Central Diabetes Insipidus (tumors, vet, wound, prescription)

[bluedog2]

Hi All,
My young male dog was recently diagnosed with this supposedly extremely rare endocrine disorder.

Basically, his pituitary gland is no longer secreting any or at least not enough of the hormone (ADH) that regulates thirst, water intake and urination so he began consuming massive amounts of water and urinating equally massive amounts.He is only 20 mos old and had normal water consumption and urination until a few mos ago. The diagnosis process was long with many tests to eliminate other possible diseases/disorders that exhibit similar symptoms. Luckily there is a synthetic replacement hormone( desmopressin) that stops the over consumption of water and the constant peeing but he has to stay on the medication 3 times a day for the rest of his life. The diagnosis was confirmed by the fact that the reaction was almost instantaneous. Literally went from water obsession to water indifference within a few hours on the first dose.

At this stage they have labeled his condition as idiopathic ( of unknown origin). Sometimes they can find a reason for this ( like pituitary tumors) but a lot of the time they can't.

I am happy that there is this solution and he is no longer constantly thirsty but am worried about his future and have a lot of questions. Anyone on here have a dog with this condition? The term idiopathic seems like a cop out to me and I worry that there is some underlying reason that just hasn't surfaced yet.

Hoping to find others who have dealt with this diagnosis and would love to have someone tell me that they have or had a dog with idiopathic Central Diabetes Insipidus that lived a normal life for many years after diagnosis and going on the medication.

Thanks

[ZSP]

You could always get a 2nd opinion...even a specialist. if you're willing to drive the distance to one...likely Albuquerque or east toward Dallas or Austin.

Come back and let us know how things go for your dog.

[Katie1]

https://www.bing.com/search?q=Centra...cd23781421d2a7

[terracore]

One of our dogs had this. We wound up getting a second opinion from an out-of-state vet who helped us treat it.

How old is the dog? Neutered? If diagnosed and treated early enough it might go away when the dog transitions through adolescence.

[terracore]

We treated our dog with Desmopressin and the diabetes insipidus resolved itself as part of the growing process. It was very expensive but we were able to use GoodRx to get a big discount on the Desmopressin. I don't know if GoodRx is "supposed" to be use for pet prescriptions, but none of the pharmacies we used seemed to care. From what our consult vet told us, sometimes the diabetes insipidus is sort of like bedwetting in children, the dogs can grow out of it when they get older, but with dogs there is only a resolution if they are treated when they are younger. If they aren't treated, their bladders never physically develop the ability to retain urine, and they "learn" to be constantly thirsty, so even if the endocrine problem resolves, the dog will drink too much and be incontinent the rest of it's life.

Our regular vet didn't know any of this and originally told us, "she's going to be an outside dog" but had no problem prescribing the desmopressin when we presented the treatment plan the consult vet came up with.

After she became an adult dog, we tapered off the Desmopressin and the diabetes insipidus was gone. It is possible it can return when she becomes elderly but we've had 6 years without any symptoms.

There was more to the treatment plan than this synopsis, like frequent testing of the urine with a refractometer etc, but it was years ago and my wife did most of it.

Since this was 6ish years ago, there may be better treatment options available now, but you might have to shop around to find a vet who knows how to treat the condition.

[bluedog2]

Originally Posted by terracore

We treated our dog with Desmopressin and the diabetes insipidus resolved itself as part of the growing process. It was very expensive but we were able to use GoodRx to get a big discount on the Desmopressin. I don't know if GoodRx is "supposed" to be use for pet prescriptions, but none of the pharmacies we used seemed to care. From what our consult vet told us, sometimes the diabetes insipidus is sort of like bedwetting in children, the dogs can grow out of it when they get older, but with dogs there is only a resolution if they are treated when they are younger. If they aren't treated, their bladders never physically develop the ability to retain urine, and they "learn" to be constantly thirsty, so even if the endocrine problem resolves, the dog will drink too much and be incontinent the rest of it's life.

Our regular vet didn't know any of this and originally told us, "she's going to be an outside dog" but had no problem prescribing the desmopressin when we presented the treatment plan the consult vet came up with.

After she became an adult dog, we tapered off the Desmopressin and the diabetes insipidus was gone. It is possible it can return when she becomes elderly but we've had 6 years without any symptoms.

There was more to the treatment plan than this synopsis, like frequent testing of the urine with a refractometer etc, but it was years ago and my wife did most of it.

Since this was 6ish years ago, there may be better treatment options available now, but you might have to shop around to find a vet who knows how to treat the condition.

Thanks. My dog is a 20 mo old neutered male . He is on desmopressin now and the symptoms have gone. I am very encouraged about your dog's "growing out" of the problem. I might try to wean him off of the desmopressin in another 6 mos or so and see what happens.