From:
daneedv@aol.com
Date: 2002-07-27 21:57:50 UTC
Subject: RE: options for insulinoma?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <29303104.1027807070034.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> I have a six year old sprite, Xena, who is having trouble.
>About 6 months
> ago she underwent surgery for both adrenal and insulinoma.
<SNIP>
> My question is -- what other options are there? She still gets wobbly and
> glassy-eyed, especially in the evenings before her pred is given, and her
> overall energy level is just in the basement. Can I give pred more
> often? If so, how often?
I have found that giving the pred twice a day, 12 hours apart, is often more effective. I currently have an almost 9 year old sprite with insulinoma, and even though her pred dose is very low, it is more effective giving half as much every 12 hours then giving a twice as much every 24 hours.
> Also, I have heard folks mention other medications such as proglycem. Is
> this a realistic option?
I do not know how proglycem works, but it does help. Rather then increase the pred dose on my girl, I opted to keep the pred dose low and add proglycem the last time a medication change was needed. It is expensive, though. I am lucky to have a compounding pharmacist that will sell it to me at his cost, and I am paying $125.00 for 30 ml of proglycem. Fortunately, my girl only needs a very small dose, so this 30 ml bottle should last me about 3 months.
> Finally, are there any other options? Is a second surgery a realistic
> possibility, or is it not likely to help?
>
Your vet would be the best one to consult on this. Often a second surgery is helpful, especially if none of the pancreas was removed during the first surgery. If your girl is otherwise in good health, that might be the best way to go. Again, though, it would depend on other factors her vet could best evaluate.
Danee