Addison's disease

Good evening, My 8-year-old dog Massilia has been on treatment since the start of the year. We were originally quoted around £220 a month for her medication (fludrocortisone). In the end, we found an equivalent made up by a local compounding pharmacy. It only costs us about £22 a month, plus 2.5mg of prednisolone (Solupred) a day! And the treatment has worked wonders!!! Best of luck to everyone!

Good evening, my girl was diagnosed a year ago after she had a major Addisonian crisis; she ended up staying at the vet for 5 days. So now, every month she has Zycortal and 10mg Dermipred. At the start, she was on 2.2ml of Zycortal every 25 days, but after a year she’s down to 1.2ml every 30 days. This is costing me about £60 every month (blood test and Dermipred) and then £150 every 3 months (the price of the medication which lasts 3 months) + the blood test. I’ve just had a look at the discharge notes from the referral hospital where she stayed, and they administered 1.3ml (1.5mg/kg), which is to be done every 28 to 30 days. So, £145 without the consultation fee—there must be a mistake. I only paid £50 at the specialist hospital. Even if it’s naturally more expensive, it’s not right that it’s triple the price. I’d honestly rather do a 2-hour round trip to pay three times less...

Good evening, If I may, try to see if you can switch to oral medication instead. You could look into using a specialist compounding pharmacy to have them made up for you. My Bull is on prednisolone (currently on an alternative brand due to a shortage) and fludrocortisone, both taken morning and evening. I get the capsules made up for a 3-month supply, which costs around £95 through my local chemist (though specialist pharmacies can often deal with pet owners directly if needed). We have a check-up every 6 months at the vet, and we adjust his treatment as necessary. It’s been going like this for 5 years now and everything is spot on. I can go away on trips without any worries; as long as he has his meds, he’s fine. Injections are not only pricey but can also be a real headache to manage long-term—for instance, if you’re away or if something like Covid disrupts things again. You really have to think of everything with this condition! Thankfully, I found a specialist pharmacy and some brilliant vets who look for sustainable, affordable solutions. Otherwise, I’d never have been able to afford his care, especially during that first year with the number of check-ups needed to find the right dosage. Hang in there, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything!!

Good evening, my girl was diagnosed with Addison's disease a year ago after she had a major crisis and had to stay at the vet's for five days. Since then, she’s been on Zycortal and 10mg of Dermipred (prednisolone) every month. In the beginning, she was having 2.2ml of Zycortal every 25 days, but after a year, she’s now down to 1.2ml every 30 days. It ends up costing me about £60 every month for the blood tests and the tablets, and then every three months it's around £150 for the Zycortal itself (the vial lasts three months) plus the cost of the blood work.

The vet checked the human equivalent and it's even more expensive. We’re going to call the vet school tomorrow to see if they'd be willing to provide her treatment for free. Fingers crossed. We’ve run out of other options. And that £155 is just for the meds. We've spent about £145 on follow-ups this month. It’s a huge amount. Hello. Did you manage to find a solution? Are you still paying that much? I might be able to help, I pay much less than that. Hi, my 2-year-old dog has just been diagnosed with Addison’s disease. Would it be possible to find out how you manage to pay less? Thanks! Hi, you need to find a pharmacy that works with a specialist compounding lab. (Don't give up, check them all, there’s bound to be one!) They’ll make up the treatment for the duration specified by the vet. (In a few weeks or months, once your girl's treatment has stabilised and the vet gives the okay, you can ask for a 3-month supply. The longer the supply, the cheaper it works out). What treatment is she on at the moment? Best regards. Thanks for the quick reply! I’m not exactly sure yet, I’m picking her up this evening from the referral hospital. They mentioned injections and that each one costs about £85, but there’s the admin fee and follow-up on top of that, so I imagine it’ll come to at least £170 a month... Thanks so much for your help. Right. See what the vet suggests this evening first. For mine, it was £85 for one medication per week. Since he needed two, plus the constant check-ups at the start of the illness, it just wouldn't have been doable. Luckily we found this solution thanks to a new vet. Do come back and let me know the verdict and what they’ve suggested. Hang in there! Good evening. So, Nala (a Malinois x Beauceron cross, 2 years and 2 months old) is having a Zycortal injection every month as well as half a 10mg prednisolone tablet a day... They haven't told me what the Zycortal dose will be yet. I’ve got an appointment on the 21st. My vet charges £148 just for the product (they don’t charge for the consultation), but a pharmacy nearby charges £112. For now, I’ll get it from there while I look for a cheaper option.

The vet checked for a human equivalent, but it’s actually even more expensive. We’re going to call the vet school tomorrow to see if they’d be willing to provide her treatment for free. Fingers crossed. We’re out of other options. And that £155 is just for the medication. We’ve already spent about £145 this month on follow-up appointments. It’s a massive amount. Hi. Did you manage to find a solution? Are you still paying that much? I might be able to help, I pay way less than that. Hi, my 2-year-old dog has just been diagnosed with Addison’s disease. Would it be possible to find out how you manage to pay less? Thanks. Hi there, you need to find a pharmacy that works with a specialist laboratory for compounding. (Don’t give up, try them all, there’s bound to be one!!) They’ll prepare the treatment for the duration specified by the vet. (In a few weeks or months, once your girl’s treatment has stabilised and with the vet’s go-ahead, you can ask for a 3-month supply. The longer the supply, the cheaper it gets). What treatment is she on at the moment? Best regards. Thanks for such a quick reply! I’m not exactly sure yet, I’m picking her up this evening from the specialist animal hospital... They mentioned injections that cost about £85 each, but then there’s the appointment fee and the follow-up on top of that, so I imagine it’ll come to at least £170 a month... Thanks so much for your help. Right, I see. See what the vet suggests this evening first. For mine, it was about £85 for one medication per week. Knowing he needed two, plus the constant check-ups at the start of the illness, it just wouldn't have been doable. Fortunately, we found this solution thanks to a new vet. Don't hesitate to come back and let me know the verdict and what they suggest. Best of luck.

The vet looked into the human equivalent and it's even more expensive. We're going to call the vet school tomorrow to see if they're willing to provide her treatment for free. Fingers crossed. We’ve run out of other options. And that £155 is just for the medication. We’ve got another £145 to pay this month for the follow-up care. It’s an enormous amount. Hi. Did you manage to find a solution? Are you still paying that much? I can help you, I pay much less than that. Hello, my 2-year-old girl has just been diagnosed with Addison’s disease. Would it be possible to know how you manage to pay less? Thanks. Hello, you need to find a compounding pharmacy that works with a specialist lab. (Don’t give up, try every single one, there’s bound to be one!!) They’ll prepare the treatment for the duration specified by the vet. (In a few weeks or months, once your pup’s treatment has stabilised with the vet’s approval, you can ask for a 3-month supply. The longer the duration, the cheaper it works out). What treatment is she on currently? Best regards. Thanks for your quick reply! I don’t know exactly yet, I’m picking her up this evening from the referral hospital... I was told about injections that cost about £85 each, but then there’s the cost of the appointment and the follow-up on top of that, so I imagine it’ll be at least £170 a month... Thanks so much for your help.

The vet looked into the human equivalent and it’s even more expensive. We’re going to call the vet school tomorrow to see if they’d be willing to provide the treatment for free. Fingers crossed. We’re out of options. And the £155 is just for the medication. We’ve spent about £145 this month on follow-up care. It’s a huge amount. Hi. Did you find a solution? Are you still paying that much? I can help you out, I pay a lot less than that. Hello, my 2-year-old girl has just been diagnosed with Addison’s disease. Would it be possible to know how you manage to pay less? Thank you. Hi, you need to find a pharmacy that works with a specialist compounding laboratory. (Don’t give up, keep trying them all, there’s bound to be one!) They will prepare the treatment for the duration prescribed by the vet. (In a few weeks or months, once your pup’s treatment has stabilised and with your vet’s go-ahead, you can ask for a 3-month supply. The longer the supply, the cheaper it becomes). What medication is she on at the moment? Best regards.