My pug has Addison's and hair loss. Is her prednisone dose too high?

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear that Bindy is having side effects from her medication. I would not recommend stopping her meds or making any dosing changes without talking to the veterinarian who is treating her, because this can cause serious problem or even death for patients with Addison's disease. I would definitely recommend discussing your concerns with Bindy's regular veterinarian, since it's likely that her steroid doses can be reduced if they are causing side effects - most dogs this size do not need this much prednisone to control their Addison's symptoms, although each individual patient is different. A medication called DOCP (desoxycorticosterone pivalate) can also be used in place of the fludricortisone if needed, which she may tolerate better. Your veterinarian can discuss these options with you and help you make changes to her medication safely.

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.

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!

Hello. Having a chronic condition like Addison's can stress the body & cause an artificial lowering of T4. You should insist that your veterinarian run a full thyroid panel, not just look at T4 which can be artificially lowered in many non hypothyroid situations. In addition, we generally treat Addison's disease with a mineral corticoid along with a glucocorticoid like prednisone. I would ask your vet about this as well. You need some more information on your pet. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am sorry the K-Cl was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Good news is that once treatment is start they usually do really well! If they are vomiting you may need to have him examined to ensure he doesn't need any fluids as he could be in an addisonian crisis. Finally addison's is usually the cause of having too low of two different type of stress hormones. So you may also want to talk to you vet to see if he needs to be on an additional medication besides just prednisone like florinef or percorten injections - these may help speed up his recovery. Also know that addisons is a life long condition so these medications will likely need to be continued long term. I hope your sweet baby starts feeling better really soon. Please feel free to contact us again on the forum or to set up a consultation if you have additional questions or would like more information. Below I have attached a link with more information on addison's disease http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=608

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Addison's disease is called the 'Great Pretender' because the clinical signs vary so much. They often display signs of 'poor doing' which can include a poor hair coat. There are other causes of hair loss as well so making sure that the cause is Addison's and you aren't missing something else is important. I would have Pete seen by your vet for this, and work this up in conjunction with the Addisons. Best of luck with Pete.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! In my professional opinion, this is a much higher dose than what I would use. I normally do not exceed 60mg daily regardless of the size of the dog just because of the potential side effects such as gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding as well as the undesirable side effects you describe. I recommend you bring up your concerns to the prescribing veterinarian who knows the case well, to taper his dose down slowly. It is important to not discontinue or lower too much this medication acutely as problems can arise with this approach. For now, look for any evidence of gastrointestinal bleeding such as black, tarry stools. If observed, let your veterinarian know right away. Good luck with your boy!