19 Ryde Road, Pymble, NSW 2073
Bruno’s Broken Glands
By Helen Burns | Dated June 29, 2018
Bruno may sound like a big tough dog, but he certainly wasn’t feeling like that when he came to Gordon Vet earlier this week. He had some diarrhea, didn’t want to eat or drink and was feeling weak. Within 24 hours Bruno had collapsed and was unable to walk. His temperature was 3 degrees below normal, and he was understandably miserable.
Bruno as he recovered from his nasty case of Addison’s disease.
Of course his owners were very worried, as were we. He was immediately warmed up, with what we call a bair hugger, which blew hot air into a blanket cocooned around Bruno. So, while Bruno was getting nice and toasty warm, his blood tests were run in our in house lab. The results showed that he was indeed a very sick boy, suffering from severe dehydration, low blood sugar and electrolytes that were haywire. A further blood test, in which we assessed his body’s response to a hormone called ACTH, revealed that his adrenal glands were not doing their job. Bruno had Addison’s disease and needed emergency stabilization.
Addison’s disease is a condition in which the adrenal glands which are situated in the abdomen just near the kidneys, don’t work as well as they should. In fact, when a patient is sick with Addison’s disease, they have usually lost more than 90% of their adrenal function. This results in loss of control of fluid balance in the body (leading to dehydration), reduced ability to physiologically respond to stress, as well as severe life-threatening abnormalities in their blood sodium, potassium and glucose levels.
We are so pleased to say that after 48 hours of intravenous fluids, cortisone and a very large dose of TLC, Bruno is now eating and drinking well, running around happily, and is very grateful for his treatment if the number of licks we have all received is anything to go by! This little guy will be on lifelong medication for his condition, however with careful monitoring he should continue to power on for a long time to come.
Bruno became hungry soon after his condition was treated.
Written by Helen Burns
Helen graduated from Sydney Uni in 1997 with First Class Honours and worked in a practice on the Northern Beaches for 16 years. Helen joined the Gordon Vet team early in 2014 and our clients have really enjoyed getting to know her. She loves being a vet and takes a keen interest in all of her patients. Her gentle, friendly nature helps pets to feel relaxed when they visit the vet. Helen lives locally and has 3 children. At least one of her children seems destined to be a vet! When not ferrying her children around, Helen cares for her menagerie of pets. These include Chloe the dog, Obi and Leia the cats, Little Cocky the galah and Rosie the very tame eclectus parrot who all happily coexist at her house. In her spare time, Helen likes to be active outdoors, running, kayaking, camping or playing any manner of sport with her children.
