Liz P Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Tuesday afternoon I rushed my 4 year old bitch to the vet after she collapsed and went into shock. She has been recovering in the ICU and undergoing a whole range of tests. Right now it looks like she has atypical Addison's but we won't know until tomorrow afternoon. I don't even know how to feel right now. I almost lost my special girl and I am so grateful she is alive, but also depressed that this might be the end of her career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 I'm glad she's recovering - and I'll be curious to see if she's an Addisonian. I am an Addison's magnet, for some reason. I've seen about one a year since I graduated, though in school they generally tell you you might see two or three in a practice career. I think it's under-diagnosed, so if your vet caught it on the first go-round - especially if she's an atypical - then good on them. VERY difficult diagnosis, the atypicals. I hope she has a rapid recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Yes, well, I am a vet student. I was visiting my Mom when Freya collapsed. I rushed her to a local vet I used to work for before I started school. They got her stabilized after a few hours but just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I called Mom at work and she drove us back to Tufts Vet school. (She set a new speed record in the process.) At Tufts she had more bloodwork, several ultrasounds, an EKG, a full cardiac consultation and workup. I told them to not stop until they figured out what is wrong with her. I really thought she was going to die on the way to the vet and I NEVER wanted her to go through that again so I have pushed really hard for a diagnosis. What has been your experience with Addisonian dogs? Can they still work? Freya normally works sheep for hours at a time with quick breaks for water and a soak if it's hot out. I won't risk losing her, but I don't want to take away her favorite activity completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Sorry to hear Freya is sick but how lucky she is to have an owner who recognized the need to get her to a facility where she can be diagnosed as quickly as possible. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 I'm so sorry to hear this. Do they know when you might be able to bring her home? I don't know a thing about Addisons but I know how worried you must be. I hope she recovers and can eventually get back to working and loving life. Please let us know what you find out. Until then, best wishes for a fast and complete recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Honestly, I don't know. I've never had one that did the kind of work BCs do. I've had most of them live a pretty normal life on treatment, but that was for active pet life, not for working BC life. I guess you could try light work and see how she handles it, but until you know what level of activity she can handle, you'd risk a crisis. Hence I'd probably advise she get some pred before you tried it, and that you be prepared to support in case she decompensates. And of course you'd want to go slowly on figuring out how much she could do - slow increments of increase with several days for observation in between. This is assuming she IS Addisonian. I had one that presented as Addisonian that had a sort of adrenal exhaustion, for want of a better term, and came up negative on the tests - but gave every sign of being a true Addisonian. The first one I diagnosed after I moved here was an atypical, and very odd... she also had a rare cardiac abnormality which made the diagnosis much harder, and ultimately did her in (abrupt cardiac arrest unrelated to her Addison's. She would have benefitted from a pacemaker.) However, despite the concurrent problems, that dog was quite active on a pet level, and did not die during activity. I guess all that goes to say that they vary, in my experience, and while I question whether she could handle the level of work she did before, she might be able to do a lighter schedule. I would, of course, listen to the experts at the U - you've got a big array of boarded experts there who surely know a great deal more about Addison's disease than I do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 LOL, yes, she has the whole hospital pulling for her:) She has been examined by just about everyone, board certified endocrinologist, cardiologist, internal medicine specialist, radiologist... The cardiologist said her heart looks just wonderful and he can tell she is a serious athlete. I won't get the ACTH stim results until tomorrow but she gets to come home today. I have the traditional medicine side covered, but I also want to pursue a holistic treatment plan. If anyone knows of resources that can tell me what sort of diet she should be on, changes in routine that might help, supplements, etc could you let me know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I'm sure she's a big hit! (I had a BC named Miri as a patient my senior year who was quite the star of the hospital - when she wasn't escaping her cage, that is.) I'm sure you know this, but for my own peace of mind I just have to caution you that if she is Addisonian she REALLY needs to stay on the medications. I know of no one who has treated Addison's with alternative therapies, but maybe there is something out there for that... however, since it's fatal if not treated I'd be way-extra-cautious about altering the regimen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Oh, don't worry, I wasn't talking about not medicating her!!! I just want to know about additional ways I can reduce her chances of having another crisis (covering all my bases). I was thinking maybe a high protein/fat, low carb food could help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Hmmm, maybe... interesting thought, but I have no experience with that. For some reason in pondering that Dr. Deb Greco popped into my head. I think she's at AMC now (but I might be wrong). Maybe you can see if she's published anything on that...? Or contact Hill's and see if they have any research into that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I know Dr. Linda Aaronson and I am going to ask her for help. She is treating my 11yr old hypothyroid BC. She is known as an "expert" on hypothyroid/Addisonian Beardies. She used to be a BC person before her husband asked her if they could try a breed that wasn't known as being the biggest workaholics of the dog world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I just got home with Freya. She was SO happy to see me she started screaming! The test for Addison's came back today. The levels look great, way to high for her to even have sub clinical Addison's. Her liver looked great on US, so did all of her other organs. All of those tests we did just confirmed that Freya is an extremely active, healthy dog. Too bad you don't get your money back if they don't find anything;) OK, so we are back to the too much water theory which they originally ruled out because her electrolytes were not that low. They think a combination of running herself to exhaustion, ingesting too much water and getting cold caused the episode, but even that is a guess. I'm just so damn happy she doesn't have Addison's and that she is HOME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 So glad to hear that all is well with Freya. That's the kind of news you love to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I'm so happy that she's home! You must be ecstatic! Congratulations and let's hope nothing like this ever happens again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Well, that's terrific! I'm glad she didn't come back Addisonian - maybe it WAS more an adrenal exhaustion situation (looks like Addison's, acts like it, walks and talks like it, but isn't). That would be great. I hope it isn't a hyperthermia syndrome and was just some isolated event. Will X my fingers for that. I'm glad she's home and feeling better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Great to hear her test results are negative. Hopefully this was an isolated incident which won't occur again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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