Addison Disease in Pets

If left untreated, could very quickly lead to shock

If not treated, it could lead to shock, and if the shock is severe, it could cause the death of your pet.

Vitamins are not a cure for Addison diseasein pets, but they can assist with restoring power to the adrenal glands, especially Pantothenic Acid and Vitamin C, which are natural immune builders for these particular glands.

The essential minerals sodium and potassium also play significant roles with this disease.

In most typical cases parts of the dogs adrenal glands that are cortisone producing will start wasting away to the effect that they are only functioning at a very minimal level. This will have a significant impact on a dogs health, but can be properly managed with medication.

Addison disease in pets can also occur in cats, but it is relatively uncommon except in female cats, and the medical community is not exactly sure why.

The causes of this disease are not fully understood, but it has been suspected that the immune system will attack its own adrenal glands.

As a result of this, the dogs adrenal glands do not produce enough of the two types of cortisone that are critical to their ability to balance the levels of the essential minerals, sodium and potassium.

Addison disease in pets basically functions like this:

The adrenal glands which manufactures hormones and has a series of effects on numerous body functions, specifically the outer glands (called the cortex), fails to produce what is called corticosteroids, which is a type of hormone that enables the body to properly handle stress.

Occasionally this disease may be due to a failure of brain-controlled mechanisms that are responsible to stimulate the adrenal glands, allowing them to secrete hormones properly.

Because it is so uncommon, it is very challenging for a veterinarian to properly diagnose this disease. Although Addison disease pets is not curable, it is certainly is treatable.

However, if not treated, in some cases the slightest bit of stress in the animal will result in malfunctions of numerous body functions that could ultimately lead to a state of shock that can and has caused the death of pets.

Symptoms:

Dogs that suffer from chronic forms of Hypoadrenocorticism will have reoccurring periods of appetite loss, weakness, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Other symptoms could be lethargy, regurgitation of undigested food shortly after eating, low blood sugar, and a slowing heart rate. These symptoms could lead to seizure, tremors, collapse, and or shock.

Some dogs may, at any time, develop a hypo adrenal crisis this is the acute form of this disorder, and this may result in acute kidney failure and a very low body temperature.

If this happens, your dog must receive immediate attention for your veterinarian. Diagnosis of this disease is done from what is known as the ACTH Stimulation test.

Treatment for Addison disease in pets will be in the form of replacing essential hormones, and there are two drugs that can help to treat this disease.

The first is a drug called Florinef that is given to your pet twice a day, depending on the pets sodium and potassium blood tests. Once stabilized, blood tests will only have to done 2 to 4 times per year.

WELLNESS KITS FOR DOGS

However, it has been found that over extended periods, the dosage of this drug has to be increased, which may be very unfortunate to the owner as this is a very expensive drug.

The second is a recently introduced drug that is injected into your pet called Percortin. This drug was on the market,than taken off of the market, and now is back on. This method of treatment seems to be gaining strong support among some circles and is a lot less expensive and has proven to be very effective.

You should always consult your veterinarian before any type of treatment or for any advice on this disease, as this is one of the more perplexing and challenging diseases your pet may face.
Natural Treatments for Addison Disease in Pets

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