From:
leese10ferts
Date: 2001-12-19 23:13:00 UTC
Subject: Re: IBD ferret now has GI bleeding, may not make it.
Dear Dodie,
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "luvaferret" <deevecchione@c...>
wrote:
> Hi FHL,
> The saga of my IBD ferret, BJ, has begun a very frightening
chapter. He was taken off of Imuran about 10 days ago, when he
started developing bruises.
Gosh, this sounds like a combination of two things I've just gone
through in recent months. First, the bleeding - at post mortem, was
discovered to be lymphosarcoma of the stomach. In order to discover
this, the entire stomach was sent off for biopsy after necropsy- the
cells were microscopic. They had caused her stomach to hemmorage.
>His GI tract, in particular his colon, is bleeding,
> possibly the entire length. I started him on Carafate (1/4 tab 4 x
> daily).
Secondly, I just lost a ferret in November. He'd been diagnosed for
one year with IBD (by a very reputable vet in Maryland) via
biopsies. He was being treated with Imuran and in the beginning
Pediapred and Carafate. He was doing great and in September, ended
his Imuran treatment and was thriving. In November, he crashed.
He went into shock within hours and after all avenues to save him had
been explored, he was in terrible pain and I had to make that painful
decision. His necropsy showed his stomach had completely ulcerated
and problems looked very much like severe helicobactor (not IBD).
Just do a search under the archives for "Noobie" and you can read his
biopsy report and Dr William's responses to his report.
> If the bleeding
> doesn't stop within 24 hours, he won't make it.
Gosh, I'm so sorry. I totally feel your pain and am praying for you
that the end results are better than mine were. This just feels so
close to what I just went through only one month ago. Please keep us
posted, okay? I'd be happy to talk with you offlist if you'd like
(fer8queen @ attbi . com) without the spaces.
>We could do a tranfusion, but if he's still bleeding, what is the
>point? God, why
> do they always have to have something terrible take them down?
Again, my thoughts are with you during this horribly stressful time.
I'm so sorry and I hope that something can turn this around.
You and BJ will be in my thoughts. Best of luck to you both.
Hugs,
Lisa Shortley