junghund, also begann ich, sie zu trainieren. Sie war großartig in Gehorsam/Unterordnung und —obwohl so klein im Vergleich zu den Schäferhunden— war sie auch sehr mutig und forsch im Schutzdienst.
Nach 6 Monaten bei mir wurde sie ganz hochoffiziell ‘meine‘ und schließlich begannen wir auch ihr Rettungshundetraining, da wir ihren hervorragenden Naseneinsatz bemerkt hatten. NATÜRLICH war sie der einzige Mix beim Training, und wir gerieten leider auch an einen Trainer, der sie für nicht fähig hielt, das können nur bestimmte Rassehunde. Schließlich fanden wir ‘unseren‘ Trainer, der ihr Potential sah und so ging es sehr schnell aufwärts und sie überraschte uns oft mit ihren Fähigkeiten.
Im August 2017, nach einem sehr intensiven Training, bemerkte ich, dass sie deutlich erschöpft war, ein bisschen undicht und einfach nicht die fröhliche Wildsau wie sonst. Ich ging am nächsten Tag zu meiner Tierärztin mit dem Verdacht auf eine Blasenentzündung, negativ. Sie bekam ein paar Tage Pause und war weitestgehend wieder normal. Beim nächsten Training passierte dasselbe: totale Erschöpfung, Urininkontinenz. Diesmal bemerkte meine TÄin eine extrem niedrige Herzfrequenz und überwies uns an eine Klink zum kardiologischen Check. Dort machten sie einen Herzultraschall, Bauchultraschall, Blutbild, EKG usw., das volle Programm. Als ich sie dort nach der Arbeit abholen wollte, sagte mir die Ärztin, dass Herz und Nieren total überlastet seien, das sei der Grund für die Erschöpfung und die Inkontinenz. Die Ärztin vermutete Addison wegen einer leichten Elektrolytverschiebung, aber auf Grund einer Bienenattacke knapp 2 Wochen vorher konnten wir den ACTH-Test nicht machen, wir müssten 4 Wochen warten…also beschlossen wir, sie soweit mit Infusionen zu stabilisieren um den Test machen zu können. Leider ging es ihr trotz der Infusionen zunehmend schlechter, so dass alle beteiligten Tierärzte beschlossen, dass sie auf Addison behandelt würde. Wir begannen mit Prednisolon und Fludrocortison (Astonin) und nach wenigen Tagen war sie wieder fast die Alte. In den Wochen darauf reduzierten wir das Prednisolon, dadurch verschwanden auch die Nebenwirkungen, aber das Herz war stabil und sie wieder aktiv. Ich gewöhnte mich ans das Medikamentenmanagement und lernte, selber ihr Herz abzuhören und schließlich kehrten wir zum Rettungstraining zurück und hatten bald unsere ersten Einsätze, wo sie immer im positiven Sinne Aufmerksamkeit bekam, weil sie so fröhlich ist aber zeitgleich auch extrem professionell und zuverlässig bei der Arbeit. Wir spezialisierten uns auf Hochgebirgsrettung und Trümmerarbeit, wo ihre kompakte, aber sportliche Statur (18kg) ein großer Vorteil gegenüber größeren und schwereren Hunden wie DSH oder Labradoren darstellt. Also lernten wir gemeinsames Abseilen, Aufstieg in Seilen, Seilbahn fahren und vieles mehr.
Sommer 2019 zogen wir von Mexiko nach Ecuador, wo wir weiterhin trainieren, aber sehr plötzlich bekam ich von meiner Schule die Erlaubnis, mit meinen Hunden an der Schule mit den Kindern und Jugendlichen zu arbeiten. Nun ist die kleine Wildsau ein Rettungshund, aber kein Therapiehund, und so war sie erst nur als Reserve gedacht, falls einer meiner richtigen
Therapiehundesenioren ausfällt. Bei einer extremen Hitzewelle, wo die beiden Senioren nicht arbeiten konnten, kam also ihr großer Tag, und wie vorher bei allem anderen auch, sie lernt rasend schnell. Jetzt, ein paar Monate später, wird sie von den Schülern (und Kollegen und Chefetage und Service- und Sicherheitsleuten der Schule) angebetet und wir werden zu jeglichen Events und Exkursionen eingeladen, führen alle ihre coolen Tricks vor und lassen sie mal einen Schüler suchen…
In den knapp 2 Jahren seit ihrer Diagnose mussten wir ihre Medikation nur 2mal anpassen, einmal fiel sie aus uns unbekannten Gründen in eine Krise und musste einige Tage in der Klinik am Tropf bleiben, aber davon abgesehen ist sie ein normaler Rettungshund und ein baldiger Therapiehund. Das einzige, was ich beachten muss, ist, immer Prednisolon dabei zu haben, weil sowohl Sucheinsätze als auch Arbeitstage an der Schule stressig sind. Im positiven Sinne, aber eben dennoch stressig.
In unserer Freizeit wandern wir im Hochgebirge, gehen schwimmen oder fahren auch mal Fahrrad. Sie macht absolut alles (oder noch mehr), was ein nicht-Addison-Hund machen würde, nur mit einem Überschuss an positiver Energie.
Nebenbei: meine ecuatorianischen Tierärzte benutzen sie als Beispielfall für ihre Vetmedizinstudenten, da die allermeisten nie zuvor einen Addisonpatienten zu Gesicht bekommen haben.
amin'ny teny malagasy
La historia de Piña
En febrero de 2016, vivía en Cholula, México con mis tres pastores (alemánes y belgas, todos rescatados) cuando una amiga me llamó que había encontrado una cachorra en una bolsa de basura cerrada en la banqueta de la calle., a punto de asfixiarse. Entonces fui, recogí la cachorra y le presenté a mi veterinaria. 4 semanas, alrededor de 1000gramos. Inmediatamente encontramos a una familia que le quiso adoptar, solo que necesitaban organizarse antes de llevarla. Pero…nunca pasó y se quedó conmigo más tiempo que esperábamos.
Se adaptó rápido a la vida entre los pastores grandes y creció sanamente. Mis alumnos le llamaron PIÑA porque en ese tiempo estuvimos viendo las frutas. Ella enamoró a todos pero nadie la adoptó. Estaba una cachorra muy valiente, segura e inteligente, así que empezamos a entrenarle. Brillaba en obediencia, trucos y –a pesar de ser chiquita comparada con los pastores– aún se lanzó a guardia y protección. Cuando llevaba 6 meses conmigo le declaramos ‘mía’ oficialmente y también empezamos su entrenamiento de búsqueda y rescate, como le notamos muy apta para trabajo de olfato.
Claro que estaba la única cruza callejera y a principio nos encontramos con un pseudo-entrenador que dijo que no sirviera y blabla, pero por fin encontramos a un entrenador que vio su potencial y pronto vimos resultados impresionantes.
En agosto 2017, después de una sesión fuerte de entrenamiento, ella pareció exhausta, triste y le salió orina cuando durmió. El día siguiente le checamos por infección de las vías urinarias, era negativo. Le dimos algunos días de reposo y pronto estaba como normal. Cuando volvió al entrenamiento pasó lo mismo: cansancio extremo, incontinencia. Esa vez mi veterinaria notó su frecuencia cardíaca muy baja y nos mandó a una clínica para un chequeo cardiológico. Hicieron un eco cardíaco, sonografía de corazón y abdomen, tomaron la presión, análisi de sangre…todo. Cuando fui por ella, la cardióloga me dijo que tanto el corazón como los riñones tienen una sobrecarga y por eso estaba tan cansada. La doctora sospechó Addison por una leve desbalance de los electrolitos y el problema cardíaco. Por un ataque de abejas dos semanas antes Piña había recibido una inyección de cortisona, así que no pudimos hacer el test de estimulación del ACTH. Los doctores dijeron que se tendría que esperar 4 semanas para poder hacer el test, a lo mejor se podría estabilizarle con sueros de cloruro de sodio por algún tiempo y finalmente hacer el test.
Desafortunadamente, aún con los sueros su situación empeoró y después de algunos días todos los veterinarios involucrados decidieron juntos empezar el tratamiento por Addison. Empezamos con Predisona y pastillas de Fludrocortisona (Astonin) y en pocos días estaba fuerte y alegre como antes. Su frecuencia cardíaca se normalizó u poco a poco pudimos bajar la dosis de la Prednisona, con eso desaparecieron los efectos secundarios.
Piña tenía un año y medio cuando le diagnosticaron.
Ella estaba estable, yo me acostumbré a manejar sus medicinas y por fin pudimos volver al entrenamiento. Pronto tuvimos los primeros operativos de búsqueda y rescate y ella ganó los corazones con su carácter amigable y alegre y su profesonalismo en cuanto al trabajo de búsqueda. Nos especializamos en rescate de alta montaña y escombros/estructuras colapsadas donde ella por su estatura compacta y atleta (18kilos) tiene ventajas con los pastores o labradores más pesados. Así, aprendemos hacer rappel, subida en cuerdas, andar en teleféricos y cualquier tipo de vehículo.
En verano de 2019 nos mudamos a Ecuador, donde seguimos entrenando, pero de repente recibimos el permiso de mi colegio, a trabajar con los perros en el colegio. Piña como perra de búsqueda y rescate solo era planeada como reemplazo para mis dos perros de terapia. En una fuerte ola de calor, cuando los dos perros de terapia por su edad no podían trabajar, llegó la hora de Piña y…aprendió rapidísimo. Ahora, meses después, es adorada por todo el colegio (alumnos, colegas, jefes, padres de familia, empleados) por su alegría permanente, por saber hacer tantos trucos y por brindar seguridad a excursiones.
En los dos años de su diagnosis solo dos veces tuvimos que ajustar sus medicamentos, siempre llevo algo de Prednisona conmigo (tanto la búsqueda como el trabajo en el colegio le exigen mucho y tengo que darle más Prednisona en los días de trabajo) pero al lado de eso es una perra de búsqueda y rescate normal y perra de terapia futura.
En nuestro tiempo libre hacemos senderismo, escalamos montañas, andamos en bici o vamos a nadar. Piña hace absolutamente todo (o más) que hace un perro sin Addison, solo con exceso de energía.
Mis veterinarios ecuatorianos le usan para enseñanza de Addison a sus estudiantes de medicina veterinaria como la mayoría nunca ha visto un caso de Addison antes.
Por ganar tantos corazones, mis amigos me regalaron un tatuaje en forma de Piña y la mitad de mi casa tiene decoración en forma de Piña. Su apodo es “la cola inquieta” por ser tan alegre, y cuando la ven, nadie sospecha su enfermedad.
Ozzie, Sisintany Collie / Australian terrier, Colorado, USA, Diagnosed June of 2016
This is Ozzie! We adopted him as a 6-month-old rescue. Border Collie/Australian Terrier mix according to the DNA test. His weight is 48 kilao. We started noticing changes in him when he was about 3.5 taona (early 2016). The first indication (missed by me as a medical issue at that time) was a drastic change in his coat. His hair grew longer and turned from black to brown. He looked like a little bear!
Then in June, we went camping and I noticed he was peeing a lot. Copious amounts and very dilute. Then also occasional diarrhea.
Still energetic, we continued agility all this time. Then one morning, he didn’t want to eat. That was my indication that something was wrong. He always loved food. I also noticed that he would pant a long time after playing ball. Too long.
To the vet that day in June 2016, just before his 4faha- andro nahaterahan'i. They asked me what his symptoms were because he looked like such a happy camper. I told him about the not eating and the panting. I could pick him later that day and was told to give him chicken and rice. They had taken blood and results would be back the day after.
I just went to agility training that next morning, and when I came back the vet had called to bring Ozzie in ASAP. They suspected Addison’s disease. They did the ACTH test and he didn’t stim at all. Diagnosis was in!
He was on fluids for a day, was given Percorten (1.75 ml at regular dose), and Prednisone. I soon learned about low dose; I did learn so much in just a few days. It was worth my time, because I have been able to lower his Pred to only 0.25 mg per day and we went with low dose of Percorten (0.6 ml) for his second shot. Noraisiko 3 months for his K level to go up to 4.9! Then after several months of electrolyte tests, we have him now on 0.25 ml of Percorten every 28 andro. That is lower than many other dogs, but he does really well on this.
Then the best part: after three months of healing, I went back to Agility, Treibball, started Nosework, and started Trick training. I had my sweet boy back. Like nothing happened. He still runs Agility at the highest levels, received his Excellent Treibball title plus his Trick Dog Champion and Stunt Dog Professional title in 2018. He is close to getting his Masters Jumpers and Standard titles in AKC agility and I hope to attend the Nadac Championships in September this year. He earned his Nosework 2 title a few months ago. Going for level 3 this year!
I am so proud of this boy; he really loves life and he keeps me busy! Here is a link to one of his Treibball runs he so loves: ny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTC1jBJR_jM
Stirling, Fari-taniny Collie, Arizona, USA, Fantatra 2012
Stirling is my sweet, amazing Border Collie. His fancy AKC registered name is Premiere’s Stirling Status, UD, P-UTD, FDC. From the start, I believed he was supposed to be my dog. I have been training and showing dogs in competition obedience for nearly 20 years and I was ready for my first Border Collie. I drove out to California to pick up my black and white ball of fluff. The puppies were running about like little chickens, this way and that. Since they were interested in running about the room, the puppies were not paying much attention to the new stranger (me). Then the puppy pack ran past me and one scooted to a stop and attempted to jump right on me; he was enthralled with me. He was adorable and I loved him at very first sight, but this puppy was already promised to another home. I was a bit disheartened but trusted our breeder and her matching of the dogs. She picked up this other adorable puppy and placed him in my lap; this was the puppy picked for me. He was cute and wiggled directly out of my arms to go play. The breeder put the puppies in the crate and we chatted a bit. She took the puppies out at least four more times. All the puppies would run directly past me to play and this one little puppy would run past me and put on the brakes to try to jump in my lap, as I said earlier, he was enthralled and I was starting to have heartbreak as this was not my puppy. Farany, the last time the breeder took the puppies out and they all ran past me but the one, she picked him up and shared she’d not seen anything like this, and well; he was my pup. That puppy, as you likely guessed, is my amazing Stirling.
Stirling and I went off to enjoy our busy, active life together, training and running. I loved having my first border collie.
Around the time he was a year old, I noticed he seemed to have periods when he did not feel well. He would have loose stool and seem tired; not as active. I would take him to the vet and he would get some medicine to calm his stomach. His labs were fine. I would notice he would have loose stool after a training session. The next symptom Stirling demonstrated was a full body rash. Stirling had pus like lesions all throughout his body. It was so scary! Off to the vet we went. At this point, as I am a nurse, I started to put together this seemed like an autoimmune or autoinflammatory condition. As quickly as the rash developed, it went away. From there, Stirling would go on to have periods of loose stool, lethargy, and high fever. I would rush him to the vet for treatment and part of the treatment was steroids. After treatment, Stirling would be back to his amazing self and off we would go running and training until the next episode. There were a number of these episodes. Farany, after one of the episodes, we saw a different vet as we were on holiday. I shared our story and I was so upset. She blurted out, “I think he has Addison’s disease!” She ran the tests, gave him steroids, and fluids to stabilize him. For this final episode, Stirling’s blood glucose was low; he had an atypical presentation of Addison’s. At least now we knew! Stirling’s presentation of Addison’s was an atypical presentation making an already challenging diagnosis even more challenging. We returned to Arizona, ran more tests to discover Stirling has primary Addison’s disease, but remains with glucocorticoid deficiency —or with Atypical Addison’s disease. Stirling has remained in Atypical Addison’s since 2012. Since he tested for primary Addison’s we follow his labs every 4 volana.
After the initial stabilization period, which was hard, Stirling has been feeling wonderful, running and competing. Our team for Stirling is amazing. Our Vet is very supportive of our treatment and we work together for the best treatment plan for Stirling. She is supportive of low dose prednisone and our feeding plan.
For brags, Stirling and I run together and recently we ran a 6-minute mile! We show in competitive obedience and are almost always in the ribbons. The UD (Utility Dog title) is one of the top obedience titles. Stirling is my first obedience dog to achieve the UD title. I adore every minute we have together. Strangely enough, I believe we enjoy a stronger bond because of the Addison’s.
Outside of the difficulty of diagnosis, and the initial stabilization period which was scary; we have an amazing life together. I am forever grateful for our medical care and our Canine Addison’s Resources & Education group (C.A.R.E). I do not believe I would have gotten through this without the expertise and guidance of our C.A.R.E group. The support and knowledge C.A.R.E provides is critical. I cannot count how many times I have reached out for guidance and support. The group also brings friendship and encouragement. I remember second guessing if I should be running and showing Stirling. Then I saw dogs in our C.A.R.E group doing agility. I was touched by a wonderful Border Collie named Idgie in our group. Watching Idgie’s brags gave me the encouragement I needed. At that moment, I decided Stirling was always supposed to be my dog and we would live the life we were intended. You will see me singing Team Stirling’s praises occasionally, in case someone needs just a little encouragement.
Stirling is well loved by both me and my wonderful, supportive husband who is also critical in supporting Stirling in his care. Our Addison’s dogs rock and can do it all!
Ali, Belgian Groenendael, Florida, USA, Fantatra May ny 2014
Time to tell our story, and to share some good news. When we joined the CARE Facebook group, it was following a suggestion by a friend in another Facebook group about the Belgian Shepherd breeds. I had no idea that we needed help and that I could improve Ali’s care. Ali had her Addison’s crisis over 5 years prior, and she had been stable with 2.5 ml of Prednisolone daily and a monthly shot, at the vets, ny 2.5 ml ny Percorten – carefully calculated according to her weight (which I later discovered is not the way to adjust the medication).
My husband and I more than once had ‘that talk.’ Were we really doing the kindest thing treating her illness, keeping her alive? Bless, she was so ‘wired,’ jumpy, and nervous of everything. My brave fearless girl no more. She was ravenous! Starving hungry the whole time. It was painful to see. I was so sorry for her I used to buy her big shells of lettuce leaves to try and fill her up. Anything to put something in her stomach without fattening her up. She wolfed them down.
Despite giving her cranberry capsules everyday, she had countless bladder infections. Seemed like she was never clear of them and was constantly getting antibiotics to control them. Her fur had gone very sparse and coarse. Belgian Shepherds have a double coat, but she no longer had any soft warming undercoat of fur. Just the outer fur, with bald spots even in that. Neither of us ever got a full night’s sleep. Every night she needed to go out twice, some nights as many as three times.
But then I read the documents here and the advice which was helping others to reduce their dogs from the therapeutic dosage level which Ali was on to the biological replacement level of both Prednisolone and Percorten V. I’m a life scientist by training and it all made such good sense that I decided to give it a try. I just quietly got on and reduced Ali’s prednisolone, gradually and gently. And what do you know, she did great. It took a while, but she is now stable on 0.5 ml daily – one-fifth of her original dose!
As soon as I could see that she was doing better on a reducing dose of Prednisolone, I started telling our lovely veterinarian I wanted to reduce her Percorten and to base her dosage on her electrolytes, not her weight. We had quite a tussle to start with, but once he realized I wanted her treatment to be based on the results of her ‘lytes, he was fully supportive. We’ve been gradually reducing her dosage, and her last shot was 0.5 ml Zycortal (we switched from Percorten). Maybe down to 0.4 ml this time, but we’ll soon know. A few months ago, I started doing her shots myself. Partly to mitigate the additional costs of the monthly ‘lytes tests, but more to avoid Ali having to go to the vets so often. She’s very brave, but she’s been to the vets far too often in her little life.
Why am I telling you this now? Tsara, we’ve just come back from Ali’s 28 day ‘lytes blood draw and our vet proudly told me that he has convinced the owner of another Addison’s dog in his care to start the same reducing treatment regime. And, bless him, he has suggested that they could start doing the monthly shot themselves to help offset the initial costs, citing me as an example.
Izany, apart from being chuffed to bits that another dog will soon be feeling a lot less wired, I’ve learned another lesson. In convincing our veterinarians to treat our dogs the way we have learned is what they need, with just a replacement dosage, they will then take that knowledge and use it with other Addison’ dogs in their care. Having said it, that seems blindingly obvious that they would do so, but it honestly had not occurred to me.
Update: Another two years have passed since I wrote this. Thank you to everyone here at CARE for all they do to help our precious A-dogs and us, their anxious helicopter pet parents. I’m honored to have been asked to update it for the Canine Addison’s Awareness Week 2020.
My darling Ali continues to flourish. For over 2 years now, she has been stable on 0.5 ml of Prednisolone daily. I continued reducing her monthly Zycortal, guided by monthly ‘lytes tests, until we reached the level that kept her stable for 28 andro. My poor girl, who had been given 2.5 mls of Percoten V every month for 5 years only needs the tiny monthly dose of 0.3 ml.
Last year we got a male Belgian Shepherd puppy. I thought Ali might appreciate not having the responsibility of being top dog in our little pack of two. What did we know! Having just celebrated his first birthday, Shadow is now a strapping big boy, taller, and heavier built than Ali. But my darling brave fearless girl is still determinedly top dog. Her coat is full, soft, and shining with health. I have to admit that she still bolts her meals, but that desperate hunger resides only in my memory. We both sleep through most nights. Nowadays, it’s me who needs to get up, not her. And she’s happy. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. She’s beside me now, cuddling up on the sofa, making typing very difficult.
Even I forget she’s ill. It’s just part of my routine to give her meds with her breakfast, quick, easy, and not a big deal at all. Her monthly shot is now routine. Collar off the night before. Draw up her meds into the syringe while she’s elsewhere, and then quickly give it to her while she’s enjoying her breakfast. But let her get sick, with anything, and I’m immediately that anxious A-dog mom again. Some things never change!
Simba Teraka tamin'ny Feb 23, 2007. He was trained as a Service Dog for an autistic boy and was loved very much by his “brother.” Just before his 2nd birthday, dia niankohoka sasany tohatra. Dia niafara tamin'ny vet, voafaritra ho toy ny tena lethargic sy tsy afaka mandeha. Bloodwork Nitarika ho amin'ny aretina ny "presumptive Addison ny" (tsy ACTH fitsapana). Nahafantatra azy nitifitra ny Dexamethasone ary ny sasany IV rano, dia naniraka an-trano mba haka Florinef, "Fa 2 volana, dia mijanona ka tandremo Prednisone amin'ny tanana raha manomboka mba hidona ao an-trano. "mamaky rakitra ny fitsaboana toy ny horohoro tantara. Tamin'ny Novambra ny 2010, nanana "azo atao" Addisonian krizy, ny potasioma amin'ny 5.6 (miainga ka ho 5.8). Toa nanana Simba tanteraka ny 3 krizy raha ny voalohany fianakaviany, ary avy eo dia nijaly ny faha-4 tamin'ny fotoana nitolo-batana ho ny Standard Poodle Rescue. Teo amin'ny faha- 6, Simba tonga tao amin'ny fanavotana & Foster fikarakarana. Ny famonjena sy ny mpikambana ao amin'ny fiaraha-monina Addison ny fanampiana isika mba hahafahantsika Simba eo amin'ilay lalana marina, ara azy avy Florinef mba Percorten ary nanomboka teo amin'ny dingana manaraka ny amin'ny fiainany, izay sambatra lavitra kokoa! Keith sy izaho nitady mpiray tam-po ho an'ny River, izay tena tsy tian 'ny "alika ihany". Efa taorian'ny be dia be ny alika hita ao amin'ny fanavotana, ary avy eo dia Simba niseho. Izy dia tahaka ny clone ny River amin'ny tarehy, ihany no tsara tarehy kokoa. Fotsiny aho dia tsy afaka naka ny masoko ho eo amin'ity zazalahy tsara tarehy. Vao very izahay 2 alika ho an'ny mpivady ny taona, iray amin'ny homamiadana, ny hafa noho ny fahasarotana avy inoperable maro aty shunts. Ny fifandraisana amin'ny famonjena Niezaka niresaka ahy niala teo Simba, nanao hoe: izahay mendrika iray tsy misy olana, fa izahay toa nahatsapa izahay fa ny tsara ny olona Simba sy marina izy ho antsika. Simba tonga tao amin'ny fianakavianay tamin'ny Martsa 23, 2013, Tsy ela taorian'ny faha-6 andro nahaterahany, miaraka amin'ny assortment ny spreadsheets, levitra, sy ny toromarika. Ny loham nihodidina. Na inona na inona fantatro momba ny Addison ny, afa-tsy izany dia tena mampatahotra teny. Ny Foster reniny, Katey, Nanome toky ahy fa ho anay ihany ny fanohananao manontolo sy ny an 'ny fiaraha-monina ny Addison. Nanatevin-daharana ny fanohanana aho pahamarinana vondrona haingana fa niandry vetivety talohan'ny famoahana. Ny maha-saro-kenatra ny olona, dia sarotra ny hiteny ny bunch ny olon-tsy fantatra, na dia izy ireo ihany no ao anaty aterineto. Tsara, izany no zavatra tsara indrindra nataoko. Fa Simba, tsara satria nahazo fanampiana vetivety mifandray aminy, ary ho ahy tsara - nataoko namana sarobidy maro vaovao, olona iray izay manana zavatra iraisana - tiantsika rehetra ny alika ny Addison. Simba efa "dokam-barotra" manerana ny kaontinanta, ary na dia ao amin'ny UK, Noho izany dia nitondra ny vondrona ihany ny mpankafy, sy Keith ary nody nankany amin'ny vondrona aminy. Rehefa nifarana ny volana Jona 2013, fotsiny 3 volana taorian'ny nandray azy, Simba Nitsambikina avy Keith ny kamiao tao amin'ny garazy ary nanapaka ny tongony. Inona no manaraka ny hany malalako ho an'ity zazalahy! Dia tena ratsy ny fakan-drivotra dia niafara tamin'ny takela vy ny sandriny tariby miampy nofonosiny manodidina ny hato. Ireo dia nolazaina taminay fa ny 90% vintana fa homamiadana, ka azo atao voaomana ho arahin'ny chemo maintsy notapahina ny fitsaboana. Simba dia tsara vintana ka antonona ao an- 10% mazava! Izy dia toy izany ny splint trooper sy ny manao ny "Bonnet,"Ary avy eo dia hoe rehefa sitrana izy, tsy maintsy hiverina 6 volana taty aoriana fa ny lovia nesorina. Noho izany dia tonga ho amin'ny 2 taona satria nandray Simba - izy no toy izany fifaliana. Izy no "ny olona,"Tsy mba tahaka ny alika hafa. Izy mitokantokana, ary dia "mampiasa tsy milefitra izy." ny lisitry ny meds dia efa nanjavona - indray mandeha araka ny tokony ho medicated, hoditra teo aloha olana nanjavona, alatsaka, nijanona. Simba nijery alika hafa milalao fa tena tsy nianatra ny fomba anjara fony izy mbola kely. Dia namoaka be dia be ny "tanora mahafinaritra" amin'ny alalan'ny fanehoana ny autiste Service Dog, ary amin'ny alalan'ny fanehoana be marary. Fa tonga ny fotoana - dia manana faha-8 mikasika ny hitranga fitsingerenan'ny andro nahaterahany - ary manana Neny & Dada izay tia azy Tena sy hanao na inona na inona ho azy, River ny rahalahy iray, izay tia manana azy eto, ary Pinot anabavy vaovao izay tsy tena nanadino fa nivazavaza tamin'ny andro voalohany azy izy eto, fa ny hisaraka izy ny. Simba dia midika hoe "Prince", ary izany no izy! Pinot dia Cocker spaniel / Mini poodle mifangaro, Teraka tamin'ny May 4, 2009. Nipetraka ho 5 taona tao amin'ny fianakaviana iray izay fantatro na inona na inona. Fa taloha kelin'ny azy 5faha- andro nahaterahan'i, dia nentina tany amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana vonjy taitra amin'ny urine blockage ary indray mandeha dia ampy mahery nahazo azy, izy nanana urinary cystoscopy. Nalefa an-trano izy, fa niverina amin'ny iray na roa andro amin'ny krizy. Ny vet te hizaha toetra ny Addison ny fa ny fianakaviany dia efa tonga ny famakiana teboka, ary nangataka fa hatao torimaso. Nandamina ny vet hanana azy nitolo-batana ho azy, ary izy fa voan'ny ACTH iray tamin'ny fiandohan'ny May. Nipetraka izy avy eo ny manaraka 4 ao amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana volana. Izahay tao amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana amin'ny River indray andro ary nilaza taminay ny Pinot, ary nitondra azy tany mba nitsena anay. Izy atsy amin'ny, bounced niakatra teo amin'ny dabilio, ary vao tsy afaka mifehy ny hery. Izy dia baolina ny fluff sy cuteness. Mandroso miaraka, Mihodina (Standard Poodles sahirana) nandray mahafehy ny sy Keith ary Nampitombo azy. Pinot dia marani-tsaina! Ny andro voalohany, ara-bakiteny teo izy roa latched Keith & River, ary mandraka androany dia lehibe ny roa squeezes. Amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana, efa nanome azy 1.0 levitra ny Prednisone isan'andro ary nilanja ny 14 kilao. Izany, Pinot nanana olana incontinence mafy. Niasa tao amin'ny fampidinana ny Pred nefa na dia izany hidina any 0.2mg, dia mbola mitete. Dia niezaka nanome azy Propalin (Microwave) amin'ny sasany ihany no fahombiazana. Fa raha vao nanomboka naka Stilbestrol (DES) isan'andro, izy efa maina tanteraka. Azonao an-tsaina fa tsy manao kofehy ireny tena maika ny tongony tamin'ny olona izay te hanaiky izany ny hany malalako tena zavaboary. Ny sasany dia liana ampy ny mianatra momba Addison & diniho ny, fa ny famoahana dia fifanarahana mpandika. Ny fotoana rehetra, Aho nanoratra mikasika ny tena izy, Lavo aho bebe kokoa-pitia taminy ny tenako. Isika, dia mihetsika ela izay dia hitaky ny 7 andro dia lavitra, ary satria efa nanana 2 fitsipika poodles, dia tsy mihevitra hoe afaka manangana ny 3RD. Dia tapa-kevitra ny "elatra izany" - Pinot lavitra loatra ny manokana tokony hisy olona tia azy. Dia an'i amintsika, ary misy antsika taminy. Ary afa-, ahoana moa no dia mieritreritra ny hamono niala River! Izany, amin'ny Dec. 21, 2014, Pinot lasa ny antsika mandrakizay. Izy no mahafinaritra toy izany. Dia nanolotra anao ho slipper rehefa tonga amin'ny, na dia mety tsy ho anao, fa izany dia aseho miaraka toy izany dia ny hany malalako bum ahetsiketseho fa fotsiny haka azy ihany. Tanteraka izy dia nandevozin'ny squeaky kilalao - ny lehibe sy ny squeakier ny tsara kokoa - izany dia fiankinan-doha fa mizara amin'ny River ary manana squabbles vitsivitsy ny "tsara indrindra" iray. Pinot dia voasambotra ny fontsika sy hiaro azy ireo mandrakizay. Klara Teraka tamin'ny faha-12 ny volana Aogositra 2009. Izy foana sy velona amim-pifaliana no Puppy, ny tomboy amin'ny fahalianana lehibe ho an'ny vaovao ny zava-drehetra. Fiovana tonga voalohany taorian'ny hafanana. Dia lasa picky mpihinana, izay Nihevitra aho dia mifandray amin'ny hormonina fanovana. Dia lasa tony sy naneho hevitra mahery vaika rehefa tonga alika akaiky loatra, na dia ny tsara indrindra alika buddies. Ny volony mainty azy teo anoloan'ny tongony nivadika fotsy. Avy eo indray dia rehefa ela ny zava-drehetra ho ao tsara dia toa. Fotoana fohy taorian'ny tsingerintaona nahaterahany faha-3, Niharatsy ny zavatra rehetra. Nanana tena ratsy sofina aretina amin'ny bakteria mahatohitra multi-. Mba hahazoana ny mamaivay maso, ny sofina no nanadio lakandrano ambanin'ny fanatoranana ankapobeny. Nanomboka ny fihotsahan'ny tany. Nanomboka izy nandà azy izy sakafo. Indraindray, dia nihinana na inona na inona ho an'ny 3 andro. Indraindray, nanana ny aretim-pivalanana, na nandoavany. Ao anatin'ny hakiviana, dia nanomboka Mivazivazy fa tsy ho ela izahay hahazo ny fidirana ny ao amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana. Ny sofina mbola mahatonga aretina sy fahoriana nahazo azy Klara fanadiovana sofina faharoa eo ambany fanatoranana ankapobeny. Mandritra izany fotoana izany, imbetsaka izy dia ny aretim-pivalanana, mandoa, ary ny fitohanana. Dia nandany ny Krismasy sy ny Taom-baovao Eva tao amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana. Katsentsitra ireo fitsapana ho an'ny ratsy. Dia tsara dia tsara ny bloodwork. Aretina foana ny sofina avy indray. Winter 2012/2013, izahay tena andro. Maro ny ranomandry sy ny masoandro. Ny alika ny oram-panala sy ny Klara tia nitaritarika ny tenany amin 'ny alalan' ny oram-panala. Tsy nanan-mahafinaritra. Afaka nahita izy fa tsy manao tsara. Matetika izy natory. Ny vets tsy nahita antony. Tamin'ny Febroary 2013, dia aza ratsy. Ny aretim-pivalanana, mandoa, dia toa efa tao fanaintainana, tsy nanaiky ny sakafo, fa nisotro ny rano maro. Hoy ny vets, "Tokony hiandry. Mety ho noho ny hafanana. "Ny ampitson'iny, rehefa tonga aho an-trano, Dia nanana fahatsapana hafahafa – zavatra tena tsy nety nandeha eto. Nitondra indray aho tany amin'ny hopitaly sy ny vet te handefa ahy, “Can't mahita na inona na inona isika. Heveriko fa ny hafanana!” Izany be loatra. Tezitra aho, ary nangataka fanadihadiana fanampiny. “Misy zavatra tsy mety Klara. Tsy hiditra!! Manao ny asa!” Izy ireo dia ho tanteraka, ary avy eo fitsapana ra, ny vets nanahy be. Ny potasioma no 7.6 ao amin'ny isan-karazany 3.5-5.8. Ny dia ny sodium 139 ao amin'ny isan-karazany 144-160. Ny bloodwork nilaza taminay ny fiainany notandindomin-doza. Tanteraka izy dehydrated. Farany, izy ireo ary nitady ny antony. Fanapoizinana, renal fitarafana, leptospirosis. Dia nomena iray mba hampahahendry IV amin'ny kitapo. Afaka maka Klara an-trano. Dia nandeha isan'andro amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana ary izy ireo dia fitsapana fanampiny. Izy ireo dia niresaka momba renal tsy fahombiazana, fa tsy nahita antony. Ny ra Klara soatoavina natao raha tsy tamin'ny alalan'ny infusions fa na dia izay tsy nanampy be. Soatoavina ireo ny ra ratsy. Nandritra ny andro maro, hery izy sakafo, saingy very lanja bebe kokoa. Izy Nentina tany amin'ny ICU ary izahay vonona ny hamoy azy. Ny vets nilaza fa te hizaha toetra iray zavatra farany. Nilaza izy ireo fa mety ho Addison's aretina sy te hanao ny ACTH fitsapana. Ny antony hita. Klara nanana ny Addison sy ny fitsaboana natomboka. Ny ampitson'iny, Afaka maka azy an-trano. Sitrana haingana izy sy ny zava-drehetra ho tsara toa. Na izany aza, izy dia tsy ho mafy toy ny salama alika. Izany no mahatonga aho no mifamadika avy Florinef mba Percorten. Noho ny fanampian'ny vondrona, dia niasa mba hahita tsara indrindra Klara's levitra. Ankehitriny, izy milanja 27 kilao sy mandray 0.40ml ny Percorten rehetra 28 andro sy ny 1mg ny Prednisone isan'andro. Ho ahy, izany dia tahaka ny fahagagana ny mahita ny fomba manana ny fiainany tsy misy fameperana. Ankehitriny, efa ho 2 taona maro taty aoriana, Klara mahatsapa tsara kokoa noho ny hatramin'izay. Ara ho Percorten fanapahan-kevitra tsara indrindra dia ny mandrakizay. Klaraismentallybalanced,falifaly, fahasahiana, ary be herim-po. Ary rehefa afaka ny andro sy any am-piasana(izy no mpanampy mpanazatra, Ny alika aho mpanazatra) Mbola izy no hery sisa mba hilalao fifaliana tanteraka niaraka tamin'ny rahalahiny sy ny ahy!
I am Annet and I live in The Netherlands. We have 4 alika, two English Cocker Spaniels, a Boomer and a Belgian Griffon. One of the cockers – his name is Flip and he is 4 taona – has Addison’s since April 2014. He drank tons of water and wasn’t his exciting self for a few weeks. So when the dogs had to have their annual shots, I asked if the vet could check his total bloodwork, because he was not well. When we got home, Flip disappeared under the table and stayed there, he didn’t even come out for a treat. And that is something that is completely NOT Flip…. After a few hours the vet called and said that his potassium was dangerously high and his sodium very low. So he said I suspect he has Addison’s disease. After travelling in ‘Addison’s world’ for almost a year now, I know that my vet did wonderful by diagnosing it this early! He wanted to confirm with the ACTH test, but it turned out that the test was not available in Holland at that time, not at a vet nor at a veterianarian school! So Flip was never definitively diagnoses with the ACTH test because it simply wasn’t possible. He got fludrocortisone and hydrocortisone and after a little while in ‘Addison World’ I weaned him off of the hydrocortisone completely. The Dutch protocol for Addison is ‘Fludrocortisone and high dose of hydrocortisone for the rest of the dog’s life’. My vet said Okay to wean him off the hydro, but afterwards he said to me that he feared it, because of this protocol. Addison’s is of course a rare disease so that is what he knew and never questioned. But it went very well so Flip only had fludrocortisone. The only thing is that Flip didn’t do his best on it and we ended up adjusting his dose almost every two weeks. Flip weighs 18 kg and he had 0.8175 mg fludro. He had too much glucocorticosteroids in his medication, that was for sure! He has always been an outgoing dog, but this was ridiculous, whining when he got a little bit excited (so by going out for a walk, getting a treat, getting dinner, thinking we were going out etc), poor Flip……. He is doing great on it, his personality is normalising, his hair is becoming red again (instead of becoming blonder and blonder) and it is growing again. Tiako ny manoratra, fa mipetraka eto aho nandinika ny banga efijery, Matahotra aho fa tsy afaka manao ny tantara Pepsi rariny. I hizara ity tantara ity amin'ny aminareo amin'ny fanantenana fa hanampy olon-kafa. Nandray Pepsi izahay rehefa izy momba 6 volana tamin'ny Desambra 2003. Izy tsy manam-paharoa sy ny toy izany mahatalanjona alika, fa tsy izy rehetra amin'ny fomba manokana ny? Pepsi Nanana ara-dalàna ny ankamaroany Puppy-ronana, nefa mijaly noho ny aretina kokoa noho ny ankamaroan'ny alika atao. Rehefa niverina izy telo, dia mandroso fery tao amin'ny vulva. Taorian'ny fitsangatsanganana maro ny vet, ary avy eo dia ara vets, ary miezaka bebe kokoa safidy, izahay mieritreritra ny hanangana indray ny fandidiana vulva. Na izany aza, Nanomboka nandeha izy downhill haingana. Izy very lanja, Nangovitra, ary indrindra indrindra,, Fantatro fotsiny nisy zavatra tsy nety. Nandeha nankany amin'ilay vet rehefa vet izay nalefany ahy izy rehetra ka nilaza fa izy dia "fitomboan 'ny taona fotsiny sy fandaminana teo." Tamin'ny fotoana izao azy aho amin'ny biraon'ny vet isan-kerinandro nandritra ny volana. Nanandrana mihitsy aza izahay vets mpivady ara fotoana. Dia mihena ny angovo haingana. Tsy ho ela, dia tsy afaka nandeha na dia avy ao amin'ny tokotany nefa tsy mba nandry haka fialan-tsasatra. Manana olana izy ny tsinay dia manana hetsika. Nentiko tany amin'ny biraon'ny vet indray, izay voan'ny azy amin'ny tsinaibe. Dia nody, ary tsy afa-nivoaka ny fiara. Fantatro izany izany, ka tafaverina fotsiny tao anaty fiara, ary nandeha nitondra fiara tany Chicago - ny tanàn-dehibe. Ao anatin'ny 10 minitra avy isika hiditra hopitaly ny vonjy taitra any Chicago, izy voan'ny Addison vonjimaika ny Aretina, ary izaho nilaza izy mety tsy ho nanao izany alina tsy misy fitsaboana hafa. Dia niara-nipetraka tao 3 na 4 andro raha nahazo azy rano niakatra, sy ny heriny indray. Efa iray ACTH fitsapana natao mba hanamafy azy ny Aretina Addison. Araka ny ho maivamaivana aho mba haka azy avy any amin'ny hopitaly, Kivy tanteraka koa aho mba hianatra fa ny fitsaboana fa efa ho lany $400 isam-bolana. Tsy noeritreretiko mihitsy ny fomba handeha aho ho tratry ny ananany izany, fa handeha izahay vao hahalala fomba. Izany rehefa nanomboka fikarohana ny tenako, ary nahita K-9 ny vondrona Addison fa Pepsi Isaorako ny fiainana ho. Nampian'izy ireo aho hahatakatra ny aretina, olona afaka handika ny fitsapana, ary alao ny tsara fatra ny fanafody. Aorian'izay, tsy niherika izahay. Ankoatry ny 1.4 ml ny Percorten-V rehetra 28 andro sy ny 1 levitra ny Prednisone isan'andro, Pepsi maro ihany koa ny nandray Supplements. Niafara velona izy 7 mahafinaritra kokoa taona ny marina ny fanarahana ny fanafody izay, fa momba izay ihany, lany ahy ihany latsaky ny $80.00 isam-bolana. Pepsi velona mba ho 11 ½ taona, izay tsara tarehy ho lehibe 130 Pound alika. Pepsi Matin'ny kansera ny andro mialoha Thanksgiving ao 2014. Ny fahazoana ny aretina ny Addison ny aretina mety ho mampatahotra sy mampatahotra, fa Pepsi no porofo fa afaka miaina fiainana sambatra manan-danja amin'ny marina fanafody. Noho ny Pepsi, izay rehetra nanendry azy fa nianatra zavatra maro momba ny fiainana sy ny fitiavana sy ny fisakaizana. Dia ho Nalahelo be an'ireo. Valentino was started on Florinef/compounded fludrocortisone at .4mg (ambany noho hirotsaka ho ny lanja) ary 2.5mg Prednisone amin'ny 12/07 – fa ny zavatra simika ireo tonga lafatra (!) nandritra ny herintaona. Taorian'ny herintaona, ny zavatra simika nivoaka ny fanaraha-maso, and he had weekly increases in his Florinef, mandra-tonga tany 2mg fa ny zavatra simika tsy mbola eo ambany fanaraha-maso. Dia nahita vet 1.5 hrs lavitra izay vonona ny hiasa miaraka amintsika, ary manomboka amin'ny 1.8ml Valentino, izay heverina ho ny “ambany levitra” amin'ny 2009, levitra ny fitsipika dia kely ny 2ml (Nieritreritra aho dia tsy dia mahazo 2 fanarahana avy ny tsirairay isam-bolana tavoara feno amin'ny vidiny ny momba $100 fotsiny ny Percorten-V!) Nandritra ny taona maro, Nihena tsikelikely isika 10-20% amin'ny fotoana. Nanomboka teo 1.8ml amin'ny 7/09 ary na dia tsy nahazo ny 1ml til 9/10, .75ml amin'ny 6/11, .5ml amin'ny 10/13, .4ml amin'izao fotoana izao amin'ny 9/14. Izahay be rehetra mpandala ny mahazatra kokoa tamin'izany ary izahay dia tsy ampy ny Info amin'ny handeha hampidina fanarahana………afa-tsy amin'ny zavatra hafa ny mpikambana ao amin'ny vondrona. Izany no faritany vaovao rehetra! Raha toa ka ny ambany fianarana fatra efa misy amin'ny 2009, afaka nanomboka tamin'ny .95ml sy azoazo ny Valentino ny ambany fatra mahomby fa taloha kokoa be sy namonjy vola be amin'ny Percorten-V sy ny isam-bolana fitiliana simika toy ny Bonus. Tsy afaka milaza ny ampy ny fahasamihafana ho amin'ny fanarahana ambany nataony tamin'ny fomba Valentino mahatsapa mandritra ny volana ny zavatra simika mitoetra tsara tarehy akaiky ny tapaky ny maro eo amin'ny fanarahana. Nandany taona maro izy manao “ok” – mopey, lethargic ny 2 herinandro isaky ny tifitra, mahatsapa bebe kokoa momba ny herinandro perky talohan'ny tifitra manaraka dia noho, dia mahatsapa lethargic indray rehefa nahazo tifitra hafa – fa ankehitriny Izy ataony “lehibe” volana rehetra ela amin'ny fatra ambany be ny Percorten-V! Miaraka amin'ny farany indrindra Percorten-V fampihenana, Koa aho afaka hampihena ny Prednisone mba .5mg – dia nihazona izany andraikitra izany hovering eo .75mg ao amin'ny ririnina ho 1.25mg ao amin'ny fahavaratra nandritra ny taona maro. We have also switched to liquid Prednisolone as his liver enzymes became elevated and he was shedding a lot………. PS – Valentino ny manjo toy ny marary, tsy ilaina ny aingam-panahy ho tafasaraka no lalina noho ny fanoloran-tena sy fandraisana anjara amin'ny fifanampiana biby olana San Antonio! Inona no maro tahaka Valentino alika maty, satria tsy nisy olona mba mandraisa andraikitra ho azy eo anatrehan'i ny tsy maintsy 72 hr nania fe-potoana mihazona dia afaka ny ainy? Ny famonjena efa rehetra pups spayed na neutered alohan'ny nalaina an-trano. Argus i neutered amin'ny roa volana, ary nitondra azy an-trano tatỳ aoriana, tamin'izany andro izany. Roa andro taty aoriana izy hatsiaka sy ny ranomandry izay nangovitry ny hatsiaka tena mafy. Dia nijery ny incision toerana ho famantarana ny aretina, ary nofonosiny azy tamin'ny bodofotsy mba hiezaka hamindroana azy. Izany tolakandro dia nitondra azy ho eo an-vet izay nanao ny fandidiana (45 minitra lasa). Ny vet nilaza fa manana fihetseham-po ny fandidiana sy ny ho tsara. Dia nanome azy, ary nanolotra ahy nitifitra pilina sasany mba hanome nandritra ny andro vitsivitsy. Ny ampitso maraina, Tsara kokoa izy. Dia nandeha nijery ny ny vet ho an'ny maso Puppy vaovao. Avy hatrany izy ireo nitondra ny pilina fa nomena ka nanao hoe: na oviana na oviana ny Puppy tokony homena ireo. Tsy tadidiko izay ny pilina ireo, fa ny nitifitra dia Dexamethasone ary mino aho fa izao no nisintona azy avy ny zava-nitranga. Izy dia tena hafa isika pup mihoatra noho ny efa nisy teo anatrehany. Izy no be noho ny pup mellower hatrizay niainany aho. Rehefa manao jery todika, dia mazava dia nampiseho famantarana ny Addison ny hatramin'ny voalohany. Dia nitombo ka vitsy sisa nandritra ny efa ho roa taona. Nandritra izany fotoana izany, dia very ny "rahalahiny lehibe,"Nampitombo Puppies roa ho tapa-bolana isan-, ary avy eo dia nitondra Puppy iray hafa tao an-trano. Desambra 6, 2010, Argus intsony mihinana. Nandroso ny andro tsirairay ho famantarana hafa (farany dieravavy fahalemena, izay nangovitry ny hatsiaka, ranomandry mangatsiaka, etc.). Ny vet nilaza fa bakteria ao amin'ny tummy – dia hantsoiko ny azy - omeo hanina izy nahandro vary (tsy misy fitsapana ireo mihazakazaka). A roa andro tatỳ aoriana, dia lasa nankany amin'ny hafa izay nilaza vet ny taova dia fanakatonana ary ny ho faty – aoka izy handeha!!!! Rehefa nanao Argus, draped ny sandriko ho vet fahatelo, Nihevitra aho fa tsy hitondra any an-trano. Ny vet nanome azy rano, ary nihazakazaka fitsirihana,, seza fitsapana, x-taratra, ny asa manontolo, ary niaro azy tao. Tamin'iny alina iny ka nanao hoe nataony hoe, “Miahiahy aho zavatra Te-hitsapa ny maraina.” Tamin'ny alina iny izy nanazava ny zavatra rehetra ho ahy. Dia nitoetra amin'ny rano, ary nahazo ny voalohany tifitra. Hatreo aloha, raha izaho sy ny vadiko nifandimby nipetraka tao aminy, nomeny antsika valin-kely. Ny vet tsy te handeha an-trano aoka izy satria mbola tsy hihinana. Ny andro manaraka, Nandeha tamin'ny aho ary nilaza taminy aho, te hitondra any an-trano. Nony farany dia nanaiky izy raha toa ilay nolazaiko tamin'i hitondra azy tao raha tsy nahazo azy hihinana ao amin'ny manaraka 12 ora. Ary rehefa nitondra azy nivoaka izy, Nitsambikina izy antsika rehetra sy ny vet nanao hoe:, “Yep, dia mila mankany an-trano!” Ka dia tonga tsikelikely manodidina ny fihinanana ary nahatonga ny fankalazana ny Krismasy ny anabaviko an-tranon'ny ka nangina sy mitandrina tsara amin'ny zavatra rehetra izahay. Izao vet nilaza tamiko mba hitondra azy amin'ny endriny rehetra 28 andro ny tifitra, hanome azy ny Prednisone isan'andro, ary dia ho velona ny fiainana ara-dalàna. Argus dia 60 lbs, ary nomena 2ml ny Percorten rehetra 28 andro nandritra ny sivy volana ny vet teknolojia. Dia nahazo 5mg ny Prednisone nandritra ny roa volana. Ny zavatra voalohany hitako dia ny vaovao ao amin'ny Prednisone. Izahay dia nanome azy nony alina izy sy ny hitako tokony hahazo izany eo amin'ny maraina, Noho izany dia niova fa. Avy eo dia namaky lahatsoratra iray momba ny dosing ary nahazo izay nidina ho 2.5mg. Amin'ny volana fahavalo hitako fa Argus 'ny fiainana tsy ara-dalàna. Tsy nanan-spunk. Toa lethargic. Nanana zava-misy bebe kokoa noho ny fiainana! Tamin'izay indrindra aho no nahita ny Internet tamin'ny farany vondrona. Fitsirihana ra sy ny zavatra simika - INONA? Tsy izany no atao. Dia tonga ny fotoana ho an'ny iray hafa nitifitra sy niditra aho mba hiteny amin'ny vet (izay tsy hita ao volana maromaro). Efa nifindra ka hanokatra ny avaratra ny fanao. Nanontaniako ny hiresaka amin'ny hafa iray vets. Ny vet handeha ny tompon-trano izay nilaza tamiko izany fitsapana atao indray mandeha isan-taona sy ny fatra ny Percorten mety hiova ihany ny lanjany raha niova ary tsy afaka mihitsy ny tifitra ny tenako. Dia tsy nety nihaino ny iray teny nolazaiko na jereo ny Info Niezaka manolotra ho azy. Ny toe-tsaina nilaza tamiko aho maintsy manomboka matanjaka sy fanaovana antso an-tariby. I telefaonina nanadihady vets maro ny roa andro manaraka. Fantany ny zava-drehetra izy rehetra momba ny Addison ny. Vet iray niantso ahy tamin'ny farany, ary alohan'ny Afaka manontany azy na inona na inona, Nanontany ahy izy raha ny zavatra simika (“Lytes”) ireo hitsapana farany. Rehefa nilaza tamiko izy fa ilaina ny hanaovana izany voalohany mba hahita raha toa ka vonona ny iray hafa nitifitra sy raha tokony nampidina, Fantatro izany no vet nilaiko mba hanandrana. Rehefa avy nahazo ny vokatra lytes Nilaza tamiko ny vet, "Manana ela miandry, dia tsy mahagaga raha tsy dia nahatsapa tsara, Izy dia tena ny medicated. "Tsy fantany fotsiny izy mandra-pahoviana ny miandry! Hitsapana ny lytes izahay indray mandeha isan-kerinandro nandritra ny telo volana. Tena kely ny 100 andro farany ny K nitsangana kely ambony tapaky ny maro. Nanomboka azy izy amin'ny 0.5ml tamin'izany fotoana izany, ary nandritra ny volana maro, dia nampidinina mandra tonga 0.3ml. Taorian'ny volana maromaro, dia ilaina mba hitondra azy hiverina ho amin'ny 0.32ml. Izany levitra, dia manao zavatra lehibe nandritra ny volana maro izao. Vet lehibe io dia ny Percorten, fa tsy nahatsiaro ny Prednisone tokony nampidina. Nanontaniako izy raha toa afaka hamela ahy hiezaka, satria fantany fa hiambina azy aho akaiky, ary izy dia nanaiky. Izy izao 1mg hatao isan'andro. Ary ankehitriny, eto isika, ny fanafody optimisé, amin'ny efa ho 6 taona, manana ny Puppy fa tokony ho eo amin'ny toerana voalohany! Nandray Lexie izahay avy amin'ny fialofana eo an-toerana tamin'ny volana Jolay 2010. Izy tombanana ho ny 4-5 volana tamin'ny fotoana. Ny vadiko ary nitondra an-tranony aho amin'ny “fitsarana” raha ny 2 vavy dia lasa amin'ny toby fahavaratra, tahaka ny lehilahy no manana allergies, ka nila ny mahita ny fomba ho fihetsiky. Tsara, Fantatro ny fotoana Lexie izahay eo amin'ny fikarakarana fa izy tsy hiverina any izany fialofana – hubby dia tsy maintsy miaina fotsiny ny allergies!! Tao anatin'ny andro izany hoe miaraka amintsika, Lexie nanana tantara ny mandoa sy ny aretim-pivalanana, ary raiki-tahotra ny nankany amin'ny vet izay ratsy noho izy naka fanahy parvo, ary nalefa an-trano miaraka amin'ny torolalana mba tsy hitantara zavatra sakafo ho an'ny andro iray ary avy eo dia manomboka ny Bland sakafo. Bounced indray izy tsara, ary ny manaraka 2 taona no ho amin'ny manana indraindray ny mandoa toaka sy ny aretim-pivalanana nefa toa tsy ho zavatra matotra loatra. Faly izy sy ny mpanao, ary ho ny ankamaroany toa salama. Nandritra ny lohataona sy ny fahavaratra ny 2012, tsikaritray soritr'aretina hafa, anisan'izany goopy maso, sofina aretina, sy ny hoditra sy ny volony olana. Nanomboka ny tanany licking tafahoatra, hatramin'ny rawness. Nitohy ny olana ny kibo ary miharatsy. Mora reraka izy amin'ny fanatanjahan-tena sy dia natory tao nandritra ny maraina, na dia mandrebireby ny hifoha mba hihinana sakafo maraina. Indray asabotsy tamin'ny fiandohan'ny volana Desambra, 2012, dia nanatrika ny matso eo an-toerana, ary avy eo Krismasy nanao fitsidihana ny alika zaridaina. Lexie napetrany teo fotsiny toy ny alika hafa manodidina ary tonga tao aminy sniffed – ka tsy toy ny Lexie. Taty aoriana ny harivan'iny, Aho, rehefa avy nanao fitsidihana-ora ny vet niaraka tamin'ny, rehefa natao mangovitra ary Isaka nandre mampihomehy (toy ny amoniaka). Ny vet nandinika azy ka dia tsy nahita na inona na inona miharihary ny fiahiana, ka nanao hoe: ho avy indray ny ampitso ho an'ny bloodwork raha toa miharatsy. Tsara, tamin'izany alina izany mahatsiravina, amin'ny Lexie mangovitra teo ny tongotro rehefa niezaka ny hatory. Back to vet ny andro manaraka ny bloodwork. Soa ihany, Niahiahy ny vet Addison, rehefa nahita ny bloodwork. By izany fotoana izany, Lexie Narary mafy ary niaiky ny toeram-pitsaboana ho an'ny rano sy ny ACTH fitsapana, izay niverina tsara. Lexie maka ny mba hitondra an-tranony i mahagaga, po be, rehefa nihazakazaka fifaliana toy izany ho antsika, ary tsy nisy maina maso ao amin'ny toeram-pitsaboana vet!! By izany fotoana izany, Nahita aho fanampiana amin'ny alalan'ny fiaraha-monina amin'ny aterineto ny Addison, ary nanana vet lehibe izay vonona ny hanandrana zava-baovao – Low levitra Percorten. Amin'izao fotoana izao, Lexie dia 70 lbs ary maka 0.4 ml ny Percorten, niaraka tamin'ny fatra isan'andro ny Prednisone. Mino aho fa tonga Lexie amin'ny fiainako noho ny antony. Mijanona tamin'izany trano, dia midika hoe fahafatesana sasany azy, Resy lahatra aho, ary ny fianakaviana dia afaka ny hanome azy ny fikarakarana manokana izy mila. Noho ny, Vaovao aho “namana” manerana izao tontolo izao. Afaka milaza amim-pahatsorana fa Lexie dia tsy tsaratsara kokoa – Addison ny aretina dia tsy midika ho fanamelohana ho faty, nefa kosa dia lease vaovao ny fiainana!! Nandray Dharma aho avy amin'ny faritra fialofana rehefa izy 8 herinandro taona. Izy no anisan'ny 7 Puppies, nipetraka tao an-trano ny Foster. Aho hoe azy noho ny pensive toetra; Hita taratra ny masony rano lalina. Matetika aho no Mivazivazy izy dia manana toetra reny ihany no afaka tia; izany fotsiny izy ... Uh, hafahafa. Dia ny mifanohitra amin'ny zava-drehetra stereotypically alika. Rehefa izy 5 taona, Tao an-trano aho avy niasa, amin'ny Alarobia, mba hahita 7 vomits, ary 4 diarrheas. Nentiko tany amin'ny vet ny ampitso maraina. Nandritra ny manaraka 3 herinandro(ary vitsy jato dolara), ny vet ny 10+ taona nihazakazaka fitsirihana ra sy ny, farany, naniraka anay an-trano miaraka amin'ny aretina ny homamiadana (miorina amin'ny "25 taona ny vetting"), iray tavoahangy 20mg prednisone takelaka, ary ny tsara fanahy Pat ny lohany. Aho, dia ho 2 ny hevitry ny. Tapa-bolana sy ny an-jatony maro dolara (bebe kokoa) taty aoriana, dia niantsona tao amin'ny hopitaly feno ny manam-pahaizana manokana. Rehefa avy miasa, amin'ny Alarobia alina, Dia nanao ny sonogram. Na izany aza tsy misy valiny; toy ny "manam-pahaizana" ho amin'ny andro manaraka. Nisy olona voalaza ho an'ny Addison fitiliana ny (ho an'ny hafa $250). The sonogram dia $500+, ary Ekeko, Aho tao am hampanompo ny farany, Manontany tena ny fomba ahafahako mandoa ny tsy misy farany foana fitsapana tsy misy valin-. Nilazako izy ireo hatory aho izany, ary hiandry ny fanazavana bebe kokoa ny sonogram, ny ampitson'iny. Ny ampitso maraina,, amin'ny 4:20 a.m., Nahatsapa ny fihetseham-po hafahafa teo amin'ny vozony. Dia ny fofonaina Dharma, zara raha. Ny lohany dia teo an-tsoroko, ary nitondra ahy kely ny fa ny miaina dia malemy sy ny kitoatoa. Tampoka, Tsapako ny vatany dia contorted horribly, toy ny pretzel. Ny masony banga tanteraka. I leapt eo am-pandriana, natsipiny tamin'ny akanjo, Noraisiko tamin'ny tanana azy ka lamba firakotra,, dia nihazakazaka nankany amin'ny fiara. Nihazakazaka aho namakivaky tanàna, ho any amin'ny toerana nihazona izany andraikitra izany ny alina talohan'ny. Soa ihany, Nihazona izany andraikitra izany aho nitranga ny mahita izy ireo ny 24 ora toerana. I nanao ny 45 minitra nandeha tany 25. Rehefa sprinted amin'ny varavarana amin'ny Dharma teo an-tsandriko, fony nijanona. Ary toy izany koa ny miaina. Natolotro azy ilay mpanompo ka nanao hoe:, "Mba hanampy azy". Ny vonjy taitra amin'ny andraikiny vet nanao fahagagana, ary nitondra Dharma indray ho amin'ny fiainana, tsy misy fahavoazana maharitra. Nefa mbola tsy fantany izay tsy mety aminy. Ny fitsapana ACTH dia nanao, fa ny vokatra no handray 24 ora. Fa tsy haharitra izy antoka fa ela. Dia nanao fandidiana exploratory, mifototra amin'ny zavatra hitany tao amin'ny sonogram. Dia ahiana ny blockage. Izay rehetra nahita dia kely abnormally surrénales. Tsy fantatro ny fomba tsy maty ny fandidiana. Roa fahagagana tamin'ny indray andro. Manaraka, Niandry izahay. Nolazaina tamiko fa, raha tsy Addison ny, dia tsy nisy na inona na inona izy ireo saika atao, araka ny efa voasedra Te ho, ary fandidiana nitady, rehetra fa ny maizina indrindra. Ny ampitson'iny, rehefa nahazo ny antso nilaza tamiko dia, raha ny tena izy, Addison ny aretina, Nitomany aho sambatra voafehy ranomaso. Amin'izany fotoana, ny manontolo ny adin-tsaina sy ny alahelon'ny ny fahoriana mafy nanasa ahy amin'ny tondra-drano ny fanampiana. Dia farany ny. Izahay tamin'ny farany nanana valiny. Satria nieritreritra aho tamin'io filaharan'ireo zava-mitranga. Ny vola very saina vidin'izany mba ho ny aretina (aoka ny fotsiny hoe Tally farany dia mihoatra noho lany nikarakara ny fiarako) dia ampy hahatonga na iza na iza mba handinika. Ny hany mampalahelo ahy dia ny fijaliana mahatsiravina izay naharitra Dharma. Ny zava-tsarotra ihany no mamela ny tany am-boalohany noho ny fandefasana vet antsika izany lalana. Nampianatra izany zavatra niainako izany manan-janaka roa efa lehibe ny ankizy momba ny karazam-pitiavana vaovao. Iray manjaka, na dia tsy voatery ho tsy maintsy. Gracie is a 10 year old 134 pound English Mastiff. Gracie was abused until she was 6 months old. At that time she then went to a loving family. Unfortunately, that life ended all too soon with the tragic accident. The husband and the child of her family were killed in an automobile accident. Gracie comforted the mother for the next 6 volana. The mother then had to move and could not take Gracie with her. This pained her so much. She looked into a rescue group. The foster mom promised her that she would wait for the perfect family to adopt Gracie. Gracie stayed in foster for much longer than normal. I had a mastiff who was diagnosed with Addison’s at 7 months old. She was the runt of her litter and was on death’s door when I rescued her. Once we found out she had Addison’s, she lived to 4 ½ taona. Her kidneys, which were never formed correctly finally gave out on her. She was my first mastiff and I fell in love with the breed despite the issues she had. I decided that I needed to rescue another one. I found Gracie on the website of the rescue group I had started helping with. I was just drawn to her and her story. I talked to her foster mom for hours about her. We both knew that she was going to come to her forever home with me. She was several hours away so the foster mom and I met halfway. Right away Gracie came up to me and my daughter and she leaned on my leg and sat on my foot. The lean is everything for a mastiff. If they lean on you they like you. It was love at first sight for me and my kids. The next day all four of my vets came into the room and told me that she indeed did have Addison’s. One of them said he stayed up half the night looking for mastiffs with AD and there just were not too many (at that time he could find none). They told me they were sorry that I now had my second Addisonian Mastiff. I told them I was happy that it was indeed Addison’s. I already knew Addison’s was manageable and a dog could live a full and normal life with it. I even had some meds left over from my first girl. My first girl took .8 mg of Florinef 2 times a day. We started Gracie on that dose and kept playing with it over the next year. She finally ended up on 1.5 mg Florinef 2 times per day. She has been on that dose for 7 years now. No one can tell me that this girl was not meant to come to live with me. Her foster mom had turned down other potential adopters because of the promise she made to Gracie’s owner former owner to find the perfect family. When Gracie was 4 she somehow got out of my yard by going under my fence. I never thought a 134 pound dog would go under my fence but she did. She got hit by a car and Animal control had to get her by the pole neck chain because she was being aggressive. My neighbor saw animal control with her and told them that she lived with me. They knocked on my door on this Sunday. They had her good side facing me so I did not know she was hit. Then they turned her and she had a deep gash in her chest. My car was in the shop and I had no way to get her to the ER vet. Animal control drove me. I went running in the door screaming that she had Addison’s. The vet on call was the husband of one of my vets that cared for Gracie. Gracie was on death’s doors; she went gray and limp. They dosed her with high amounts of prednisone and put in a chest tube. She had air around her lungs. Since the ER vet could talk to my vets that night, the plan was to Gracie to my vet in the AM for surgery. The ER vet was just not comfortable working on a dog with Addison’s. The next day my wonderful, amazing vets waited until their lunch hour to do her surgery so all four of them could be in there and monitor her. Her sternum was broken and they could not do anything about that. They were able to close the wound and keep her safe. She recovered from that. I fixed all of my fencing however, from that day forward she is very scared of cars on the roads. About a year after that, Gracie started to gain lots of weight. My wonderful vets (have I mentioned how much I love my vets) did a thyroid test and sure enough she had low thyroid. The weight came off as soon as she was put on meds and she was back to her happy healthy self. In 2011, tragedy struck my household. My children’s father was killed in a car accident. Gracie is the kind of dog who reads people so well. She comforted me and my children the same way she did with her first owner. About a year ago Gracie developed acute onset glaucoma and went blind in her left eye. My vets were able to shrink her eye so she would no longer be in pain. She could lose her other eye at any time, but so far the drops I put in her good eye are working. Gracie also has chronic subcutaneous cysts all over her body. She has two that keep popping and becoming infected. She now takes antibiotics every 30 days for 10 days and that is working well. Because of her age and her Addison’s, the vets and I have chosen not to remove the cysts. Through all of this, Gracie has always been a fighter and a champion. Nothing gets her down. My vets continue to be amazed by her. Gracie turned 10 on Feb. 5, 2015. No one thought she would live this long. She is still a happy girl, gets around great and is the love of my life. She is truly my heart dog. This is more than a story of a dog with Addison’s; this is a story of a dog that was put on this earth to comfort her families though the good and the very bad times. Addison’s is just one part of her story but it also shows that a dog with AD can live life to its fullest and get through the tough times also. In August 2011, she started to appear a little lethargic – seemed fine otherwise but just didn’t have her normal drive in training and was just a bit quiet. A week later, she threw up a whole chicken neck which she had been given for dinner 2 nights prior so off to the vet we went. By this stage her litter sister had just been diagnosed as Typical Addison’s so I made the vet aware but as her sodium and potassium readings were normal, the vet dismissed this possibility. He did pick up an issue with her heart so we had a full heart test done which did show some anomalies in the rhythm. We were referred to the National Veterinary training facility who listened to our story and the first they did was run an ACTH test and bingo we had our answer. Kindle had Atypical Addison’s. For the next 18 volana, she was maintained on Prednisone alone and got her drive back, continued to compete in agility and was very well indeed. We had moved cities and really fell on our feet finding a relatively young vet who had been really involved with a few Addison’s cases during his first couple of years in practice. In the December of 2012, we were out of town at a show and she just didn’t seem “right” on the Saturday morning. We whipped her to the vet who did bloods and told me she was in full renal failure and would probably not last the night. Na izany aza, one look at her sodium and potassium levels told me she was in an Addisonian crisis and I convinced the vet that this was what was going on. It is often hard to get out of town vets to listen to you as he did not know her history and also happened not to know anything about Addison’s either. He was great, however, and went along with the mad woman who insisted he write a script for Florinef which I grabbed from the local pharmacy. He looked up starting doses and she stayed at the clinic overnight. I will always be grateful that he listened and tried for me as the prospect of driving around a strange city on a Saturday afternoon trying to find someone who knew about Addison’s really did not appeal. He rang first thing in the morning to say that she was bouncing around the cage, had ripped out her drip line and was generally being a pain in the butt. He could not get over the difference to the very sick dog who had arrived the previous afternoon. They ended up keeping her in for 48 ora, at the end of which I think they were well pleased to get rid of her 🙂 . She was “helping” in the kennels and getting cuddles from everyone. Like most, I have learned a lot about the disease in the years since her diagnosis. She is now a happy, healthy, energetic, nearly 8 year old who screams around like a puppy with absolutely no side effects at all. She is the biggest gannet around food and will eat anything – we now have to be careful she doesn’t get overweight – what a difference! She retired from agility at 7 years only because she had broken her leg as a 2 year old (she really has been my problem child) and I wanted her to stop before it caused a problem for her later on. Her medications are just part of our everyday life and you would never know she has the disease. Her Florinef dose is pretty high but it is what it is and she is fine on it. Those out there promoting information and assistance to people with Addison’s dogs are amazing. Thank you all! Skye is a beautiful Tervueren who shares her life with Denise Strom in Sweden. To save you some “googling”, a Tervueren (alternate spelling Tervuren) is a Belgian Shepherd, named after a village in Belgium. Skye now weighs 24kg (53 lb) and is 6 taona. She was diagnosed with Typical Addison’s just one year ago early in 2016 at the age of 5. She was treated with Florinef initially and managed very well although her sodium levels were always on the low side. Then throughout October & November 2016 she suffered numerous bouts of bloody diarrhea. Increased doses of Florinef, up to 0.8mg daily, and extra prednisone failed to prevent recurrences. Denise joined CARE in November and presented Skye’s symptoms while asking for advice. She credits Merrie Gahr Spiekerman who asked if Skye had been checked for pancreatitis. Denise was pondering this possibility when Skye got diarrhea again and this time she could not stand up. Skye was rushed to the Emergency Clinic where they performed a “quick test” which was positive & pancreatitis was later confirmed by the specific cPLI test. Luckily, it was a mild attack. Skye received pain relief, an increase in prednisone, and most importantly, her food was changed to a low fat diet. Denise waited two months before reporting on Skye’s progress to make sure that all went well. Since the change in diet almost 2 months prior, Skye has been healthy and stable on Florinef 0.6mg and 5mg hydrocortisone, and her electrolytes are great. Denise’s vet is reluctant to reduce the hydrocortisone at this time since Skye has been doing so well. Skye had never had bloody diarrhea before she got Addison’s so this was one symptom that stood out. Denise wanted to tell Skye’s story because she suspects that Skye is not the only dog with increased susceptibility to bloody diarrhea and/or pancreatitis following an Addison’s diagnosis. Mazava ho azy, this may not be applicable to others, and in fact it has not presented as a highly probably issue among the many canine members in CARE, but it is worth bearing in mind. Denise sends her sincere thanks to the members of CARE, in particular to Merrie. She notes that the Florinef information in CARE’s files does make reference to avoiding fatty foods, something she was not aware of before. Daisy is a Jack Russell Schnauzer mix who shares her life with Amanda Hutcheson & her husband Justin. She currently weighs 14.8 lb and is treated with 0.2ml of Percorten every 28 andro. Daisy is roughly 8-10 yrs old, she certainly didn’t come with a birth certificate! Daisy was picked up from an older couple in Texas who was coming to visit family in Beaufort SC where Amanda lives. They listed her in many online “dogs available” groups with no success. Amanda heard of her and immediately took her in, with her hair completely matted and basically looking & smelling very gross. Daisy was shaved down, bathed, and got a clean bill of health from the vet. She had found her forever family! Two years later, in March 2014, Daisy got run over by a golf cart driven by Amanda. About a month later, Daisy’s mood started to change, her appetite decreased, and she was dehydrated. A visit to the vet for a steroid shot and some IV fluids seemed to perk her up & she was back to her normal self. Another month went by and the same things happened again, so back she went to the vet. This time they did bloodwork along with the usual steroid shot & IV fluids. The vet’s conclusion was that everything was perfect. Another month, and now it’s June. Daisy crashed – hind leg weakness, dehydration, no appetite, not drinking, basically doing nothing. The vet who was contacted told Amanda to bring her in the next morning. Amanda slept in the bathtub with Daisy that night & got her to the vet early the next day. Daisy was barely alive. The team sprang into action to save her and she stayed at the clinic for over a week, fighting to stay alive. The vet suspected it was either Kidney Failure, Cancer, or Addison’s. Thousands of dollars and about a week later, Addison’s was confirmed with the ACTH stim test on June 23, 2014. Daisy came home weighing only 4.3 lb. and she was initially treated with Florinef. Amanda joined CARE early in July 2014. After her diagnosis, Daisy had 3 more Addisonian crises throughout the remainder of 2014. Desambra 3, she was switched to Percorten & daily Prednisone and she has remained stable ever since. Daisy continues to impress everyone she encounters & loves them all. Florinef is a great option for dogs with Addison’s if their bodies can absorb it & they are on the correct dose. Daisy’s body just couldn’t metabolize it properly. It’s been an amazing journey over the last two years with everyone that we’ve met in CARE. We are so very thankful that we still have Daisy with us and cannot thank this group enough for the knowledge & understanding everyone has. You all are a blessing and we are glad you all are a part of our lives. One added note from CARE is that because of her experience with Daisy, Amanda decided to become a vet technician & has only one year left in her studies. Congratulations Amanda, and thank you Daisy. Dia nahatsikaritra fa toa Lucydog manana aretina tatavia. Nentiko tany amin'ny dokotera aho eny Zoma. Dia nanamafy fa izy nanana UTI sy sofina koa aretina. Dia mby ra, fa niandry ny handefa azy io araka ny fangatahako satria mety ho hafa $200. Saina izy ireo fa tsy izy no mihinana, Nihevitra izany fa mety ho noho izy fotsiny no tsy nahatsapa tsara. Nahazo antibiotika izy ary toa somary tsara kokoa, fa tsy mbola nihinana. Izy manana hovitra / Nangovitra, fa izy hanao hoe mahatonga be dia be, rehefa marary na miady saina. Nanomboka hahazo saina, raha tsy izy na dia mihinana ny tsoka taolana, aza. Avy eo izahay any am-piasana na Wednesday. Rehefa nody aho, Niditra aho mba hamela azy hiala ao an-tarehy ho azy manokana mba handeha potty ... ary izy tsy afaka mitsangana. Tsy afaka mahazo ny tanany mba hiara-miasa mba hahazo azy ireo amin'ny tany fisaka. Freaked ary avy hatrany aho dia lasa nahazo ny telefaonina, atao hoe Will ka nanao hoe: "Tsy afaka mandeha Lucy." Avy eo dia hoe ny vet, Soa ihany fa tsy izay mbola mikatona (tiany ao 15 minitra) ary nilaza tamiko mba hitondra azy ASAP. Izany, mbola manana Lucy-androm-piainantsika mba hamerana ny aretina. Fa Faly aho manao tatitra fa toy ny nitendry ity, Lucy dia mafy ny rawhide chomping taolana izay nividy azy tao amin'ny tranom-borona tsara tao aoriako. Ary hafa noho ny voaharatra izy hifalihavanja izay nanana IV sy ny Super-peeing matetika noho ny fahasitranany meds, tsara tarehy be izy indray koa Ol 'Lucydog. Ary tia azy. Tena velom-pankasitrahana aho fa ny vet nanome azy haingana sy marina, ary aretina nahazo azy teo amin'ny tongony indray (ara-bakiteny) haingana. Ve ianao ny Addison vaovao ny Aretina? Te-hiresaka? Fangatahana mba hiaraka isika FaceBook vondrona! Mametraha fanontaniana, anjara tantara, mianatra fomba fijery vaovao, ary hahazo ny fanohanana ekipa amin'ny namana avy manerana izao tontolo izao. Rehetra dia tonga soa. Simba, Standard Poodle, British Columbia, Canada, Diagnosed February of 2009
Pinot, Mini-Poodle/Cocker Spaniel mix, British Columbia, Kanada, Fantatra May ny 2014
Klara, Standard Poodle, Duesseldorf, Germany, Diagnosed February of 2013
Flip, English Cocker Spaniel, The Netherlands, Diagnosed April of 2014
Luckily I found a person who could provide Percorten (or rather that person found me) and this resulted in a memorable event on 5 January 2015: Flip was the first dog in Holland to get an injection of Percorten! Pepsi, Anarana Shepherd, Indiana, USA, Fantatra Jolay ny 2007
Valentino, Golden Collie Mix, Texas, USA, Fantatra Desambra ny 2007
Argus, Marokoroko volavolan-, Colorado, USA, Fantatra Desambra ny 2010
Lexie, Labrador Retriever Mix, Windsor, Kanada, Fantatra Desambra ny 2012
Dharma, Shepherd Mix, Fantatra Jolay ny 2013
Gracie, English Mastiff, Rockford, IL, Fantatra fa ao 2007
Fast forward to 7 months later, Gracie crashed and could not get up my stairs. My son carried her up and into the car and we rushed her to my wonderful vet. I will never forget that day. Gracie was on IV’s and in a kennel with me sitting on the floor next to her. My vet walked in and sat on an empty kennel. He told me that he was going to do the test for Addison’s or that she could have some type of cancer.
Gracie continues to be by our side whenever we are feeling down. Once again, no one can tell me that this girl was not meant to be in our lives. Kindle, Belgian Shepherd (Tervueren), New Zealand, Diagnosed in 2011
Skye, Tervueren, Soeda, Diagnosed January of 2016
Daisy, Jack Russell Schnauzer Mix, Ambositra, SC, USA, Diagnosed June of 2014
Lucydog, Hound, Diagnosed April of 2013
Will tonga an-trano adiny iray sy tapany tatỳ aoriana, na izany, ary efa afaka hanarenana azy. Nihevitra izy ireo dia mety ho ny aretina Addison, Soa ihany fa izay tsaboina. Izany dia maneho amin'ny tanora alika, dia fahita matetika amin'ny vehivavy, ary Maro ireo soritr'aretina iombonana. Dia mbola nihevitra fa mety ho mafy vao avy fahaverezan-drano. Rehefa avy 2 mampatahotra ny alina aminy amin'ny doggie hopitaly satria mbola tsy natanjaka tsara ny mandeha, ny ra dia nanamafy Addison fitsapana vokatry ny aretina. Ny UTI aretina sy ny sofina nanosika tenany ho olana ary angamba akaiky ho faty (Ahoana raha efa nifikitra miasa ho an'ny 45 minitra intsony andro izany? andriakaky ô). Soa ihany, dia tsaboina amin'ny fanafody isam-bolana, iray izy dia mila ny androm-piainany sisa. Fa ny fiainana dia ho lava sy sambatra.Avia Ho Namanay!