Addison's Disease
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Addison's Disease in Dogs

| Modified on Feb 27, 2023
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Canine Addison's Disease, also known as adrenal insufficiency, occurs when your pet's body doesn't produce enough cortisol from the adrenal glands, and as a result the body's electrolyte balance is unable to maintain itself. Addison's disease can be caused by damage to the adrenal glands, but oftentimes it is a genetic disease that can onset with other autoimmune disorders affecting dog health.

Symptoms of Addison's disease can include vomiting, diarrhea, low energy, loss of appetite, shaking, muscle fatigue, low body temperature, low heart rate, pain in the legs, and hypoglycemia. Addison's disease appears similar to seizure and metabolic disorders, and sometimes symptoms do not appear until the adrenals are practically non-functional.

Find Addison's Disease Treatment for Your Dog

This page is for user submitted home and natural remedies for Addison's disease in dogs. Right now we are actively interested in discovering natural cures for our puppies suffering from this disorder, but currently have very little information. If you know of a remedy for dogs with Addison's disease, please let us know here.

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Addison's in Cats

Posted by Holly (Georgia) on 12/11/2020

I have a Maine Coon mix who seems to get sick every few months. I read briefly about Addisons and heard that it can often mimic other illnesses like URI and similar. Does anyone have any experience or info on Addisons in cats? I prefer to treatment animals at home, if I can help it, because there is always pressure at the vet to vacvinate which I feel causes more problems.

Replied by Roberts Vik
(EC's Facebook Page)
12/13/2020

For the cat with suspected Addison's, there are Non prescription herbal concoctions that help quite a bit, all you need to do is do a search for “ natural help for Addison's in cats. Since the cause is usually a hormonal issue, do a search for raw glandular for Addison's disease. You might also try vegetable sterols because it can be caused by auto immunity. I would limit using these to one at a time & giving at least 3 weeks to see if there's any improvement. Anything mentioned in my posts on this thread is available without prescription online & in health food &/or fitness stores & can be carefully used while watching the animals closely for any adverse effects (there really shouldn't be any, but caution is always advised).

DHEA

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Posted by Cherie (North Carolina) on 06/02/2014
 ★★★★★

Hi - My beloved Bear (a Great Pyrenees) was diagnosed with Addison's disease at the age of 2 1/2 years. I began the treatment of Percorton and prednisone. However, low doses of prednisone did not help him and higher doses made him feel awful, I was afraid I was going to have to put him down. I searched the internet for days and read that people with addition's benefited from taking DHEA (an over the counter, cheap supplement). So I began reducing Bear's prednisone and giving him instead DHEA. He immediately got better and better to where I quit giving him prednisone and continued the DHEA. I also salted his food everyday. He lived several more years. It was a blessing as I adored my sweet Bear.

Replied by Lorraine
(Ny)
01/16/2015

How much DHEA did you use on your dog and how many pounds was he. Also how much salt did you use?

Replied by Vanessa
(Fl)
02/03/2017

Did you stop giving him the Percorten injection as well as the prednisone?

Homeopathy

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Posted by Kelley (Boston) on 08/07/2019
 ★★★★★

My greyhound had Addison's disease for many years and we found a wonderful homeopathic vet that treated him and allowed him to live out his natural life. The vet never even met him, we did all consults over the phone. He felt the treatments were so effective he actually wrote and published a paper about the treatments.

Replied by Jay
(United States)
08/13/2019

Hi Kelley, Do you happen to have that vet's information? I'd like to contact him.

Kelley
(Massachusetts)
08/30/2019
★★★★★

Hi Jay, Sorry I just saw this, his Name is Dr. Jeff Levy, 413-268-3000. Tell him I referred you, my greyhound was Tom. Best wishes!!

Replied by Monica
(Anmore, BC)
08/29/2019

Hi Kelley, I would love the name & contact info for your holistic vet for a phone session. This disease has been heartbreaking & costly for our family. Thank you kindly. Blessings.

Kelley
(Massachusetts)
08/30/2019
★★★★★

Hi Monica, His name is Dr. Jeff Levy, 413-268-3000. Tell him Kelley referred you, my greyhound's name was Tom. Best wishes!!!

Licorice

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Posted by Nothy (Ancaster, On) on 01/23/2018
 ★★★★★

My dog is in the midst of being diagnosed. He has the symptoms an d the vet agrees it is Addisons but we are running more tests. I tried the licorice and I notice he feels better. Food stays down and no more diarrhea. The online sources I consulted said no more than two weeks without supplementing for sodium retention. Again You have to get the regular licorice not the deglycerized one which will not work for Addison dogs. I only used this for two weeks as suggested and I saw a big difference in my little guy.

Licorice
Posted by Simone (Ocala, Florida) on 02/10/2016
 ★★★★★

I self-diagnosed my very I'll JRT due to finances. She had multiple, severe attacks each day. I have (so far) had two weeks of success by administering LICORICE (regular / NOT "DGL"). I gave her divided doses 5-6 times per day ( total approx. 700 MG's).Now, I have reduced to (total 500 MG's) divided 3 times per day. So far, no attacks and back to energetic, playful little girl. I recommend checking with your holistic vet prior to treatment as I am not a professional. I am simply writing about my personal success and the chance I had to take to help her.

Replied by Darlene
(New Jersey)
02/27/2023
2 posts

Hi Simone, I know your post is from 2016 but in the event that you check back here could you pls tell me what kind of Licorice did you give your dog? Tincture? Capsules?

Thank you and I hope all is well with you and your pet.

Darlene

Supplements

Posted by Susana (New York) on 03/10/2015

I am working with a Kinesiologist (muscle testing) for my dog. I have not used any of the traditional veterinary suppressants for Addison's. I have been treating her for the past year, but I cannot give dosages as it changes with her health. We have been using (all human grade) a Standard Process product called drenamin, milk thistle, alfalfa, dandelion powder to name a few. There is a product by Pets Alive that is a liver and immune support that helps some, but does not help with all the symptoms. I have also taken her off regular food and have put her on EVO (low carb dry food) and Sojo's freeze dried vegetable based food. It seems as if carbohydrates/sugar is extremely bad for the adrenals.

Replied by Dr. Christina
(Sparks, Maryland)
11/26/2016

Next step, Susana, is to go to an all fresh food diet, using the foods you are eating (not grains). Being part of the family meal seems to actually help. Standard Process supplements are great. They are so committed to organic and employee satisfaction.

Of course, working with a great integrative vet would be the very best. I remember one Addisonian dog I treated who responded with seizures to the first homeopathic medicine, then was completely cured and needed no supplements (just fresh diet, no vaccines, no chemicals) for the next 3 years (was 15 when passed). My website has a list of all the different organization's websites and an article to help you select the best ones.

Replied by Marianne
(Tampa, Fl)
09/06/2017

I have also treated my 10 lbs Dachshund for Addisons by using Standard Process Drenamin. My holistic vet suggested the human grade, which she said is the exact same product ingredients as the powdered canine formula, but less expensive. You can buy this product on Amazon, but I buy it from Wellbeing GPS online out of Maryland. They have very good prices. I had a vet suggest my dog had Addisons due to her symptoms. I did not pay for expensive testing, which would have only resulted in prednisone anyway, and this was from a holistic vet. I just gently introduced Drenamin and increased it till the symptoms stopped.

Replied by Lorraine
(Rochester Ny)
08/22/2018

Could you tell me your website? I would like to get more information for my toy poodle that has Addisons....Thanks!



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