From:
apollostrain
Date: 2002-02-25 06:44:00 UTC
Subject: ferret with mild adrenal disease
I am looking for a little advice. I have a 3 year old female Marshal
ferret. Several months ago I introduced a male I adopted from a
shelter (also a Marshall ferret). The female came down witha pretty
severe case of ECE and was hospitalized for almost a week because she
would not eat or drink. She eventually came around and was doing
fine. A couple weeks later I notice she was losing a little hair at
the base of her tail and on the tops of her feet, so off to the vet
we went. I had the Tennessee panel done as a precaution at the advice
of my vet, although at that time we thought it might just be related
to the ECE and the fact that she went a couple weeks without proper
nutrients. By the time the panel results came back, she had already
begun to grow her hair back. The panel results showed that only one
of the levels was very slightly elevated (I can't remember which, but
I can find out from my vet if I need to). My vet suggested lysodren.
I started giving her 1/2 cc every other day and within two weeks she
had a very full coat again(she has been on it for a full onth now).
I have been reading up on everything I can about adrenal disease and
have discussed bot surgery and switching to lupron with my vet. She
did not recommend surgery because my ferret does not have a mass that
can be felt and the vet is afraid that she would get in and not be
able to determine which gland is the culprit. She is certainly
willing to make the switch to lupron, but I am wondering if I should
just leave her on the lysodren since she doesn't seem to be having
any problems with it and isn't showing any symptoms. I am also
wondering is maybe the ECE could have caused the value in the panel
to be slightly elevated. My vet suggested retesting after 3 months.
Does anyone have any insight on this situation. Should I make the
switch to lupron? Is it too early to redo the TN panel? Should I
insist on exploratory surgery? This is my fourth ferret, but my first
experience with adrenal disease and I simply want to make sure I do
what is best for her. My vet is wonderful and relatively ferret
knowledgeable, but we don't have many where I live because you are
required to get an expensive wildlife permit in order to keep them in
the city (I live right outside the city limits). While I am not
wealthy, cost is never an issue when it comes to my babies so you
don't need to take expense into account when responding. Feel free to
respond to me personally at apollostain@y... Thanks.