My dog has Addison's & heart issues. Will he recover and be happy?

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

Addison's Disease cannot be cured, but it can often be managed with life-long medications. It does usually require frequent vet visits for monitoring in the future. However, it can be life-threatening if a dog is sick when it is first diagnosed (or the suspected diagnosis). Without aggressive treatment, dogs can easily die from dehydration and shock caused by the effects on their fluid volume. Here is a great article on Addison's Disease and what to expect from diagnosis and treatment: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=608

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If there is evidence of lethargy in a dog with a history of Addisons disease, it is always best to make sure that there is nothing to worry about in terms of disease control. It is possible that this is nothing to worry about. However, given the possibility of this being related to the Addisons disease history, I recommend that if this continues, you have Bonnie evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Best of luck!

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.

I assume your vet is concerned about Addison's disease. This disease requires life-long medication, but they tend to live long and well with treatment. It's difficult to know how suspicious this is without evaluating the dog or records, but I wouldn't be too concerned until a diagnosis is made. Even then, it's not a terrible disease to live with when treated appropriately. For more information, I recommend you read the article at the link below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/addisons-disease-in-dogs-overview I hope that helps and all is well with Tony

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Heart disease affecting the lungs occurs when the heart is unable to pump the blood forward well, and the pressure back-up in the lungs causes fluid to seep out into the lungs, and the lungs fill up like a sponge filling up with water. The medications for heart disease include a diuretic which will essentially 'ring out' that sponge. It pulls fluid out of the body, and therefore out of the lungs. For this reason Rocky will drink and pee a lot on the medication. The other medications work by making the heart pump better (Pimobendan is the usual drug of choice for this) as well as decreasing the blood pressure so the heart can pump in a forward direction more easily (ACE inhibitor usually). Depending on the level of heart disease your vet will choose 1, or all 3, of these medications. Some dogs respond very well to medications and can live for a while, with changes in the medications every once and a while. Some dogs unfortunately don't respond well to the medication. It all depends on how severe the heart is at this point, as well as how well Rocky will respond to medications. You can get an echo (ultrasound of the heart) to determine exactly how bad the heart is at this point, or just see how he responds to the medications. His best chance is to be diligent about his medications, don't let them run out as he will need to be on them for the rest of his life, and do your follow up appointments as your vet is recommending. Best of luck with Rocky.

Atypical Addison's is a disease of the adrenal glands that prevents them from producing and releasing cortisol in response to stress. It is diagnosed with a test known as an ACTH stimulation where an injection of a hormone is given and cortisol is measure before and after. Dogs with this disease can get very sick during a crisis and it might take a few days before treatment is successful.