Why does my dog constantly pant, drink, eat, and urinate large amounts since prednisone therapy was started to treat his/her neurological disease?
These symptoms are common adverse effects of prednisone therapy especially at the initial high doses needed to treat some neurological conditions. The symptoms occur because the medication makes your dog feel warm, thirsty and hungry all the time even if they are in a cool place and just ate or drank. In some case, the precise amount of water your dog needs a day can be calculated by your dog’s neurologist so the water can be limited to the right amount and offered evenly throughout the day to prevent excessive drinking and urinating so your dog does not urinate in the house. The panting generally cannot be stopped. If the adverse effects are very bad, sometimes switching to a slightly more expensive steroid drug called methylprednisolone will reduce this adverse effect in some dogs, but not all. None of the above is true in cats. Cats should not have any adverse effects on steroid (generally trimacinolone) therapy. If your cat drinks more or urinates more on triamcinolone medication i
