Addison’s Disease in Dogs: Symptoms, Causes & Herbal Support

Hi, this is Rita Hogan, and welcome to the Dogs Are Individuals podcast. I'm a clinical canine herbalist, and I've been practicing for over 20 years. This podcast is all about your dog through an herbal lens. So let's get to it and dive right in.

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another edition of the Dogs Are Individuals podcast. So I'm Rita Hokan, your host. We are talking today about Addison's disease in dogs. I don't think it's as prevalent as Cushing's disease, but it's definitely something we want to know and talk about and figure out and go through here. I do want to give you a quick update on the book tour. It's going well out here on the East Coast. I don't have another event until May 12, but that's just a booth at Dr. Judy Morgan's event in Orlando, Florida. And then I have a few events after that in Largo, Melbourne, and Fort Lauderdale. So those will be coming up on. Those will be posted on theherbaldog.com under Tour Dates in just about a week or so. So check those out. So I do want to thank my sponsors for my book tour real quick. Goodness gracious. Real Mushrooms, Green juju, Earth Buddy, Coco Therapy, Innovative Pet Lab, Anacelle. Just some really great people, Pawdega. You know, I wouldn't be here without them. So having a great time, something special. I leave tomorrow for my research trip on plant stem cells for Italy. Gonna be in Italy for about 14 days. I'm super excited, and I'm super excited to bring you back some great information on plant stem cells. I've done a couple of podcasts about using plant stem cells, and it is a passion of mine, and I'm excited to go on this research trip, and I will definitely have a podcast about it. So let's get to it about Addison's disease. So Addison's disease is called hypoadrenochord. You know, I love big, big names. It's hyperadrenalism, basically. And it occurs when the adrenal glands don't produce enough steroid hormones, you know, cortisol. Okay. Aldosterone. These hormones are really, you know, like, vital for regulating metabolism, for your dog's stress response, for your dog's blood pressure, and definitely how the body deals and balances electrolytes. So those are the things that you, you know, you look at when you're looking at Addison's disease. It's the opposite of Cushing's, which we talked about in the last session on the podcast. So what causes Addison's? So I'm a big believer in the stress response. Stress in the nervous system are the underlying issues for so many problems of today's dogs and people. But you get the stress response from too much overreaction, just like with Cushing's, you know, but the body goes to the adrenal tissue and creates autoimmune. So autoimmune, in my opinion, can't happen unless we have, like, leaky gut and the body falls to the, you know, the spectrum of deep cold or deep heat. And so autoimmune is a big issue in itself. But Addison's is the autoimmune kind of destruction of the adrenal tissue. That's the most common issue, but that's not the cause. Like, the underlying cause of all of it is. That's a symptom, in my opinion. So the underlying cause would be issues with hormones, the organs that govern the hormones. And of course, stress, spay and neuter can definitely contribute to this as well, just like Cushing's. Another reason why we have Addison's is or can be the withdrawal from steroids. So, you know, being on steroids too long, when you get rid of steroids, when your dog has been on steroids a really long time, that can cause Addison's, and then just the destruction of the adrenal gland itself. So that can come from infection. It can come from, like, a hemorrhage, which is going to be a symptom of something else. And then, of course, you can have adrenal cancer. So those are some of the causes for dogs. What are the symptoms? So let's go over these. Well, you know, one big one is loss of appetite, weight loss in general, shaking, weakness, lethargy, increased thirst and urination. Sometimes, you know, owners can think that their dog has diabetes, and it's really. It's Addison's. Vomiting, diarrhea, low heart rate. That's a big one. But, I mean, I don't know a lot of people that take their dog's heart rate. But I think that, you know, using the inner thigh to take the heart rate is a good indication. You should write it down to see when your dog's heart rate changes. Like, those are the main symptoms. And how do you get a diagnosis of Addison's? So your vet is gonna give you cortisol baseline levels, right? They're going to check the cortisol. Last week, we talked about act, and we're going to. They're going to do a stimulation test of. Test of that Many will, some won't, but I think that it's needed. And then they're going to do an electrolyte panel that shows, you know, your. So your dog's sodium and potassium. With Addison's, you're going to get low sodium and you're going to get high potassium. So I think that, I guess if you are thinking that your dog might have Addison's, definitely try to get those tests. Treatment for Addison's, for conventional treatment for allopathy, or some people say allopathy, it has to be pretty, like, long term. And most people, if, like, there's these things called. It's like an Addison crisis, you know, your dog just goes down really quickly and they're going to help with stabilization of your dog. Lots of fluids, lots of electrolytes. They're going to probably suggest hormone replacement. Some of those can be usually injections. And of course, I think the standard of care might be prednisone. I'm not positive on that because I'm not a vet, but I think it is. I'm not positive, but it's definitely hormone replacement for sure because you're not producing enough hormone where Cushing's produces too much hormone. So this is an herbal podcast. So let's talk about what herbs you can use for your dog to support the adrenal glands. And you want to stabilize electrolytes, you want to nourish the body, the nervous system, the endocrine system. You want to strengthen and basically cause vitality. You want to work with that autoimmune disease, if that is the cause, and support the adrenal glands gently. So, I mean, a lot of people will be like, well, you know, herbs can't, cannot replace the required hormone therapy in dogs. And that's a matter of opinion. And it can be an integrative approach, too. It can be an integrative approach. However, if you fix the source problem, the root, then the Addison's gets so much better and can go into remission. Some of the herbs that are used for Addison's disease are pretty popular. Like, you'll be like, oh, I know that herb. Well, I'm hoping that you might know these herbs. So one is licorice root, and you can use the diglycerides form of it. Licorice root is an adaptogen. It has cortisol mimicking effects. Okay, so. And it's an adrenal tonic. It's a really good herb that is used for so many things, and it's neutral in its energetics. If you don't know what energetics are. Check out my energetics course. And of course you should have a copy of the Herbal Dog, my book, my new book. I've just gotten so much great feedback on my book and I'm really excited to share that with you. So pick that up anywhere you buy books. You can also get it@canineherbalist.com okay, so. Oh, and@theherpledog.com. hello. Hi. So anyways, dried root, you don't need a lot. It's 116 of a teaspoon for every £10. And you give it once daily, not twice. Okay. Then we have a extract. You can do a tincture that's one drop per 10 pounds body weight. And then you can do an extract and that would be two to three drops. Extract is the glycerin based form of licorice. That'd be three drops for every 10 pounds of body weight, once daily. And you have to give licorice. If you don't use the diglyceride form, which is dgl, you need to give it a break. So you do it for about four weeks. Then you take like a two week break and then you can give it again. It's definitely contraindicated for dogs with high blood pressure or heart disease without being, you know, I would definitely talk to your holistic vet and monitor if you're using licorice for long term. Ashwagandha. Okay. Ashwagandha is, is nice and warming. It's an adaptogen. It helps regulate the endocrine system. It helps with stress and stabilizing the nervous system, which is something that we have to do when we're dealing with any type of autoimmune disease or Cushing's, Addison's and the like. So ashwagandha, 18 teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight. I like to do it twice daily. You can do it once daily. And then the tincture is one drop for every 10 pounds of body weight. And if you're doing a glycerin, I would do three drops for every 10 pounds of body weight. And I would do that twice daily. Another good adaptogen for Addison's disease is Siberian ginseng. And that's like erythrococcus centiposis, I believe. It definitely is for adrenal depletion. And it's an adaptogenic. It helps increase the resilience to stress. It helps with dealing with stress. And again, we need to stabilize the nervous system. Don't do ashwagandha and Siberian ginseng together. Okay. I would do ashwagandha first. See how that works. Siberian ginseng. That the dried root is 18 of a teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight. And I would give that once daily. The tincture, again, same thing. One drop for every ten pounds. A glycerin extract is three drops for every ten pounds. So another great herb for Addison's is schisandra. And that is, again, it's a light adaptogen. It's called the five flavor herb. Most dogs can handle it just fine. It can be a little stimulating. It helps with the liver, it increases energy, so it's good for dogs that have lethargy. And it helps balance cortisol. So this one's a little less in its dosage. It's 116 of a teaspoon for 10 pounds of weight. And you do that once daily. You can also give it twice if you need to. But I do once. See how that goes over a period of six weeks before you increase. And then a tincture, same dosage, one drop for 10 pounds. Glycerate, three drops for 10 pounds. I don't know how Sajandra or Sojandra, however you want to pronounce it. I don't know how it extracts in glycerin, so I can't really speak to that. But that would be the dosage, if that's what I was doing. And then some people use, like astralagus root and Romania and tcm, you can use those for sure. They help build energy. They're like astrologous is a mild adrenal tonic. It helps support the immune system. If you're using the dried root, I think it's like 18 teaspoon per 10 pounds. Same dosage on the tincture and the glycerins as the rest. Rehmania, you can start with 18 teaspoon once or twice daily. Same dosages on the tincture and the extract. But I don't, you know, I'm not advising you to give all of these at once. You could give licorice, dgl, licorice, and one other herb and see how things go before adding anything else. Be very, you know, be very intentional in your choices. And then nutrition is also very important. It can't be overlooked. Right. Again, you want to stabilize the nervous system, so Ashwagandha is good for that. You can also use milky oats if your dog is warm. Avena Sativa, that's an excellent nerve tonic for Addison's. And nettles are always good. And just go Low and slow, right? Low and slow. And work your way up to see what kind of difference you can make. Now, there are other options. In the Addison's department, these options are plant stem cells. So remember, I'm going to go study plant stem cells again. Well, not again, but I'm obsessed with plant stem cells, but I'm going to study them with someone who uses them and creates them and researches them. So I'm excited about that. But plant stem cells are good for Addison's. Remember, we're dealing with low cortisol, so you can use plant stem cells. The one that I love for Addison's is called black currant ribus nigrum. You can get it on my website. You can also get it commercially. It's warming. It's for chronic conditions, but it can be used for all energetics. So if your dog is more on the warm side, you can give it along with something cooling. I always kind of pick like organic rose hips is nice if your dog isn't too dry. And it's awesome for autoimmune. You can use it long term. It's wonderful for balancing the adrenal system. It's absolutely great for adrenal fatigue. It's good for autoimmune disease. Wonderful for low cortisol. It is just a awesome, awesome, awesome remedy. It's powerful. So when you use it, when you use it, you want to start out low and slow. So with your dog, I'd start out with one drop of the tincture, the phytoembryonic therapy. And I do that once a day for maybe three days. Then add another drop that, you know, you know, later on in the day, see how that goes for a little bit, and then just keep upping the dose. I definitely would not go over like 3 drops for an extra small dog, 5 drops for a small dog, 10 drops for a medium dog, 15 for a large, and 20 for an extra large dog. Now, this is for Addison's disease. That is Addison's disease. Dosages. Okay. Little different if you're using it for something else, but again, low and slow and see how much your dog needs. Give it time. Addison's did not develop overnight, not at all. So just give it time. You know, don't give a high dosage of this remedy right off the bat because it can cause overstimulation. Again, start out low and slow and work your way up. All right. Low and slow and work your way up. So another remedy in the plant stem cell is zea maize, and that is corn. So it is the germinating seeds of corn, organic corn. You can use it long term. There's no like, safety things that you have to worry about. It can be used for Addison's, adrenal exhaustion, autoimmune conditions and support. It's just a wonderful, wonderful remedy. It helps with mold exposure. It's detoxifying again. It's another one that you need to like, go low and slow. Same dosages there and as the, as the black currant. Just take your time and see how that goes. Now, while you're working with Addison's, you want to make sure that again, you're supporting the nervous system, you're supporting the liver, and you're supporting the lymphatic system. Okay? So if you have a warm dog, let's give a couple drops of cleavers, if you have a cool dog, a couple drops of calendula along with this herbal regimen. And just observe your dog, see if they're improving. The goal is to improve symptoms over six to 12 weeks and that's any improvement. And when you get improvement, you can work with dosages if you need to. But again, give it time, 12, 15, 20 weeks to see if things are improving because this just takes, it takes a lot of time. I think patience again is the biggest deterrent for any holistic protocol. Work with your holistic vet. Even if you get a holistic vet that you can confer with online and ask questions and you can also write into the podcast@canineherbalist.com There's a podcast contact there. You can write into the podcast. I can answer it live here on the pod. Special thanks to my podcast sponsors, Green Juju and Real Mushrooms. Super excited about Green Juju's coming out with new probiotics. They should be out in May. And really, really excited about those. I'm going to tell you all about those. In fact, I think we might do a podcast session on them because they are going to be a very important part of the all natural dog world in their ability to repair the gut. So excited about that. Real mushrooms for. I know this is a dog podcast, but for those that have our feline friends, I have two lovely cats, Oscar and Carl, and they have come out with a feline, kind of like a feline version of the daily dog. So check that out. I don't carry it in my store. You'll have to go to realmushrooms.com but check that out. So I appreciate you. I always do.

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The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for veterinary care. This podcast doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor, veterinarian or healthcare provider first before starting anything new. And that includes herbs. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat disease or prescribe anything. I'm a traditional herbalist providing herbal support education only. Regarding any products I may suggest the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here on the podcast is not meant as a substitute or alternative to information from your vet. Please consult your veterinary professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any production.