Featured Case

Addison’s: the Great Imitator

We often see dogs that haven’t been eating well over the course of a few days.  And these cases are not always cut and dry.  There are numerous reasons a dog could not be eating well....spoiled food, stress, nausea, pain, problematic tooth, obstruction, tumor, or any other number of diseases. 

Thus, the story of Jake, the 4 year old, standard poodle begins.   He too, did not eat well for a few days and the owner thought he grew tired of his normal dry food.  After changing Jake’s food without improvement in appetite, the owner brought him in for an exam.  X-rays revealed a rock in Jake’s stomach, which was removed by a specialist.  An ingested rock would definitely cause a dog to not feel good and not want to eat.  But after a few weeks of recovery, the owners did not see much change in Jake’s appetite.

The owners grew concerned that Jake’s inappetence could be due to sore gums or gingivitis and had a dental cleaning performed.  After his dental, Jake’s owners also got him new food and he ate well for a few days. When the inappetance returned, blood work was performed.  Jake’s blood values presented like a typical case of Addison’s disease. 

Addison’s disease is an endocrine disease caused by the adrenal gland not producing enough cortisol (a stress hormone necessary for every cell in the body to function properly) and/or mineralocorticoids (hormones that regulate the sodium and potassium levels in the body).  Without the necessary amounts of these hormones, the body cannot cope with stress.  The increased potassium in the blood causes the heart rate to slow down, which can then lower body temperature and blood pressure.  The decreased sodium in the body causes dehydration, which can also lower blood pressure and eventually affect the kidneys.  If left untreated, the body will eventually go into kidney failure and death will occur.

Addison’s disease typically affects middle-aged dog, with some breeds being more prone (Standard Poodles being one of them).  There are two types of Addison’s disease: Chronic and Acute. The symptoms for chronic Addison’s happen over an extended period of time, and often go unnoticed until major changes have occurred.  These symptoms include weight loss, inappetance, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Acute Addison’s disease symptoms are quick onset and include weakness, depression, collapse, dehydration, slow heart rate, low body temperature, diarrhea, and/or vomiting. Because the symptoms of Addison’s disease mimic symptoms of other cardiovascular, kidney, and gastrointestinal disorders it often takes some time to diagnose Addison’s disease.

Testing for Addison’s disease initially include a full blood panel and urinalysis.  A confirmation ACTH stim test is needed to make a final diagnosis before treatment can begin.  Once treatment is started, dogs typically normalize within days. Treatment consists of monthly injections and often an oral steroid to provide the missing hormones and steroids needed by the body.  Follow up blood work is needed every 4 months to make sure the organ systems are functioning properly with treatment.  Dogs with Addison’s disease can live a long and otherwise healthy life if regulated.

Thankfully, Jake’s owners got him in for blood work in time and we were able to run his confirmation blood test and get him started on treatment. As in Jake’s case, we thought his inappetance was due to the ingested rock and gum disease.  And it was not until we performed the blood work panel and urinalysis that we grew suspicious. Given that his breed is one of the breeds predisposed to Addison’s disease, and his age is in the range for Addison’s, Jake’s family did not hesitate to run the confirmation test. 

We are happy to report that Jake is going on 1 year of successful treatment and regulation.  He is now enjoying all that life has to offer!