From:
eeriksen@rei.edu
Date: 2001-08-16 15:17:00 UTC
Subject: adrenal ferret- surgery or lupron?
My ferret started losing his fur on his back about two months ago. He
is a blaze, small but active,about 1.8 lb. I adopted him last Oct. so
I don't know how old he is (they had told me about a year,
but the vets think older- his teeth are bad too). He is still
perky and plays and eats, etc. but I don't want to just let it
progress. His regular vet recommends Lupron therapy once a month, I
went to another who recommends surgery. I read alot and decided to
have the surgery. A pre-op blood test looked normal, but he later
bled from both feet where they took his blood. He evetually stopped
and the vet said this is normal for adrenal ferrets (?) He seems fine
now and is scheduled for surgery in five days. The vet uses
Isoflurane gas for anesthesia. He says most of the time they do
well after the surgery and mostly it's the left adrenal- if it's the
right he'll close up and talk about other treatment. It seems like
the right thing but I'm worried, since I've also read that he may
have complications and die due to the other adrenal not being
able to make enough cortisol or other complications. I know there's
risk to any surgery. I'd appreciate anyone's advice/recommendations
about surgery or Lupron treatment, and which has worked for them. I
also wonder about which will extend his life further.
Thanks alot,
Eileen and "Barky"