From:
williamsb@comcast.net
Date: 2002-07-26 00:13:48 UTC
Subject: RE: Shall I try a Third Time??
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <913885.1027642428708.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Dear MC:
> This seems to have escaped all the vets' attention last week, so I will
> re-post my concerns and questions:
> My 8 year old boy, Snorkle, had a blocked Urethra and underwent a light
> anesthetization to insert a catheter and stitches
> to hold it in place. He was given Clavamox as a precautionary antibiotic regimen against infection.
> (No infection found in the urine, just
> crystals)
> It was determined that the swollen prostate was NOT the cause of the blocked
> urethra. (He IS adrenal and started a 4 month
> Lupron treatment yesterday)
Whoa partner - you said "THE" swollen prostate, not "a" swollen prostate. If you have prostate enlargement and dysuria, that is like thunder and lightning. I would be a bit hard pressed to believe that the urinary difficulty would be attributable to another process in a ferret with a large prostate.
> Blood tests showed a blood sugar reading, initially, of 85 and on the second
> 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 could be performed...maybe
> in 2-3 weeks.
Seems like a bit long. If w can give Pred 4 days following exploratory surgery on the bowel, it shouldn't take 2-3 weeks to be ableto give Pred to a ferret which just had a catheter in place.
> All other blood tests showed normal, and his 'kidney readings' showed stress
> but good/normal and presented no indications
> of a shut down.
Not sure what "kidney signs of stress" are.
> Now to my concerns:
> On the second day of his vet stay, and when I brought him home, and for
> 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?
Well, I'm not sure I totally buy into a red pad condition. Cutaneous vasodilation may be the result of overheating, as the blood vessels dilate to cool the body, but this generally doesn't happen at 75 degrees. Youmay also see this if certain drugs are given, such as tranquilizers which result in dilated vessels. I can't think of a medical reason why hypoglycemiamight cause this change, but I have also seen it on the FHL as well.
Then,
> she wishes to supplement his normal diet with added Vitamin C to help prevent
> their formation in the future.)
You might want to consider a urinary acidifier - I think these work better than Vitamin C, which can result in crystals in the kidney in high doses.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM