From:
leese10ferts
Date: 2002-01-19 00:13:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Bi-lateral Adrenalectomy - Addison's?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., FeritFran@a... wrote:
> Saturday, Nov 10 she began a rapid decline.. refused to eat, had
diarrhea and
> was just really "low".
Hi there,
It sounds like your ferret has had a true bilateral adrenalectomy.
The good news is that chances are slim that she'll have a recurrance
of adrenal problems! The bad news is that you'll have to monitor her
electrolytes. But don't worry - it's not a hugely big deal - and
IMO, better than worrying about her going bald or acting adrenal
again!
The "mustard" diarhea, the lethargy, the general "low" feelings are
all signs of Addison's problems. The fact that she didn't have any
meds for so long, and then started showing these signs, and then
received the Percorten, and improved for a number of weeks, and then
slowed down again are typical of this.
First, to verify that this is a correct diagnosis, you'll want to
wait 3-4 weeks after she received that last injection of Percorten
(or if she starts to act "low" again sooner than that), and have her
sodium/potasium ratio checked. This ratio is checked via a blood
test that your vet can run. He/she can check the sodium and the
potassium and then do the ratio. If it is 28 or below, then yes, she
needs to have supplementation given regularly (not just when she
seems to crash - you want to avoid this).
I have three ferrets currently on medications for Addisons. I give
mine the injections at 3 1/2 weeks apart - 0.2 of the Percortin. It
was cheaper for me to purchase a vial and give them myself rather
than taking them all into the vet's every 3 1/2 weeks.
If your little girl is responding well to the Percorten, then you may
want to consider this - but you have to be consistent and give it at
3-4 week intervals. You should have her ratio checked about every 3-
4 months to be sure that her body hasn't adjusted. Percorten isn't
lethal - and getting it when she doesn't need it won't kill her - but
you don't want to give her meds that she doesn't need, hence the
reason for rechecking at intervals. Naturally, you'll want to check
this once she'd be due for another injection - not while the
medication is still in her system or else you'll get an inaccurate
reading.
It sounds, if she has already had two episodes of this, that this is
the problem so you'll want to monitor this. It's not the end of the
world - just something that you'll need to be aware of.
If you're squeemish about giving injections, you can also give a
daily dose of Florinef and/or Pred. There are others on this list
that opt for this and would be more familiar with it. For me, the
injections are more convienent and cost effective than doing daily
meds for three ferrets.
I hope this information helps you. I know that I was very
overwhelmed in the beginning with this, but now it's like second
nature to me. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
Also, do a search in the archives on this list for more information
on Addison's. You'll see some of my original posts and some other
peoples' posts and answers regarding this. Good luck and I hope you
figure this out!
Lisa