From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2001-12-07 16:06:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] Newly Diagnosed
Insulinoma-Surgery? etc
On Fri, 7 Dec 2001, reeddion wrote:
> Should I get a home testing kit for his blood glucose? What is the
> best kit (I saw the one that only needs 0.3 ml of blood, that looked
> like the smallest amount) and the best way to get blood. I've heard
> you can cut the nail above the quick, but I don't want to traumatize
> him, since he's so good about letting me cut his nails. I'd rather
> lance his pad, but I've been told that doesn't get enough blood, and
> that it bothers ferrets more than having their nails cut above the
> quick. (And of course, I'd need a kit with cappillary action strips,
> right?)
Well, it's up to you whether or not you test his blood at home... I
personally find it quite comforting to be able to do it, but I have
several with insulinoma and one who veers between insulinoma and diabetes.
I have been experimenting with various ways of testing at home and really
do find the pawpad lance to be the least stressful on the fuzzy.
HOWEVER, I have only had consistent success with this when using the
Freestyle monitor, which only requires a tiny bit of blood: 0.3ul (not
ml). That's like the tiniest pinhead. Mine was around $65 from Wal-Mart
and came with a $40 mail-in rebate in the box. They "getcha" on the
testing strips. My gosh those things are expensive! It comes with ten to
get you started. It still doesn't take long, though, to save money in the
long run over what you may have to pay at the vet's office for many repeated tests. Also, I probably test more often since I can do it from home than I would if I had to take a trip to town each time.
I formerly used an Elite from Bayer, but I could only get enough from a
paw pad reliably maybe one time in six, so I had to quick nails. It
requires a larger blood sample than the Freestyle. I didn't enjoy it, but
if the ferret had ferretone, honestly, they only flinched a little and
then went right back to licking. I still prefer to lance a pad, though,
it seems less bothersome to the ferret.
> Should I have surgery done? It will cost about $275 at my vet, which
> may take me a while to be able to afford anyway. I've heard that it
> rarely cures the problem since the tumors are often tiny and
> distributed throughout the gland. It also sometimes makes them
> diabetic, which is also undesirable. I've also heard that he can live
> happily for pretty long on just meds and a special diet, and since
> he's pretty old to begin with, wouldn't that just be a better way to
> go if he feels ok on the meds?
I am usually pro-surgery for insulinoma unless there is something like a
heart condition to make the surgery extra-risky. If he's only four,
that's not very old at all, but with the upper-limits of his age unknown,
it's harder to say. Meds are fine, but a successful surgery can give you
a disease-free period where he doesn't even need meds, and then if it
returns, you can start anew with meds at that time. I've had several
become diabetic for a couple of days after the surgery; usually it means
the surgery worked well, and then it went away on its own. My one who
became dangerously diabetic did so on meds! That's rare, but it does
happen occasionally. The correct decision is to treat his insulinoma so
that he feels better; these are our beloved pets, and we just want them to
feel good. You can achieve that in more than one way. So, in my opinion,
there is no wrong answer as long as you are treating him either with
surgery or meds.
> (He's a very picky eater, and I have him on Purina One kitten chow,
> but he's really picky, and won't touch anything else except plain
> Purina kitten chow which is terrible for him. I don't know what his
> previous owners fed him.)
That Purina One Kitten is like crack cocaine for these guys. I don't know
*what* they put in that stuff, but it seems to be irresistable. Try
putting healthier kibble in very small amounts in a sealable container to
get it to sort of marinate in there and take on the smell of the
Purina. If he stops picking around it, gradually increase the healthy
stuff.
Also, supplement him with plain chicken baby food (Gerber's 2nds) or Bob's
chicken gravy. That'll boost him up.
> What is the best and cheapest medication for him to be on? Prelone,
> PediaPred, Proglycem? Which is better, Prednisone or Prednisolone?
Proglycem is expensive, many ferrets don't like it, and it is usually
added after the fuzzy needs an additional extra boost when Pred is maxxed
out. People use all kinds of different preds; my guys like brand-name
Pediapred the best. But if you mix whatever is available (liquids are
much easier than tablets to dose accurately) into some baby food, he
probably won't object to whatever you use...
> Is it normal for him to become more aggressive when playing and more
> playful in general while being on this medication (see part about
> attacking feet which he'd never done before)?
Now, that, I don't know. It's interesting though!!
I hope this helps. Good luck with your insulinoma guy... Keep the list
posted on how things go,
-Pam S.