From:
Donna Lee
Date: 2001-05-23 22:39:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] Need Advice Quick!!!
I will be like you and try to make this short and
sweet. I will tell you that you DO NOT need to fast
him considering that he is that sick and he has been
eating every 2 to 3 hours. You should only fast him
for maybe 2 to 4 hours before the surgery. I took my
ferret in to have a lump removed over her left eye
which was about 1 inch in diameter and about 1/4 to
1/2 inches high. She had food within about 3 hours of
her surgery and came out just fine. But, I would like
to note that she didn't make it. They told us that
the lump was just an infection, but why would it come
back again? No idea there, so we do know for a fact
that she either had bone cancer from that lump or
insulinoma, but she did not have a mass in her
abdomen. However, not trying to freighten you or
anything, but they only live between 5 to 12 years
from what I have heard. My ferret wasn't but about 4
1/2 years old and she died on May 12th of this year
from whatever she had. If I were you, I would just
put him on Pedipred and see what happens. I wouldn't
want to put him through any more either. I hope that
this advice helps you. Take care and Best Wishes to
the little fuzzy that could. Love and Prayers always,
Chance
--- eander6363@y... wrote:
> I'll try to make a long story as short as I can.
> About three weeks
> ago our baby Stinky was acting a little lethargic
> and his back legs
> were wobbly. We had taken him to the vet for his
> vacination and she
> said she wanted to test his blood first because of
> his simptoms. The
> test came back with a blood glucose reading of 2.
> Next she did an
> ultrasound because she suspected Insulinoma. There
> was a large mass
> in the pancreas. This was Friday. We put him on
> Pediapred .25ml
> twice a day and he had his exploratory on Monday.
> He was quite alert
> when we brought him home and when she tested his
> glucose level the
> next day it was 3.8. The next day his stomach
> seemed a little
> swollen and he had a fever. He had an ultrasound
> the next morning
> and it was clear, there was no fluid in his abdomen.
> He was put on
> Baytril and the fever cleared up. I should say that
> when the results
> of the operation came back the large mass turned out
> to be extra
> spleen tissue and it was taken from beside the
> pancrease beside the
> intestine. I think I have that right. The biopsy
> from his pancreas
> came back ok. Everything was going fine and this
> past Monday he was
> almost his old self. Then on Tuesday morning he was
> having trouble
> breathing and wouldn't eat ( I have been grinding
> his food and mixing
> it with water and heating it for the past couple of
> weeks as that's
> all he'll eat). I called the vet and they said
> bring him right in.
> My vet wasn't in yet so another one did a blood
> glucose reading and
> it was back down to 2.2. Then they gave his some
> glucose in a
> syringe, just a bit. Then he was hooked up to I.V.
> My vet came in
> then and said the blood test they'd done a few days
> before had gotten
> broken in transit and they'd have to do another one.
> The only
> problem with this is everytime they test his glucose
> level or take
> blood they keep him occupied with Nutrical. Isn't
> that really
> dangerous if he has Insulinoma? Anyway I rushed him
> home and fed him
> right away. I usually feed him every 2-3 hours
> since he's been
> sick. He'll only take water with his food. I have
> to say my vet has
> been trying so hard to find out what's wrong with
> Stinky, she has
> gone out of her way to be there for me also. She
> conferred with an
> expert on ferrets who feels that this has to be
> Insulinoma but they
> just can't find it. Stinky is feeling pretty
> lethargic today after
> all the poking and prodding yesterday. The vet just
> phoned and said
> she wants to do an Insulin test, which means drawing
> blood again.
> She also wants him to fast for 12 hours! I think
> that's way too long
> but she said he will be o.k. I need to know what to
> do. I guess I
> should tell you Stinky found us one freezing winter
> night about a
> year and a half ago and we fell in love with him.
> The nearest age we
> can make him out to be is about five. He also had
> his left adrenal
> gland removed last December. It came back
> malignent. What I need to
> know is should he be fasting that long, and should
> we be thinking
> about putting the little guy through another
> operation or should he
> just be put on Pediapred. We're at wits end and
> don't want the
> little guy to be put through anymore. Does anyone
> have any advice?
> Please Help!!
>
>
>
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