From:
ferrethealer@aol.com
Date: 2002-01-19 14:44:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] Digest Number 564
In a message dated 01/19/02 12:02:43 AM Eastern Standard Time,
Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com writes:
She is doing well, and I've said all that to get to my question.
Do I
assume that she is to be on Pred for the rest of her life? Is it
the proper
thing to do to just keep giving it to her, or should I once again
try weaning
her off the Pred so we can run a CBC for a clear answer on the
Addison's?
First of all, it's the electrolytes that you want to monitor to
check for Addison's. You don't mention if a blood sugar level has
been checked, but she should be checked for insulinoma, certainly.
If she's Addisonian, I find that regular percorten shots work very
well with fewer side effects than long term pred. But you do need
to be sure of what's going on with her. Pred doesn't last all
that long in the system, so a blood check done after two or three
days should give you the answer on the Addisons, but I would get a
blood sugar first.
My suspicion is that yes, she will need to be medicated long-term
for Addisons.
Dr. Ruth
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