From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2002-02-24 16:13:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Ferret Insulinoma
I am so sorry to your Bailey is this ill.
On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, naanaa25 wrote:
> Now his belly is so bloated that he isnt moving at all except for his
> head. everyone i talk to says this is from the pred that he is on. A
> split xray showed that this was gas and not fluid, however, when hes
> bloated, he breathes hard. He also constantly grinds his teeth.
> Bailey has been like this for a month, do you know what else could be
> causing this?
I had a similar case once with a rescue guy named Bullet. He battled
insulinoma for a long time, had two surgeries and eventually was on
pred. His final crash was a lot like what you describe - huge bloated
belly, and on x-rays, stomach incredibly dilated with gas. We think he
was just swallowing the air. We put him on simethicone (it's the active
ingredient in most over-the-counter gas remedies and is supposed to be
pretty safe) in the form of pediatric anti-gas drops, and it did seem to
help the bloating and discomfort. Anyway, we could never get his blood
sugar up, and eventually he was put to sleep; his necropsy showed a huge
ulcer in his stomach in addition to the insulinoma.
With Bailey having the bloating AND grinding his teeth, I wonder if he may
also have an ulcer. Does he also have any black, tarry poop? That would
be a huge pointer towards an ulcer. It is not uncommon for them to have
both gastric ulcers and insulinoma. If ulcers are part of the problem,
you'll want to add Carafate (and antibiotics) to his regimine. You'll
give it 20 minutes or so before each and every feeding. There is a great
write-up about ulcers at:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ulcers.html
NOW, this is where it can be tricky. He could also be grinding his teeth
from low blood sugar (causes nausea) and NOT have an ulcer at all. Are
you following his blood sugars? If not, that's the first thing to
check. If low, you can possibly increase his pred or add on Proglycem to
see if it will help. If his blood sugar is well-controlled, though, look
into the ulcer possibility. I know finances are rough, but a blood sugar
test wouldn't be that expensive, and carfate isn't a terribly pricey
drug. He sounds like he's in rough shape, poor guy. Keep up the
excellent nursing care.
Good luck,
-Pam S. (not a vet)