Atlas and AD: The Beginning

Hi! My name is Atlas and I am a 3 year old neutered Harlequin Great Dane. I must say that I am a pretty handsome boy with my one blue eye and one brown eye. I have been told in the past that I am a "fine specimen" and usually weigh in around 134 lbs. However, right now, I have lost a little bit of weight (6 lbs.) because I have been under the weather. On March 7th, 2006 I was diagnosed with Addison's Disease. Luckily, my mom is a nurse and my dad is pretty observant and I was diagnosed within a few days of showing my first symptoms. Here's my story:
On Monday, February 27th, 2006 my mom gave me and my Merle Great Dane brother (Cole) a large Greenie. My mom works night shift and went to work as usual and I was feeling ok and looking ok. However, on Tuesday the 28th I started to feel a bit down and out. While my mom slept in the afternoon for work that night, I slept on the floor..which is not like me b/c I love being on the bed! I could tell my mom thought that was wierd but she decided to not freak out..yet. She took Cole and me outside and I peed and tried to poop and only got a little bit out with mucus in it. Mom got concerned then and thought the Greenie just upset my stomach a bit. We went inside and I laid down immediately, I didn't even want water like I normally do after I come in from outside. Mom then encouraged Cole and me to come upstairs for dinner. Cole ate but I wasn't interested. Mom tried my favorites to get me to eat and I just didn't want to. All I wanted to do was lay down. Mom knew something wasn't right b/c I wouldn't stand up for anymore than 5-10 seconds at a time. She told dad what was happening and he watched me the rest of the night while she was at work. Well, my night didn't get any better and dad called mom at work and let her know. She told him to meet her at the vet when they opened at 8. So, March 1, 2006 they took me to see my doctor and everyone assumed I had a reaction to the Greenie and possible partial bowel obstruction. My doctor heard a heart murmur during his exam..which I have never had before. I stayed at the vet and got IV fluids and Flagyl IV. I drank while I was there and ate a can of boring, bland dog food. I was sent home on Flagyl and when dad picked me up, on the way to the truck I pooped out the Greenie..it was very hard and golf ball size and made me bleed a little. After that everyone thought that was the end of it and I would be fine. Well, not the case. That night I got really tired again and laid around alot and didn't eat or drink. Mom took me back to the vet the next day(Thursday March 2nd) and they kept me and gave me IV fluids again and put some potassium in them again. The IV fluids made me feel alot better and I ate and drank at the vet and got to go home again. I got home, drank a little, and laid back on my couch. On Friday, March 3rd, Mom still thought I was acting too tired and depressed and took me back to the vet. My doctor wasn't there so I saw a different one. She drew blood work and did and x-ray of my belly. My belly showed nothing but inflammation and generalized gas, however, my blood work showed a slighly low sodium, a slightly increased postassium, and a slightly increased creatinine. The doctor said I was acting like an Addisonian dog but since she didn't have any blood work to compare to and I had had IV fluids she really couldn't be for sure. She told mom to give me Prednisone (a glucocorticoid that Addisonian dogs don't make and could possibly make me feel better if that is what I had) that day and call her the next day and update her. I didn't get IV fluids that day. I went home and slept the whole day, but I ate a little bit of chicken and rice. Later that evening, mom was listening to my heart and heard it was beating really fast and at times my heart would beat really really fast and then slow back down again. That made her nervous, but she was encouraged b/c I had eaten a little and a drank a little bit earlier that evening. About 10 that night, Mom and dad really had to encourage me to get off the couch to go to the bathroom, and when I got up my back legs were really weak and I couldn't get up very well. Mom and dad got REALLY scared. That bought me a trip to the emergency vet. The doctor there assessed me and got concerned b/c my heart had a loud murmur and was beating really fast and my pulses in my back legs were weak. I was also acting very lethargic and depressed and I was slightly dehydrated. So, I stayed and got a chest x-ray and EKG..which were all normal. They also drew labs and that showed my sodium was even lower at 137, my potassium was 8.6, and creatinine was still a bit high. They gave me normal saline IV fluids and the doctor agreed I probably had Addison's but wouldn't definitely know until Monday when I could get the ACTH test. I stayed the weekend and got IV fluids and Dexamethasone. My electrolytes returned to normal but I didn't eat unless mom and dad brought me chicken. They visited me twice each day and walked me and I even played ball with my dad on Sunday night. On Monday, March 6th, I went back to my vet and had my test, I got a little bit of IV fluids and more Dexamethasone. I ate a little bit and I drank alot and peed alot. I went home at 4pm. That night I was so happy to be home. I started to eat a little bit of rice and chicken and I drank alot. The next morning which was Tuesday March 7th the doctor called and said I definitely had Addison's, so I went back at 4pm that day and got my 1st dose of Percorten-V, started on Prednisone 20mg per day, Pepcid 20mg twice daily to protect my stomach from the harsh effects of the steroids. So, here I am, eating great, drinking alot (side effect of all the steroids), and peeing alot ( also a side effect). But my story isn't over! Check for updates!