Addison's Disease

corbinam

corbinam

Moderator
To recap some of our issues...Lexi has had multiple UTIs (I still think she has some sort of an issue), recurring diarrhea, and dilute (not concentrated) urine.

We went to a new vet today since I felt like a lot of our questions weren't answered (not to mention the prices were high and the customer service was not). Our new vet is a sheltie owner--so I appreciated that as well.

Anyways, I explained all of the above to her and she took a urine sample and again noted that her urine is dilute. So out of the last 3 urine samples taken, 2 of the 3 have been dilute. She's sending the urine off for a culture. There was also blood in her urine, but she had to get the urine directly from Lexi's bladder (so she had to stick her with a needle) so it could have been that, or it could have been from an infection/problem. We should have the results from that on Monday or Tuesday.

Also, the vet would like to bring her in and test her for Addison's disease. She was concerned that the aforementioned symptoms when added together could be Addison's. She said it's really rare (especially in a dog under 2 years old), but she wanted to rule it out.

Naturally, I'm worried. Good thoughts sent this way are appreciated!
 
The good news is that you have a vet who you are more comfortable with and seems to want to take her time with you and your pup. Not to mention being intimately acquainted with the breed.

I'll pray for good results and something easily curable/handle-able.
 
I'm glad to hear you guys found a new, better vet, but I'm hoping that Lexi's ailment is nothing serious. Thinking of her and you.... and hoping the solution is simple.
 
I'm so glad that you've found a vet who is taking Lexi's continuing problems seriously, and I'll be praying for a good result from the testing.
 
Sending prayers and hugs your way, Ashley. I'm so glad you opted for another opinion. It sounds like Lexi is in good hands. Hang in there.
 
I'm also glad Lexi has a new vet, and she's a sheltie owner besides. Sounds like this vet is made to order. Lexi is in my prayers.
 
hmm, when we talking about Addison I would think about symptoms that are very vague but come on and off, dog is listless, poor appetite, energy is off, muscle weakness...
fairly rare disease in humans too, also humans get this beautiful dark golden tan, I wonder if dogs do?
what you would be looking is electrolyte imbalance, low sodium and high potassium- is that a problem with your present urine analysis? Just diluted urine but with electrolytes not changed or both low or both high are usually not Addison's...
good luck with testing!
 
SheltieChe said:
hmm, when we talking about Addison I would think about symptoms that are very vague but come on and off, dog is listless, poor appetite, energy is off, muscle weakness...
fairly rare disease in humans too, also humans get this beautiful dark golden tan, I wonder if dogs do?
what you would be looking is electrolyte imbalance, low sodium and high potassium- is that a problem with your present urine analysis? Just diluted urine but with electrolytes not changed or both low or both high are usually not Addison's...
good luck with testing!
Click to expand...

In dogs the intital signs are most often drinking more and peeing more. The other signs are very vague at first. It is the great pretendor. Yes weakness, especially after exercise and stress, lethargy, vomiting, and anoxeria are common signs. I have not noticed a skin color change. The electolytes will be off, sometimes very mildly. It is pretty rare in dogs, most commonly seen in Std Poodles and westies. I had 7 on going patients at my last clinic. 3 Poodles , a Saint, and 2 westies. I diagnosed them all and 1(a westie) did not have grossly abnormal electrolytes at first but she did have bouts of lethargy and PU/PD.

I think Ashley's vet is just tryin to rule out the possible causes of the dilute urine. I don't know if the further testing is eletrolytes, an ATCH test or both. Alot of vets do not run eletrolytes routinely with chemistry panels or have it in house. I always liked it with all routine chem panels for just such reasons.

Prayers that they find out what is going on with Lexi and that it is not serious.
 
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