Message Number: YG12793 | New FHL Archives Search
From: dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-04-28 22:07:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Wacky BG, what could this be?

--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "jraja0722" <jraja0722@y...> wrote:
> This is a continuation of the ongoing obelix saga. We first
brought
> him, 4-5yr old male, to the vet on sunday, he had hind leg weakness
> and was manifesting signs of minor seizures, starting into space
for
> a couple of moments then falling over. Everyones first thought was
> insulinoma. His BG was tested immediatly and came back at 85. He
> had just eaten, so five hours later they took another test and the
BG
> was 96. Today, he went to the vet for an insulin/glucose test and
> had his spleen tapped. They took a (fasting) blood sample and it
> turned out that the BG was 340. Now they said that some of it
could
> be related to stress, but it was still way high. All his other
stats
> are normal. The xrays only show an enlarged spleen, something I
> understand is common in ferrets. His outward symptoms are
excessive
> fatigue. The vet is ringing her hands and does not know what it
could
> be. If anyone has seen stuff like this before, thier input would
be
> greatly appreciated.


340 is way too high for a stress response in a ferret, so I don't
think that is the cause. In such cases, I would also check the urine
simultaneously, to see if there is urine there too.

Yes, there are some possible lab errors that can cause such
variations - my recommendation would be to recheck the glucose to see
if the 340 is a spurious value.

With kindest regards,

Bruce Williams, DVM