Dog with Addison's disease gaining weight from meds. Any solutions?

Hi there. Sorry to hear that Tink is having this issue. I strongly recommend you work with your vet regarding this issue. She may need to have her medication dosage(s) adjusted. What is usually done is the dog is started at the recommended dose and then the dose is decreased by about 10% monthly to find the lowest dose possible that will control the disease. It is not super common for a small breed dog to be diagnosed with Addison's disease. It is not impossible and I am not questioning your vet but since I am not privy to all the details on her case you may want to get a second opinion. It may be that she isn't truly Addisonian so the medications she is taking is making her worse. Just a thought. I hope this helps. Best wishes.

Addison's is a very strange and difficult disease to fully comprehend in terms of its cause and effects on the body. I dont know exactly what your dog is being treated with, but the mainstay of treatment is replacement of steroids, both mineralcorticoid and glucocortocoid. Certainly with steroids there can be negative effects on the body such as weight gain, polyuria and sometimes med induced cushing's disease. However, steroid level is usually we regulated and momitored at check ups. I dont think that the levels of medication used could lead to such a sudden onset of organ failure. The bad effects of steroids are usually gradual and cause the cushings disease as opposed to organ failure. If Sadie is in orhan failure it is unlikely due to her meds. Cushing's can cause massive elevations in liver enzymes and a pot belly but not so much fluid build up. The other thing to consider is that she may have had an issue from birth effecting her in more ways than just an adrenal problem. And finally, without the medication for addison's it is unlikely that she would have made it to the age she has. Many dogs go into addisonian crises and die. It is unfortunate and sad that this is happening to Sadie, but you have done all you can for her, and likely given her much more life than she would have had otherwise.

I would consider visiting with your veterinarian about lowering the dose of prednisone. Dogs with Addison’s definitely need prednisone, but they usually just need a low dose, but every patient is different and I would not lower the dose without discussing with your veterinarian. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Unfortunately, these are common side effects of prednisone - it often causes bloating, weight gain with a pot-bellied appearance, and in many cases seems to be make dogs more irritable. It may also cause increased thirst, urination, and appetite. I'm not sure what medical condition your dog has that the prednisone is treating, but I would recommend talking with your vet about your concerns - in many cases, there are altnerative medications such as Atopica or Apoquel for allergy problems, or azathioprine for immune-mediated illnesses, that can be just as effective and generally cause fewer side effects. It may be possible to reduce your dog's dose of prednisone or even taper off of it altogether if a different medication is used.

Addisonian dogs can live completely normal lives with appropriate medications and dosing, so no, I would say that she shouldn't always be like this. Your vet might also re-consider the dose of prednisone - they actually need very little, so that's worth double-checking. Also doing another cortisol level might shed some light on things. If her cortisol level is normal at the current dosing, there may be something else going on, such as pain or anxiety, that's causing the tremoring.

If Maggie has been well controlled for that long then I suspect something other than the Addison's is causing the weight loss. I would recommend an examination by your veterinarian. They will likely recommend blood work and possibly x-rays depending on what is revealed or found during the physical exam. I hope this gives you a place to start. I hope Maggie improves soon.

Hello, thank you for your question about Chico. Prednisone can have many side effects including increase urination and appetite, which can lead to increased defection. The challenge is that Chico does need prednisone to help control his Addison’s disease. Depending on exactly what Chico’s dose for his weight there is a possibility that his prednisone can be tapered. I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss these effects and see if they feel comfortable tapering the prednisone. Your veterinarian may also suggest having Chico evaluated just to ensure that there are no secondary problems going on and that these symptoms are definitely due to the prednisone. Hope this helps, good luck!