From:
- Z -
Date: 2002-03-11 09:23:00 UTC
Subject: insulinoma metastasis?
Hello all,
On Friday, Amelia (7.5 y.o., insulinoma for the last year and five months)
had an echocardiogram to check out a heart murmur. The good news was that
although one of the left ventricular walls was slightly thickened, the rest
of the heart is compensating and no medications are recommended at this
time. The bad news was:
--cranial thoracic mass which is already large enough to be putting pressure
on one of her lungs.
--enlarged lymph nodes
--elevated liver enzymes and bilirubins (sorry I don't have exact enzymes
and numbers, probably the usual two enzymes)
--confirmation of what I suspected, her remaining adrenal is acting up
--dehydration
There was also a weight gain of about half a pound, which I don't think is
good because her previously swollen belly isn't any bigger and her enlarged
spleen has remained about the same. My vet felt that we could not
accurately aspirate Amelia's lymph nodes due to the fat surrounding them,
and that to do a biopsy for the thoracic mass would be a risky procedure for
Amelia. She was willing to do the procedure but I don't think we will,
because I'm not willing to put Amelia through chemo or radiation therapy at
her age and condition, so knowing what the mass is is really a matter of
academic interest more than anything else. Her blood glucose was in the
30s, but the sample had been sitting for a few hours so her true level was
probably a bit higher than that (last couple of visits have been in the
50s).
I've been reading through the archives and various ferret health websites
out there, and to me it sounds like Amelia's insulinoma could have
metastasized. Does this sound likely to those with far more knowledge than
I have, based on the limited information I've given? If so, what can I
expect to see now?
She is currently on the maximum doses for her of pred and proglycem. She is
one of those ferrets who can adjust fairly well to low blood sugar levels
and I have yet to see a seizure. I profoundly wish I could get her to eat
baby food or duck soup, but trying to get anything like that into her is
very stressful and I'm afraid of re-awakening her ulcer, or now aggravating
her heart. She's currently on the Ferret Store's kibble. The dehydration
I'm pretty sure is due to her sleeping a lot and also I had noticed a couple
of days ago that she was having trouble keeping her feet under her at the
water bottle, which was probably discouraging her from drinking more
(carpeting and the additional option of a water bowl has remedied that
situation).
We are doing another blood panel in a few weeks to monitor her systems, but
in the meanwhile, if anybody has other suggestions, observations or advice
it would be deeply appreciated...
Regina
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