From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-04-29 21:53:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Alternative insulinoma treatments?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "sukieferret" <sukiecrandall@t...>
wrote:
> Just from having had ferrets decently before folks really knew
> what to do for them: back then we would use sugar and
> because Fritter had lymphoma we also tried Pred. Neither alone
> held her, but she got about 9 months with the combination.
> Maybe they should add dietary sugar available at all times to the
> mix. We found liquids to the be the easiest way to do that. Heck,
> nine months, wasn't bad, esp, since Frit's wasn't found until a
> day that she almost died of sugar drop. Like nine years for a
> human.
Certainly increasing dietary sugars is one way to try to combat
hypoglycemia. Today, there are more palatable hi-glucose medications
that we can use - but the theory is sound.
Remember that the body has a very effective mechanism for changing
protein fat or starch into glucose - the liver can take almost any
cojpound and make glucose. Animals who are eating well naturally do
not suffer such severe abnormalities of glucose as those who are on a
poor plane of nutrition.
While we are on the subject of alternative treatments, Mike Dutton of
the Weare Animal Hospital in Weare NH has been working with
doxirubricin post surgically in insulinoma cases to good effect. You
may want to contact him for more info.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM