my toy poodle

Question
we are waiting to get test results back on my 5 1/2 yr old toy poodle.  he is being tested  for addison.  vet is pretty sure that is what he has.  My question is if he has to be on steroids for the rest of his life, what can i expect as far as side effects, quality of life, and life expectancy.  thanks so much.

Answer
Hello Brenda,
I haven't had alot of expirence with Addison's disease and Poodles, but I know that the steriods that they give the dogs are steroids that their body produces naturally and without them the dog will die.  Typically, the dog begins a regimin of the drugs that will taper over a few weeks.  With proper treatment, your dog should be able to live with a fairly normal quality of life and many dogs live as long as a dog without Addison's.
Frequent Vet visits are necessary to check the dogs blood levels of sodium and potassium to insure that the dog is not getting too much or too little of the steroids and to make sure that the dogs kidneys are working properly.  

Here are some websites that may help answer some common questions about dogs with Addison's Disease.
http://www.addisondogs.com/faqs/ http://www.addisondogs.com/
http://www.ehow.com/how_4516422_manage-dogs-addisons-disease-longterm.html
http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1534026

I checked these sites out and they had the best answers in the easiest to understand format.  
I hope this helps you some and that your dog starts doing better.  If you have other questions about this or other Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim