I may be wrong….

I know Jet is having a problem with ACTH.  That much I'm pretty sure about.  But, maybe he has the opposite of Cushing's disease and has Addison's disease.

Symptoms and Types

Symptoms will vary depending on the duration of the problem. Life-threatening symptoms are usually observed in acute episodes of this disease. The following symptoms are commonly observed in dogs:

• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite (anorexia)
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
• Diarrhea
• Shaking
• Increased frequency of urination (polyuria)
• Increased thirst (polydipsia)
• Depression
• Dehydration
• Weak pulse
• Collapse
• Low temperature
• Blood in feces
• Hair loss (alopecia)
• Painful abdomen

  Causes

  
  
  • Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency
  • Metastatic tumors
  • Long term glucocorticoid withdrawal

Gosh darn it all…guess I will have to take him in for some blood tests.  What's another few hundred dollars during the holidays for a dying dog :0(

I think this has been harder on me than Jet.  It's just that Jet has given me such joy in my life.  Plus, he looks up me with those big brown eyes wanting me to help him, be with him.  It's almost more than I can bare.  I know he is having abdominal pain.  I try to  keep him comfortable with pain pills.  He still enjoys going for a walk every day.  But, now he is shaking and mildly hypothermic.  Ugh.  I am so conflicted about my soul mate.

Every time I come home, every time I wake up, I check to see if he is still breathing.  I get up several times during the night to get him to go outside to pee or he would be too stiff to be able to get up by himself.

When I take a bath, no matter whether he is on his death bed or not, he comes and checks on me in the tub at least several times.  He always has and will until he collapses.  The devotion of this dog is unparalleled by any other dog I have ever owned.  Dear sweet Jet.

It is interfering with me taking a job.  I really need to work, but what am I going to do with Jet?  Maybe, I'll just have to give myself a break and deal with this after Wayne arrives.  Maybe, he can offer some kind of supportive answers.

Thanks for listening.  Wishing you all peace through the holidays and me, peace of mind.

Addendum:

If anything, I'm learning a lot…...

Hypoadrenocorticism (Addisons disease) is an endocrine disorder usually seen in specific breeds and coming on at a much younger age than 14.  The only way to think he is afflicted with it now is to imagine there is an invasive adrenal tumor causing inability of the adrenals to secrete the appropriate hormone.  But, if the tumor is only on one adrenal, then the other one should function fine.  

Cushings, the opposite, can be caused by ONE tumor because it is an oversupply of the hormone so one adrenal makes too much (the other adrenal tends to shrink in compensation). If you have a tumor suppressing one gland then the opposite adrenal would be expected to ramp up production to compensate.  Not saying it is impossible, nothing is impossible, but I would think unlikely. 

The firsts test for Addisons is Na:K ratio. If it is abnormal that is most often due to Addisons.  But dogs have have normal ratios and still be afflicted. The next test is an ACTH stim test. This is also a test of Cushings but not always a very good one. It is a better test for Cushings. 

I  can see that you are keying in on the low temp and the shaking signs listed for Addisons. But they are a result of the severe hypotension that is a result of dehydration that is a result of the failure of the normal water balance system due to hormone abnormalities. So you would be unlikely to have JUST those things (shaking, low temp).  You should have the hypotension and that in general gives you collapse.  Like, really severe. 

The cure for addisions is steroids and another drug (percorten) if Na/K is off. . 

Hypoadrenocorticism in Dogs