From:
Kym Barone
Date: 2002-06-14 23:19:00 UTC
Subject: RE: [Ferret-Health-list] New Member, Insulinoma.
Hi Jen,
I'm hoping that one [of the experts] will jump in to
help explain the link between insulinoma and sugars better than I can,
but, understanding that I'm not a vet, just someone who has dealt with
literally dozens of insulinoma cases, I'll try to put it into layman's
terms.
Insulinoma is a condition that causes tumors to grow on the pancreas,
causing ferrets to produce too much insulin. The result of producing too
much insulin is that the blood glucose levels decrease. Symptoms of
insulinoma include lethargy, hind-leg weakness, 'staring off into space'
for a few moments, being wobbly, etc. You know when you don't eat for a
while, you can feel a bit woozy? That's sort of what is going on when a
ferret's glucose level drops too low.
It might seem that the solution to this is to give MORE sugar - that
seems logical. In the very short term, that will indeed help the
condition. Ferrets that have insulinoma for a while that aren't treated
for it may get to the point where they have seizures, and the quickest
way to pull them out of that is to indeed give sugar - either Karo syrup
or even just some sugar water, you can apply the syrup or sugar to the
gums and it will absorb quickly. But the key is to never let them get
their levels so low that they have seizures.
As a ferret's blood sugar level decreases, if you give sugar or sugary
treats like Nutri-Cal or raisins, it will 'spike' their glucose level.
In the short term (we're talking minutes to hours) this will raise the
glucose level, but once it spikes up, and the sugars are depleted from
the treat, the glucose level drops very quickly and sharply, which can
cause a seizure quite easily. In a ferret that has insulinoma, is not
being treated for it, and is not getting sugary treats, the glucose
levels tend to drop more on a slow, steady manner, and you may see the
staring off or wobbly-ness instead of seizures (but it WILL get to the
point that the ferret can and likely will seize if left untreated!).
Prednisone is wonderful for ferrets with insulinoma, because when given
every 12 hours, it does a great job of 'leveling out' the glucose
levels. It does raise the glucose levels to a more normal level, but
unlike sugary treats, it's not 'spiking' the levels - it's keeping them
at a nice, steady level. It's important to note that pred will NOT cure
the condition, it will just help to keep those levels nice and even.
Surgery is your best option - when you remove the tumors from the
pancreas, you give your ferret a much greater chance at a longer life
than with pred. Unfortunately, the condition usually returns - but if
you have surgery as soon as possible, you can get a year or two
symptom-free, and when the condition starts to return and glucose levels
drop again, you can at that point do pred therapy, and can get months to
even a year or more of good, quality life. Bottom line - with a good
course of surgery and then if necessary, pred treatment, you can
essentially get almost a full lifespan out of an insulinomic ferret.
Sukie had posted that she uses sugar to help treat Warp - and in her
case, I can see why -- she's gone through everything else that she can -
maxed levels of pred and proglycem, and what else is left when you've
done all you can and the levels still drop but to give sugar. As long as
Warp gets the sugar often enough it can help. But I do not recommend
that any ferret in the early stages of insulinoma to receive sugar as
treat or as part of treatment. If you can afford to do surgery and the
ferret is in good enough condition, do surgery -- if not, do pred
therapy, and when you max on dosages of pred, try proglycem. Please do
cut out the sugar though - the last thing you want to do is to spike
those levels, because you will be setting Lydia up to crash when the
levels drop quickly.
Again, I do hope that the vets will jump in here and help me where my
technical descriptions are lacking, but I think you get the idea. Also,
for some great information about insulinoma, check the "bookmarks"
section of the FHL website, you'll find tons of information about the
disease. One of the best places to check is Mike Janke's site at
http://www.miamiferret.org and click on Health Care. Good stuff! :)
Again... best of luck to you, and please feel free to ask many
questions. I used to fear insulinoma, but nowadays, insulinoma isn't
such a dirty word. I know how to treat it, I know what to look for, and
it's not so much of a death sentence if you're equipped with knowledge.
It's the mystery diseases that leave me baffled and heartbroken :(
Kym
Ferret Mommy to 20
L'il Grunt, Kerplunk, Mookie, Mikayla, Marty, Tanglefoot, Tumbleweed,
Corky, Tequila Sunrise, Squirt, Piggly Wiggly, Trouble Too, Muse,
Patchwork Princess, Boo, Homer, Connie, Bonnie, Sallie, and Tangerine
Twist
Meet the kids: http://www.ferretmommy.com <http://www.ferretmommy.com/>
-----Original Message-----
From: Batine DeWinter [mailto:vazdru@b...]
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 10:02 PM
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
You mention that the Nutri-cal would be a big no-no? My husband
actually
called me from the vet's office to see if we had some, or they were
going
to send him home with a tube of it for her.
I am hoping someone can set me straight here. I myself am a Diabetic, so
I
have to watch my carbohydrates. (all carbs break down into sugars,
therefore it is smarter to monitor the carbs than just sugar alone.) So
is
Lydia, as suffering from Insulinoma, having problems with high blood
sugar,
as I do, or low blood sugar??
[Sorry about the minor edit, but it's best to keep the list inclusive and so many experts here do such fine work. --Sukie]