|
Addison's Disease · Addison's Disease sgns & symptoms · Addison's Disease diagnosis · Addison's Disease treatment · Addison's Disease related articles
Addison's Disease is an extremely difficult disease to diagnose because the symptoms resemble those of many other diseases. For example, excessive drinking and urinating resembles kidney disease. Anorexia, vomiting, and diarrhea resemble gastrointestinal diseases and parasitic infections. In addition, the symptoms come and go so that it is difficult to pinpoint what is happening.
To further complicate the difficulty of making a diagnosis, about 5% of pets with Addison's Disease will have other endocrine diseases at the same time. For example, a pet can have Addison's Disease, hypothyroidism, and diabetes mellitus.
| What regular tests are used to diagnose Addison's Disease? |
Blood tests:
Blood pressure:
Urine tests:
X-rays : |
|
The most significant indicator of Addison’s Disease is having a low sodium level so that the ratio of sodium to potassium is below the normal 23:1. In addition, there may be changes in white blood cells with eosinophils decreasing (eosinopenia) and lymphocytes increasing (lymphocytosis). There may be changes in red blood cells, which decrease as a pet develops anemia. Blood tests may show decreased sugar levels (hypoglycemia) and high liver enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase. Blood may show elevated urea and creatinine because these waste products, normally removed by the kidney, are not cleared.
Without a normal amount of sodium in the body, the blood pressure falls.
Without a normal amount of sodium in the body, the urine becomes very dilute. The pet drinks excessively and urinates excessively, but the blood pressure is so low that the blood reaching the kidney is not cleared and waste collects in the blood.
The heart looks smaller than normal because there is less blood than normal filling it.
|
|
|
What special tests are used to diagnose Addison's Disease?
Your veterinarian may look specifically for ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) blood levels, or may stimulate your pet with ACTH to confirm that cortisol levels rise as they should.
|
|
The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians
|
|
|
