From:
ferretsonly@hotmail.com
Date: 2001-11-08 01:43:00 UTC
Subject: Re: URGENT: Diagnosed megaesophagus
Debbie,
> Diagnosis was megaesophagus,
I am terribly sorry.
>Someone referred me to miami ferret page with information on this,
>but I have a hundred questions!
I'll do my best to help. I wrote the article on the Miami page but
I'm NOT a vet! All the tips on the page were from personal
experience. I've heard from others that these tips helped greatly;
others were not as fortunate.
>I need recipes/feeding suggestions (he doesn't like the Hills
>A/D, doesn't like chicken baby food).
I couldn't get Magellan to eat at first either. He was afraid of the
results (immediate regurgitation). After about a week of struggling
to get him to eat, he put his head up and started to walk across the
floor. You could see his nose sniffing something in the air. He then
crawled up to an elevated feeder I set up for my cat. I had some
canned cat tuna fish in there. He just started gobbling down the
food!
I got more of the tuna fish and pureed it, mixing it with a little
a/d. Over the next few days, I increased the amount of a/d until he
was eating that. I syringe fed him or fed him from my finger. Syringe
feeding does *NOT* mean squirting food down the throat! It simply
means holding the tip at the front of their mouth and allow them to
lick the syringe. Squirting down the throat is a really fast way to
cause pneumonia and that is a huge concern with mega-e.
You could try baby food turkey or veal but be sure to try a simple
diet. You could incorporate regular food by soaking a little
overnight in an equal amount of fluid (water or low-sodium chicken
broth). In the morning, put it in a blender and it will be smooth as
silk. I don't know if it would go through a syringe however which is
why I love a/d. I would not allow Brae to have access to chunky food
because this could cause problems.
>I need to know how much he needs to eat per feeding/day,
Magellan lived on 30-50 cc's 3-4 times daily for 2.5 years. Brae
needs both calories and fluids. If you can get him to take a little
of the Dyne/Pounds Plus/STAT, then you can supplement with sub-q
fluids until you both find a food and regime that works. It doesn't
take much of the Dyne to sustain them but they do need fluid
supplementation. This isn't long term but will help right now.
>how long he can go between feedings (should I continue
>middle-of-the-night feedings, or would he be okay going
>7-8 hours without eating?).
I guess this would depend upon how much he's eating at each serving.
Look at the total quantity he's getting per day. With Magellan, I
took him to a veterinary clinic and day-boarded him so I could feed
him at lunch every day. I kept a spare cage there and they didn't
have to do anything so they only charged a few dollars a day.
>What about massaging his throat after eating,
It appeared to help Magellan when he had difficulty getting the food
down.
>elevating him as he eats?
His head MUST be above his body as he eats! This allows gravity to
assist with the food flowing down the esophagus.
>What's the realistic life expectancy with this condition,
>especially if he doesn't eat well?
Magellan lived for 2.5 years after diagnosis and did *not* die from
mega-e; he died from heart disease. I've known of others that died in
a matter of days. I think a lot depends upon if you can both settle
on a routine that gets food into him and then him keeping the food
down.
>Will he slowly just waste away?
If they can't eat or drink, it would just be a matter of a few days.
>Is he uncomfortable? (I know he's very uncomfortable after
>eating........what about between meals?)
Once we got into a routine, Magellan was fine between meals. He would
get very scared at not being able to swallow food and some meal times
were very stressful for both of us. I tried to remember to stay calm
to help keep him calm.
>What's his quality of life?
If you get him stabilized, I think they have a fine quality of life!
Magellan was a playful, mischevious guy even with the disease!
>What about when the Propulsid is gone
I had *great* luck with Zantac. Propulsid was only of minor help.
>Will he need to be on medication to alleviate symptoms for the
>rest of his life?
He will need your help the rest of his life but there's no magic
bullet for mega-e. The Zantac was the closest thing to being a
medicine that alleviated symptoms in Magellan.
>Up until a couple of months ago, Brae was a thriving, energetic,
>happy ferret.
This disease is dreadful. I saw this in Magellan too. I am so sorry.
>He has lost so much weight,
Keeping their weight up is a challenge. Once Magellan got the tuna
fish & a/d combo in his system, he started to gain weight. Magellan's
normal weight was almost 4 pounds!
Good luck.
-Carla