Coirtisone - are these side effects normal?

Little A

My 1 year old dog was prescribed Cortisone last week (5mg twice a day for a week & then 5mg twice a day, evey second day for 10 days). I was told nothing about side effects (though I had heard they are not good long term).

Last day or so I noticed she was weeing inside & is famished all the time - but today she can't seem to hold her wee at all - she lies down for a minute & leaves a puddle behind her or "drips" as she walks. While I feel for her & know it's not her fault - it's getting very annoying.

Is this normal?
Should I limit her water?
Should I increase her food for the week? She is sitting under the counter where her food is kept & whining!!

Anyone any experience? Help please!!

DancingDaisy

I would think that ringing your vet would be the best idea. It's possible that the medication is not agreeing with her. I wouldn't limit her water though.

ahaaha

my brothers dog is on it and is the same - constantly thirsty and hungry. the vet said to ensure she always has water and fed as usual as weight gain often occurs. i think you should talk to your vet for better info though

Little A

Thirtsy & hungry I can handle.....but dripping wee all over the place is abit driving me nuts! I'm putting her out side about every 15 mins, but it doesn;t seem to help, she just doesn;t seem to have any control today (from the afternoon....too late beofre I realised to contact the vet).

Maggie.23

Poor pup. I think the hunger pangs are normal. I would give her extra snacks seeing as she's only on the cortisone for a couple of weeks and she's young - any weight gained should come back off when she gets back to normal. I wouldn't limit her water. I think her constant need to urinate is normal too. Would it be possible to provide a litter tray for her to use (especially at night, if she is indoors at night)? Must stress I'm not a vet. I agree with the others about ringing your vet.

soulstaf

You should ask your vet.



Steroids mimic the action of the adrenal glands, which produce the hormone cortisol, cortisol has potent anti-inflammatory properties.

Typically, if prescribed orally, these medications are given at an initial starting dose, and then tapered to lower doses, until discontinued.

This class of steroids tends to mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the body known as adrenaline. While a patient is taking anti-inflammatory steroids, the patient's production of adrenaline may decrease, as the body "sees" the orally administered steroid as the same molecule.

If the steroids are then discontinued abruptly, this decreased production of adrenaline can be detrimental to the patient. Therefore, a tapering of the oral dose of steroid is necessary to prevent a possible deficit of adrenaline in the patients body.

Side effects - of anti-inflammatory steroids can be numerous. In dogs and less often in cats, the most commonly seen side effects include an increase in thirst and appetite, followed by an increase in urine production, and possible weight gain.

Long term usage of steroids, may induce internal changes to the patients body, resulting in an over-production of the patient's cortisol (patient's own body steroid) production. This condition, known as Cushing's disease, can necessitate the need for specific treatment.