From:
- Z -
Date: 2001-09-18 13:10:00 UTC
Subject: ulcers and seedy stool-- URGENT
Back in March 2001, Dr. Williams wrote:
"Ulcers don't cause seedy stools - only the villar
shortening resulting from coronavirus infection does that."
Does the statement about ulcers apply generally speaking? Amelia
(insulinoma, almost 7) just produced small amounts of seedy stool,
with what looks like mucous and possibly blood mixed in. The stool
really looked like birdseed (or fish eggs, like tobiko), not just
grainy. Just before producing this stool Amelia had a vomiting fit
(didn't produce anything) and her appetite has been off. I have a
call in to the vet right now and as I'm waiting I'm reading the FHL
archives on ulcers. Amelia crashed last Tuesday as a result of not
eating, and an ulcer was diagnosed. She was released from critical
care yesterday. Right now Amelia is on:
2.0ml pred 2xday
30.0mg diazoxide (proglycem) 2xday
25.0mg metronidazole 2xday
0.6mg Pepcid 2xday
0.2ml amoxicillin 2xday
All of these are oral suspensions, and the first two, of course, are
for insulinoma. Could any of these medications be causing the seedy
stool? Also, as you can imagine, medicine time is no fun at all,
could stress be causing it? She goes off everything but the pred and
diazoxide on Friday. She has been eating kibble and simply will not
eat anything else, not even kibble mush. I wanted to get her on
Gerber's second stage chicken, but at this point I would have to
force feed her and I'm afraid of stressing her out more. I am not
willing to dabble in herbal remedies without the advice of a vet.
Finally, we did an ultrasound on her last week, and while her fat
made it difficult to see, the ultrasound did reveal nodules either
within her spleen or around her intestines. Would these findings be
consistent with any of the above symptoms for something we haven't
considered yet? In addition, her BG has been very low, anywhere
between 45 and 65, though when she's awake, she's very alert and her
legs are reasonably steady under her. The likelihood of ECE is
pretty remote, although there were a couple of other ferrets in the
critical care unit last week, both actually for ulcers as well.
This is very hard. I know that her days are pretty numbered, what
with the insulinoma drugs at their maximum dosages for her weight,
and I don't want her to spend them in pain. But when she's awake,
she's so alert, and her personality is very present. She's always
been a very tough fighter, not at all intimidated by pain. Which was
good when it came to recovering from blockage or adrenal surgery, but
tells me now that if pain is affecting her appetite, it must be
pretty hefty.
Regina