# Addison's Disease- poodle from Tytan's



## TreshaA2 (Mar 9, 2009)

I just wanted to alert the general poodle forum that my female standard who is 5 was just diagnosed with Atypical Addison's disease. She was from Tytan's Standard poodles -- parents were Stormy and Wedge. Just wanted any possible siblings or relatives to her to be on the lookout, as this is a rare disease with a masked presentation. Labs all looked great... but she wasn't eating or drinking and losing weight at a steady rate. We were thinking she had an obstruction, but then my vet did a suppression test for cortisol, because he had remembered that young female standards were candidates for this rare disease. Lo and behold the cortisol lab came back to prove it, when the routine labs could never have detected it. So, if anyone knows of any relatives to my Mitzi... please contact them. She will now be on steroids for the rest of her life... and hopefully it will be a long and happy one!!
Tresha in Memphis


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Awww, such sad news. I hope you are able to keep her healthy and happy for a long time. 

Best wishes to Mitzi!


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Thanks for posting. So sorry to hear about your dog. Please register your dog's pedigree with Poodle Health Registry. It is very easy to do, but you do need to get your vet's signature. Here's the form.

http://www.poodlehealthregistry.org/docs/PHR_RegistrationForm_0212.pdf

Confirming what you are saying, the following is from poodlehealthregistry.org.

"The only definitive test for Addison's is the ACTH stimulation test. Sometimes a regular blood chemistry will show the characteristic low serum sodium and high serum potassium associated with Primary Addison's. However, this imbalance is not always present in the early days and will not be present at all in the case of Atypical Addison's, where only part of the adrenal glands fail."

See this page for more info:
Poodle Health Registry Breed/Disease Listing!

Also, the above page recommends: 
Owners of dogs affected with Addison's Disease are urged to post their pedigrees at k9AD_Pedigrees : k9Addisons Pedigrees 

Finally, I think it is worth noting that almost every line of standard poodles has some Addison's. So the fact that your Tytan poodle has Addison's does not necessarily mean that this is a breeder that should be avoided.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I a so sorry to here this about your Mitzi. I do hope you put it on the registry and notify the breeder. It sounds like you have a great vet and are giving her the best possible care.


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## Apres Argent (Aug 9, 2010)

*AD*

Please register your Poodle with Poodle Health Registry. 
http://www.poodlehealthregistry.org/docs/PHR_RegistrationForm_0212.pdf

Both yahoo Addisons groups are a great place to learn about meds and what to expect. Many live healthy normal lives with meds.


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## Rayah-QualitySPs (Aug 31, 2010)

TreshaA2 said:


> I just wanted to alert the general poodle forum that my female standard who is 5 was just diagnosed with Atypical Addison's disease.
> Just wanted any possible siblings or relatives to her to be on the lookout, as this is a rare disease with a masked presentation.
> She will now be on steroids for the rest of her life... and hopefully it will be a long and happy one!!
> Tresha in Memphis


Dear TreshaA2;
I am very sorry that you have had to deal with this issue *without* breeder *support*. Did you tell the breeder? 

I have produced/bred a case of Addisons, although I think it was the garden variety type not the Atypical. I phoned all the puppy buyers from the litter and any other half-siblings to let them know. If you did not tell your breed I suggest you do and ask her/him to notify all his puppy buyers for you. In my opinion this is what a responsible/reputable breeder does.

Again this is my opinion only but *I do not believe Atypical Addisons is rare* in poodles.

Good luck with your poodle. There are e-mail lists for the owners of dogs with Addisons. You may want to join one of them so you can have some support with managing this disease. If you need help finding such a list let me know and I will help you find one.


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## TreshaA2 (Mar 9, 2009)

thank you everyone, I will definitely have my vet sign the poodle registry form and I appreciate the heads up... unfortunately the breeder for Mitzi is no longer in operation and I have had no luck trying to contact her. I have no reply from the original email that I had for her 5 years ago. If anyone knows how to contact Robin Gill of Tytan's Standard poodles from 5 years ago, that would be helpful. 
Thanks!
Tresha in Memphis


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

Dear TreshaA2,

You've been good advice. I'm most familiar with the K9addisons group on Yahoo. The admins and many of the regular participants have taken the time to educate themselves with solid, hard facts and can refer you to the leading scientists in AD treatment. They are incredibly responsive and patient with questions. They will work with you to discover your girls 'sweet spot' with medication so she can feel her very best. 

One thing to keep in mind is that a large percentage of dogs dx'd with atypical AD transition to primary AD within the first year of diagnosis.

If you have any questions about the PHR registration process, please feel free to contact me directly or send me a private message.

Nancy


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

Hi TreshaA2,

Here's the URL for the K9Addison's Yahoo group...

k9Addisons : k9Addisons is a support and information list for those with canine companions afflicted by Addisons Disease.

There are instructions there about how to subscribe. Don't be scared off by the supposed number of emails daily.....there haven't been that many for a very long time. Usually fewer than a dozen a week, unless there's someone with a problem.

N


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

One of my Rottweilers had Atypical Addison's. I took her to the vet because she just "wasn't herself". She was always a very laid-back girl and was getting older so initially I put her tiredness down to that. I lived in the country at the time and all of a sudden, she started getting really scared of gunfire during hunting season. Thunder suddenly started to freak her out as well. These things had never ever bothered her before. When this started happening, I knew something wasn't right and took her to the vet.

I had a great vet also. Although my dog's bloodwork came back fine, the electrolyte ratio was on the low end of normal. My vet suggested the ACTH stim test and she was diagnosed with Atypical Addison's. Your story and mine are good examples that owners are right to pay attention to their feelings if their dogs seem a little "off". 

I just wanted to say that my experience was that Atypical Addison's was a lot easier to control than regular Addison's. I had a friend at the time whose spoo had primary Addison's and she had to fiddle about with two medications to get him back on track. She also had to be very careful not to stress him out. My Rottie had her 1 prednisone pill per day and life continued on as normal. Because we were replacing corticosteroid that she was missing, she didn't suffer from the side effects that dogs often get when they take corticosteroids long-term for other diseases.

One other thing you may need to keep your eye on is her thyroid function. About a year after my dog was diagnosed with Atypical Addison's, she went hypothyroid. If I remember correctly, I think my vet said this was very common with Addison's of all kinds.


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

A'n'A Mom said:


> a large percentage of dogs dx'd with atypical AD transition to primary AD within the first year of diagnosis.


Silly me!! That's incorrect. I meant to say "...atypical AD transition to TYPICAL AD within the first..." 

Sorry for being confusing!

Nancy


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