Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is meant as a substitute for veterinary advice – if you have questions about treatment for your dog, please consult a veterinarian.
It’s been a rough week. I was behind in getting a blog post done anyway, but then our dog threw a big wrench in my life.
Don’t get me wrong, I love her to death and would do anything for her, but wow she stressed me out!
Our dog Aza is a 5 year old Labradoodle – or so we’ve been told… she came from the National Mill Dog Rescue in Peyton, CO. (Excellent organization BTW, great place to adopt a dog, or make a donation).
Some people tell me I have a Pudel Pointer, or a wire haired something, or a german something else. I don’t really care what she is – she doesn’t trigger my allergies and is the best dog I’ve ever met.
Let me back up to last week. Aza had thrown up a few times after eating and then chugging water. But she wouldn’t throw up her food, only the water part of what she just consumed. It happened for two days in a row, then stopped for two days, then happened again twice one morning last week. I decided she needed to go in to the vet to make sure nothing was wrong.
We went to the vet and I described her symptoms, which were basically just throwing up after drinking a ton of water. The vet commented that she was still her chipper self, which she was. I opted to do an x-ray of her chest and stomach to ensure she did not have any blockages, since this could have been one of the things causing her to vomit after eating. He couldn’t see anything wrong on her x-rays, so Aza was prescribed some Pepcid to take at night and told to try an elevated dog bowl, because they thought it may just be esophagus irritation.
We went to Petsmart and bought the raised bowl, and took the Pepcid. She didn’t throw up again that night or the following morning. BUT we both spent the entire night awake tossing and turning because she was shaking constantly. I would try to move and hold her and she’d stop for a few minutes and then start again. She also would not eat at this point. You offer her food and she would just stare at it.
I almost took her to the pet ER in the middle of the night, but she seemed to be trying to sleep so I decided not to. The next morning I called my vet straight away at 8am. Obviously the girl thought I wasn’t very worried because her reply was that “someone will call you back sometime today”. I think she was a bit shocked when I said “I need a phone call back within 30 minutes or I will show up and wait for someone to see my dog”. I did get a return phone call rather quickly and the vet suggested bringing her in because it sounded like she didn’t feel well and was nauseous.
We went back to the vet’s office and had blood work done, and her kidney values were off – ie something was wrong with her kidney function… At this point I was freaking out and crying the vet’s office because it felt like they were insinuating that she was experiencing some sort of kidney failure, and I was worried she was going to die.
We were advised to get her on fluids ASAP, so we went to the pet ER where they have 24 hour care. I went to the ER, waited a few hours, and then once she was seen, was given a printed estimate of the cost for treatment and was told they would contact me once they did some tests on her. (Yikes! The dog ER is expensive…)
Need help starting a savings fund? Read More Here.
I received a phone call several hours later that they did an ultrasound and she had very small adrenal glands. Combined with her symptoms, they suspected Addison’s disease. At this point they asked if I wanted to do the cheaper (but not guaranteed to be completely accurate) test, or the more expensive ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation test). I opted for the second since we were already going on 36 hours of my dog not feeling well and I wanted a concrete answer.
Someone forgot to send the sample so the test took longer than expected, but Aza’s kidney function returned to normal by the next day so we were sent home with prednisone to begin giving to her for treating Addison’s disease. I received a phone call the next day confirming the diagnosis of Addison’s disease. I am relieved to know what is wrong with her but I also feel bad that I just didn’t know something was really wrong with her.
Since she has been on prednisone, our dog has been shaking, drinking and peeing a lot, panting, and staring at us. These are all possible symptoms of prednisone. We are reducing her dosing and will have to play around with it to get it right since she must be on prednisone the rest of her life. The goal for treating Addison’s disease is to get enough prednisone to replace the steroids their body isn’t making, but low enough to avoid any side effects of prednisone).
If you’ve never heard of it, you’re probably wondering what Addison’s disease is. Addison’s disease is where the dog’s adrenal glands do not function correctly. Adrenal glands are responsible for producing and releasing cortisol and aldosterone. When a dog has Addison’s disease, their adrenal glands aren’t producing enough of these steroids. Steroids help regulate the body and keep everything functioning, so without them, your dog can decline quickly.
I am thankful for the vet guessing quickly and correctly at what was wrong with her. Since this diagnosis I have been reading about Addison’s disease, and many dogs go weeks or months of feeling terrible until a vet figures it out. Some are hospitalized for many days (ie $$$$). So we are lucky that she was only hospitalized for about 30 hours.
Also, if you think something is wrong with your pet – dog or horse or whatever pet you have – take them to the vet! I knew something wasn’t right and some people tried to tell me to just let it go and give her some time, and if I had, she could have been so much worse!
Leave a Reply