Hi everyone, we’ve just found out that our dog has Addison’s disease. This involves lifelong monthly treatment costing around £130 a month, which is a massive amount for us. Is anyone else in the same boat? Do you have any advice or suggestions for us? Thanks for your help, we’re feeling a bit desperate about the whole situation, especially as our dog is only eighteen months old. Thanks for your replies.
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
Good evening, I'm feeding him Hill's Prescription Diet w/d Diabetes Care, following my vet's advice and based on his health issues. But I'm not surprised—steroids definitely help them, but they cause so many problems. Weight fluctuations, hair loss and/or changes to the coat, skin conditions, little skin lumps, and recently liver disease, etc. etc. It’s really not easy for the poor things, or for us. Emotionally, but especially financially, it’s a real struggle!
Evening, I’m feeding him Hill’s Prescription Diet w/d Diabetes Care following my vet’s advice based on his health issues. It doesn’t surprise me though; steroids definitely help, but they cause so many problems too. Weight fluctuations, fur loss or changes in the coat, skin conditions, little skin lumps, and recently liver disease etc. etc... It’s really not easy, not for the poor things and not for us either. Emotionally, but especially financially, it’s a real struggle!
Hi, same here—my dog has Addison’s which was diagnosed in January 2024. I nearly lost her; she went from 57lbs (about 4 stone) down to 37lbs 😢. She spent five days in the vet hospital and now has blood tests and an injection every 25 days, on top of her daily steroids. She’s recovered well and is back to her normal weight, but she looks quite big, almost bloated, which I think is because of the steroids.
What food are you giving yours? My vet didn’t suggest any specific dry food for this condition.
(And yeah, same regarding the price—about £185 every 25 days). I took out pet insurance but it was too late as she’d already been diagnosed before I signed up 😢
My dog has also just been diagnosed with Addison’s disease and I’d like to chat with other owners whose dogs have this condition and talk about the expensive treatment involved.
Evening, my dog is 7 and a half and has also just been diagnosed. She’s on 10mg of prednisolone a day, but my vet has prescribed 0.1mg of fludrocortisone and it’s costing about £230 a month. It’s a total disaster for us... because it's just too expensive! 😳😥😢
There are specialist compounding pharmacies that can deliver if you can’t find what you need at a local chemist. Most towns will have at least one pharmacy that works directly with a specialist lab.
It’s also worth checking what treatment your little one is being put on, as there is often a human equivalent available. These versions are usually much cheaper. Your vet will just need to specify this on the prescription (e.g. 'to be substituted with...').
Hi there, my dog has had Addison’s disease for 5 years now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. For his treatment, I get his meds made up directly by a lab, which works out much cheaper. I can give you the contact details. Even so, this condition is still really expensive.
Thanks, but luckily we’ve also found a much more affordable solution by getting capsules made up – it’s cut the price by 10 times! Now we’re just hoping the treatment is right for him!!! We’ll see what the next blood tests show. Thanks for your reply!
Hi there, check with your local pharmacies to see if they work with a lab that can prepare your medication. Plenty of them do, and it’ll be much, much cheaper than buying the standard boxes. These labs can make up the treatment for one to three months at a time. Usually, if you get a three-month supply, the price is discounted. (You can start doing this once your dog’s condition has stabilised).
