From:
deevecchione@cs.com
Date: 2001-10-05 10:06:00 UTC
Subject: Lab tests before medication?
Hi,
I posted the other day about my ferret, Teddy, who I had to euthanize
after he began having "psychotic" seizures and was thrashing wildly
around the ferret room. He also lost use of his hind legs and became
incontinent, but was not paralyzed. He could still move his legs and
tail. If anyone has any idea what went wrong, I'd like to hear from
you. I only received 2 private e-mails.
Anyway, he was placed on Enacard (.25 mg every other day) 3 months
ago. Six months ago his bloodwork was unremarkable. One week ago, he
had a hematocrit of 14 and was in renal failure. One of the side
effects of Enacard is azotemia(chronic renal failure). We did not do
a Urinalysis prior to placing him on the medication. Should we have?
I'd like to hear from the vets on the list. Do you do lab tests prior
to placing animals on medication?
I have an IBD ferret on 2 ml of Dexmethasone every other day. I have
a bottle of Imuran in the fridge. I gave him 2 doses and then
everything happened with Teddy. Now I'm scared to death to give it
him. Maybe I should leave well enough alone. He's thriving on the Dex
and A/D mixed with pumpkin.
Thanks!
Dodie