We have SP litter mates, a female and male 3 1/2 yrs. old. In July of 2000 our male was diagnosed with addison's disease. The treatment that Winston is receiving is an injection of Percortin (25mg/ml) every 28 days and 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet daily of Prednisolone. He is doing well, especially considering his condition at the time of diagnosis, he seemed to be very near death. He seems to have highs and lows in his energy and general well being. He also has had many bouts with diarea. Does anyone have any experiences with this disease and the treatment they are receiving. I would also like to hear comments about the cost of the treatment. The injection of Percortin is $85.00 each month, I would be very interested in finding a source of this injection in bulk and doing injections myself, this is going to be a lifelong endeavor. The Prednisolone tablets are very inexpensive. I would also be interested in knowing about life expectancy with Addison's disease, my veterinarian seems to feel normal life span is to be expected. Thank you, Kathy Ashley

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

Answers

My little girl was about one month shy of her 1st birthday when she just didn't act right. I knew something was wrong. She presented with renal failure. It took 6 weeks to find the addison's, for her symptoms would wax and wane. To make a very long story short and $10,000 later, she had Addison's disease. We had her on Florinef. It was pretty cheap. I found it for about $30/month. I also got the prednisone for very cheap. Krystal was on .3 Florinef 2 times a day. Then she was on 10mg two times a day of Prednisone. The Florinef was best for her because it was easily regulated unlike the shot. There are 5 dogs at my vets now with Addison's. They are all on the cheap Florinef. Do you know the pedigree well? Where did she get the Addison's from? You can probably find it in the line. UC DAVIS is doing a study on Addison's and Epilepsy. They are doing genetic testing for it. I've enrolled my healthy dog. They are still looking for candidates both with and without Addison's if you are interested. My little girl died one week before her third birthday. She had so many problems (heart murmer, ecoli, staff infection to name a few). If she had only had the Addison's, she would have lived a normal life. Most pets with Addison's do. The disease is frightening! Watching your pet have an Addison's crisis is scary!!!! There is a support group too! After you have a dog with Addison's, you learn the hard way when you want to find a new puppy to know your pedigree and the breeder. You should have a clear pedigree line back to 5 generations. I found Addison's in Krystals line in her grandparents. You learn the hard way to check out the health issues of a standard poodle. I am lucky that my new pup (who took my 3 long months to find) has no S.A, Addison's, VWB, bad hips, and bad eyes, in his line. It is clear back 5 generations. You would not believe how many breeders have NEVER heard of Addison's. When you ask if there line is free and clear of disease, many say "oh my line has many champions." That makes no difference when it comes to genetic problems. There are no regulations and people continue to breed poodles not even knowing or understanding the problems they can have. I hope this helps......

-- Anonymous, March 15, 2001