From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-03-13 16:46:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Lysodren vs. Lupron
>
>I am new to this list, so I apologize if these questions have been
>asked before. I have 5 ferrets. X-rays confirmed that "Rascal" has
>a mass in his abdomen and my vet recommended exploratory
>surgery. "Nick" and "Vicki" are losing their hair and the vet said
>that it was most likely due to adrenal disease. He told me that
>cryosurgery on Nick and Vicki would cost around $350 each. He
>correctly assumed that I cannot afford three surgeries at this time
>and recommended Lysodren for Nick and Vicki. I have been reading
>about Lysodren and Lupron, but am still unclear about what the
>differences are and which would be the best treatment. Also, do they
>need a blood test before taking the medication? My vet just told me
>to watch for lethargy after beginning the treatment. I would
>appreciate any advice. Thank you!
>
>Joy Holmes
Joy, I am not a vet, just a long-time ferret person. Is the blood
test the vet wants to do the Tennessee Panel? If so, your vet likely
is trying to see if the hormonal levels in the test warrant treatment
or if you might as window in which to save the money needed for the
surgeries.
The medications which are available are not cures; surgery usually is.
We used Lysodren back probably over 10(?) years ago when it was used
pretty regularly though experimentally on ferrets. As Bruce Williams
has mentioned it often does not work. For Hjalmar it helped --
temporarily -- though we really wish that we had been able to have a
surgical option at the time since in his case it turned malignant and
spread. We simply didn't have a vet who would do the surgery around
here at that time. In Hjalmar's case he had to have surgery finally,
anyway, when he was more compromised, but by that point it was beyond
curing. Lysodren controlled many of his symptoms at first but also
atrophied his adrenals to the point where he needed to have steroids
provided. We also almost lost him to steroid level difficulties
related to that medication. At the time it was an option; now there
are better ones.