From:
sukiecrandall@telocity.com
Date: 2002-07-25 19:26:14 UTC
Subject: RE: Shall I try a Third Time??
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <26052047.1027625174315.JavaMail.root@scandium>
>I must have the plague....
Sometimes people just don't have anything to add on top of what the person posting already knows, or sometimes folks are away at conferences, or sometimes folks are just so very busy that only a few can be answered. I've been in your postiion due to a problem being unusual enough that there wasn't anything anyone can add, and I'm a moderator here, so you know it's not you -- just the situation.
> It was determined that the swollen prostate was NOT the cause of the
>blocked urethra. (He IS adrenal and started a 4 month
Certainly, crystals or inflammation (of neighboring structures, or of the urethra) can cause blockages.
Recently, there was a post from a kind member who told about a ferret whose urine keeps having too high a pH so the vet is trying a urine acidifier to prevent minerals from crystalizing out.
We have found that with adrenal growths our ferrets have more UTIs (irinary tract infections) and those are among hte things that can cause inflammations.
> day of his stay, it lowered down to 65, presenting a possible case of
>insulinoma. Because of his weakened condition, the vet decided to hold >off on a Pred treatment until his body stabilized and another blood test
Was the vet worried that teh steroid might make fighting an infection harder? What about using very low levels of Proglycem to help avoid the risks that accompany insulinoma and then weaning him off to do the blood test instead of no meds. As you know, I'm not a vet; this is just a question I think I'd ask the treating vet who knows the individual sicne it is a long while till the next blood test.
> a day after that, his paw pads, nose, belly, and
> tail were bright red. The vet tech attributed that to the 75 degree
>incubator. If so, why did it persist for another 24
> hours after his return home into an air conditioned environment?
I have no idea; redness can be from high levels of O2 or high levels of CO, or from irritation, or from an allergic reaction (which I also wonder about sometimes when body temp falls), or from insulinoma according to those who have encountered it then and you have mentioned low blood sugar, or from heat dumping during fevers or if the body thinks it needs to lose heat, and (I'm sure) from other causes.
> (I should state now that he is back to his old, devilish self
Whew! That's good news; that's one of those things that only hands on or a poster's comment could tell since some have a harder time without insulinoma meds.
Sounds like your vet isn't happy with the pH of the urine and is tackling that which makes sense.
Keep an eye on that adrenal growth since past vet posts on the topic have indicated that this is a situation where it may be involved but not obviously so early on.
You know what should be a big help for you? In the Files section at this Smartgroups website there is a compilation of posts from knowledgeable folks that cover much of the information you are seeking. Take a look there.