# Since we now know Jack has Addisons....



## Tyler (Mar 9, 2009)

I expect there are a number of Addisons Dogs on this forum. I had no idea it was as prevalent in Poodles as it seems to be.

I started a blog, in an effort to have all the documentation for dosages, prescriptions, dates, symptoms, adventures and misadventures all in one place. That way others coming along behind me can learn through our experience, as well as my being able to access the progress data from anywhere.

Black Jack Sparrowe, Addison Dog

I wonder if it might make sense to have an Addison's section here on the Poodle forum somewhere.


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## Ladywolfe (Jan 11, 2012)

Tyler, I think your idea of an Addison's Section is a Fantastic idea, and I do hope to see it created. I have not yet had a dog diagnosed with Addisons, but I have educated myself a little and would love to learn more about both Addisons and Cushings.


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## Tyler (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks, Ladywolf. I joined a Yahoo group for Addisons Dogs with over 5000 members! It's just unwieldy to use Yahoo (imho). This is a much better/easier, more conversational format. I had no idea it was so common.
I'll still get information from all over the place, but it would be pretty cool to have a virtual home for the Addisons Poodles.


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## A'n'A Mom (Dec 4, 2010)

Tyler,

When is Jack scheduled for his next blood workup? You don't need much...just the electrolytes (Sodium and potassium levels). You should do that and calculate the ratio between them before he gets his next Percortin injection. The initial dosage is calculated on his body weight, but once he's stable, you base the dosage on the results of his 'lytes' tests. 

How much pred is he on now? You mentioned half a pill....but how many milligrams is that? 

Ladyhawke,
Between Addison's and Cushings.....I'd take Addison's every day of the week and twice on Sunday!!! Getting the AD under control and medicines balanced is a snap compared to Cushings! Be very thankful that AD is the more prevalent of the two in Poodles. Oh...and while AD occurs more often in Standard Poodles, Toys and Minis get it too. 

Nancy


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## Tyler (Mar 9, 2009)

Nancy, he goes in for his first blood 'lytes workup tomorrow. I've been doing a lot of reading on this, and am getting a feel for where "normal" meds are for a lot of AD dogs out there. His prednisone is at 5mg, 2xday, which seems high.
I had to take him off pred for 24 hours, once the little goat got hold of the prednisone bottle, cracked it and ate most of the tabs! :afraid:
Since he's been off for 24 hours (vets orders) he hasn't been drinking gallons of water, and his appetite is back to almost normal. I gave him a half a tab to resume this morning and another half this afternoon.
His attitude, focus, energy and sense of humor are all greatly improved.
It's going to be a while before we get all this stuff balanced out, for sure.


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## A'n'A Mom (Dec 4, 2010)

Thankfully pred has a fairly short half life...about 18 hours I think. But for Jack to feel his best, long term, he'll only need enough pred to replace the corticosteroid his adrenals would have produced and that's typically much lower than the therapeutic doses most vets are used to dealing with. 
I know of Standard Poodles who are on less than 1mg...even down to .25mg...per day and are doing wonderfully. When he goes in for his lytes test, can you discuss with Jack's vet about reducing the pred dose. The longer he's on the high dose, the longer it will take to wean him down. Basically, you take him down bit by bit until he stops feeling quite as well as he had and then take him back up to the last dose that had him feeling great, eating well, having good energy.


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## A'n'A Mom (Dec 4, 2010)

Hi Tyler,

How did Jack's lytes test go? How's he feeling?


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## Tyler (Mar 9, 2009)

*'Lytes: dead on....*

Jack's electrolytes test came back smack in the middle of the optimum range.
The vet made a point that I should NOT reduce the prednisone dosage, which I've made clear I think is very high (10mg/day).
Since he's doing so well, we went to our agility class on Saturday.
Link to Jack's Agility Run

He really did better than he's ever done before. His energy was great, as you can see in the video, and his focus was better than ever.

That went so well, we went backcountry skiing on Sunday. High altitude, and his first encounter with snow. We really wanted to 'take it easy', but it was just a gorgeous, warm sunny Sierra Nevada day.. We skiied up behind Red Lake, at Carson Pass, and skiied back down into the Forestdale Creek area, and back. Probably only 6 miles, but it was a real workout.
Jack got tired, and told me so. So, we had a break, some water, food, and a prednisone right on schedule. 20 minutes later he was back as strong as ever. This dog rocks. :thumb:


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## A'n'A Mom (Dec 4, 2010)

Tyler,

You want to aim for a ratio of about 32:1 between the sodium (Na) and potassium (K) for Jack to feel his very best. 
And you're right about trying to get the pred down. Most dogs, even the Great Danes on the K9Addisons group, need much less pred than Jack's getting now. For his overall long-term health, you want to get the pred down to as little as possible that still keeps him happy and hungry and active. I imagine at 10mg, he'll start showing the effects of too much pred (drinking and peeing lots, immense appetite, etc). Long term, too much pred can damage his liver.

With an Addison's crash, he's just come through the equivalent of major surgery or a major illness. He might take a while to recoup and be 100% again...


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## Ladywolfe (Jan 11, 2012)

Wow, he looks GOOD and HAPPY.


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

Good to hear that Jack is feeling better, and let us know how he gets along.


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

*Tyler*
Carolina Poodle Rescue on fb has "Jake," a standard poodle, up for adoption. Jake has Addison's and CPR seems to be experienced with this disorder. I'm sure they could add to your knowledge, if you wanted to contact them. I just thought this might be helpful.


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