From:
leese10ferts
Date: 2002-04-06 17:14:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Addison's prevention; insulinoma; vaccinations
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "zus888" <zus888@n...> wrote:
>
> First, which is better: Florinef or Percorten? Does one put the
body through more stress than the other? Is one more effective?
Second, she will be on prednisone, likely long-term, from the sounds
of it. Will this affect the detection of future insulinomas?
>
> Last, given that it's likely to stress the body to have medications
> replace natural hormones, should she still continue to have her
> annual distemper and rabies vaccinations?
Hi Suzanna!
Well, I now have four ferrets who require supplimentation for surgery
induced addison's disease. I know we use the same surgery vet too so
you can get a lot of information from him as well!
Do a search on the archives for prior posts on experiences with it.
Just type in "Addison's". There are a few people on this list who
treat their ferrets differently. I think that the consensus is that
every ferret is different and every owner is different - so it's all
a matter of what works best for that ferret and that owner.
For me personally, I prefer doing the injections. There are a few
big cons to doing the injections though and here they are:
1. The problems with the injections include first, knowing how much
to administer, it can be anywhere from 0.1ML to 0.3ML depending on
the ferret. In the beginning, it's tough to gauge this because you
have to closely watch your ferret for signs of crisis, and the crisis
can be life threatening.
2. Another problem is that the Percorten is supposed to last anywhere
from 3-4 weeks. You have to know how long it's lasting in your
ferret so you know at what interval to readminister the shot. In the
beginning, this may mean watching your ferret to see when he/she
begins showing signs of crisis.
Signs of crisis include lethargy, weight/muscle loss, nausea, yellow
diahrea, dehydration, and lack of appetite. When you'd begin to see
this, you'll know that the shot has worn off and to give them an
injection right away. You won't have to wait like this for every
month - probably just the first one. Or you can take Pixie to your
vet to have her ratio checked at 3 weeks and if okay, at 4 weeks.
Severe "get your ferret to the vet immediately" signs include
vomiting, extreme dehydration, low body temperature, and
unconsciousness. You want to avoid any signs of crisis because they
are very taxing on the ferret and can cause them to die.
I had a very scary experience 2 1/2 weeks ago with one of mine due to
Percorten stopping working for him. Does this mean I think Percorten
is bad? No. I just know now that it doesn't work for him and needed
to start him on daily meds instead.
Finally, the Percorten isn't cheap. My vet's office sells a monthly
injection for about $15 (estimated, it's been a while since I bought
it like that). They sell the 4ML vial of the medication for $175.
I've found the vials for around $109-$129 on the internet - you can
order them with a prescription from your vet. Granted, with one
ferret, a 4ML vial would probably last you over a year. In my case,
however, with 4 ferrets on it every three weeks, it's VERY costly and
a vial lasts me about 4 months.
A big PRO to doing the Percorten is that it lasts for 3-4 weeks. It
isn't a medication that you'd have to think about everyday or twice a
day. Once you get over the strangeness of giving your ferret a shot,
it becomes second nature and it isn't that big of a deal. Plus, if
you have a ferret who is difficult with taking pills, the monthly
injection is great.
Another big pro to the Percorten is that, over time, the ferrets seem
to adjust to it more and require less of it (or so their surgeon has
told me). Typically, it's not known to stop working overtime. Also,
in cases where the Florinef doesn't seem to work, the Percorten seems
to work.
Okay, Florinef. Florinef tends to cost about $0.75-$1.50 a pill
depending on where you get it and at what quantity. They are about
the size of birth control pills and ferrets can require a doseage of
1/4 pill once a day, all the way up to 3 pills a day.
If you go over 1/4 a pill once a day, it's recommended that you split
the doseage and give it twice a day so that the ferret has a more
regular doseage of the medication running through his/her body at all
times.
Costwise, it's a little more, than the Percorten. It means that
you'd have a ferret on a medication everyday for the rest of her
life. It's not the end of the world, but something you have to
consider when you need to go on vacation and things like that.
Someone else needs to be responsible for making sure she gets her
pill.
In 3 of my current ferrets, the Percorten works GREAT. They receive
their injections at 3 weeks and 2 day intervals at 0.2ML a doseage.
These three have been Addisonian for the past 8 months and never had
a crisis and never had a problem.
You should have Pixie's electrolytes checked (sodium potassium ratio)
at 3-4 monthly intervals to be sure that she is still in need of the
medication. You'd want to do that at a time when they are due for
their injection to get an accurate reading. Remember, a ratio of
28:1 or lower needs supplimentation.
Pedia-pred. My understanding, from this list and from several vets
from here in Pittsburgh and Maryland has been that a ferret who is
only on Pred, isn't on pred for supplimentation of no adrenal
tissue. The steroid in pred works along with the steroid in
Percorten (a vet here can correct me and explain more technically I
am sure) but not in place of it. Yes, with insulinoma, the pred
would help that - and it would raise her blood glucose reading and
make it difficult to gauge if her insulinoma is back. But, if it
does come back, and the doseage you have her on isn't enough, you
will know this.
One vet here in Pittsburgh has told me that there is no way to test
your ferret to see if they require Pred in addition to Florinef or
Percorten. It's kind of a wait and see and if your ferret doesn't
thrive on the one medication, add the pedia-pred. The doseage that
my ferret was put on in conjuction with his Percorten was 0.3ML twice
daily. This was after several sudden crises where we decided that it
wasn't a matter of how much Percorten, or at what interval we were
giving it, that was the problem.
As for vaccinations, it's been stated here that anytime a ferret is
healthy and doesn't have a past history of reactions, they should be
vaccinated. If Pixie is doing well with the medication you decide to
put her on, and she's thriving, then vaccination won't effect that.
I have vaccinated all but one of my Addisonian boys since beginining
treatment for this.
The fourth one crashed 2 1/2 weeks ago severely and is just now
starting to recover and act okay again. I can share the details with
you or anyone else privately if you wish to know what a severe crisis
entails - it was very scary and both I and the two vets working with
him that first night and following day were very shocked that he
pulled through - but extremely thrilled. He is my ferret who is now
on Florinef and pred daily rather than Percorten. Typically, ferrets
do very well on the injections and suffer no problems from it. As
with any medication, in rare cases (such as my little guy), problems
occur and the protocol has to be changed.
I'm sorry this is so long, but there is so much information on this
out there now. I know how overwhelmed I was when I was just learning
about it all so I hope it helps.
Take care!
lisa